Mention: @Punished GN

Tayla had to get to her father’s boat in a short while, but she needed a breather. She couldn’t show up upset or he’d question what was wrong. How the hell would she explain the shit show that was Edict, and how she plans to kill him? She couldn’t. Not without worrying him and she didn’t want him to worry about her. She put him through the ringer for eight years, and she’s been doing good. She needed to appear that nothing was wrong.

She was five blocks away from the docks, doing a little lap to get all the anger out when a myriad of different brightly colored feathers dropped down in front of her.

“... Wah Gwan, mi gyal,”

Tayla’s attention was brought to an odd sight… a prominent Caribbean woman that stood at five-one… leaning against a light pole wearing a bright red dress, matching high heels, and a letter in her hand.

“Ya’ lookin’ lovely today,” The mysterious woman said, speaking very fast in a thick Jamaican accent (or Jamaican Patois). “I gotta’ letta’ for ya’! Someone is very interested in meetin’ ya’!”

She waved the letter in the air.

Tayla could only understand so much of what she said, but she got the gist she’s trying to give her something from someone. She didn’t trust it. She made the mistake of trusting one person a little bit, and it turned into something that felt like a betrayal.

She glared at the woman. ”Who?” she asked, keeping her distance from the woman.

“... I don't know, my girl!” The woman said. “Read the letter!” she laughed as she presented the letter.

Tayla cautiously approached the woman. She got as close as her arm length would allow her, which was pretty long given how tall she is. She took the letter. “That’s it?”

The woman silently stared at her.

“Unless there somethin’ else on ya’ mind, mi gyal, yeah,” The woman waved Tayla off. “Keep that thing away from paper, mi gyal! It’ll self-destruct!”

The woman walked away, her heels loudly clicking as she turned a corner then… Silence.

When Tayla opened the letter, the first thing she would have noticed was a hundred dollars in twenties, with a note:

Tayla Choi,

We hope this letter finds you well. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Luis Cox, a respected member of the St. Portwell Community. I heard of your predicament with Sycamore, and you possess knowledge and skills that could interest my organization. Meet me at the Christiansands at your earliest convenience.

Signed,
Luis Cox

Tayla read the note inside. She didn't understand why anyone would want her for information on the Coven. She knew fuck all about it as it is now. She'd have to dig deep for memories she forgot if they want to know something from a decade ago. Fuck.

She put the money back in the envelope, not trusting it. This wasn't free money. The meeting would be what she's getting paid for. She looked at her phone. She had twenty minutes to make it to the docks. She could go to the club now. But given how there wasn't a time or a date on it, and how that woman popped up out of nowhere, she assumed they were keeping tabs on her and would know when she arrived. She'll go tomorrow after work, no matter what. Auri and the rest of them could kiss her ass. This might be a better opportunity.

---

The Christiansands was a famous club in Downtown St. Portwell, it opened at eight on the dot, every day, extenuating circumstances aside. It was an upscale club where all the relevant people in St. Portwell went. It illuminated the very street it was placed down… and there was a long line to get in, even on a Tuesday! The music could be heard from all the way down the street! Then there was the VIP line, which had way fewer people…

Tayla got into the VIP line. She assumed that's where she was supposed to go, since she was invited and this wasn't the type of club that had people giving out personal invites unless they had money.

She knew she couldn't get into Christiansands wearing what she usually did. It's not the kind of place for extra baggy clothes, so she had to opt for one of her old club outfits. Her ex had her in pretty trashy clothes that didn't look good on back then, and most definitely not now with how skinny she is. She chose the most flattering thing in her closet. Silver sparkly pants, a matching bra top and jacket that she kept buttoned to hide her midriff. The jacket wasn't meant to be worn with the pants. It's supposed to be a stand alone with a very tiny skirt to make it seem like she didn't have any pants on.

She hated being back in old clothes, but she never got rid of them. Had a hard time parting with it more than putting it in boxes. She paired it with white heels, easily making her the tallest woman in the club. She did the bare minimum with her hair, giving herself a side part and gelling it to keep it in place.

Inside the club everything was loud and all too familiar with the atmosphere. She hated it and wanted to finish this as soon as possible.

“... Tayla Choi?” A woman wearing a pinstriped suit said, holding a clipboard she smiled at her, “Come this way to the VIP section; our boss is waiting for you!”

[Later I guess, I’m about to go back to writing the timeskip post. Add to this part if you want to]
Tayla was led into the VIP section, which had to had to be soundproofed in some way as the music that was being blasted through the rest of the club couldn’t be heard. The only music that could be heard was the music they played on the speaker.
The literal second that Tayla entered the room, a [url=i.imgur.com/STbc5kZ.jpg]very tall man with a manbun[url] waved her down to one of the couches. “Oh, Tayla!” He started, “I’m glad you decided to join us!”

“... Yeah, come over and have a seat!” The [url=64.media.tumblr.com/6b0c5fec0f2a134cf… that sat next to him[url] said, pointing at the little seat across the couch with only a little table separating them.

She was alarmed at both the sudden greetings and this place looking like a sex club. It put her more in edge. She looked at the seat they offered and noticed her back would be towards the door. In places she trusted, that didn't matter. But here she couldn't give anyone the chance to get the jump on her, so she moved the seat angling it so she could keep an eye on those two and on the door. She sat adjacent to them now.

“What's all this about?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

The man sat back in his chair grabbed a glass of whiskey on the table, and took a sip. He smacked his lips as the woman who sat next to him spoke.

“Aye!” The woman said, “Introductions… I’m Natalie!”

“Luis Cox… as you may have already guessed,” He leaned forward with the glass in his hand and said, “We’ve come to make you an offer… an invitation to my organization known as Dollhouse.”

He let the words hang in the air, before he continued.
“We are an independent organization that plays a vital role in the supernatural scene of St. Portwell and… we are quite interested in this Father Wolf and that Coven you used to be a part of. Or are a part of. We’ll hash that out later.”

“A serial killer’s baaaaaaaaad for business!” Natalie cosigned. “We are trying to take him out of the picture before he switches to our clients!”

“We want eyes in St. Portwell, in every faction… including that Coven,” Luis calmly said as he stood up. “I was hoping that you could be one of them… we will handsomely reward you if you take up the offer.”

“And relax, sweetheart!” Natalie laughed, “If we were going to do something to you, it definitely wouldn’t be here!” She grinned, bearing teeth.

Tayla didn't trust this deal at all. She's never even heard of the Dollhouse. But she'd be lying if she said it didn't sound a little good. She wanted Father Wolf gone as much as the next paranormal being. She's still on his list like the rest of them. The Coven's not getting shit done and she can't trust them to.

“What's in it for me? And what's the caveat?” She could play spy, but there's got be something else. It'd be too easy to just show up like she usually does and take notes.

“Well…” Luis smiled. “... What would you like? Here at Dollhouse, we take care of our employees.”

“We got everything! Money, magic, broads - too many, in fact!” Natalie laughed. “We need to get rid of some of them!”

“The caveat…?” Luis paused momentarily, “... You don’t expose us or our hand in the Sycamore Tree Coven. As we like to remain under the radar….”

“If the feds catch a whiff of us…” Natalie laughed as she dramatically stuck her tongue out and gagged. When her face went back to normal, Natalie said, “Let’s make everything clear up front so there’s no confusion about what we both want. It’s a mutual exchange, after all.”

It was too good to be true. That's it? They would give her anything she wants and all she had to do was keep an eye on things? “So all I have to do is spy and make sure the you're not exposed and the Feds don't have a reason to come sniffing around, and in exchange I have anything I want? No catch? It's that simple?” she asked in disbelief.

“Well, yes…” Luis said, “I understand your worries, but maybe helping you understand our point of view wil help assuage your concerns.”

Natalie laughed.

“Do you know what your little Coven sister Alizée Altieri did a few nights ago at Veni Vedi Veni…?” Natalie asked, then laughed again.

She was slowly becoming less suspicious since it's that easy, but she did want to hear their side of the story. Nosy as she is, if Alizeé had done something at another club she wouldn't care, but it's the Wolfpack's club, and she'd like to know if she should expect them to come knocking on the Coven's door.

“No. I don't know anything about what happened that night.”

“Well…” Natalie awkwardly laughed as she looked to the side…. Then faced Tayla head on and said, “She went to V-V-V, asked a bunch of creepy questions about one of the girls, tried to kidnap someone, got into a fight with another magical organization under our watch, which eventually dragged the Wolfpack in…”

Natalie laughed again. “... Long story short, it ended with the feds killing Judas Bennet.”

“One of our biggest clients,” Luis seethed.

“Thankfully… Dean Walker,” Natalie started, “Has taken over the operations, buuuuut… its clear your little Coven is a little-” Natalie finger quoted, “-chaotic element that needs to be observed so we can prevent any more little dominos like that.”

Tayla’s eyes widened. She was hit with one too many revelations at once. First that Judas fucking Bennet is dead! “He's dead?!” She didn't care, but she's surprised. She's spent 8 years of her life with the Wolfpack. She didn't think that would ever be possible, even though he was done in by the Feds. And the second is that Dean is the new leader and that's Wolfpack is under the Dollhouse. Or is at least a client. Whatever being a client for them means.

She leaned forward, elbows on her thighs rubbing her forehead. She's got a headache and maybe a slight dizzy spell. This was a lot. Too much. Way too.

“Fucking fuck,” she mumbled. She closed her eyes and took her time thinking about what to say next. She knew what she wanted now. If the Dollhouse and Wolfpack are connected, then she could be found by Dean and that can't happen.

“If I do this for you, be your spy, tell you whatever you want me to, can you guarantee that Dean never finds me.” She counted off on her fingers. “He doesn't know I'm back in the Coven. He doesn't know I'm connected to the Dollhouse at all. And he sure as hell stays away from my family. I need things to stay the way they've been for the past 2 years. To him I'm a ghost. I existed and now I'm gone.”

If he finds her, he'll find Siwan. He'll ask questions, and even if she convinces him that she doesn't know who the father is he'll drag her back into the life she put behind her. She'd never going back to being his woman, his plaything, his whore. She's done.

Natalie smiled.

“Of course we can!” She started, “But, even if he does find you… let us know.”

The two of them chuckled, before Natalie said,

“We’ll take care of him, and gently inform him that you’re our employee and we go to great lengths to ensure their safety,” Natalie started, “He’s a smart cookie, he knows better than to mess with us. So that’ll be the beginning and end of it.”

Tayla didn't believe for a second that Dean wouldn't bide his time. He's patient like that. This isn't a permanent job. Once Coven business was done, then she would be free. Or would she.

“No. And even when I did, you'd think I'd be hiding from him if it did me any good in the first place?” Never mind she was drugged out of her mind most of the time, so she couldn't even bother to put in the effort to use it. She didn't know what he could do, but she's sure it's a lot more deadly than her silly little illusions.

“Dean can't know I'm working for you at all. It's one of the conditions I listed. I don't care what you have to do to make sure he's never in my heels, but telling him you know me is out of the question. What happens when spying on the Coven ends? After Father Wolf is found, we're all going our separate ways. Maybe two or three will stay friends, but the Coven won't be forever. It was never supposed to be. You tell Dean I'm working for you, he'll wait until the deal is done. That's who he is. You'll never find a more patient motherfucker. Keep him distracted, run interference, something, but don't tell him about me.”

“That implies that we won’t have a use for you after this is done, Ms. Choi,” Luis stated. “You’ll be one of us long as you want to be… If you want to be done with us afterward, then…”

Luis shrugged.

“... Don’t worry,” a third voice said in the conversation; it was Shayton. Stepping out of the shadows wearing a baby-blue suit, black dress shoes, and a cane. “I’ll make sure that, if Dean catches a whiff of your scent, I’ll throw him off myself…”

Tayla knew that voice. She had to clasp her hands together to keep them from shaking. She's not seen or heard a member of the Wolfpack in years. None of them messed with her, because of Dean but still. She wanted to avoid all of them.

He walked over and placed the cane in the center of his body, with both of his hands on the cane. “He trusts me, likes me, and if you don’t want to see him… you won’t.”

“See?” Luis laughed, “Our best man has your back! You have nothing to worry about.”

For Shayton to be a part of this was weird. Yet the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Shayton was the least problematic from what she remembered. He didn't fuck with drugs, alcohol, and sex like the rest of them did. Not to the worst extent, anyway.

“You gotta be kidding me.” She didn't trust anyone from the Wolfpack, but she felt she could trust Shayton with this much. It seemed in his character and she didn't think the Dollhouse would work with anyone that didn't have discretion and knew how to keep their word.

“Fine. Let's do it then. Shayton keeps him off my back and I'll spy for the Coven. Is there a contract or something I need to sign?”

“Yes, but is there anything you need to help with this mission?” Luis asked, “Guns? Magic? Et cetera, et cetera… We’ll give it to you.”

“Magic,” she said right away. “Nothing that'll curse me or take over my body.”[/color] A gun wouldn't do get any good. She knew how to shoot, Dean taught her, but she couldn't didn't have a license. Last thing she needed was a reason for cops or the ATF to investigate her. Magic was more subtle.

“Hmmmm….” Luis rubbed his chin. “I know just the thing: Shayton!”

Shayton perked up.

“Could you go grab the headphones?”

Shayton nodded his head as he disappeared in a burst of speed so fast that the only sign that he was there was a mighty wind. Then, Shayton returned, holding a particular [url=i.imgur.com/s1J5u5G.jpg]pair of pink headphones[url], and he handed them to Luis. Whom turned to Tayla, and presented them to her.

“Presenting… That Melody,” Luis started, “It’s a little invention made by a genius named Lyric Brown… unfortunately, she was killed by the Nazis who took it from her.”

“... And we took it from them!” Natalie said.

“Now, this artifact will allow you to read all the thoughts around you passively,” Luis started, “You can focus on one place or person to tune out all the other thoughts, but while you have them on you will hear everyone’s thoughts.”

“Perfect for a spy!” Natalie chuckled.

“... Would you like to try them on?” Luis presented them to Tayla.

It took her a minute to understand what they meant by Nazis. That group full of skin heads. Not actual WWII Nazis. She'd forgotten about them after they disappeared. She's sure it was more complicated than that, but too many pills made her memory a mess.

She was sure she didn't want to know anyone's thoughts, whether passive or rifling through them, but they weren't wrong about them being perfect for a spy. She'll always know when someone is lying through their teeth if they have the truth at the forefront of their mind.

She took the headphones. They looked pretty fucking cool. She put them on and instantly regretted it. Every thought seemingly in the whole club entered her head at once.

‘Booze…’ ‘Drug works…’ ‘Fucking wet…’ ‘Morning sickness…’ She took the headphones off. Her head ached.

“How the fuck am I supposed to do anything with this? It's so…much. I'm sure I caught several thoughts about dick.” She didn't want to know anything about anyone's dick.

“Well, hearing weird ass thoughts is a part of the telepathy package, sweetie,” Natalie laughed.

“Just focus on us… tune out everything else, think of it as background noise, and concentrate…” Luis raised a finger as he gave Tayla instructions. “We have other artifacts… but I think this is so you.” He chuckled.

Tayla nodded, taking a deep breathe. “Don't think anything weird. Swear to God I'll clock you with my shoe,” she said before putting the headphones back on. Once again all thoughts rushed her like a storm, but she concentrated on just the three in front of her. She did her best to tune out everyone else. It was hard with the extra loud thoughts wanting her attention, but she found her focus like how she keeps an ear out for Siwan when she has her back turned.

You should clock Luis with the shoe anyway. Natalie thought, giggling to herself.

... Natalie is telling you to hit me with a shoe, isn’t she? Luis thought.

But, there was something that Shayton thought that may have stuck out to Tayla.

Watch your back. They will have eyes on you.

Tayla burst out laughing, hurrying to take the headphones off cause it broke her concentration. “Yes, she's telling me to clock you anyway.” She didn't let on that Shayton sent her a warning. Didn't even look at him to let him know she heard. She expected them to keep watch on her. They wouldn't bring her in and have no oversight. That didn't make sense. She did learn a lot about how much they knew about her already. What they don't know, she's not offering.

Luis laughed.

“It seems I know you too well!” He joked, gently punching Natalie on the arm, who laughed as well. Shayton just stood there… stoic as always.

However, Luis clapped his hands together as he said,

“Now, you just want a contract to sign?”

“Yes. One with all my conditions and your conditions stated. Unless you trust my word and I can trust yours.” She didn't trust them, but she didn't have a choice but to give a little.

“Come now,” Luis chuckled. “Lying and being underhanded is bad for business… but as you wish.”

He's right. It is bad for business, but powerful people found loopholes all the time.

He turned towards Natalie and said,

“Make up a contract for a lady!”

“As you wish…” Natalie sarcastically said as she rolled her eyes. “But, like, is she gonna sue us or something?” She chuckled as she walked off.

A few moments later, Natalie returned with a contract with all the terms and conditions listed… and she put it on the table in front of Tayla with a pen.

“Take all the time you need reading it,” Natalie said, “There should be zero ambiguity on what we want, right?”

She couldn't sue, but she already had one person on her list. She could add others. She quickly slid the headphones on and concentrated on the group, trying to sus out of they did anything tricky with the paper. Invisible ink, a spell, something she wouldn't notice right away or ever until some fucked shit happened.

There was nothing of note and it was utterly and entirely legit… well, legit as a criminal organization could get.

She knew it wasn't fool proof. That they could be distracting their own thoughts away from the subject, but it's all she got. She took them off, then read through the contract. Everything they talked about, Dean never finding out about her connection to the Dollhouse, keeping him off her tail, and him never seeing her to the best of their abilities was on it. Her keeping mum about their existence, about being their spy, and making sure the Coven and the Feds never knew anything at all dealing with them. She signed and dated the contract, before having it over for them to do the same.

“Are we exchanging numbers or something? How do you want me to report on what I've learned?”

“You remember that little lady that handed you the letter?” Luis asked, “All communications between us will be done via writing and through her. She’ll come find you once a week.”

“Now we want to know EVERYTHING you see,” Natalie explained, “What your Coven sisters do, say, etc, etc.”

“But, we will give you our number only to be used in the event of an emergency.”

“Okay. That’s doable.” Her trying to remember everything will be hard. Oxy fucked up her memory. She’ll have to keep notes on her phone and write it all down when she gets home. She used to be good with note taking in high school. It feels like she’ll be going back to that.

“Anything else?” She still had enough time to change out of this outfit and back into her work clothes, before her father’s ready to pick her up and head home.

“One last thing…” Luis said as he walked over to Tayla and extended a hand.

“... Welcome to Dollhouse.”

---

---

Edict was quick to get a ride back to his own apartment; and with his Uncle’s establishment only a short walk away, both he and Linqian were able to enjoy a few more drinks while Edict poured his woes onto the man behind the counter. From the perspective of a first hand observer, it was incredulous how much of the story Edict was able to leave out while keeping it believable. But, bias was bias: The man seemed to take Edict’s side almost instantly, citing some pretty serious feelings about the other establishment in question.
By the time Edict’s ride arrived, a not-so-subtle agreement had been made. Hands were shaking, and the man himself had disappeared into the back room for more than a few seconds to leave Linqian drinking by herself.

When he came back, he was all smiles, and led Linqian out to the front where a clean Mercedes sedan was parked. A man was in the driver’s seat, and there was another car behind it.
Edict grinned. European shitbox. Bugged to high heaven. I hope you love it, Lin.
”Oh, hey, would you look at that? Surprise, it’s your new car! Whaddya know?”
He laughed, moving toward the back seat and opening it up for her.
”The driver service ain’t included though, after this you’re on your own there…” he finished, waving her into the back seat of the definitely-not-stolen car.
Beat free, you big mother-loving cultist… Fucking Toyota? Come on.

”Fuck.” Linqian very eloquently said, eyes widening as she just stared at the car for a moment. Sure, she’d known she was getting a not quite legit car from Edict, but actually seeing it made it a whole lot more real. She was really going up in the world, from a poor as fuck shit car owner to a poor as fuck two car owner! Hah, at least this one didn’t need to be insured. With a slightly incredulous smile, she slid into the back seat. ”Didn’t want a driver service, so good.”

He got in behind her, and in a gentleman’s flourish, slid into the seat brandishing another drink for the road with the bar’s glasses and all. The way he figured, now was a good time to forget what had happened since payback was a done deal. He could simply enjoy his night now, no trouble.
The drive back into the city’s centre was a smooth affair. Edict kept his trap shut for the most part, knowing that tip-toeing around Linqian’s personal brand of volcanism was the only logical option after he’d very openly been himself.

So, in that; he decided that he didn’t need to be himself. He needed to be who his loving Mother and Aunt thought he was. Even with the splitting pain still in his wrist from the earlier raid, even covered in beer and good tequila, he had to be The Man.
Eventually they made it, and the car was parked in the lot at the base of the building. The driver handed over the keys to Linqian with a smile, and after breaking Edict’s balls for a moment about being covered in booze he hopped into the tail car and was gone into the night.

Greyson and Linqian were left alone once again. He couldn’t help but smile as he pulled his cigarettes out and handed one off to her before taking another. May as well for the walk to the elevator. He lit hers first, twisting his body slightly to steal the flame off the cherry tip to light his own.

Smiling, Greyson pulled away and laughed.
”So… Do you remember, I think it was the summer we all started working together, I took a bunch of us to that college party out on Where's Pier? And we spent the whole night messing with the Blinds while we were pulling free drinks?”
It was a very clear demeanour shift. No more nervous energy or desire for frenetic verbal combat. He wasn’t looking for an opening, not hunting for a fix or a mark; For once, with someone who wasn’t totally under his spell, he just wanted to be.

”Of course,” Linqian said, taking a drag of her cigarette and gently blowing out the smoke. It pushed away any thoughts about what had happened back at the bar which the following drinks hadn't. It was helped by Greyson's sudden change - he suddenly wasn't acting so much like a just about tolerable dick. It was a lot easier to relax when he wasn't prodding. She was just going to have a good night, and not think about all the other shit going on. She leaned towards him slightly with a grin. ”That was fun as fuck. You practically had them eating out your hands… Didn't some of the more 'sensible' members get pissed off afterwards? Some bullshit about not using our powers on blind… not our fault they can't resist it.”

She rolled her eyes, but clearly not at him. She remembered now - Jinhai had been one of the ones pissed about it. It had been one of the first times she went somewhere without him and it had ended with a massive argument between the two of them. That hadn't been quite as good as the night itself. ”Can’t say I remember the whole night - how much did I have to drink? It was a lot, and I wasn’t quite as experienced with it then. Fuck, you showed us a lot of good times back then.” She laughed lightly, taking another smoke. ”Shit hasn’t been quite as good since.”

Greyson smiled widely as they passed row after row of parked cars.
”Oh everybody gets pissy until they need something done for them. It’s life. I like to think if more people were willing to ease up a little, we’d be a lot better off.” he shrugged, taking a drag for himself and blowing it up into the air away from his companion. ”Like with all the artefact theft. Back in those days, we were all taking whatever we could. There was a monster eating through our city. But when it was all over, ‘Hey we’ve gotta hand our stuff over and go back to living like normal!’. Fuckin’ nuts.”

Getting to the elevator, he slapped the button and waited for the machine to make its descent to the ground floor they stood on. Edict’s eyes were slightly narrow, in the same way a cat in contentedness does, scrunched up ever so slightly in the bridge of the nose with a smile pulled up just so around the mouth. He absolutely reeked of booze; something that’d have to be cleaned out of the back of the seat later.
”But, as far as that night? I think I remember people eating out of your hand quite literally… You, aaaand Tayla, and… I believe I brought Brit? And Leon’s oldest sister, on the rare night she made it out. Sully, Kali, my cousin Dio. I think Drake might have shown up with Jade? Pretty sure he was the one who ratted me out to the girls on top, but I never wanted to start a beef with that guy. Liable to do something crazy.” he laughed to himself.

”Heh, you're right, they were. What can I say, I was always this hot," Linqian smirked, leaning against the wall next to the elevator. Her cigarette was raised back to her lips, taking a shorter drag and tilting her head to the side to blow it away. The smell of the smoke helped cover up the pungent odour of alcohol coming from Greyson just slightly… though honestly, neither particularly bothered her. She didn’t bother commenting on the artefact theft stuff - she hadn’t had many thoughts either way back then, and still didn’t. Frankly, she didn’t care whether Greyson had taken them or not. None had been hers. Of course Jinhai had been one of the most vocal about kicking him out… But whether he truly believed it was him or if he just saw it as an excuse to get rid of Greyson, Linqian wasn’t sure.

”Yup, that was the group, Drake and Jade included. He might've ratted you out… But it also could’ve been my fault.” It was ten years ago, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. She furrowed her brow for just a moment as she tried to remember what had happened after that night. Ah, she remembered now. ”Oh yeah, probably me… not actually ratting you out, fuck no. Just couldn't exactly hide it from Jinhai when we lived together, and he was pissed.Pretty sure he threatened to tell Ashley… He could be a right fucking asshole, I swear.”

She shrugged, lips tugging back up into a smile. ”But Drake doesn’t seem to have changed there, with y’know,” she gestured to her very unbroken nose, ”Sloane. Bitch probably deserved it.”

The elevator gave a gentle notifying ping as its doors slid open. The inside was simple, wood panelled like it was made in the 70's, and had the essence of stale cigarettes practically baked into the old carpet.
“What?” Edict furrowed his brow. “What happened to Sloane? Drake wasn't even there…”

The gears turned vaguely as he began to piece two and two together. The brief glimpses he got of Sloane's face weren't out of the ordinary from a distant glance. A moment where they got close, however, was when she was chatting up that Fed at the church fire.
“Wait, don't be tellin’ me that Mr. Badditude actually hit that woman? Shit, what would Jade think?”

The elevator bobbed up and down slightly as they both stepped on. It was a quiet, well running machine at least, and as the doors closed, Greyson pulled his keyring from his pocket and slid one into a slot on the elevator's panel.
It had to be one of those fancy apartments where one doesn't have a “door” per se. Rather, the elevator leads directly into the unit, otherwise inaccessible due to the keyhole being built into this lift.

”Oh yeah, he did,” Linqian shrugged one shoulder, eyeing the keys… She’d been convinced this kind of apartment only existed in movies. Being rich sure must be nice. Though she supposed she had a house, even if it was an older build and with a mortgage she could barely afford. She watched the floor display as it started to tick up. ”I overheard Anya talking to Sloane about it… Dunno how or why, but he hit her yesterday. I’m sure if Jade was here, he wouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

Which would have been a shame, since Sloane deserved every punch she got. ”It was before you got there, but her face looked fucked. Probably why Drake wasn’t there.”
That was just a guess, but Drake was a better person than her - if she’d punched Sloane, she would’ve turned up the next day and bragged about it.

Greyson’s eyebrows nearly lifted off his head with how high they raised up. He stuck that little bit of ammunition into a magazine for future target shooting, but was quick to turn the vindication metre down before he ended up sounding like a petty baby again. Not that Linqian seemed to care about it at this moment, it was way more fun gossiping.
“Y’know it’s honestly more surprising he didn’t show up. If it was one of us guys, he’d have been there to brag.”

Before either of them knew, the telltale ding came as they reached the tenth floor. St. Portwell’s skyline was well regulated, and from Greyson’s understanding, the town ordinance council only let a few buildings get over ten stories. The doors slid open to reveal a nice open floor plan: Immediately on entry, one is met by large windows that look out across some of the smaller buildings and out toward the harbour. There were no blinds or anything, the darkness of the windows indicating that the tint was more than sufficient. Otherwise, the place was fairly scarce on furniture; turning left meant turning into the living room and kitchen. There were no televisions anywhere in sight, though there was a sizable sound system and a whole wall full of records, CDs and other physical media. Otherwise, there was a couple of couches, one being a sectional that had the roman style end cap, and a glass coffee table between them.

The kitchen was well lit by a dozen dim ceiling fixtures, providing gentle but consistent light that illuminated the warm wood of the cabinets and bounced off the stainless steel appliances. The whole apartment had hardwood floors and tucked away light fixtures, so there was almost nowhere where bulbs had direct access to one’s eyes.

“Casa Devola. Hungry? Want another drink?” he offered, waving his hands about. ”Feel free to explore, get comfy. I’m just gonna change out of these clothes and wash my hair. Unless you want me smelling like a bar room the whole time.”

Linqian glanced around the place with eyes filled with interest. It was far fancier than anywhere she’d ever stayed, and practically had as much space as her own house, but it lacked a… home feeling to her. Well, it wasn’t like she was here for that. She tilted her head towards Greyson with a smile. ”Very nice. Another drink would be good, and-” she paused, about to say she didn’t need to eat but then realising she really did if she wanted to continue drinking without quickly getting very drunk. Which wasn’t quite her aim for now. ”Yeah, food. If you have anything in your kitchen I can handle that myself.”

She then wrinkled her nose, somewhat exaggerated because the smell wasn’t really that bad - if anything, she could smell the tear gas still clinging to her more. ”Please, I don’t want to be reminded of that bar anymore than I have to be. Though,” she then vaguely gestured to the couches, which looked expensive enough to her, ”not sure how you feel about tear gas getting on those. I might need to borrow some clothes.”

Greyson grinned a devious little smirk, taking a breath in and stepping closer to Linqian. He purposefully stuck his hands in his pockets, approaching her in a vaguely coy manner.
”Linqian… Are you asking me for clothing?”
He nodded his head directionally, having her turn around before leading her down the hall in the direction opposite the living and kitchen. As he walked past a doorway, he flicked a lightswitch, and the vent of a bathroom began to hum.

But he walked on past it, leading her into a sizable bedroom with a california king bed and some more sitting furniture along with dressers and the expected bedroom furnishings. He made way for the biggest dresser, pulling open one of the bottom drawers revealed a plethora of women’s clothes. Everything from club dresses to evening gowns, even undergarments still packaged and sealed.
”It’s been a while since I’ve been back here, but I had it stocked up before I got back. Just in case, y’know? Take what you want, use the bathroom out in the hall.”

He was already taking his shirt off, tossing it and the undershirt into a nearby hamper. His arm flicked a lightswitch, and the ensuite bathroom that was more “his” lit up from around a corner. Linqian could get a good look at the physique he kept mostly hidden; he had that kind of Bruce Lee body going on, where the muscle mass wasn’t bulky and grotesque, but rather tight and controlled. As his arms moved about, there was rippling movement beneath the skin as he not-so-purposefully flexed his own assets.

The fabled sunglasses, still missing a lens, got placed on the top of the dresser as Greyson smiled at Linqian. He even wiggled his eyebrows slightly before turning away from her to head into the bathroom. As he did, Linqian would have a perfect view of the massive back tattoo he had. Ominously, it was a large sycamore tree, and a countless number of axes were buried in its tall trunk.

Linqian was rendered speechless by the whole drawer of women’s clothes, so shocked that she was almost completely thrown out of the mood that had started building when Greyson had gotten closer to her. Just in case? How many women was he having over that needed a change of clothes to stock up like this? Not that she could judge, but she didn’t have a drawer full of clothes for-

Then she noticed that Greyson had taken his shirt off, and all thoughts of how weird it was were thrown to the wind. He looked good. She was incredibly open about her looking, eyes scanning across his chest and down towards his abdominal muscles. Her lips curved up into a suggestive smile. There certainly was plenty to look at, and he was clearly happy to show it off. Damn. Good decision going back to his place.

Or not? Her gaze stilled on the tattoo. Shit. Was this going to turn from a fun night to her own murder scene? Probably not, why would he go through so much effort when he could just have someone push her down a flight of stairs. Feeling a bit more confident in her safety, Linqian bluntly asked, ”what made you get that tattoo?”

Greyson, behind the wall of the bathroom, had a cold feeling rush across him. See, having a tattoo is a thing of vanity that can just disappear into the background noise of one’s life. The ones he could see were one thing: His grandmother’s rosary on his hand and arm, the lotus on his chest, the different religious iconography…
But the mural? He never saw it. And, for most girls, it had no context or bearing. He never had to worry. But here was someone who knew… He only hoped she didn’t recognize what kind of tree it was.

”After I got blamed for being scum and all my ‘friends’ abandoned me, I was… Pretty upset. Young hothead I was, I got my feelings tattooed on me. Kind of ironic coming back here now to help, huh?”
No, it wasn’t ironic: It was poignant. He’d chop the fucking tree down and burn the remnants.
Greyson slipped back around the corner to look at her. ”Kinda makes me feel like a stupid jerk now that I think about it, but hey… I spent a lot of money on it, so now I guess it can be a reminder about how childish we can all be.” he shrugged.

Linqian had a sightline from her position into the bathroom, where a mirror was shining a bright clear picture of Greyson’s bare ass. How could one fear a man with so little to hide?

”Righhhht... Yeah, pretty ironic.” Linqian wasn’t quite sure how to process that. Of course he would have been upset at being kicked out for doing something he possibly didn’t do, but getting it tattooed was a whole process. You had to cough up a shit ton of money and sit through hours for that. She’d backed out of getting one herself a few years back. Her expression didn’t change much as she thought about it, lips slightly parted and eyes narrowed in thought. ”Aside from the murderous implication, it looks good.”

So did his ass. Damn. Linqian stared at the clear reflection for a few moments, before realising she should also get changed. She wasn’t too worried about the tattoo now, and honestly didn’t want to dwell on it. The rest of his body, though? Oh, she’d keep thinking about that.

Linqian turned back to the drawer, rummaging through it for something that seemed her size. Eventually she settled for a relatively simple black dress, low cut but with a loose enough skirt she didn’t have to worry about it perfectly flattering her figure. She was reluctant to leave with the sight she currently had - but she was sure she’d see plenty more later. With a slight smirk, Linqian went to the bathroom he’d directed her to.

Thankfully there was a shower in there, so she could get rid of all the tear gas stuck to her. Her hair would have to wait for whenever she got home, since doing it without proper products would just result in it being incredibly frizzy and it would take ages to do anyway. She leaned forward and pulled her hair up into a messy bun, before quickly stripping off and stepping into the shower. It was nice to get all of the grime off her skin, the burning sensation fading with it. With a sigh of relief she shut off the shower, and stepped out.

Shit. She hadn’t thought to ask for a towel, used to her own bathroom with everything already in it. The only one in here was a hand towel which… she could use, but it would take ages. Linqian moved to the bathroom door, opening it a bit and sticking her head out. Most of her was hidden behind the door, with only her face and slender shoulders visible - but it was more than enough to make it very clear she didn’t have any clothes on. She raised her voice enough to hopefully be heard from the other bathroom. ”Hey, Greyson, can I have a towel?”

Greyson was whistling, dancing to himself as the steamy water poured over him. Taking a shower together would’ve been nice, but he wasn’t going to push his luck after she mentioned his tattoo’s implications. He often wondered how people could work so easily against their own gut feelings, wooing themselves into false security as if he couldn’t blow her away that evening.
But. there they were! She was in his apartment after he’d made himself the ass of the town, and the only thing that would ruin his night (maybe) was if she got to him first! Not like if she poked around the house she couldn’t find a weapon; there were a dozen at least. Various calibres, all loaded and ready for the almost inevitable home invasion.

Butt ass naked, Greyson heard Linqian calling from the other room. He quickly washed the soap out of his eyes and made for a towel that he wrapped around his waist. Having been under the water, he didn’t catch the finer details of the yelling, instead poking the door open a bit to ask her what she wanted.
He quickly found out it was, in fact, a towel. Keeping the bathroom door mostly closed, he pulled the one from around his own waist off and slipped it through the door. It was big and fluffy, and not wet enough that it’d make much of a difference to someone who was already soaked.

”I can come and dry you off too!” he offered through the crack in the door with a joking tone in his voice.

”Oh, how sexy,” Linqian laughed, taking the towel and wrapping it around herself. It was very tempting to fasttrack the evening, but she wasn’t in a rush. If she made him wait, the pay off would be that much nicer. It wasn’t as fun to just jump right to it. ”Tempting as that is, I need some food before I’m trapped in a bathroom for the rest of the night.”

She didn’t bother to properly close the door - if he got a peek, he got a peek - before drying herself off. Since she hadn’t washed her hair it didn’t take too long, and she pulled on the black dress she’d borrowed. It was a bit shorter than she’d expected, because she’d misjudged the sizing, but it just about covered everything it had to. Not that it necessarily had to. Now dressed, she bent down and felt through her coat pockets, pulling out a small pouch. It had all the essentials she needed if her makeup was ruined - which it had been by the teargas. She reapplied concealer to the areas with the worst damage, and redid her soft red lipstick too. Of course, Greyson had already seen her post tear gassing, but that was beside the point. She needed to look good now.

Pleased enough, Linqian bundled up her discarded clothes in her jacket, and made her way back to the living room.

Greyson had the chance to peek as much as someone trying their hardest to not be themselves could have. A casual onceover, the opposite of the slow building volcano he felt pushing magma up toward his throat. He managed to keep his friend in check and headed back to his room, pulling the clothes drawer open to check exactly what she took.
Little black dress, for a nice evening. He smiled, thinking about actually enjoying a glass of wine instead of having a bottle of booze poured on him.

So he was back in the shower for another minute as he made sure there weren’t any more sticky alcohol stains left on him. Then, out and immediately patted down with another towel before applying some cocoa butter and a little bit of cologne. He walked back out into his room without the cover of a towel, unable to help but figure that if she was there to see it, she was expecting to.
But it was quiet; a good thing probably. He made way for the nightstand next to his normal side of the bed and popped the drawer open, sighing in relief at the black sealed packs shining in the low light. Then, getting re-dressed was a simple ordeal.

Boxers, black slacks with the brown house shoes, a fresh tank top and something nice and silky with sleeves that came in the form of a dark blue collared shirt that he didn’t bother getting a tie to go with. Rather, he left it with an extra button open, and he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows before cinching them off in the fashion his father taught him. Suspenders clipped onto his belt, and he admired himself in the mirror as he pulled them up and swept his hand back through his hair.

Amazingly he took longer than she did, but he took the time to pop the painting in the hallway open and grab a nice bottle of wine for dinner from the unit hidden in the wall. He gave a quick glance down the hall to see if she’d see, and quickly closed it back down once he had the bottle in question.
”So, I can call someone? They’ll be here in ten minutes, cook us anything we want? Or, are we gonna have a nice cooking date?” he asked, holding up the bottle and making way to a cabinet for a couple glasses to bring down.

”Ah, the perks of being rich.” Linqian had made herself comfortable on one of the couches while waiting, leaning to the side against the armrest with her legs bent up beside her. Her phone was in her hand as she boredly checked it. There was a text from her brother with his flight details, which she gave a perfunctory response to. She put it down with Greyson now in the room, pushing aside any thoughts about her regular, mundane life. He’d pulled a bottle of wine out of nowhere - his bedroom, perhaps? Didn’t matter. ”I’ll cook. It’s nicer to not have someone else intrude.”

She stood back up, stretching her arms above her as if they’d cramped up just from using her phone. The dress rode up as she did, revealing the top of her thighs for just a moment. She approached Greyson, leaning in close enough to catch a whiff of his cologne - it was nice, and not too overpowering. He’d put a lot of effort into how he looked, and looked just as attractive with his clothes back on as he had when they were off. She tilted her head back to look up at him with a smile. ”Do you know enough to help? If not, I can do it all. Name anything and I can probably make it just as well as they could, if there’s the ingredients.”

This was one thing she was very confident in. She rarely got the opportunity to cook more than simple meals nowadays, and simply couldn’t afford to. It would be nice to impress… And she’d simply ignore him calling it a date. Just the word had her chest constricting slightly. But this was just casual. She was able to suppress the impending panic by thinking that.

”Oh, I mean… Probably not good enough to keep up, but I can chop things or twist knobs. How about instead, while you work away, I give you a little massage? Purely for pleasure, no poking or prodding.”
The inclusion at the end was enough to tell that he didn’t mean a shoulder rub. Greyson casually went to the fridge, which he’d had stocked up with the things he liked and a bunch of other food that was probably going to get thrown away because he almost never ate at home or at a normal time.

But, regardless of that, he stared into the fridge full of things and couldn’t bring himself to make a decision.
What kind of dinner is sexy? Can’t ask her to get up on the table, that’d be too much. Fuck, why’s it always the easy things?
”I… I don’t know, honestly. I’m usually eating egg whites and cashews, I don’t ever have the time or the reasoning to figure food out.” he laughed to himself, finally pulling away to look at her.

”I mean the place is packed, like I’ve only been here a couple nights. I had the grocer service stock it up before I got here, but I haven’t even looked. Why don’t we surprise each other? he offered, the suggestion a little vague as to what he’d surprise her with.

”Alright, alright, I’ll surprise you,” Linqian waved him out of the way so she could look in the fridge, slipping in in front of him. She tried not to feel too jealous about the sheer amount of food in there… What a waste, honestly. Even if Greyson cooked a full three meals a day he’d have to throw some of this out. Maybe she could take some on the way out… She put that thought aside for later. A surprise, sure. She’d just go for something simple and nice, because she was hungry and wanted to show off a little but not to the point of spending ages cooking. There were better things to be getting to that the food would fuel.

And what the fuck was he going to surprise her with? A strip tease while she cooked?

”I’m not so sure about the ‘massage’,” she said as she reached into the fridge. She pulled out salmon, spinach, mushrooms, and some asparagus. A simple pasta dish seemed safest… and most of this would help with other things. She moved back out from in front of the fridge, closing it and beginning to search through his cupboards for everything else she needed. With all of that gathered, she pulled out a chopping board and the sharpest knife she could find. She then turned to Greyson, brandishing the knife and lips pulled up into a teasing smile. ”How do I know you won’t try to do what you did back in the bar?”

Linqian had let him into her mind once, and it had helped. But that didn’t mean she trusted him - she could come back to his place, she could want to sleep with him, but she didn’t trust him. With what had happened at the bar, she was once again wary of opening up that door to him. ”I know once you’re in you can do whatever you want.” As she said this she turned back around, no longer brandishing the knife quite so threateningly and preparing to cut up the mushrooms with it instead.

Greyson smiled at her as she brandished the knife, biting his lip slightly as she drove the point home. The first thing he thought of saying was definitely never the right thing to say, so he let the moment linger on, his hand reaching out gently to brush across her arm while she washed and chopped mushrooms.

Pulling away, he made his way toward the living room section, flipping through different CD cases until he found something he knew she’d recognize. It had never been his type of music, but with memories so tightly locked in his mind, music was a good way to induce Recollections.

The disk slid into the stereo, and he skipped ahead a few songs.

It was that night again. He wasn’t even sure if he’d started dating Britney yet, but Linqian had always been around. Just a cool girl looking for a good time, always trying to get rid of the bullshit that seemed to swirl up around her. He’d always tried to find himself, who he was and who he wanted to be in everyone’s eyes; but frankly she could never have given a flying fuck.

That’s not a bad thing. It’ll hurt less in the end.

The balmy summer night, another rain storm passing over the rocky coast. The Lighthouse Pier crew; it wasn’t ever his scene, but having freshly joined the Coven, he was looking to get to know people. See what the score was. He hadn’t found too many people to connect with in those days; it was never an easy thing when you’re a little psychopath with manipulative tendencies.
But she was never pushy. He learned quickly that as long as you didn’t bark up the wrong tree, you’d stay out of the gunline. It made him think for a while that something was there that never was.

The case of the CD was poorly written in sharpie marker.
“Summer Mix - Ɛ⇂0ᄅ”
The year was blurry, smudged out…
No. You made yourself forget. A lot.

Seeing the hazard made him feel a little sick, knowing that no matter how hard he’d try, he gave those years up to the ether. It was only recollections now, and the feelings after it. When everyone tried to be normal. Greyson flicked a few switches on the stereo system, setting it up to swap to a different disk in the deck after finishing the song, then gave a final smile to the plastic package before letting it touch down on the table.

He finally returned to Linqian, playfulness in his smile.
”The night we first met and talked, this was playing. I actually scarpered this CD and like a box of twenty others from Lindsey Yvette, so I’m pretty sure this is quite literally the disk that was playing that night. You remember you stood up for me? When a few of those other prisses weren’t gonna let me stick around?”

Linqian recognised the song a few beats in, eyebrows raising in shock. It had been a long time since she'd heard it… way back when the coven was just starting up, the early days before Bianca had even joined and while most of them were still alive. They'd just been reckless teens trying to find their way in a suddenly changing world, and hanging out like teens did. She'd been there since day one, so she'd known most of the group - but Greyson had been new and interesting. She gently nodded along to the music as she heated up oil in a pan, a few curls falling out of the loose bun she'd left her hair in.

”No wonder the music quality suddenly went down at the parties,” Linqian laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly. It was more of a genuine smile than any she'd had recently - between the good memories and being in her comfort zone cooking, she felt pretty good. ”Oh yeah, some of them had sticks so far up their ass it was hard to find them… Wasn't it Drake and Amanda and that?”

She rolled her eyes, throwing two salmon fillets on the hot pan. She then went back to the fridge, making sure to brush past Greyson as she did, to get some milk and butter. She grabbed another pan and started making a basic white sauce. ”They'd hardly even talked to you- fuck, I still remember how pissed I got then. We were having a nice conversation but then you said something they didn't like, because of course they never said anything wrong, and got all pissy about you being there. Didn't Drake physically try to kick you out? I threatened to shove my burning hot knee in his crotch and he backed down real quickly.”

The vegetables were put in the pan with the sauce, the salmon flipped, and the pasta cooking too. With everything cooking, she could step back and relax a bit. She moved closer to Greyson, leaning into his personal space without quite touching him. She smiled coquettishly up at him. ”I don't think you ever thanked me for it.”

In the height difference, Greyson loomed slightly. Standing behind Linqian, he smiled a toothy grin while she leaned back. He let his neck slink forward slowly, gently, until they were closer than they ever needed to be. Even his breath smelled good. His eyes stared into hers as he spoke.
”Oh, gosh… You knew just where I was going. How about I get to it?” he cooed, letting his face slowly careen toward her own at glacial speed. He never knew when to go in for the kiss; it was always easier to disclude it and just get straight to things, but he just couldn’t help himself.

”Mm, sounds good.” Linqian didn't actually wait for Greyson to close the distance, instead doing it herself. She tilted her head up and forward, pressing her lips against his. It wasn't a chaste kiss by any means (she didn't do those), her lips immediately parting and tongue poking out from between them. She properly leaned back into him, body pressing against his.

Greyson was happy to lean back down into it, hands slowly tracing down her midriff to rest on her hips as he let it go a while. He managed to get lost in the moment; the sensation of physical touch and the surrounding scent of good food circling around her. He was mindful of his hands, not gripping or groping like an animal, but gently running his fingers up and down her legs.
Finally, he pulled away and stared down at her, his forehead gently pressing against hers.

”Thank you, Linqian… For always giving this piece of shit a chance.”
He let his hands trail back up, moving a pan on the stove off the heat so it didn’t burn.

Linqian hummed softly, suppressing a light shiver at the feeling of his hands trailing up and down her bare legs. She wanted to kiss him again, to feel his hands all over her, but she could feel the telltale pangs in her stomach that meant she couldn’t just skip eating and continue. The following dizzy spells would be much more annoying than a break now.

”Well, someone has to,” Linqian teased. She was a bit confused about why he was thanking her - for a start, she was pretty shitty herself. She’d followed him back to his place purely for another drink and in the hopes of sleeping with him, because he was attractive and his company was good enough. It wasn’t like she’d agreed to date him or anything. He wasn’t the sort that thought you couldn’t casually make out with someone, was he? No way. This is Greyson we’re talking about.

”Let’s eat before my efforts go to waste… We can continue after.” She couldn’t resist leaning in for another quick kiss, because fuck she enjoyed kissing, before forcing herself to pull back.

Linqian turned back to the stove, giving the sauce a quick test and making sure the pasta was done. The salmon that Greyson had thankfully taken off before it burnt was flaked, and mixed through the sauce and vegetables along with the pasta. She shifted away from him to find some plates, before serving up the food. She automatically made one serving larger than the other - a habit from always prioritising her brothers. Ah, well. Greyson was larger than her anyway. She turned back to him with a smile. ”Voila, all done.”

There was a table and a set of chairs, and as Linqian presented the dishes, Greyson led her over and pulled one of them out for her to sit down. The wine was already sitting there, and before he sat himself, the gentlemanly Greyson went and procured cutlery and napkins from the kitchen drawers. He set them out for Linqian, then sat down to refill his glass. The date was just as blurry as the one on the mixtape…

Looking at the beautiful spread of food made him thankful she was around. Again, not many chances for home cooked meals these days; so whatever he could take he would. His eyes traced across the beautiful flesh of the cooked fish, the light but sticky sauce that covered the noodles, the smells of it.

He was compelled to raise his glass.
”To you. Thank you for a wonderful night, and may we be exhausted enough to sleep through tomorrow.” he smirked, clinking his glass off hers.

”Mm, I’m looking forward to getting good use out of your bed,” Linqian smiled suggestively, taking a sip of her wine. It was much nicer than what she was used to, which wasn’t particularly hard when she generally drank the cheapest wine she could find. The last nice bottle had been bought for Jinhai passing his exams… And that had gone to waste. Ah well, she got to taste some now. ”Ah, I do have work tomorrow at eleven… or twelve if I’m pushing it. I'm also meeting Bianca in the afternoon, so I may need a couple of hours’ sleep to deal with that… but just a couple will do.”

She shrugged before beginning to eat, carefully so not to accidentally get any on the dress she’d borrowed. To her the meal itself was relatively simple, the kind she could easily whip up on a busy day - but the ingredients themselves were much higher quality than she was used to. It was pretty good. She glanced at Greyson as she ate - more nervous than she wanted to admit that the food might not be up to his standards. "I suppose I can take the morning shift off if I have a good enough excuse.”

Greyson ate just fine. In fact, he was thrilled by the flavour of the food and couldn’t help but dig in a little greedily. It was easy to notice that he spent far more time chewing than he probably needed to, which evened out the rather large mouthfuls of food he’d shove in with little delicacy. He laughed to himself, letting a gulp of wine chase the mashed amalgam into his gut before wiping his mouth with a napkin.

”Fuck a job-” he laughed, throwing the napkin down to the side and picking his fork back up. ”-if we’re both still around by the time this is over, jump ship. Come run the tobacco distribution for me. Make yourself a rich woman.”
Edict’s grubby hands spread motivation like gems on the floor of a trap. For no real discernible reason besides the pleasure of being able to do so.

Get the hopes up, envision a future, place them in it with prominence. Linqian wasn’t a sentimental woman by any means; Edict knew this. But, the chance to have a stable life? To regain purpose and usher in good times for her family? He figured she wasn’t gonna pass it up.
Greyson cleared his throat.
”Shit, we said no business. Well, can’t take it back; if you’re interested we’ll talk about it tomorrow. For now,-” he said, pointing his fork at the plate. His other hand gesticulated vaguely toward it. ”-this is delicious. I mean, rustic, flavorful, beautifully presented? I’m probably talking it up to you, but half the time my diet is cigarettes and coffee. I don’t get much good food like this.” he finished, punctuating with another large bite of food and a close-mouthed smile as he chewed away.

Linqian raised an eyebrow. The offer was incredibly tempting - though one with strings, she was sure. But at the end of the day she couldn't actually afford to be fussy. She didn't even want to be rich. Just stable enough to give her brother a better life than her, and maybe be able to think about her own future that she'd put on hold for most of her life. Edict had already given her a lot of money for very little work. She wasn't stupid enough to agree to anything today or even tomorrow, but what was the harm in agreeing to discuss it?

”Yeah, let's talk about it tomorrow,” Linqian agreed, without appearing to feel one way or another about it. Aside from her extremes in temper, she was much better at hiding her feelings nowadays - years in service had seen to that. Though she couldn't hide the genuine smile at Greyson's compliments about the food, and the way he was clearly enjoying it as he ate. ”It's nice to actually hear good things about my food. All I hear from my brother's is 'can I have more' and 'why did you put something I don't like in it.' Never any appreciation.”
She smiled, tone half joking - but only half. Her younger brother did tell her he liked and missed her cooking, but was just as demanding about it. It was taken for granted in her home.

”But-” she raised her fork and pointed at him with it. Her own food was practically done, having given herself less and perfected the quick but neat eating method. ”That shit isn't healthy. Who's going to pay me if you die from not eating- I mean, I'll miss your wonderful company.”

”Oh, you’ll miss a lot more than the company in a little while.”
Greyson raised his eyebrows at her in a playful manner, taking another sip from his glass. His fork dug into the flesh of the fish and split it apart in a beautiful line, and he dragged it through the pasta’s sauce to lap it up.
”My Dad taught me how they eat pasta in the Motherland, with the uh… The spoon and the twirling. Finesse, it’s like everything they do over there has to be a little extra. But my Mama, she taught me how to eat. When I finally got her a place down in the Islands, I met my cousins and shit, they eat all kinds of just off the plate delicious shit.”

He paused for a moment, thinking about the difference between the two, the love that was never meant to be. He had to stop himself from biting his cheek as old feelings welled up, and he crammed a fork full of pasta in his mouth to chew on instead. He shook his head with a smile, swallowing a bigger bite than he really wanted to.
”This is… It’s a good balance. Makes me feel like I’m at home. I mean, here. It screams St. Portwell, I mean the fish, the mushrooms. It's all local, I mean honestly to me this is restaurant quality.”

"Yeah, I never got the spoon and twirling thing… maybe because I'm more used to chopsticks than a fork,” Linqian laughed, before practically beaming. She tried not to let the compliment go to her head but very much failed. Cooking was one of the few things she had genuine talent in and enjoyed enough to develop. This wasn't even an overly complicated meal… she wondered how he'd react to a more intricate one. Wait, no. That would imply this would happen again. She finished over the last few bits on her plate, and moved onto just sipping wine, hiding her smile behind the glass and eyeing Greyson over it. ”It is pretty homely, in the St Portwell way. I missed the fish here, if nothing else… You know, I did consider culinary school for a while. When I was failing highschool and my parents were still around.”

She shrugged. Unlikely to happen. She pressed the wine glass to her lips, parting them slightly and taking a long, slow drink. Wine glass still in hand she leaned forward, lips curving into a more seductive smile. ”I'm glad I was able to cook for you. I enjoy being appreciated.”

Greyson let her words linger as he admired her smile, her lips, the way she held the glass, and for a second he was lost in it. All he could do was grin back, licking his lips and finishing the glass. His plate was empty, you’d think a person came with a scrub brush it was so clean.
Wiping his face one last time, he pushed back on the chair and stood up to lean over the table. He had his hand outstretched to her.
”Let me appreciate you better up close.”

And the darker night still descended on St. Portwell. Another long and cold Autumn frost gripped the city. However, shining dimly in the distance, sirens and smoke. One of the oldest establishments in the Harbor was ablaze with the light of flames.
Between it all, Greyson Devola watched a piece of history burn, and it transfixed him more than any pleasure of the flesh had ever done.

_{In collaboration with @Punished GN, @Blizz, @AtomicEmperor}

---

---

---

---

After consuming the cursed dessert in full, Layla found herself adrift in a dreamless sleep. An unknown amount of time passed before, slowly, a twitch. Then, a flutter of her eyes. She blinked sleepily, taking in her surroundings.

She recognized where she was. Her gifted Temple suite, wrapped in the soft blankets of her bed. She blinked again, blearily sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

Clarissa had kept a close watch on the girl ever since they made it back to the dormitories. She rarely partook in the post sealing rituals, any of the actual eating of Sacred Meals, it wasn’t her fancy.

Layla paused, took a sharp inhale, before her hand shot out, palm open and waiting expectantly.

“Where is the object you've sealed Void in? Give it to me… please.”

For Clarissa, this was always the hardest part. Those who expected something like this, or maybe were told… Lied to, even in the last moment.

”My my… You are brave. Very brave, Sweetheart. You’ll miss him, Layla, I know you will. I was just like you once.-”

Clarissa’s face was sullen, and she shook her head.

”Now, you look at me. And you get out what you need to get out, and you put it on me… Because there’s nothing left to give you, Sweetheart. Where he’s gone, the kind of Sealing that he’s gone through? There’s nothing left, Layla. Not here.”

She braced for pain, violence, magic; whatever could happen next, it was now her cross to bear for the good of the girl’s life. She had to bring her back to reality.

Layla blinked, failing to understand as she stared up at Clarissa. Nothing… Nothing left? What do you mean?”

”We will not be seeing him again, Layla.” Stormy wasn’t particularly upset about this fact, seeing the damage he could do to a person if let loose. But he tried to be considerate of how Layla felt.

Layla's innocent eyes turned to Stormy, watching his large figure loom over her. He was a comfort. He was supposed to be a comfort.

So why did she feel so cold right now?

“But… B-but that's not how sealings work. There's… there's always something to h-hold onto…” Layla stammered, her hands clenching the blanket as she furrowed her brows at Stormy. He wasn't making any sense!

Britney was leaned up against a wall, facing the opposite of this cold dark room as she held the Noble Vow in one hand. She sighed.

”I guess I owe you an apology, first and foremost,” Britney started, ”I didn’t mean to trap you like that, but we couldn’t let Voidy run amok.”

Layla bit her lip, “Issfine.” She muttered automatically.

Britney was quiet for a few moments as she looked at Layla head-on. ”Whatever he told you to get you so sprung… he was only using you like he was Alizee.”

Britney sighed again.

”Alizee died the second he adjoined to her.”

Layla's brows furrowed deeper. ”Don't talk about him like that. Just… just give me what you've sealed him in. Please.”

Stormy stayed by the doorway, observing how everyone behaved. ”You weren’t there as often as the rest of us were, but I can remember how desperate that hunger made her. I don’t know how to make it easier for you to move on, but we didn’t have a choice. It was this, or let you get yourself killed.”

Layla blinked a couple times at Stormy, staring at him a bit incredulously. “Why… why are you… talking, acting like this.”

Her head turned. “All of you. You're acting like… like he's-”

Her eyes widened, and the color drained from her face.

There's nothing left.
Where he's gone.
We didn't have a choice.

Adrenaline shot cold like an ice spike through her nerves. She could feel it, even as she snapped up from her bed. The yawning emptiness. She couldn't make a phantom hand. There was nothing except coldness in her.

Without realizing it, her own physical hands slammed against Clarissa’s chest, pulling tight on her collar, pulling her down to look into Layla's panicked, icy eyes.

“Where. Is. He…? What. Have you. Done?!” Her voice was sharp, hissing, not leaving any room for beating around the bush. Not anymore.

Clarissa let the girl's hands grip into her shirt collar, ready to take whatever pain came next.
”Minced and shaped Void Heart. Void flesh croquettes. Served with verdant chimichurri and minestrone soup.”
Her voice held for a long moment, staring into the girl's eyes with a look so serious you'd think someone died.

Someone did die.
”Dinner ended an hour ago. There is no more. No more Void Heart. As far as where the essence is, I'd say somewhere between Andrade's blade and everyone's stomachs.”

The hands holding Clarissa trembled as Layla's panic quickly turned to rage and disgust.

“You… ATE him? You fucking ate V-v-v…”

Layla's hands loosened on Clarissa's shirt enough for her to lower her head to the side, and throw up the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Half-digested blueberry yogurt.

A hand was placed on Layla’s shoulder, as Britney looked her dead in the eye and said, ”Which means,” She narrowed her eyes as she said, ”It’s over. Getting angry will change nothing.”

Britney sighed.

”... How about we get out of here? Maybe we can hang out. What are some things you like to do, Layla?”

Layla stood there, trembling, before she wiped her mouth clean, dry retched once more, before covering her mouth with a hand and turning away from Britney and Clarissa.

“I think… I think I want to go home.” Was all she could mumble.

The girl’s reaction was all Clarissa needed. She nodded, stood, then stepped back with a hand that extended toward the doorknob and pulled it open. It was a quiet walk down the stairs and out into the parking lot where, rather than stop Layla herself, she stopped Britney.
”Brit, please… I know that the last person she’s gonna want to hear from is us, but,-” she paused, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a card. Examining it revealed it certainly wasn’t her card.

Weyland Rhodes, L.P.C.C. Adlebranch Practices
108 East Halifax Avenue, St. Portwell, Oregon 97303 808-324-6166
“Life’s journey shouldn’t be led alone.” W.Rhodes@ABPractices.com

”-this is our therapist. Trust me, we need a good one around here. Please, just make sure this stays with her, please? Maybe she’ll never talk to us again, but Weyland and his team specialize in this… They can really help her.”
Clarissa’s face was getting a bit flushed; tears were developing around the corners of her eyes. She didn’t want to think about her baby girl, and she was doing her best to avoid projecting that sort of energy, but the veneer was starting to crack.

Britney stared at the girl for a moment before she calmly took the card - placed it in her bra, and said, ”I’ll make sure this finds itself to her and she’ll get the help she needs.” She nodded her head. ”But, please, we want to leave..”

Clarissa waved them on, knowing she’d probably never hear from them again; and get blamed for the girl’s problems as a consequence. It’d happened before like this. One simply had to steel their heart to it.
A car came around, and in the front seat was a strange face that didn’t look to have any relation to them. On the car’s side was “Oakridge Cab Co.”.
”It’s all paid up. Get to where you need to go. Goodnight, Brothers and Sisters.”

She stood waiting for their departure, not willing to let them go without her vigil.

It was as if the colors rearranged themselves for the briefest moment as Layla glanced back at Clarissa. It was as if the background faded, her features dimmed to black, and two haunting red eyes stared out with piercing coldness.

And with a blink, any semblance disappeared. A trick of the eyes. Layla scooted into the back of the cab, waited for Britney, and mumbled out her address to the cab driver.

And just like that, they were off.

---

---

---

---

---

---

Dried out, red eyes stared blankly at the clock. The seconds ticked over to exact midnight, and the clock gave a soft chime.

Chime. Chime. Chime.

Scratching on the walls. Scuttling along the halls. Shadows twisting and turning. Layla could feel it. Like an itch that had to be stabbed to be finished. Her curse had come back in full force.

And she would be facing it alone.

Lip trembling, Layla bowed her head, and waited. One breath. Two breaths. Three. Then, she felt a gloved hand on her chin, coaxing her eyes up.

“Dearie, you look dreadful.”

Red eyes, devoid of humanity, stared down at her. The center figure wore a black mask, the one on the right had a glowing red smile, and the one on the left sneered, face a pasty, stitched white.

The center figure spoke again, his voice a deep croon. “Did you miss us?”

The one with a red smile snapped sharply at the taller one. “Why do you play with it? Let's take what we came here for, now that it is gone.”

Layla knew what the red smiling one, Bahlok, referred to. The late Void Heart… Instinctively, her face scrunched up, her exhaustion giving way to silent, cold tears welling up.

“Just kill me.” Came the small whisper.

All three apparitions turned and stared down at her in confusion.

“Come again?” Chirped the smallest of the three with the white face, Bahlaas.

“Just kill me already!” Layla snapped, her cracked voice pitched in fervor. “I have nothing to live for, and no desire to be in this world. So take what you want and let me die.”

A long pause. Then the black masked figure, Kipnu, gave a dark chuckle.

“This is sweet. She wants to join her companion.”

Layla glared angrily. “Don't say a word about him!”

That elicited another sickly jovial chortle from the apparitions. Kipnu shrugged. “Like we care. Now, we came here for a very special reaso-”

Layla stuck her arms out, revealing skin marred with bite scars. “Take, and end me. I don't want to live anymore.”

Kipnu chortled. “Silly girl, you think we care if you want to live or die? We decide your fate, not you. And we want your blood.”

“Then take it! I don't care! Just…”

There was a pause. Kipnu glanced at the other apparitions before narrowing an inquisitive stare at Layla.

“Just what?”

“If you won't kill me… I'll kill myself. But to disappear peacefully isn't what I want. I need… revenge.”

A snicker.

“We're not helping you.”

“I'll give you what you want. As many teacup sacrifices as you can handle.”

A shake of the head. “Nah, dearie. Not for you to think you can command us around. No way.”

“But I'll be giving you a steady supply of food to toy with. You like that crap, don't you?”

“Eh, helping you with a murdering rampage? I dunno, I prefer sipping on you and watching you cower in fear.”

“I have another way to convince you.”

Layla pulled out the knife and pressed the tip to her throat in one fell swoop. She glared up at them, daring for them to move.

“What's this, dearie?”

“A promise. I can give you the Teacup sacrifice. Or, I can end your little ‘goldmine’ right here and now.”

“You wouldn't.”

“Watch me, asshole.”

Layla's eyes constricted, and she jabbed the knife a little harder, drawing a line of blood. She tried to increase the pressure, before a gloved hand grasped her wrist, stopping her. Kipnu leaned down towards her, staring at her through the mask.

“That's… that's enough. We'll help you, but only if you promise to give us your blood without a fuss, and humans to eat.”

Layla trembled there, before she nodded.

“Good. Now, be a good girl, and stay still.”

Kipnu pushed his mask to the side, revealing a faceless void with teeth, and he clamped down on Layla's neck as he drew the knife away further.

---

---

For the second day in a row, Linqian ended up in the Anchor Diner.

She could have chosen somewhere nicer, or just gone somewhere new. Hell, it could've been in her workplace. It was Bianca she was meeting, and they’d hung out at Andre’s bar with his kids plenty of time before. It would’ve been strange, but that was fine. It would make things less tight, too, seeing as she was here right before work.

Yet here she was, sipping a slightly overpriced diet coke while mindlessly swiping on a hookup app, feeling like shit. She wasn’t as badly hungover as she’d expected to be, but the combined with the lack of sleep and physical exhaustion made it feel like she was. She just wanted to crawl right back into bed and skip work completely. But she couldn’t. She’d already skipped out of the morning shift, citing police brutality leading to physical exhaustion… Both were true, but unconnected. Andre had grumbled about her poor work ethic but had covered for her anyway. She’d just need to ask for extra shifts next week to make up for the loss in money.

Or hopefully, get more from Edict after this. Exhausted as she was today, she didn’t regret last night. It had been very good… especially after what Evelynn had said, and what happened in the bar following. A fun night, and one she wouldn’t mind repeating if the opportunity arose. It had helped her completely forget about everything for a night.

Which she’d desperately needed.

"Heh, this sure does bring back memories."

Linqian looked up from her phone as Bianca slid into the booth opposite her. It practically matched up with her memories - a younger Bianca overlapping the older one, with her hair falling well past her shoulders and eyes shining with a joyful light Linqian had loved. The image only lasted moments before only the current Bianca was left, regarding Linqian with an aloof coolness.

"It's been a while, Linqian," Bianca smiled lightly. "I'm sorry about Jinhai."

"It's alright," Linqian shrugged - because what else could you say to condolences? Of course it wasn't alright, but people's sorrys wouldn't change that or bring him back. What else could she do, unload all her troubles? Maybe ten years ago, but now? Sadly not.

Bianca inclined her head, waving over a waiter and ordering a lemonade and some fries. The sleeve of her sweater slid down, revealing her wrist and the green nautical bracelet around it. Linqian's eyes narrowed. Memories played across her mind. Her and Bianca walking through Coastal Harbour Mall on a rainy day, hand in hand. They went from shop to shop, trying on ridiculous clothing and laughing over strange books. Then they’d come across a small shop, mostly selling sailing gear. Linqian had wanted to walk past but Bianca pulled her in. There, they’d bought each other subtly matching bracelets - Bianca’s green to Linqian’s red.

Linqian was surprised to see it... She'd considered throwing out her own right after they broke up, then in the years that followed, but never could. It was locked away in the depths of the drawers just like her feelings. But Bianca was the one to end things, why hadn't she thrown it out?

"You still have it," Linqian intoned quietly, indicating the nautical rope bracelet around Bianca's wrist.

"It's my channeller," Bianca shrugged.

"You need an emotional attachment to your-"

"An attachment doesn't mean there's still feelings," Bianca cut her off coolly. "It's important to me, but there's nothing more to it. Too much effort to move to another one."

Linqian couldn't argue with that. She didn't want to either. It would make her look like she was still hung up on her feelings for Bianca... Which she was, somewhat. But maybe that was just longing for the time she'd felt like she'd had somewhere she'd belonged, and had someone who loved her. Nothing had been as good since then. She didn't know. There was still that bundle of love deep down inside of her that she'd refused to deal with so she could move on. Maybe she'd always hoped, just a little bit, that she could bring those feelings back to the surface one day.

And that only made her resent Bianca more.

"Why did you want to see me?"

"I was back in town and..." Linqian frowned. She wanted information out of Bianca, with the promise of so much money from Edict for it, but maybe that was just an excuse to reconnect. She needed that reason to clamp down on the anger she still felt even after all these years... But it was primarily for the money. That was what she needed most right now. Definitely for the money. It was easier to tell herself that, rather than think about why she'd want to see Bianca again around all the resentment she'd held onto for years. "You reached out a couple of times before, but I wasn't in the place to respond."

"And you are now?" Bianca tilted her head, concern flashing across her eyes - before disappearing as if it had never been there in the first place. "Aren't things worse now? Honestly, I'm surprised you even turned up after yesterday-"

"Don't talk about that," Linqian cut her off, holding up a hand. Worst ex reunion ever. If the PRA raid last night hadn't confirmed that Bianca could be an information source then she wouldn't even be here. She hesitated, face twisting into various frustrated expressions before settling on a more neutral one. "I'm sorry. For what I said. I was coming down from a Greyson induced calm, then the tear gas, it all hit-" Linqian cut herself off, letting out an exasperated groan. "I didn't mean it."

"It's alright," Bianca laughed, lips twitching up into a genuine smile. "I know what you're like... Never thought I'd get an apology from you. Wow, imagine if I told everyone, they wouldn't believe me."

"I don't think any would be willing to talk to you," Linqian retorted.

"Fair," Bianca laughed, holding up her hands... Before frowning and going back to something else Linqian had said. "Wait, you let Devola inside your head?"

"There's a lot going on right now," Linqian shrugged. It was enough of an answer. It wasn't like she had to explain herself to Bianca - or anyone, anymore. She wasn't here for small talk, anyway, or even just catching up... As much as she wanted it to be that. She wanted it to be more- fuck, no. Here for the money. ”Anyway, you’re-”

“Hey, no,” Bianca interrupted, leaning forward with a slight smile. “You can’t just avoid talking about it. You seriously let Devola into your brain and, what, mind fuck your problems away?”

Linqian nearly spat out her drink. Fuck, that was a little too close to reality. Not so much mind fucking, but actual fucking? They’d done a lot of that last night. Guilt crept into her heart at the thought… but it wasn’t like she had anything to feel guilty over. She and Bianca broke up ten years ago. It was completely over. Just because she still had that twisted ball of feelings buried inside didn’t mean she should feel any guilt over a hookup, even if it was someone they both knew. It was completely ridiculous, but the feeling gnawed at her. ”No. He just got rid of some of my issues for a while… And why not? I’ve lost Jinhai and everything’s absolute shit right now, so I think I deserve a break for it. I just didn’t expect the crash to be so fucking bad.”

“Right,” Bianca raised an eyebrow, eyes flashing with a teasing light. “So you would’ve been delighted to see me if it weren’t for that?”

“... I might not’ve thrown a bible at you.” Linqian looked away. Yeah, she still would’ve been incredibly pissed to see Bianca, just perhaps less reckless. But it was much easier to blame it on Edict getting in her mind than admitting it was just her.

“Yeah, that was pretty reckless.” Bianca tapped her fingers on the table, seeming to be thinking about something. “Speaking of reckless… I can’t believe Devola burned down the church to try and get away. Well, I can, because if anyone needs to run it's him…”

”How did you know it was him?” Linqian narrowed her eyes.

“Apart from it being obvious that it’d be him? He played the whole thing in my mind. Must’ve been in a rush and projected it to everyone familiar… Which included me.”

Shit. Linqian’s jaw tensed, fingers going to play with the wedding rings she wore. They’d said they’d leave them alone, but what if they decided to come after him for burning down the church? Or report him to normal authorities? Sure, he could probably get out of it, but what if he didn’t? That was her main money source! She fucking needed him out of jail.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone.”

”I wasn’t worrying,” Linqian snapped. She thought she’d hidden it well. ”I couldn’t care less.”

“You haven’t changed much.” The corner of Bianca’s lips twitched up, and she gestured towards Linqian’s hands. “You’d always play with your ring when you were nervous.”

Linqian couldn’t deny that. Of course Bianca would know her tells… But why did she still remember it after ten years? Surely you’d naturally forget such small details, or choose to after an explosive breakup like there’s. She tried to suppress the hope flaring in her chest.

“Why are you worried about me telling my boss about Devola burning down the church? I know you were always friendly with him, but seriously, Linqian, why?”

”Because it’ll be a pain in the ass if he gets arrested.” Technically true, and she wasn’t going into anymore details. She was going to make sure to tell Edict to be more careful about who he projected information to. If the PRA had a former member in it, other groups could too.

“Hmm, sure,” Bianca raised an eyebrow. She clearly didn’t quite believe it, but she didn’t push. There was a hint of concern in her gaze again, gone as soon as it appeared.

”Whatever,” Linqian rolled her eyes. "So you’re a fucking fed now? With the... What was it, PRA?"

"FBI," Bianca said, though it was a clear lie. Whatever. "Surprised? I always thought I fitted in with the sexy cop aesthetic."

"That isn't a thing," Linqian snorted. Sure, being handcuffed by Bianca and then- no. Absolutely not. She was not thinking about something like that. "Yeah, I am surprised. You were always so against the rules... Fuck, you fought Leon so much when he tried to force us all into line."

"I seem to remember you being the one fighting him while I boosted you."

"Same thing... He was basically the closest to a cop we had back then! Well. Maybe more like a club bouncer."

"People change," Bianca smiled. "Well, most do. Are you still working in bars?"

"Yeah. I'd hoped to finally change things up, since Jinhai had passed the bar exam... Course that was fucked up. It's not bad, shitty customers aside." Linqian rolled her eyes. "At least I ain't teargassing innocents."

"C'mon, you said you didn't want to talk about that."

"I don't," Linqian held up her hands. "It was fucking shitty. Your boss is a right bitch, you know. I thought I'd deal with all the shitty people I could in service, but she's another level."

"Hey, she's not that bad... When she's not pissed off." Bianca's lips twitched up into a teasing smile. "Just like someone else I know, who does all sorts of crazy shit when mad."

"I didn't taser a bunch of people when Jinhai died," Linqian rolled her eyes. Sure, she sometimes tried to burn people who pissed her off, but that wasn't the same scale. She could only do one person at a time, maybe two. There was no power abuse in that! "Damn, how often do you get to taser people? Like daily? How much magical crime even is there?"

"More than you'd think," Bianca laughed lightly. "But no, I don't tase people daily. I do paperwork daily."

"Oh, so there's more to being a magical cop than unnecessary violence? What're you even doing here... That was a big force for somewhere like St Portwell."

"I've worked here for years... And it's just like any other police force! We're always here, there isn't any special reason for it."

Sure. Of course there was always a large number of magical cops in St Portwell, ready to drop down on whatever coven pissed them off. Even if they were just here, they had to have a goal. Their boss had made it clear that she viewed the city as hers. Maybe they wanted to neutralise all the covens... Or reduce the magical population of St Portwell. Whatever feds enjoyed doing. They probably weren't 'just there.'

But how did she get that information out of Bianca? She hadn't tried very hard yet but... It wasn't like they had a close relationship anymore. This wasn't someone who'd tell her any of her secrets anymore. Maybe she could get her to slip up but... She wasn't sure how. Jinhai would've known how to do it. He would've masterfully manipulated her into telling him everything he needed to know without even realising she had.

But she wasn't Jinhai. And she wouldn't even be here if he was alive.

She'd just have to gain Bianca's trust again. This information wasn't her only source of income - there were other things she could find out for Edict. This could be taken slowly... It would have to be. If she jumped the gun she'd have no chance.

Especially when she already had to reign in her temper.

”Oh, so that boss of yours has been trying to run the city for years?”

“Oh, no, she-” Bianca paused when the waiter came back, putting down her fries and lemonade. She handed over enough to cover both her and Linqian’s orders before continuing. Linqian narrowed her eyes, but held her tongue about Bianca paying for her. Try to be nice. Keep calm. Don’t lose her temper. “She took over recently. With a new boss comes a bit of personnel change, most haven’t been here as long as me. But we’ve always been here.”

”Are you in every city?”

Bianca shrugged on shoulder. Alright, she didn’t want to answer that. Well, it wasn’t particularly important information anyway.

”Did your boss seriously only order an attack on us because Everleigh punched you and whatshisface was found dead?”

“Just about,” Bianca’s lips quirked upwards. “Look, the situation at Veni was a shitshow. Everleigh punching me just really pushed things over the edge. All I was doing was texting! You shouldn’t punch anyone for texting!”

”Maybe you’ve just got this extra punchable, definitely a cop look to you.”

“Oh yeah, the typical undercover cop at a seedy stripclub.”

“... Does that mean you were there before the gunfight?” Linqian narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. ”Did you get to see the strippers?”

“Of course. Why else would I be at a stripclub?”

”Fuck!” Linqian scowled. So Bianca got to see the strippers and drink, but all Linqian got was shot?! And then tear gassed and tased because Bianca had been there looking at strippers and Everleigh decided to start a fight with her? Shit wasn’t fair. ”We didn’t even get past the parking lot. I was hoping for a fun night filled with drinks and strippers, then I got shot.”

“That’s funny, cause so was I,” Bianca laughed, grabbing a fry and stuffing it in her mouth. She indicated for Linqian to help herself. “Do you know how hard it is for me to get a day off? And then I got beaten up and shot and ended up on duty… Fuck, worst day.”

”Tell me about it.” Linqian rolled her eyes.

They both looked at each other, before bursting out in laughter. Shit. In some ways, it felt like nothing had changed. They were back ten years ago when they’d moan and chat shit.

But everything had changed, and the realisation that she still liked Bianca’s company hurt. It would’ve been better if she’d become boring or awful. Then she could throw away the feelings and keep the hate, and seeing her would only be a job. Instead she couldn’t get rid of either of the feelings, and they tangled into an ugly mess inside her chest. Fuck.

“Here’s to us both getting to enjoy the strip club next time,” Bianca smiled, eyes gently creasing. She raised her lemonade towards Linqian.

”I better,” Linqian snorted, slightly raising her coke, before finishing it. Her phone lit up with a reminder, telling her she had to get to work in fifteen minutes. It was just down the road, but she needed to grab various things from her car first. It was better to be early than late when she’d basically already skipped her morning shift. With a sigh, she stood up. ”I have to go. Work calls.”

“Alright,” Bianca nodded, standing up too. She smiled - a seemingly genuine one that had Linqian’s heart fluttering. “It was nice to see you again. We should meet up again, when we’re both off.”

”I’d like that.” Linqian smiled slightly in return, pushing down the feeling of guilt that crept up on her. There was no need to feel guilty about having ulterior motives for meeting her. Bianca had hurt her, no matter the lingering feelings she had and the comfort in her company. She was only able to get over the seething resentment because of the promise of money she wouldn’t even get after this meeting. ”Well, see you another time.”

Linqian turned around and walked away, shoving down all the feelings the meeting had brought up. She hadn’t gotten any information out of it, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly better coming out of it.

---

---

It had been a long day.

Linqian was the only one closing at the bar - the other person working till late had left half an hour earlier. She couldn't really complain (well she could) since she was the one who'd called out of work last minute the day before. Thankfully, there'd only been a customer or two left to kick out. She turned her attention to the pile of dirty glasses that needed washed with a sigh.

At least it had been quiet, and she’d been able to tidy up as she went. There wasn’t much to be done. Best to just get on with it… Half zoning out, Linqian got to work cleaning up the place. Dishes were washed, tables were wiped, and caps were put back on all the open bottles. By the time she was done it was nearing 1am. She turned off most of the lights, just leaving a few near the bar on for now.

She really wanted a drink before she left.

She should really go home and get some sleep, seeing as she'd agreed to go to a funeral tomorrow with Andre… but the thought of going back to that empty house, devoid of all the people that had made it home, was much worse than that of not getting any sleep. How likely was she to get a good night's rest anyway? Even as physically exhausted as she was, there was too much on her mind to easily fall asleep.

One drink wouldn't hurt.

She went back behind the bar, opening a half full bottle of rum and pouring herself a sizable amount, filling the rest of the glass up with coke. Her boss wouldn’t notice a few shots missing from any of the spirits… and if he did, he could just take it out of her paycheck. No big deal.

Linqian went back around to the outside of the bar, slipping onto one of the stools and pulling her drink over. She slowly slipped it, eyes half closing. She’d leave once she was done.

”A long day?”

Neither a sight, nor a sound announced Jack’s arrival. One moment, Linqian was alone. The next, Jack was simply there, behind the counter, fixing himself a drink. He seemed a bit more put together than when the church was burning down.

Where the fuck did he come from?

”What the fuck?!” Linqian shot onto her feet, temperature plummeting and sending spirals of frost across the bar. She raised it back to normal when she realised it was just Jack, letting out a sigh of relief before sitting down again.

”Can you get a fucking alarm for your arrival or something,” Linqian complained. ”Or I don’t know, come through the front door?” Oh yeah, that was locked. She gestured to the drink he was fixing himself. ”If my boss notices any alcohol missing, you're paying for it.”

Jack was unbothered, in part because he expected this from Linqian when he appeared and just happened to notice her presence, and partly because he was still dressed in the warm clothes he had on before getting shot.

He took a contemplative sip from his drink, a 50-50 mix of Black Seal rum and Ron Zacapa ‘23. ”I’ll take that as a yes,” he mused, walking around and taking a seat by her. ”If I knew you were here, I would have walked through the front and let myself in.” That was his way of apologising for scaring the shit out of her.

"What, you were just going to rob my workplace of all its alcohol?” Linqian rolled her eyes - but the fact she didn't try kick Jack's seat from under him showed that she was actually alright with him being there. Though she wouldn't admit it, she really needed the company. She glanced at his drink with a light laugh. "Or just the dark rum, I suppose… fitting.”

She took another sip of her now ice cold drink, shifting to face Jack more. "That last meeting was an absolute shitshow, right? I can't believe we got raided by what was it… the PRA? And fuck, Bianca's part of them too.” Just the thought of that made her want to knock back her whole drink and have another. "It's been years, but I thought we were all solidly anti government."

”The Paranormal Response Authority,” Jack answered. ”A branch of the federal government that has existed for a very long time. They prefer secrecy, and prevent most of the world from learning of the existence of magic. They often shoot to kill, or use underhanded tactics to arrest “dangerous” paranormal people when they can, if they deem it necessary.”

”I never imagined someone so easygoing as Bianca would work for them. They are, ultimately, paranormal police- Underfunded, and too comfortable in their position. It was tempting to get rid of them all for what they did at the church.”

”I see.” Linqian frowned, tapping her fingers against the bar. The name did ring a bell now that Jack explained it… Perhaps Jinhai had mentioned it before and she’d ignored him, as she often had when he went on about smart sounding things that she probably wouldn’t understand. ”No wonder they attacked us first before asking any questions… Y’know, when I met Bianca during my lunch break today- we organised it before she fucking raided the coven yesterday, anyway- I pointed that out. She said that people change. Seriously? Most people don’t change so much they become feds.”

She rolled her eyes. ”I, for one, wouldn’t have blamed you if you had got rid of them.”

”Mm, they aren’t typically a threat unless someone disturbs the hornet’s nest. Sloane told me they believed we were responsible for Kali’s death, and resorted to an overreach to prove a point. That the city belongs to them.” The words came out of Jack’s mouth, and he almost couldn’t believe it was true. For a moment, he seemed genuinely amused, as if he were about to laugh.

And then, to avoid cackling at their foolishness, he took another sip of his drink.

”My understanding of their methods is that, ordinarily, they would never do something that foolish. They chose to handle it with a raid in broad daylight, to charge in like a wild beast. If they value their lives, then they’ll make themselves as harmless as possible the next time they cross paths with any of us.” Jack was many things, and humble was not one of them. He would not hesitate to banish every last one of them straight into the maw of an eldritch horror if they dared try something like that when he was around.

”They did, their boss was real pissed off about that. Supposedly Eve punched Bianca while a whole bunch of us were getting shot at, so I think they were pissed about that too,” Linqian snorted. She wasn’t so sure that they could actually destroy the PRA, not when the one who’d pulled her away from Lynn hadn’t been affected by her high temperature at all… But Jack was a lot stronger than her (and more confident). Maybe he was right that in an actual fight, without them being tear gassed to shit, they’d win. ”Hopefully we never see them again. I’m still getting the tear gas out of my jacket. Fucking sucked. I would’ve appreciated it if they went with their normal methods.”

Annoyed just thinking about it, and what had happened with Lynn, Linqian downed her drink and headed behind the bar to get another one. As she poured herself another rum and coke, she shot Jack a questioning look. ”What were you doing that meant you got to avoid that whole shitshow? Sure would’ve been nice to have a teleporter when the whole place went up in flames.”

”Sealing Alizee’s pitiful excuse for a companion in the Void with Auri, Britney and Stormy,” he answered, without missing a beat.

”The plan was simple. I gained his and Layla’s trust, by taking them somewhere that no one in their right mind would dare to go. Unfortunately for them, I spent roughly a decade there. I hid the others there while they laid traps to seal him. But the Temple sent very specific people to follow my portal, so I was shot, and Auri suffered a concussion. The others went with the Temple to “politely” deal with the sealing together.”

”Good fucking riddance,” Linqian’s lips twitched up into what was almost a smile at the thought of never having to see the void again. She hadn’t particularly liked Alizee, but she’d been a lot more tolerable in the early days of the coven… before his influence got worse. ”Wait, the temple like Leon’s fucking cult? They go after people, with guns, now too?”

Linqian grimaced, deciding to just knock back the drink she’d poured herself and getting another. She’d been rude as shit when she visited the temple… Hopefully she didn’t wake up with a gun to her head. ”I thought it was just a bunch of weirdos wearing robes and preaching about a fake religion. I didn’t know they had a teleporting hit squad. Fuck. They tried to get me and Britney to sign up after Alizee died… I may have had a few choice words for them. If they can even shoot you…”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling slightly tipsy, and moving back round to sit next to Jack with her third drink.

”How the fuck did it go from shooting to polite joint sealing?”

”Apparently, the Void Heart was a member of their cult. For a group that worships apparitions, they certainly had no trouble laying into him. They spoke like he had an obligation to them, after he surrendered during the fight. We did not trust it for a moment, but the Temple wanted to witness the sealing, for their own… Ceremonious reasons, I believe. They’re a cult, that’s how cults function.” He took another drink from his glass, getting halfway through it.

”They are very fortunate that they could show themselves out. I would have left them there so their minds could wither away for eternity. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to repair broken windows in a place where time doesn’t exist? And the walls. I’ll be digging bullets out for a month.”

”Of course he was… That really doesn’t surprise me. Fucking cult needing to make a big show of everything. Maybe he didn’t pay his dues in time, so they’re extra pissed at him,” Linqian laughed scathingly. She’d made up with Leon now after the whole car incident, but the Temple was just fucking creepy. She didn’t want to think about it too much. She then tried to wrap her head around whatever the fuck Jack was talking about house wise… Was his house in the void? Could there be houses there? What little she knew about it pointed towards no. But she really didn’t want to ask, but she couldn’t handle a ton of void information being dumped on her. ”Maybe the bullets can be a bit of extra decoration, a badge of honour from fighting cults. Hopefully they don’t come visiting any other houses… can they do that? Can they just teleport wherever they fucking like, silently, like you?”

”Someone else likely could, but that one in particular? No, she can only follow where other adepts teleport to. She was the perfect member in their ranks to send after me.”

Linqian let out a sigh of relief. Her house was safe, at least. Her workplace not so much. Half teasing, she said, ”well I’ll know who to blame if she turns up here.”

”Well, thank fuck they didn’t succeed in killing the few tolerable members left. Fuck, everything’s a shitshow.” She took another, large gulp of her drink, lips twisting into a sneer - directed partly at herself. Tipsy as it was, it was enough to get her to be a bit more honest, especially after the last three days she’d had. ”I know I’m part of the problem but fuck, they don’t get how hard it is to lose your brother and your whole future at the same time.”

”They’ve forgotten how it feels to watch people die,” he corrected. ”Ten years ago, death was our reality. Searching for survivors, afraid to grow attached to people newly exposed to the paranormal who might die the next day, being the only living things on Shimmer capable of stopping the Stygian Snake. We survived because we refused to let our differences drive us apart. It was life or death.”

In one motion, he inhaled the remaining half of his drink, setting the glass down with a sad look on his face. [color=6644ff]”We could point all of our magic, our weapons, and our apparitions are the origin of it all. The demigod that threatened to destroy everything we ever knew. The danger was tangible. But nothing lasts forever. Nothing,” he looked out the windows across the floor, into the darkness that reminded him of where he had foolishly wasted years of life. He wasn’t as deep in the alcohol as Linqian was, yet he was still getting into it.

In the corners of the bar, the shadows started to dance, flickering and stretching slightly longer when they shouldn’t have.

”Time wanders on, lives join together. Families are formed, people decide the paranormal isn’t in their future, and they change. Kali was a federal agent, Bianca is a federal agent. Adora is a shadow of her former self- We’re nothing like the Sycamore Tree Coven anymore. The coven died with the Snake.”

The lights above the bar were getting dimmer.

”In the Void, time doesn’t move. When someone re-enters Shimmer from there, a day turns out to be several… I remember everything that happened… so much clearer than everyone else as a result. I remember how we clung together by sheer will. How nothing on this godforsaken plane of reality could tear us apart because we were stronger than that. ”We need that now, if we want to corner Father Wolf, drag him into a demise from which there is no return, and tear him limb from limb.”

With each passing word, Jack’s tone grew more and more tense until he practically growled out their killer’s name. He let go of a breath he didn’t know he had, and everything subtly went back to normal.

”...It’s frustrating,” he finished. It made him feel so tired, thinking about it all.

Jack was right, about all of it. Just like many of the former coven members, Linqian had moved on. She put her paranormal abilities to the side - something useful when fighting the Stygian Snake, but not so much when trying to make ends meet. Jinhai always kept it up, developing new spells, but she didn’t have the time. It hadn’t been the priority. And she had forgotten what it was like to live each day worried it might be your last. But she’d always thought it would be her that died, right up until she found Jinhai’s body.

”It is frustrating,” Linqian grit her teeth. She was glad that the lights were dimming, so Jack couldn’t see the tears she was forcefully holding back. The alcohol’s fault. ”Sometimes I miss those days. Maybe because it was so long ago for me, but I remember the good just as much as the bad. We were all fighting for our lives but we fucking did it together. Sure, I hated so many of them, but there were so many more I didn’t. We lived each day like it could be our last- and fuck, it was a support system I haven’t had since. We were so much fucking stronger.”

But there was also no way to go back to that. Jinhai wasn’t there to be a buffer for her, and her emotions were more uncontrollable than ever. She didn’t even really care about her survival.

”I just want that fucker dead. That’s why I came back, to make sure he feels all the pain he’s made us suffer. Even if I have to do it myself.”

”We all want him dead. I know we do, because we all came home to see it through,” Linqian wasn’t the only one struggling to contain the grief that came with this nonsense, and she was the drunk one. ”I should have come home sooner. If I had been in Shimmer more often, Auri could’ve found me before now.”

”I could have done something to make this right. I never forgot about all of you,” he said as he stepped around the bar to fix up another rum mix. ”I never forgot how I finally found somewhere that I could call home. The coven, and everyone in it, was family to me. I thought things could be different now that we’ve moved on from fighting for our lives. I thought we’d all be happy to see one another for the first time in years.”

He sat back down and immediately went through a third of his glass. ”And instead, we hate each other. We want nothing to do with each other, and every time I try to see my old friends in them, all I can see are memories. Bygone, intangible memories.” It weighed on Jack’s spirit so much that coming home was easier for him than most of the coven. He couldn’t help but smile when he first appeared in Auri’s shop.

And yet, the first thing his childhood friend did as he arrived was point a weapon at him.

”That’s where we haven’t changed,” Linqian laughed bitterly. ”We all said we moved on, but clearly none of us let go of our issues with each other. I mean, we didn’t fucking talk it through like adults in the first place… But you’re right, those good times are all memories. But I don’t think we all hate each other.” Linqian smiled just slightly, finishing her drink. ”Sure I hate plenty - like fucking Sloane, Anya and Lynn… But everyone else? Nah. I don’t hate them. I don't hate you, either… I wouldn’t blame yourself for what happened. Hell, they still got Jinhai even when we spent most of our time together.”

”I could never hate any of you. Even Drake was tolerable, when he wanted to be,” Jack said, with a tired smile on his face.

”Still, they’re the people that are left, after everything we went through together. We risked everything we had for each other,” Jack lifted up his shadowy arm that he created after the Stygian Snake took the real one. ”Personally, I don’t care if they’ve changed. I owe it to us all, and I will not leave until I know for a fact that we are all safe.”

”Mm, I’m not leaving till that murderous piece of shit’s dead, and we’re not dying anymore,” Linqian half smile, raising up her glass to that. ”I’ve already moved back here, might as well stay a while… And y’know, I do feel safer knowing you’re back. As much as everything’s an absolute shitshow, we’ll pull through again.”

She finished off her drink, and decided not to pour another. She still had work the next day. ”Jinhai did always say that we’d all made sacrifices for each other, and he was sure we’d all do it again if we needed to. Hopefully he was right.”

”Anything is possible.” Jack flipped his glass up and finished it off quickly, setting it down and leaving it there. ”I’m going to make a plan to keep my eyes on some of you. That means appearing when you may not expect me, possibly without announcing my presence in case someone isn’t alone. I said this at the church before I left, but I’m going to use magic for everyone’s benefit, so they can have an easy way of being moved around and checked on if they need to.”

Minimizing their isolation from one another minimized the window Father Wolf had to kill them. It also exposed them to one another more, which would hopefully open an opportunity for trust to grow.

”Alright,” Linqian nodded, agreeing to that. She was alright with Jack being the one to check up on her to make sure she was still alive… and it was preferable to Auri’s suggested ‘buddy system.’ That’d massively disrupt her life. She then flashed him a teasing smile. ”Just don’t teleport into my house while I’m showering, yeah? I don’t think either of us would enjoy that.”

”That isn’t entirely possible, fortunately.” The smile was returned, ”I’ve wrote down a few names already, with a different time for each of them, so I don’t completely catch them off guard. I’ve made a habit of doing that lately, after all.” Jack literally pulled open a hole in reality to arrive at Auri’s shop, so he had already scared many of them shitless.

”I’ll try to be discreet, if you’re ever not alone when I come.”

”Yeah, like tonight,” Linqian snorted. ”Discreet is good, thanks. My little brother’s coming home this week, and he’s blind so… Would rather not have to explain how a random guy just appeared in our house.”

”That would certainly be a terrifying way to be exposed to the paranormal. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then silence fell over the bar, how late was it getting?
Linqian nodded. She stood up with a sigh. ”You mind giving me a ‘lift’ home? I’ve drunk too much to drive.”

”Certainly. It’s almost unfair, just how much easier purple Lux makes things.” Jack placed a hand on the counter and pulled out his phone… Which he hadn’t plugged a charger into in roughly 3 years, but still had about 47% of its battery intact. It didn’t even have a fucking case. Why would he need one in the Void where gravity didn’t exist?

He remembered where Linqian and Jinhai lived, having been there a time or two. He looked up the address on Google Maps to make sure, and stood up as he put the phone away.

And then, he held his hand out for Linqian.

Linqian flashed Jack a slight smile, and took his hand.

And then, they were gone. Left behind on the counter was a $20 for the drinks.

---

---

---

Back in the 8th Street Manor, business returned to usual sometime after Agent Liao left, and Emily remained sitting on her throne, watching her minions do their thing. There was that thought about where those two sluts, Maya and Phoebe, went, but Emily hardly cared as they were presently not needed. She crossed her arms, leaned back on the far too big throne for her, and narrowed her eyes...

... Then the door burst open, and two men walked through. Emily immediately recognized them as two members of her Coven: Malik Jakane and Aaron Sawyer, the latter of whom came in with a cigarette in his mouth.

Emily stood straight up and said,

"... Where the hell were you two last night?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. "We had a mission last night."

Aaron calmly took a drag of his cigarette, walked over to Emily, pointed a finger at her, and said,

"In case you forgot, I'm not a part of your little social club for lonely and degenerate women. I'm only working with you," he said, narrowing his eyes at Emily and saying, "Meaning... I'm not at your beck and call."

"Keep that same energy, Aaron," Emily hissed, narrowing her eyes. "Keep that same energy."

"That said, Judas Bennet got iced last night," Aaron said, "Word on the streets say that the PRA was responsible."

Emily sighed.

"I presume someone else took over the Wolfpack,"

"Heh," Aaron chuckled, taking a puff of his cigarette, "Word on the street says that Dean Walker took over."

Emily sighed again.

"I have no clue who that is, but, eventually, we're going have to deal with the Wolfpack," Emily said as she closed her eyes. "Now is not the time, we sti-"

"... EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Phoebe screamed as she damn near kicked the door down, and Emily whipped her head around to the front hall entrance and saw Phoebe and Maya standing there, completely naked. She raised an eyebrow as her mouth went agape.

However, there was a bubbling down the hallway behind them, and two liquid tentacles burst out from the hall and grabbed the two, raising them into the air as they screamed. As the monstrosity those two unintentionally created came through the door. A massive blob monster took up the entire end of 8th Street's main hall. Tentacles launched out at everyone (except Carol, everyone but Carol) and snatched them up.

"... What the fuck did you two fucking sluts DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!" Emily shouted as the tentacle wrapped itself around her and dragged her closer to the monster.

"Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit!" Jacqueline shouted, grabbing onto a table before her grip slipped and she was dragged towards it.

Emily's head turned towards Miranda, who was smiling like a fool as she was being carried away.

"... You are waaaaaaaaaay too excited for this!" Emily shouted.

"I got th-" George tried to punch the tentacle, only to get caught in it and yanked off.

Nadine attempted to use the Baron's undead minions to anchor her to the ground but was pulled away.

"Ah, this is like a bad hentaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai-" Greta tried to run as she was yoinked herself.

Cynthia transformed into her Abyssal Hunter form and desperately scratched the ground to get some grip, but she was pulled away, much like the rest of 8th Street.

Lee slammed both of his Valiant Blades into the ground and held on for dear life, but he was eventually snatched away.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Malik shouted as he was dragged away.

Flora fired off a few arrows with the Aegis Piercer but got snatched.

Brianna opened a portal just a second too late and found herself dragged off to be gayed.

"THIS is why I don't hang around you diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiickheads!" Aaron shouted as he was helplessly dragged off.

Carol just stood there with her arms crossed. Pouting.

"... Guess I'm not fucking good enough for you, fucking Mr. Tentacle Monster?!" Carol started, chucking a chair at the oozing beast, "Fuck you! Fucking bitch ass motherfucker!"

The chair went into the blob, and seemingly in response, it outstretched a tentacle…

… Which gently patted Carol on the head before it turned its attention back to gaying the 8th Street Coven.

Which made Carol ball her fists and scream as she charged it head-on...

---

---

---

Rainfall poured down.

It was a few nights after the whole debacle at Veni Vedi Veni... a strange girl wearing black jeans, a grey rain jacket, black combat boots, and large headphones sauntered down the streets with her head down. The rain did little to interrupt the girl's march, as the cars passing by were simply just ambiance to her. The girl was unbothered by the chaos left behind by the fight between Judas and the PRA... she stepped over a piece of debris left on the ground before she continued her march through the streets of St. Portwell. One would consider her bold to be going through Wolfpack territory by herself, but after their recent skirmish with the Coven and the Feds, they have been laying low, which returned order to the streets of Northeastern St. Portwell.

Not that she cared.

Strangely, her destination was not the Veni Vedi Veni strip club, which was effectively closed down... for good. There was another strip club in Wolfpack territory that was nowhere near as popular as the Veni Vedi Veni. Still, with the chaos that took place there, it was the only alternative for gentlemen to get their trashy strippers.

That club was the Daily Grind.

The girl walked inside and walked up to the front counter, and the lady said,

"ID, please."

The girl gave up her ID, and the lady behind it gave it a little look and said, "Cover is twenty dollars."

The girl gave up twenty dollars and proceeded inside. After turning the corner, on her left was the stage where a pretty little girl was already naked, dancing to some rap music she hadn't listened to. Then... to her right, there was the bar and plenty of different girls. But, they were all irrelevant to her as her targets were in clear and plain view, as she was told. The two pink-haired black girls... Pink and Violet were their stage names. They were sitting at the bar, typing away endlessly on their phones, with Pink wearing fishnet stockings and a shiny pink bra and panty - Violet was wearing a black fishnet and a blue dress that stopped right before her groin area. There was that urge to go over and approach them, but she had to "break the ice".

The girl dug into her pocket until she found that wad of cash she had stuffed in there earlier... it was painful to part from the money she worked hard for, but it was all for the greater good. She took a deep breath, holding the wad of her well-earned money.

"....WHERE THE TITTIES AT!?"

She shouted as she threw the money in the air, letting it fall to the ground, and the strippers fought over it. Afterward, she walked over to the bar like she owned the place, sat on the stool, and looked up at the bartender. "Could I get some whiskey? Like a shot."

"... Doing shots by yourself, sugar?"

Pink flanked the strange girl's right, touching her thigh gently.

"C'mon, baby!" Violet flanked her left, placing a gentle hand on her other thigh. "Let's all get shots together!"

The girl finally opened her mouth and said, "Yeah... what would you like?" In a gruff tone.

"Tequila, baby!"

The girl raised a hand to get the bartender's attention and said, "Two shots of tequila... any kind."

The bartender nodded as she poured two little tequila glasses that matched her whiskey shot. The two strippers grabbed their glasses as the mysterious girl almost threw back the shot.

"... Slow down, sweetie," Violet said with a wide smile. "Toast first."

The girl smiled.

"Where are my manners?"

The three girls put their glasses together.

"Before we do our lil' toast, how about we introduce ourselves," Pink said as she put a free hand on her chest and continued. "I'm Pink."

"I'm Violet!"

"Together we make..." They said at the same time.

"... Some fuckin' color, I know," The strange girl said with a roll of her eyes, "I thought you two wanted shots." She grinned.

"Oh, I guess our reputation preceded us," Violet laughed.

The three downed their shots.

"So, sugar," Violet said, caressing the stranger's back. "You come here all by yourself, make a grand entrance, grab a drink, then just sit here to sulk?" Violet chuckled.

"... Are you always this touchy?" The girl replied with a question of her own. "I'm just enjoying the vibe."

"C'mon, girl, you and I both know that's bullshit," Pink grabbed the girl by her arm with a wide smile on her face, "You came here to see some bitches; well, guess what?"

Both Violet and Pink smiled before Pink answered.

"We're bitches."

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"A fifteen-minute dance is a hundred," Violet insinuated what she wanted with a wag of her eyebrow.

"Sure," The girl said.

"For both of us, it's two hundred!" Pink said.

"How about..." Before grabbing Violet's hand, the girl said, "... Just a nice one-on-one dance. You and me."

Violet grinned before she said,

"Come now," Violet started, "Me and Pink are a package deal."

That was when Pink walked over to Violet and wrapped her arms around her torso, getting on her tippy-toes to put her chin on Violet's shoulder. Then grinned as she said,

"You won't regret it, sweetie,"

The girl stared Pink dead on before she pulled Violet's hand away.

"I just like her more," The girl said as she produced a hundred.

Violet shrugged.

"Well, you like what you like, sweetie!" Violet laughed. "Let's get this party started!"

It was a short affair to give the girl's donation to her boss and lead her to one of the private VIP Rooms. Violet held her hand the entire time as she walked through the halls of the strip club until she ended up in the VIP booth, hidden behind a curtain. It was a room illuminated with red lights and had a fancy red leather sofa. The girl turned around; her face was somewhat red as she looked off to the side, and Violet grinned as she gently pushed her on the sofa.

Violet grinned as she sat on the much smaller girl's lap, grinding her hips back and forth and caressing her face. "You're cute," Violet said as she undid the straps on her dress and lifted it off her shoulders. She revealed that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it and her extra bits, which flopped and dangled.

"Look," The girl said, "I have a favor to ask for you."

"... If you wanna fuck, that's extra and..." Violet trailed off as she threw her dress in the corner.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Marcia," The girl said before she narrowed her eyes. "... You're in the 8th Street Coven, right?"

Suddenly, the girl came to a stop as she looked the girl dead in the eye with furrowed brows as she stood up, "... Have you been stalking me, bitch?"

"No, no, no," The girl said as she stood up, "Come here, let me tell you something..."

The girl leaned forward and whispered something into Violet's ear that turned that look of anger and frustration into surprise. She stood there with her jaw agape as she said,

"Oh, oh, oh," She chuckled, "... Why didn't you start with that? Don't you know some bitch was plottin' to kidnap me!?"

"Too many eyes and ears out there," The girl said. "Needed somewhere... private."

"So, what business do you have with 8th Street, sweetie?" Violet started, "Hope you're not looking to take Emily out too soon." She stuck her tongue out.

"I want to join 8th Street," The girl answered.

"I can arrange something," Violet answered as she bent forward to grab her dress, "Just to let you know, Emily and her homegirl Vashti are bitches"

"I'm aware," The girl said, "I used to roll with them."

"8th Street?"

"No, Sycamore,"

"Oooooooooh," Violet said as she slid her dress back on, "Those bitches?"

"Yeah... you heard of them?"

Violet took a step towards the girl, placed a hand on her chest, and said,

"The streets talk, sweetie."

The girl was silent before Violet turned around and prepared to walk out,

"I'll arrange that meeting for you; it was great-"

The girl grabbed her arm and said,

"... I paid for a dance, sweetheart."

"Oooooh, why so forceful?" Violet laughed as she led her back to the sofa, took off her dress, and said, "I'll throw in a little extra - on me this time..."

She traced a hand across the girl's cheeks and said,

"Just relax, close your eyes, and let the magic happen."

Violet kissed the girl on the cheek.

---

That same girl pushed the gates to the 8th Street Manor open, holding a metal club over her shoulder as she walked up the pathway. She approached, but at the very base of the stairs, she saw Emily standing with her hands on her hips, Babylon floating at her side as if she were sitting. To her right was Vashti Nour, and to her left was her two twin sisters. The girl looked up at them as Emily spoke.

"... Amy Nakamura," Emily started, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

Amy dropped her hood as she took a step forward.

"Let's cut the bullshit," Amy said, "I want into your Coven."

Emily grinned.

"... Well, I can't say no to you," She started, "... Old friend."

---

---

Two shots rang out… and a younger Maximilian Cornell charged out of a greenhouse. He ran into a brick wall covered in ivy… with a five-year-old girl with brown hair underneath his arm. He pushed himself off the wall and kept running… he heard an inhuman screech behind him as he kept running. He knew better than to look back, and Maximilian kept running towards the metal gate - and he practically ran through it shoulder first. Adrenaline numbed the rush of pain he could have felt by hitting the gate with such an impact. He saw the woods and ran for it with the little girl underneath his arm. He didn't know what was dripping down his head: sweat or blood. It didn't matter as his pursuer was still hot on their tail, and he thought fast and ran right for the woodline in front of him. The only thing helping him see was the bright moonlight; grabbing his flashlight was not feasible, as he kept running-

He tripped over something; he didn't have time to process what as he slammed onto the forest floor, and the little girl in his arms screamed... Maximilian could hear the creature's heavy footsteps as he grabbed his pistol, hopped to his feet, and grabbed his flashlight. He pointed the two at the creature approaching and saw its horrifying visage. The creature growled at them as Maximilian took slow steps back; he could feel the little girl cowering behind him. For every one step back they took back, it two forward...

... Until it launched itself at Maximilian, and with his quick thinking, he shoved the girl out of the way. Which had the side effect of giving the monster a great opening to tear its freakish jaws into his shoulders; he grunted as he thrashed. No amount of adrenaline would allow him to shrug off this pain as he jammed the pistol into the creature as hard as he could. He squeezed the trigger again, and again, and again, and again, each trigger pull caused a bullet to fly out. He kept squeezing even after he had emptied the mag, and the creature let out a surprisingly human yell of pain. Maximilian took this as a sign to shove the monstrosity back finally and stumbled backward.

He could hear the blood flowing as he felt woozy; he didn't let up for a second as he quickly reloaded- but the creature lunged at him again and knocked Maximilian to the ground with a swipe of its claw. He grits his teeth as the pistol is launched away from him... The creature was on top of him, and Maximilian did the only thing that could come to mind: Fight.

He beat the creature back as it bit down on his shoulder, sinking its death into his flesh, as he saw the girl cowering in the corner of his eye... and his pistol just feet away from her. He stuck his hand out and shouted, "GIVE ME THE GUN!" He shouted as he was getting knawed on!

The girl was shivering in fear; she looked down at the gun.

Then up to Maximilian.

Then, back to the gun.

She screamed as she kicked the gun, and it was, fortunately, close enough for Maximilian to grab it, and he immediately jammed it into the creature's skull. Letting off one decisive round that blew the monster's brains out. Maximilian threw it over with little strength and sighed as he reached inside to push himself up. He stumbled over to the girl, his armor being drenched in his blood.

And extended his hand.

"Let's get out of here," Maximilian started. "Before more of them show up."

---

Today was the big day.

Maximilian was led through the halls of the building by an entourage of different agents... the PRA's Main Headquarters was a labyrinth. Endless halls full of mystery and adventure, and Maximilian, even though he was here before, was no closer to solving it than he was the first time he arrived here and was inducted into the organization. He was led through halls and halls, and halls until he was led through doors and...

... He ended up out back.

There was an elevated area with a fancy stone railing and several flags flying (The Virginia State Flag, Flags for each military branch, and the PRA logo). Leaning over the railing was a tall older man wearing a suit. What was notable about him was that he had a strange belt around his waist. Maximilian walked over to his and nodded his head, saying,

"Agent Verde,"

"Max, Max... Max..." Agent Verde chuckled, "It's Richard. I consider myself retired. I just gotta do this one last thing for Director Alcott, and I'm outta here." Agent Verde -

"Okay, Richard," Maximilian extended a hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

The two shook hands, and Richard nodded.

"Heard a lot from you," Richard said, "I think you're the perfect fit."

Maximilian smiled.

"Thank you."

Richard took off the weird belt and held it out for Maximilian. "Make sure you give this a good scrubbing. I never took the damn thing off!" He laughed.

"The Champion's Belt..." Maximilian started,

"Strongest artifact in the All-Verse," Richard explained. "Got no clue how the PRA got it, but we've been using it to handle all the Godzillas and other super monsters out there."

Maximilian grabbed it.

"Put it to good use, squirt," Richard said... as Director Alcott approached with their entourage.

"Any last words for the group, Ag- Richard?" Director Alcott asked, smiling.

Richard was silent.

"... Bye."

He said before darting off, walking off into the sunset, and everyone couldn't help but laugh. Then Director Alcot turned towards Maximilian, placing their fingertips together, before saying, "Put it on; see how it feels."

Maximilian, as instructed, put on the belt and... didn't quite realize what it did. So far, he felt nothing, but he looked at Director Alcott and saw the aura around them. He tilted his head.

"... You can see my aura, right?" Director Alcott said with a smile. "You're going to do great things with the Belt, Maximilian. You'll see."

Maximilian nodded at them.

---

---

---

A younger Judas spit off into the water.

A man fixed his belt and turned to leave.

"... Hey dickhead," A young Judas seethed in his general direction. "Where's my money?"

"I'll get you next time..." The older brown-haired man barely said before Judas bum-rushed and grabbed him by his collar. Cocking a fist back. "Hey, easy now..."

The next words would probably change everything.

"... Roxxane."

Judas - Roxanne - stared at the man head-on, ready to clobber him, as she said, "I'm not doing this for fun, asshole. I ain't doing this for shits and giggles. I'm doing this to build myself."

"And I'm telling you that I don't got your-"

He didn't get a chance to finish before Roxanne punched him as hard as she could in the nose, breaking it on impact and sending him stumbling backward over some garbage bags. She walked over to him, and knelt, and gave him a very stern warning,

"Listen, asshole," She started. "Tomorrow, you're gonna have my money, or else your little wife finds out about our deals, got it?"

He was silent.

"... Got it."

Then Roxanne stormed away, back into the streets of St. Portwell. He was a fisherman... and in this town, the fishermen were respected, revered even. Hopefully, he had the sense not to go around and tell everyone that he got beaten up by a girl. She grinned as she stuck her hands into her hoodie and continued marching down northeast St. Portwell's streets. The junkies and homeless men lined the streets, but they were both too high to pick a fight with lil' old Roxanne and they probably already knew she had nothing to steal. So, they ended up just being deadweight. Eventually, Roxanne returned to the dingy old apartment she shared with her mother, walked through the doors, and went to her room. She hopped on her beanbag chair, but her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her pocket.

Val.

Roxanne immediately answered and said, "Yeah?"

"Roxy, what's uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!?" Valjean excitedly said.

"Nothing," Roxanne answered. "Just..."

"You know bossman wants an update on your profits," Valjean said.

"I'm working on it," Roxanne said.

"Don't worry!" Valjean said. "I'll get him off your back."

Roxanne smiled.

"Thanks, Val,"

"But, I wanted to talk to you about something..." Valjean started, and Roxanne could feel him scratch the back of his neck as his tone lowered: "I was thinking about what you were talking about the other day... that little biker gang you wanted to start."

"The Wolfpack."

"Yeah! The Wolfpack!" Valjean said, "Look, I was trying to find the best way to break this to you... but I ain't gonna sugarcoat it: that ain't a place for a woman."

Roxanne narrowed her eyes.

"... And what do you mean by that?"

"Hey now," Valjean chuckled. "What I mean is that this whole business... it ain't for gals like you. Whether it's pushing drugs or being a biker, women are second-class citizens! Heh."

Roxanne was silent, not out of offense, but this was one of the rare moments where Valjean was right. He typically was a dumbass, nothing but muscle, but there were moments when he used more than two brain cells.

This was one of them.

Ever since she became a dealer, Roxanne was hardly respected by anyone in the business. Everyone wanted to have sex with her most of the time, and she was not the type of gal to give everyone a piece of herself.

Then it hit her.

"Valjean, where are you at?"

"I'm at my apartment, what's up?"

"I'm com-"

Someone knocked on the door; it had to be Roxanne's mom. She whispered,

"... Hey, baby, the police are here again."

"Fuck, I'll see you soon," Roxanne whispered before she hung up, and opened the window and climbed out.

Having an apartment on the first floor had its perks.

---

"... How's this look?"

Roxanne said as she stepped out of the bathroom, having cut her hair completely off. She was bald!

"You still look like a girl!" Valjean laughed. "Just like one of those cancer patients."

She groaned.

"Hey now!" Valjean said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "One thing about the criminal underworld is that it's all about respect and reputation!"

Roxanne shook her head.

"So, have you come up with a name yet?" Valjean said.

"... Judas," Roxanne said.

"Heeeeeeeeeey, it sounds like a kingpin in the making!" Valjean laughed.

Roxanne shook her head. This wasn't a good idea to her, but it was the only way to gain respect in the criminal underworld. While she knew she was cunning, smart, and an amazing leader, it didn't matter much when the head honchos in charge only saw her as a piece of meat.

But what other options did she have?

Go back to the Temple?

Roxanne looked up at Valjean.

Never in a million years.

---

A motorcycle rolled into the parking lot of a dingy bar with the glowing neon sign of The Rusty Spoke. It was on the outskirts of town on the edge of the surrounding woods. Getting off the motorcycle was Roxanne... or Judas as he had been known. He wore a leather jacket that said WOLFPACK on the back with their logo underneath it. He approached the club...

I only saw a short Caribbean lady wearing an African-print dress. Which was weird in this part of St. Portwell of all places, but Judas wasn't going to judge. It was none of his business; he just pushed past her...

"... Hey, sweetie!" The lady said, speaking so fast and with such a thick accent it was hard to understand her, "I'm Tanya, Judas, I presume?"

Judas raised an eyebrow.

"I gotta letta' for ya'! Some people wan' meet ya!" Tanya said, handing Judas the letter. Who immediately opened it to read, and Tanya walked off as he was reading it. "Have a good one."

Her footsteps disappeared the second she turned the corner.

Judas placed the letter in his pocket as he walked into the bar, and everyone cheered! He saw everyone here, Valjean, Elodie, and Dean...

... But that letter was still on his mind.

---

Judas' motorcycle ended up in the parking lot of the club they told him to meet. He was slightly suspicious of all this, but that glock he had tucked into his waistband. He walked over to the line... sticking out to the crowds of partygoers who just looked at him, stepping aside as he walked into the VIP line. The bouncer in charge looked at him and then waved for him to come closer, and he bypassed the rest of the line and made it to the front desk of the Christiansands. The little lady behind it looked at him through her glasses and said...

"Judas?"

"Yeah," Judas answered.

"You're expected,"

"Yeah," Judas shrugged. "Figured."

"Right this way," The lady led Judas to the Christiansands VIP section, where Luis and Natalie sat on the sofa, and Luis waved Judas down.

"Hello, our esteemed guest!" Luis shouted, "Have a seat!"

Judas sat down, leaning forward, putting his hands together, fingers interlocked. "So, what's this all about? You wanted to make a deal?"

Luis smiled.

"We did," Luis said, "An offer you couldn't refuse..."

"Let's talk, bossman," Judas leaned back in his chair. "Why does the Dollhouse organization, of all groups, want to do with a gang of about a dozen bikers?"

Both Luis and Natalie smiled before they looked at Judas.

Then Luis said.

"... How would you like to become the city's kingpin?"

---

---

---

Saint-Fucking-Portwell.

It was a hell of a culture shock from the streets of the Altlanta, to say the least! James held a football in his hands as he grinned, taking a few steps back as he threw the football to his buddy. His friend caught it, and passed it back. James wore a black sweater, a grey scarf around his neck, blue jeans, and some red Jordan 21's. It was just fall as the leaves changed colors, and James couldn't help but admire the beauty of St. Portwell. At least it seemed nicer than Atlanta! James caught it one last time before his eyes caught a girl glancing at him as if he couldn't notice! It was a short black girl with dreads on, wearing a cyan hoodie, Nike leggings, and some Puma sneakers. She was leaning against a short brick wall, playing on her phone, but James noticed her looking at him! It was high time to make a move; seeing another black person out here was great! James grinned as he held the football and walked over to her.

"... Hey, what's up?" James greeted, shoulders up and a warm smile on his face. "Saw you just chillin' here by yourself and thought you could use a little company."

The girl half-smiled as she said, "Look at you comin' up here like you cute." She laughed.

"Hey, there ain't nothing cute about me!" James said. "I'm James! Yours?"

The girl couldn't fight it back any longer, and fully smiled as she said,

"... Naomi,"

---

A few months after the two were official, Naomi introduced him to her friend group.

Finally.

They decided to meet at one of the national parks, and the two walked over to the meeting spot - a campsite with a long extinguished campfire surrounded by benches made of logs. The Greenwood Coven sans Kashmira and Sully's current lineup was there... including two other girls. James had looked to the left and the right and noticed the bitch with the big ass stick! There was also a short little Asian gal who held something in her lap covered in cloth.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!" James said as he had a seat, and Naomi took his side, "Wassup! It's great to meet all of you."

The one girl with the stick took a deep puff of her blunt, and James smiled, "Great to meet you too, sweetie. Naomi told me a lot about you."

"Hey now," James said, "Stop hoggin the blunt!"

Everyone's eyes shot open as they looked at James. Ruby extended the blunt to him, and he was about to grab it...

"... Don't do it, she eats ass!" Naomi shouted.

James retracted his hand and said, "... I'm good."

"So..." Ruby said. "Introduce yourself?"

James waved at everyone and said,

"I'm James, I'm from Atlanta... I play football," He shrugged, as there was an awkward silence. Before this redhead spoke,

"Atlanta?" Jess started, "Like the TV show?!"

"Like the TV show."

"I'm Jessica!" Jess said.

"I'm Autumn,"

"I'm Amelia..."

"Pearl,"

"Lyric Brown!" An average-height African-American girl with short hair and a wide smile introduced herself as she fiddled with a weird pair of headphones.

"Girl, no one gives their full name," Naomi laughed.

"Felica, "Then there was another black girl with slightly longer hair, but she was much taller.

"I'm Ruby," The bitch with the stick and blunt said before she asked Naomi. "... Did you tell him?"

Then James turned towards Naomi, who had begun chewing her fingernails. She looked to the left and to the right awkwardly as James asked,

"Tell him what?"

"... I forgot," Naomi said, "That was my bad."

"Aw!" Jess said.

"I had this cool ass ceremony in mind and everything!" Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Well," Pearl started, "No time like the present, I say."

"I'm still kinda lost here!" James laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "What was I supposed to be told."

"Well..." Jess crossed her arms and chuckled. "How fucking crazy do you think you are?"

"Zero, zero percent crazy," James said.

"Sounds like something a crazy person would say!" Jess shouted.

"Look, look, look," Naomi raised her hands. "I'll do it now,"

She looked James in the eye, grabbed his face, and said...

"... Magic's real."

"The fuck?!" James started laughing. "Okay, I think you need to lay off the fuckin' TV because that shit's fuckin' with you now." He spun a finger around his temple as he looked at her.

Naomi put her hands together, and when she parted them, she created glowing white spider webs between her hands, and James' jaw dropped.

"... That's bullshit," James said as he slowly extended a finger towards it, "Just some magic trick, ya'll gotta' stop fuckin' with me because-"

His hand got stuck in the web, and he looked confused.

He started screaming.

"And this is why we let them beforehand..." Pearl sank her face into her hands as everyone approached James - Naomi dispelling the webs.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jessica put her hands on his shoulders.

"Good grief," Lyric said as she pulled a microphone out of her pocket and began humming a song. Somehow, the singing stopped James screaming and put his soul at ease. He took in a deep breath and then sighed. However, Lyric kept humming her song as the rest of Greenwood talked to him.

"Thanks, Lyric, you're the best," Ruby said before she turned to James. "Yeah, magic's real."

"Well," James said, "This ain't how I expected to find out, heh."

"And we had magic ready for you," Pearl said, holding the object wrapped in cloth for him to see.

"What is that? A magic dildo or something?" He chuckled.

Everyone was silent.

"... God, I wish," Ruby said, and it elected a facepalm from Naomi and the others.

"No, it's..." Pearl trailed as she unwrapped the cloth and revealed an axe.

"Oh ho, an axe!" James excitedly said. "What does it shoot lightning or something?"

"Yes, in fact," Naomi said. "It's Shango's Axe. It lets you shoot lightning and fire."

"Lit," James said, "... And where the fuck did ya'll get this from?"

"Oh," Naomi started, "We stole it from some rich guy." She waved her hand as she laughed.

"Do you want it?!" Jessica asked.

"Sure!" James asked.

"Hold up," Ruby said, blowing out a puff of weed smoke. "We're not giving out powerful ass artifacts so you can just fuck off with 'im..."

She put the blunt back in her mouth and said, "If we give you this, you must become one of us."

"And the fuck is that?" James asked.

Everyone awkwardly shuffled in their seats as Ruby gave her answer.

"... The Greenwood Coven."

---

The mansion was in chaos; sounds of magic being tossed around could be heard from all over. There were explosions and roars, and the building was engulfed in flames. Das Sonnenrad was being wiped out.

And it came down to this final battle.

The doors to Kaiser Draeger's inner chamber were blown open by a blast of fire, creating a cloud of smoke. With the axe slung over his shoulder, James stepped through the smoke as if it were nothing. He walked through the smoke... and she entered the dark room that was Kaiser Draeger's inner chambers. A massive, dark hall with a long rug led to Kaiser Draeger's throne. Leaning forward, with his helmet off, was Kaiser Draeger, his face being revealed to them. In front of him, the blade of the Dragon Slayer was dug into the ground. He looked up at them and said,

"Shouldn't you be joining your friends in ruining everything I built up?"

"... Kaiser Draeger," James said as he aimed the axe at him, it illuminated by electricity. "You do not look like what I was expectin' ya' to look like, to be honest with ya'!" He chuckled.

"Don't matter," James started, narrowing his eyes, "It ends today."

"I agree," Kaiser Draeger said as he put his helmet on, completing the Dragon Slayer. He stood up and grabbed the sword embedded in the ground. "Let's get this over with. I'm going to take care of your friends after this."

James grinned from underneath his ski mask.

---

---

Kaiser Draeger gave them little time to react as he charged them with the sword primed to cleave them in half, he let out a scream as he slammed the sword downwards. However, James and Naomi lept off in different directions, and the blade was embedded in the ground. James stuck his hand out in mid-air and unleashed a bolt of lightning that hit Kaiser Draeger head-on... when the light faded, he was still standing there, staring at him from underneath the Dragon Slayer.

"... That's not going to work," Kaiser Draeger yanked his sword from the ground. "The Dragon Slayer is impervious to your magic."

James grinned.

"We'll see about that," James said as he primed his hand backward, created a massive fireball, and launched it at Kaiser Draeger, which collided against him and faded away. Kaiser Draeger charged James and brought the blade down on him, and James held Shango's axe up with both hands to block. The two artifacts clashed as James felt the impact nearly break his arm. He grits his teeth as Kaiser Draeger pushes him back. James grinned as he created a massive pillar of fire around him - not to hurt Kaiser Draeger but to distract him. It was enough for him to charge forward, underneath Kaiser Draeger's sword, and shoulder rushed him, assisted by the flight of Shango's Axe. It made Kaiser Draeger stumble backward, and James snapped his fingers and created an explosion that sent Kaiser Draeger flying.

It launched him through the doors of his chambers and out into the halls of his mansion, and he landed on his back. James flew after him with his axe high in the air. However, Kaiser Draeger used his sword to block, and the two artifacts clashed again... then he kicked James upwards and sent him flying into the ceiling. He had the wind knocked out of him, but he quickly flew away before Kaiser Draeger could attack. He ended up opposite the hallway, and Kaiser Draeger was already on his feet and rushing him.

When the leader of Das Sonnenrad got close, he swung the sword, and James had to retreat, barely dodging the blade. However, Kaiser Draeger swung the blade and cleaved through the hallway walls. Then James got an idea... He created a massive inferno in his hands and sent it towards the wooden walls of the mansion. Not intending to hurt Kaiser Draeger but to burn his mansion to the ground. He flew backward, creating more and more fire, which was accompanied by his plan: Smoke. The smoke filled the mansion's hall, and James darted towards one of the windows as fast as he could, then put the axe in front of himself as a shield.

It broke the window, and he was cut to shreds by the glass, but he managed to get out. He sighed as he landed in the garden by the pool; he was dripping blood. He could see the smoke flow out of the broken window, but hopefully, Kaiser Draeger just choked-

Kaiser Draeger lept out of the window, and James eyes shot open as he just barely rolled out of the way of the oversized blade being brought down on him again. Kaiser Draeger stood tall, facing James as he said, "Why don't you give up? Your magic can't do anything to me."

"Fuck that," James said, "I'll die before I do that."

"I'll oblige," Kaiser Draeger swung the sword again; James flew out of the way, but Kaiser Draeger had thrown himself off balance.

He was just feet away from the pool.

James had an idea.

Using all the speed this stupid axe allowed, James flew directly at Kaiser Draeger and tackled him into the pool, assisted by his flight. There was a loud splash of water as James felt the cool water hit him like a brick, but he had one plan. He flew upwards, raised the axe into the air, and summoned a monstrous bolt of lightning that came with an earsplitting thunderclap. It landed directly on him and electrified the pool, and he put everything he had into it. He sighed as he saw the steam come out of the water, and he looked down.

Kaiser Draeger wasn't moving. If that didn't kill him, he was going to drown any second now.

James swam to the pool's edge, climbed, axe in hand, and sighed. The chaos in the distance had died down, and James sighed.

"... James! Damn, you're so hardheaded," Naomi swung in on an ethereal web and landed directly before him. "Where were you?! We were worried sick."

James grinned and put the axe on his shoulder.

"... I finished things,"

Naomi looked over his shoulder and saw that Kaiser Draeger was completely still at the bottom of the pool. She shook her head.

"... Good job- but you need to let us know before you run off on your own," Naomi started, sighing. "But, we need to get out of here; the Feds are boutta do a sweep!"

James stuck his hand out and smiled.

"Want a ride out of here?"

Naomi returned the smile.

"... Sure."

She jumped into his arms and wrapped them around him, and then the two flew into the distance.

Kaiser Draeger and his cult were no more.

It was for the best.

---

Last night, when everyone went to bed, every member of the Old Coven shared a dream. Not just any dream, but a Recollection.

A Recollection that begins... with a group of robed individuals walking up a tall flight of stairs that led to a stone castle. However, each of them was holding a chain, chains that connected to a person in the center of the group... a somewhat tall Albino-woman that wore a tattered robe, and was chained so heavily she could hardly take a step forward. Her hands were restained in snubbed gauntlets, and her feet were chained with a ball, with a collar with several chains connecting to it, which the robed men held. What was notable about the woman, however, was the huge bulge on her stomach... she was at least eight months pregnant.

The men led the woman into the building, and it wasn't long until she made it to a large circular room, which was surrounded by rafters that had robed men and women... she was walked to the middle of it and was pushed to her knees as one man lowered his hood and spoke to her in a deep voice as he looked down at her,

"Sunshine Jones, leader of the Inner Circle, there are thousands of crimes linked to your name," He narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Mass murder, human sacrifice, human experimentation, cannibalism, genocide, torture, assassination, human trafficking, attempted genocide, abduction, political corruption, child homicide, arms trafficking, and more..."

The man let the words hang in the air.

"You face the harshest punishment that the Accordance can offer," He started as he put his fingertips together and leaned forward, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Sunshine grinned.

"I do..." She trailed off before she looked around at the men that were restraining her and said, "... Could one of you scratch my ass? I'm a little bit... tied up. At the moment, hahahahahaha!" She raised her arm restraints, laughed, and continued.

"And robes? Really? Really?" She tilted her head. "How corny can your so-called "Accordance" get?"

"You will show respect to me, Sunshine."

"Why?" Sunshine laughed. "You're going to kill me anyway. So why should I show you any form of respect? Why should I do anything other than make it clear how I feel about your little cult, Mr Dacious?"

Dacious rolled his eyes as he leaned backward in his chair and said,

"Enough!" He shouted, "You will no longer mock this courtroom or organization."

"Then get it over with then," Sunshine tilted her head. "You're mocking yourself by pretending this is something more than a slow execution."

"Hmmm... very well then," Dacious said, "Sunshine Jones, by the order of the Accordance, we banish you to the Pit."

Sunshine grinned as the men who had her chained went to pull her out of the room. She rose to her feet as she faced Dacious.

"That's all?" She laughed. "You think I fear the Pit."

The men pulled Sunshine Jones through the halls of the Accordance Headquarters before heading through the dark labyrinth that led to the basement. Illuminated by only torches, Sunshine Jones was not afraid, not even in the slightest, and had that monstrous grin on her face the entire time. She could hear the eldritch screeching and yelling on the other side until the group approached two massive wooden doors. The doors were pushed open by what could only be magic, and a bright, shining red light assaulted Sunshine Jones' eyes as she saw the massive circular room... with a massive pit in the ground. This wasn't any pit; it had a glowing red light that shone brightly out of it, and all that could be heard was screaming.

She approached the pit's edge and grinned as she turned her head to the side, and saw a man in a suit. Leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, Sunshine gave him a warm smile.

"Oh, James," She started, "Come to see me off?"

James shook his head.

"Well, it's the least you can do after you betrayed me," Sunshine laughed, "Do you really think someone like me won't thrive in The Pit? Do you really think that place will be the end of me?"

James was silent.

"I'll come back, more powerful than before, and I'll flay you alive," Sunshine started, "And I'll kill everyone in the Accordance."

James waved his hand, and the men placed a jeweled amulet around her neck... pushing her toward the edge of the Pit. Sunshine made a kissy noise towards James and said,

"Let Isabelle know I'm coming for her, byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

She shouted as she was launched off the edge of the Pit, and she laughed as she fell for seemingly an eternity...

---

---

A beaten-up door creaked as it was pushed open, and two robed figures - one much taller than the other (this one was holding a Mossberg 500 and had a backpack on) - pushed through the doors wearing masks carved out of bones—the red light of the Pit shined through as the two figures entered a living room... it had a rug, two sofas, a TV, and a flight of stairs. The taller, robed figure looked to the left and the right before she spoke.

"This place looks safe," She started, "We should make sure, however."

The two nodded at each other as they quickly searched the house up and down and saw that it was empty. The two returned to the living room. They entered, and the taller figure placed her shotgun on the table, and then she placed her backpack down. She sat down in the chair as she leaned back, taking off her mask carved out of bones.

Revealing herself to be Sunshine Jones.

She yawned as she said,

"Raven," She started, "This place looks safe; however, it won't be for long."

The smaller girl, Raven, took off her mask, placed it on the table, and revealed herself to be a fairly young African-American girl with dark skin, poofy hair, and sat down on the chair opposite to Sunshine. She had to be around fourteen years old and had a dirty, scarred face with bandages all over it.

"... Mama, will we have time to talk about the Blood of Magic? Maybe practice some magic," Raven asked.

"After we secured the house and ate," Sunshine said.

Raven nodded, and the two secured the house by barricading all the entrances, setting up noise makers, and whatnot. Eventually, the two returned to the kitchen, and Sunshine walked over to the refrigerator... and could only smell one of the most horrid things of all time, and there was no doubt there was something in here that she didn't want to see. So, she returned to her backpack and opened it up, digging through it for a moment before pulling out various canned foods: beans, some tuna, etc. The cans were rusted and beaten, but in the Pit, the two had little to no luxuries. With a knife, Sunshine pried open the top, slid some across to Raven... then slid a spoon. The young girl wasted no time eating and raised her head at Sunshine.

"So, can you tell me more about the Blood of Magic, mama?" Raven asked.

"Sure, baby!" Sunshine chipperly answered, "There is a place out there where Gods meet and have dinner together! A place that is the most wonderous and beautiful scene you'll ever see!"

Raven listened, tilting her head somewhat.

"It's known as Luminescence, and it's not just a place. It's... a force. A force that runs and flows through everything, not just people, and powers it like blood..." Sunshine answered. "It's believed that there is a pool of a glowing white liquid there... if you drink it, you will achieve enlightenment!" She quietly laughed, keeping that smile on her face as she continued.

"It was my life's goal to drink it... and achieve enlightenment?"

"How did you find out about this?" Raven asked.

Sunshine sighed.

"There is a man out there... the so-called "Hero of the All-Verse"..." She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them, she said, "... James Vanburen."

Raven intently listened.

"He was my friend, closest ally, and he not only told me about this but showed me," Sunshine began, then sighed, "However, he was jealous of my dreams and betrayed me, and had me thrown down here..."

"... Do you think we can still find the Blood of Magic?" Raven asked.

"Of course!" Sunshine said, "We just have to get out of here!"

"... How do we do that?" Raven started, "You said there's a way to get out of here? Why haven't we found it yet?"

Sunshine sighed, then shook her head as she answered.

"I unfortunately do not know," Sunshine said, "But there is a way out... there has to be one."

That frown turned into a smile.

"And we'll find it, baby."

It infected Raven, as Sunshine said,

"Finish your food, and we'll head to bed! We're going to head out in the morning... "

"Let's!" Raven chipperly said.

---

Raven was awoken... it was difficult to tell day from night in the Pit as there was no sun. Just an ever-present red light in the sky that unnerved Raven, but Raven was born here, unlike her mother. She had no clue what the sun even looked like. The girl rubbed her eyes as she looked to the left and the right; she was asleep on this bed. She could see the faint red burn through the curtains into the bedroom that had been ripped to shreds more than once. There was one obvious problem.

Sunshine was not here.

There was that urge to call out to Sunshine, but Raven knew better than to make noise. Scanning the room further, Sunshine's backpack with supplies was still there. Raven climbed out of bed, walked over to the backpack, and dug into it for Sunshine's knife... but she found the jewel amulet that her mother always wore, and her mouth went agape. She heard something crash on the floor level, and Raven quickly dug out Sunshine's knife... before she put the amulet around her neck and slung the backpack over her shoulder. Gently pushing the door open, she peeked out to make sure it was safe before she stepped out, having the knife raised as high in preparation for an attack.

Raven proceeded towards the stairs - but froze like a statue when she heard some growling. There was another crash as she could hear some creature move about. That presented a huge issue as she was on the second floor and was unaware of her mother's whereabouts... the girl wanted to go down, but Sunshine always told her to save herself. She turned around as fast as she could - and the young girl was unaware of her surroundings and knocked over a table with a vase. It loudly shattered, and the growling picked up as whatever downstairs tore through the house and quickly reached the top of the stairs, and she saw it in all its terrifying glory.

An Abyssal Hunter.

A massive beast with leathery skin, a mouth full of horrifying teeth, and massive talons, in terms of appearance, it was likely the most tame of the Pit's denizens. However, it was the one beast Sunshine explicitly made clear that she would not engage. Growling, it sauntered its way over to Raven... Who just turned and ran down the hallways. The Abyssal Hunter roared, chasing after Raven, who had a clear escape plan.

The window.

The girl ran and lept through the window and got shredded by the glass, and she was oozing blood as she kept her eyes closed and her feet down. Right before she hit the ground, that amulet around her neck illuminated a green color for just a moment, and when she hit the ground, she did not so much as feel an ounce of pain. She hit snow, and what was before Raven was a forest of dead trees, and despite the eldritch red sky above her, she could see no escape. However, the girl kept running, but the Abyssal Hunter loudly roared, which was not a good sign.

As she ran through the woods, her blood dripping down and leaving a trail, she heard more of those creatures join the pursuit. She turned her head to the right and saw one running parallel to her a good distance away... and to her left, there was another one. She kept running straight, but they were getting closer. Raven, while running, stuck her hand into her stomach, her hand digging into her midriff as if it were water, and she pulled out a sickening mass of flesh, twitching eyes, and spiky bones. She chucked it over her shoulder, and she could hear the loud pop that sent bone shrapnel in all directions. She could hear the shrieks of the Abyssal Hunters, but a bone shard hit her in the back... and with magic, she could ignore it. It wasn't enough to stop them...

... And one lunged at her before she could react, sinking its teeth into Raven's midsection. She loudly screamed as she was thrashed around, but she was launched when a chunk of her flesh departed from the rest of her body. She went rolling until she came to a stop, and she could feel the warmth of her blood dripping all over her body and clothes. She looked down and saw the oozing wound that was ripped out of her torso. She could see the lowermost ribs exposed, and she shrieked in pain as she began crying. The Abyssal Hunters were approaching.

"Please, no!" Raven tried to drag herself away, but she could feel the spell she cast on herself wearing off, and the pain was seeping in.

Her pleas were ignored as the creatures were approaching her...

... Then they all stopped, looking off in one direction. There was a moment of chattering among the Abyssal Hunters before they all took off running in the opposite direction.

Raven raised her head and looked in the direction that they were so afraid of.

---

---

Marching through the shadows of the dead trees was a sight so strange and unnerving but familiar to Raven. She was tall, seemingly wearing a cloak that hid all of her features, but at the same time, it seemed as if the cloak was a part of her body.

That smile told it all.

It was the Mother Will.

Raven forced herself to her feet as she tried to cover the gaping wound left by the Abyssal Hunters... and looked up at The Mother Will as she approached.

"... Hello," The Mother Will said, and just stared at Raven.

Raven hissed as she stumbled, catching herself, before looking up at The Mother Will and saying, "Mother Will, why have you come here?"

"To offer my hand," The Mother Will answered as she extended a hand wrapped in the cloak or simply jet black. Raven was hesitant to take it but almost fell to her feet. It wasn't long before The Mother Will retracted her hand and continued to speak. "Why do you resent the Pit and its gifts?"

She asked,

"Your mother seeks enlightenment but is unaware that the Pit provides," The Mother Will started, seemingly gliding alongside the ground until she was behind Raven, "Whatever you desire... friendship, love, power, and something beyond the mere enlightenment your mother seeks."

"... Where is my mother?" Raven asked.

"As one of the Pit's favored, she sought enlightenment, and I gave her exactly what she was looking for," The Mother Will said, "As the Pit loves you as much as it loves Sunshine... I can send you to the same place I sent her."

Raven nodded.

"Please... send me... there..." She said as she started feeling woozy... it was probably the blood loss finally getting to her, but Raven tried to remain strong. She just heard her blood (what little she had left) rushing through her ears.

The Mother Will stared at her as a glowing red crack formed underneath Raven's feet, with that smile on her face as Raven finally collapsed. Everything began darkening as she fell; the only thing she saw...

... Was that smile.

Then.

Nothing.

---

Raven rose and awoke yet again, but she was gracing the uncomfortable and hard cold of stone underneath her. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around and noticed that she was in a hallway made out of stone blocks, illuminated by torches that should have logically gone out a long time ago.

Unfortunately, the Pit didn't operate by any form of logic.

Raven pushed herself to her feet... and quickly looked down and noticed the gaping wound in her side was closed. All of her injuries were strangely mended, all healed, as if nothing had happened. Raven looked around and noticed that she didn't have her backpack, which she may have lost during her chase with the Abyssal Hunters, but looking in front of her, there was that familiar mask made out of bones. She bent forward, grabbed the mask, and then got on her tippy toes to grab one of the torches and... just picked a direction. Raven's ears were attuned to every sound, and it appeared as if she was the only person in there, but she was born fighting for her life in the Pit.

Letting your guard down meant death.

She went straight ahead, hoping to find Sunshine or an exit, but it seemed she found neither as she went deeper and deeper into the Pit. Even after turning around, she still went deeper, like the Pit was trying to lead her somewhere. She hoped it was somewhere satisfying as she approached two massive doors... they were already ajar, and Raven hoped it was the exit. But she pressed open the door and found a massive chamber before her. It was a massive platform made of stone with pillars raised out of the ground and a ceiling to raise the platform above a mysterious liquid. Raven stepped inside, looking down over the platform's edge to get a good look at what she was floating above, and it was not just any regular liquid. It was a jet-black liquid that bubbled and popped... and occasionally, a screaming face could be seen. She looked at what was on the opposite end of the platform and resumed her march towards it.

The Chalice.

On a stone slab. Raven walked over to it and grabbed it... there was something about this, and she would hold onto it. Now, she had her mask in one hand, and in the other, she had the Chalice. However, she looked at the strange mural sprawled on the opposite side of the wall, a series of images.

The first one that caught Raven's eyes was a massive black snake with red eyes standing straight up, casting a shadow on a group of people who stood on their hands and knees, hands raised in the air. Then, there was another depiction of a group of people standing around a person crucified and a smaller snake bursting out of their abdomen, flying into the massive black snake that loomed over them.

To say the least, Raven did not understand it at all. However, her eyes quickly scanned the rest of the images, and she saw a white snake with blue eyes intertwined with a black snake with red eyes. She raised an eyebrow. But she looked to the left and saw some mammal-

The door burst open, and all she could hear was breathing.

Raven's face shot over her shoulder.... then the Recollection ended.

---

---

---

The sunset and St. Portwell changed as costumed individuals took the streets. A girl walked through it all, her attire that would normally turn heads (for all the wrong reasons) seeming normal. Just for the night of Halloween. Not that this girl cared. She had a destination... she held a flower basket with both hands as she marched through the streets of St. Portwell. Not paying the world a mind as she had one destination.

Flowers and Canvases.

The strange girl walked inside, and the first thing she saw when she turned inside was Auri Auclair behind the counter. The tall blonde smiled as she walked around the counter towards the girl.

"... Odessa!" Auri shouted as she hugged the girl; stepping back, she said, "How have you been, friend? Got any flowers for me?"

Odessa presented her flower basket to Auri, and Auri smiled at the variety of colorful flowers that was presented before her, "Oooooooooooh..." Auri said, astonished. "Thank you."

"Auri," Odessa said,

"... I have a question for you."

---

---

Drake was suddenly risen awake... he shot up, eyes wide open as he looked to the left and right. He was in the same room that he grew up in... except it was less lively as it was converted into a guest room by Victoria and Amanda when he left. Of course, he got it back, but it lacked that same charm. It was just four blue-painted walls, an empty desk with a computer chair, a dresser, and a few nightstands. Drake shook his head, pressing the palm of his hand into his face. He shook his head as he climbed out of bed, walked over to the door, and poked his head out. He was only wearing pajama pants, as usual, but Drake was a bit more respectful than walking around half-naked. He could hear Victoria and the others downstairs but wasn't prepared to encounter them yet.

He walked over to the bathroom, splashed some water on his face, and sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. Drake was going to be okay. He sighed. First, he lost Jade, and now he's having weird ass dreams, but to be fair, he did a fair bit of drinking last night. Thankfully, not enough to cause a headache, but maybe mixing vodka with energy drinks was not the move. Drake was no supernatural expert, but it felt like some type of sign from above. Whatever the hell was above. Drake cupped more water in his hands and then splashed it onto his face as he inhaled deeply.

Drake returned to his room. He put on a tank top and then walked downstairs into the kitchen. Victoria was washing dishes, with the triplets in their high chair eating food... he could, again, hear Amanda and Nikki playing video games in the other room. Drake yawned as he stretched his arms, and Victoria turned to him and smiled,

"Drake, you're up," Victoria said, "Do you want breakfast?"

"Yeah," Drake started as he grabbed a seat and sat down, "... And maybe some antipsychotics?" Drake laughed.

Victoria whipped her head around and gave Drake a concerned look.

"You had that dream last night, didn't you? About the girl? In the Pit?" Victoria asked.

"Ooooh, shit?" Drake tilted his head as he looked at Victoria. "Y-yeah," He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Amanda and Nikki had the same dream,"

"What the fuck?" Drake said.

"Language!"

"Oops, sorry," Drake laughed as he looked at the triplets. "But that's more than just a little weird, Toria."

"You think?" Victoria laughed, "Is it just us or the others?"

Drake crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Others as in...?"

"Members of the Old Coven," Victoria answered. "I mean, there is something to do with the Stygian Snake in that Recollection, but I'm no supernatural expert."

What came to Drake's mind in terms of supernatural expert was Britney... and he was not going to say one word to the woman as long as people like Luca suffered. "I could ask the others but..." Drake said, shaking his head.

"I understand you may be hesitant to see them after..." Victoria trailed, awkwardly chuckling, "... that incident."

"You should punch that bitch in the face again! Form a whole line for her ass! WHOOOOO!"

Amanda shouted from the other room.

"... AMANDA!" Victora shouted back. "The triplets!"

"Oops, sorry!" Amanda shouted before going back to playing video games with Nikki.

Victoria awkwardly coughed before continuing her thought, "Look, there might be more to this... it could be linked to the murders. I know you made a mistake, but I'm counting on you to help end this."

She looked at Drake before she said, "Even though I know many of us don't want anything to do with each other after the failure of the Old Coven, we have to pull together. Whether we want to or not, we are a part of this."

"The Beer Chalice was in the dream, right?" Drake asked, and Victoria nodded. "Maybe I could ask Sully?"

"I doubt this has anything to do with Sully," Victoria stated. "That cup probably changed hands more times than you can count; didn't it wash up on a beach?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but... I don't know," Drake shrugged. "Maybe having a chat with Sully would be nice. Or maybe I should make sure that nobody dogpiles him."

Victoria nodded, "Maybe you can find out if he's going to be at the Halloween Festival, and we can all talk to him."

"Sounds like a plan..." Drake trailed off before he pulled out his cell phone and prepared to text... before he looked up at Victoria."... You know I ain't been to that festival since I was a teenager."

"Oh, Amanda and I always go," Victoria chuckled. "We got a costume for you and everything!"

"Really?"

"Yup, you'll love it," Victoria said, and Drake sent out the text to Sully...

---

---

Drake put the phone on the table dramatically.

"Well, Sully's going," Drake said.

"Good," Victoria said. "Hopefully, we can all catch up."

"... And not punch bitches in the face!"

"Amanda!"

"Amanda!"

Drake and Victoria shouted at the same time.

---

---

---

“... I just… every time I see them, I just think of her… I just can’t help but see her face and just get reminded of how she went out.”

Adora sighed as she stared at the ceiling, lying on this Chaise longue in Lihn Phan’s office. It was time for her weekly session, which she usually took after she was done with work. She took in a deep breath as she continued.

“I feel like I’m the only person there that gives a damn about any of this,” Adora started, “I’m trying to help them because everyone it is important to someone like Lisa was to me… but it seems everyone else just… I don’t fucking know. They’re floundering about! When people are dying!” She expressed her frustration by pounding her fist on the side of the lounge, then sighed.

"Of course." Lihn sat in a comfortable armchair just to the side, looking at Adora with a gaze filled with sympathy. She had a notebook in her lap, with carefully made and sparse notes across the page she had open. "Does it feel like they aren't taking the threat seriously?"

They were in the room she used for therapy sessions - a small, cozy place with simply decorated walls. There was a small table between them, with a glass of water, should Adora want it. A small bookcase sat against a wall, decorated with books varying from those about psychology to romance novels to children's books. A potted succulent sat on the large window spread across the wall to the right of Lihn, with cream linen curtains pulled across them. It meant the room was comfortably lit but private.

“Of course not,” Adora rolled her eyes. “Fifteen people are dead, and it feels like a popularity contest!”

"I'm sure that seeing them again was difficult for you. Pushing through those memories without fleeing is brave and shows that you're taking steps forward - slow as they may feel." Lihn smiled softly. "You told me in a previous session that there was always infighting, but everyone came together. I assume it's different now? There's no cohesion at all?"

“None whatsoever, and I don’t know who to blame,” Adora sighed. “Our esteemed leader, or the lemmings who are more obsessed with everything except the bigger picture.”

Adora rolled her eyes.

“I kinda think striking out on my own would be better, but someone has to care...” Adora shrugged. “Well, it seems my Coven mate Mich - um, sorry, - Lila cares.”

“Focusing on blame will only make things more difficult,” Lihn offered. “Is it possible for you to reach out to Lila on her own? It might make it easier for you to attend future meetings and give you someone to work with. While doing something alone may seem easier, it will only further your isolation. Forming a connection with at least one coven mate will be more beneficial for your mental health and safer.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Adora sighed. “But, there was a dream I wanted to talk with you about…”

She looked at Lihn, trying to find the right words for this.

“It was about this girl I never met - Raven - and she was in this place… the Pit, I think it was called? But, there was this voice talking to me, saying that she was a monster or something.”

She looked Lihn dead on as she said,

“... I guess you’re trying to decide if I need the straight jacket now or later?” Then she chuckled.

“I wouldn’t put you in a straight jacket,” Lihn smiled reassuringly, though her concern was clear in her eyes. “A dream like that isn’t so strange in a world with magic. It could have been triggered by seeing everyone in your old coven… But if that were the case, the dream would involve people you knew. We can’t disregard the possibility of it being the influence of some kind of magic, like a pink lux user.”

She thoughtfully tapped her fingers on her notebook. “Did this dream feel any different from a normal one? Perhaps it was a warning… Was there more to the dream than this girl, Raven, and the voice talking to you?”

“I can’t recognize that voice that was talking to me… but if they’re calling the gal, Raven, a monster, it can’t help but feel like a warning,” Adora started, putting her hands together as she stared at that damn ceiling. “I honestly dunno where to start… but at the end of the dream, she found a weird ass temple with some… murals? Like what had to be of the Stygian Snake. Like some fucked up shit of people worshipping it… and… fuck… I..”

She was a little lost on how to phrase what the fuck she saw.

“Take your time. Was there more to these murals than the Stygian Snake and its worshippers?” Lihn prompted Adora, trying to help her express what she wanted to. “Anything that stood out to you. You don’t need to describe the whole thing; just try to concentrate on the main details.”

“It was like… Fuck, the murals were of crucified people and mini Stygian Snakes? They were coming out of them.” Adora explained.

Lihn visibly paused, eyes widening slightly. That was a disturbing image. “Coming out of them like in the movie Alien?” Lihn shook her head. “Sorry, an example was unnecessary. That certainly sounds disturbing. Perhaps your dream is showing you a possible future or even an image from the past to both warn and inform you. It’s clear to me that, either way, it’s not a normal dream."

Adora craned her head over towards Lihn and asked, ”... Warning me of what that’s what my question is?” Adora said. ”And why now?”

That took a lot of work for Lihn to figure out. As a therapist, she could interpret natural dreams for a person’s mental state. As a magical therapist, she understood mental magic better than most. But is it interpreting a dream like this? It wasn’t easy. “It’s difficult to say. It could be a warning of a few things - the girl, Raven, or the risk of the Stygian Snake escaping again. Perhaps the creation of more like it? I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive answer to that.” She smiled ruefully. “It’s a bit outside of my area of expertise. As for why now? Perhaps its because your coven has reconvened.”

Adora raised her hands in the air, and her finger quoted.

”’Reconvened,’” Adora flatly said. ”You already know how I feel about that, doc.” For once, Adora laughed.

“Not quite the right choice of words,” Lihn laughed lightly. “Most of you are back in the same city, at least. That could be the trigger.”

Adora sighed.

”Who knows,” Adora trailed off, ”Maybe I had a little too much to drink last night, and that’s the last of it!”

“Perhaps. Drinking can lead to strange dreams.” Lihn then raised an eyebrow. “And why did you drink ‘a little too much’ last night? Was it because of the feelings the ‘meeting’ brought up?”

Adora was silent.

”I just… yes,” Adora sighed. ”It’s been a whole ass week, and yet, it didn’t get any better!” Adora shouted before taking a deep breath and then exhaling.

“Of course, having to face something linked with your trauma will bring up a lot of difficult feelings. It didn’t give you any closure and brought up more problems, right? If you feel up to it, talk me through the exact feelings you’ve been having for the last week.”

”I don’t know…” Adora somehow found a way to slump further into the lounge than she was already lying in. ”Just by hanging around them, I just get reminded of her. I get reminded of that day.”

She sighed.

”Then I just get that creeping feeling again, my heart starts fluttering and I start to feel weak...”

Lihn nodded. “Because when you were last around them, she was there. You associate the group with her, and that leads to memories of that day. But you recognize that feeling, that’s good. When you start feeling that way, you generally have two options. You remove yourself from the situation, or you learn to handle your emotions and calm down. Do you remember the breathing exercises we did before?”

Lihn smiled, continuing even without an answer. “When you start feeling like that - panicked - start taking deep breaths in and out. Remind yourself that you’re not there if you’re able to; focus on the good memories. You have to remember the good without it leading to the bad to move on. I understand it’s not easy. Just take it step by step.”

Adora nodded her head.

”Got it, doc.”

Lihn leaned back, glancing at the time. “That’s the end of our session. Assuming you feel fine to end it here, I’ll see you next week… Ah. Are you going to the Halloween Festival?”

Adora shrugged.

”The plan is to go.”

“I think that will be good for you,” Lihn smiled. “I’ll be there too. If you need to at any point during the festival, call me. I can come and help.”

”Heh,” Adora chuckled. ”... Hopefully, it won’t come to that, Doc.”
Adora finally got up, placed her feet on the floor, and stood straight up. She then walked over to Lihn and extended a hand. ”Thank you, Doc, you’re the best.”

“Of course,” Lihn reached out for Adora’s hand and gave it a warm squeeze rather than a shake. “I hope you enjoy the festival.”

Adora smiled.

”Will do, doc.”

Before she left for her house.

---

---

Adora pushed the door to her room, and was quick to throw off her clothes - a black hoodie and leggings combo - and turned her attention to her costume that was neatly laid out on her bed. It was a corny costume, one that she thought would be… cute if one could believe it. It was a retro-style carhop attire, a cyan blue dress with white stripes that ended midthigh, some roller skates, and some short bicycle shorts so she didn’t show any booty if an unfortunate wind came by. She was quick to put it on, sans the roller skates as it was impossible to drive with those damn things on…

---

After a long line, Adora finally got a seat on the ferry to Cracker Island… it wasn’t a place that Adora found herself going to a lot, but it was where they hosted the Halloween Festival. An event she also didn’t typically attend. She sat by the window and played on her phone with her cute little costume on….

… She heard a cane clacking against the ground, and then she looked up to see a tall, older gentleman wearing a dark-grey suit and a black cane. He had to be in his late fifties but looked amazing for his age… he looked a little bit hot, but Adora had to temper those feelings as she looked up at him.

“... Mind if I have a seat?” He asked.

“Free country,” Adora answered, and the man had a seat.

“Your costume looks nice,” He said.

“So does yours,” Adora responded.

“I’m not wearing a costume,” The man flatly.

“Tryna flirt with me?” Adora blew him a little kiss.

“You look like you’re the same age as my son,” The man answered.

“And age is just a number,” Adora chuckled.

The man rolled his eyes before he extended a hand, “Shayton,”

“...That’s a weird name,” Adora chuckled as she took his hand and shook it.

“It’s not my name,” Shayton answered, “Malik, but I prefer if I’m called Shayton.”

“I prefer if you called me,” Adora smiled, “What are you doing here? This don’t look like your scene, Shayton.”

“It isn’t,” Shayton said, “But I just like to go places, you know. Just relax.”

“... You’re not from around here, are you?” Adora asked.

Shayton raised an eyebrow at her, “... And what gave that away?“ He near-sarcastically asked.

“Just a hunch,” Adora turned towards him.

“I think you look more out of place here,” Shayton said, “Going by yourself?”

“Yep, I’m a one-woman party,” Adora said.

“You should be careful,”

Adora narrowed her eyes as she asked,

“... What does that mean, Shayton?”

“It’s dangerous in St. Portwell, especially now,”

“Yeah, I lived here all my life,” Adora rolled her eyes. “I know, but I appreciate the concern… Shayton. That feels weird to say, you know. I’ll just call you Malik.”

There was a silence as Adora stared daggers into Shayton. He shrugged as he got up and said, “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Adora didn’t respond as Shayton got up, walked to the ferry's exterior, and stood there. Watching the scenery. She rolled her eyes as she figured that she was almost to Cracker Island. She saw the other ferries that were loaded with people.

Yet she couldn’t help but think about Shayton.

There was more to the old bastard.

---

---

---

It was time for the morning PRA brief, as they practiced every morning... everyone was gathered in their meeting room. Meifeng is standing with a pulldown projector screen behind her, holding a clipboard. Cindy Keagan was sitting down at the laptop that operated the slides. Meifeng loudly coughed as she addressed the group.

"Alright," Meifeng started as she aimed a pen at everyone, "Director Alcott is going to have a nice little teleconference with us all on our progress. Remember, remain on your shit. That Raid the other day never happened. And Trevor..." Meifeng stared knives through Trevor.

Trevor awkwardly laughed as the sweat beads trickled down his head.

"... Just don't say anything, Trevor!"

"See no evil, Agent Liao," Samson chuckled.

Leon Vahan made a gesture as if he had zipped his lips closed.

"Another coverup?!" Sonya feigned shock, "We already did twenty this week! And it's Tuesday."

"Alright, the Director is patching through,"

The room dimmed as Director Alcott was patched through, and the Director appeared on the projector screen… as a shadowy figure with poofy black hair. None of the Director’s features could be made out, but many of the Agents in the room had seen the Director in person. The enigmatic Director made a finger tent as they said,

“Good morning,”

“Good morning, Director!” The Agents said in return.

“How have you all been?” Director Alcott asked.

“I’ve been good,” Samson shrugged.

“I finally grew back my arms and legs!” Sonya excitedly said.

“I’ve been great, Director,” Nakala said.

“Holding on,” Cindy said.
“I think all the Agents have been doing fine under my watch.”

“How is St. Portwell treating you, Maximilian?” Director Alcott addressed Maximilian directly.

Maximilian shrugged.

“It’s nice,” Maximilian started, “It’s much better than I originally thought it’d be.”

“Now, to get down to business…” The Director stated, “This is my monthly update on your progress in securing the Stygian Snake.”

The Director let their words hang in the air as they asked,

“... So, what have you done to secure the Snake?”

Meifeng looked off to the side, grimacing as she said, “In terms of progress… we have made no progress.”

“So…” Director Alcott let their words hang in the air, “... Why exactly are you wasting time and resources brutalizing peaceful gatherings?“

Meifeng froze like a deer in the headlights; she turned around and faced Trevor, who smiled and shrugged before facing the projector screen.

“Director,” Meifeng said, “I was just-”

“Agent Liao, behavior like that gives the PRA a bad name… we are not tyrants that bully the city,” The Director was very calm with their words, “We are supposed to be helping St. Portwell. We are supposed to be quelling the chaos in the city.”

Meifeng was silent.

“I appreciate your work during the Lighthouse incident-” Everyone except Akira and Claudette winced. “-and I recommended you for this position, but if we have any more little hiccups like that… then I’ll be reconsidering your position, clear?”

Meifeng sighed.

“... Clear, Director.”

“Now, I anticipated that you wouldn’t have made progress on locating the Stygian Snake,” Director Alcott said, “So, I’m going to give this order straight from the top…”

The words made Meifeng grimace.

“... Everyone is released to head to the Halloween Festival, or home,” One could not make out Director Alcott’s features with sight alone, but Meifeng could just feel the warm smile they put on. “It seems like fun.”

Meifeng sighed out of relief before she turned to the PRA,

“... You are all on call; however, if something does happens,” Meifeng adds the caveat, and everyone nods.

“Now, I have nothing more to say,” Director Alcott said, “What’s your motto again?”

Meifeng opened her mouth, but Trevor beat her to it,

“... Just the tip!” Trevor shouted with a hand raised in the air.

“... Tre-TREVOR!” Meifeng screamed, her voice cracking.

“Okay,” Director Alcott said, chuckling as they shouted, raising their fist.

Everyone stood up, with a fist in the air, and shouted,


Meifeng’s face was beet red as she stomped over to Trevor, grabbed him by his collar, and said, “I’m going to kill you…” She paused. “... And then I’m going to kill you again.”

“Hey now,” Cindy chuckled as she looked at the group. “How about we meet here in our costumes in a few hours before we go?”

Meifeng craned towards Cindy, letting go of Trevor as she said, “Wonderful idea! We meet here at four?”

Maximilian raised an eyebrow, shrugging, “I didn’t pack a costume.”

Samson chuckled, “Me neither.”

“Don’t worry,” Trevor said, “I got you covered.”

---

The PRA Agents had reformed in their meeting room… except they were all dressed up in costume. Nakala was dressed as Morticia Addams. Sonya was dressed as a “sexy cop” with booty shorts (despite not having much of one) and stockings. Claudette was dressed as a Librarian with a scarf around her neck. Bianca was dressed as a werewolf, with cute wolf ears and over-the-top makeup. Akira and Helena were not dressed up at all and were wearing regular ahh clothes. While Trevor, Maximilian, Fiona, Leon, and Samson were dressed as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. They were the Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow, and Black Power Rangers, respectively, and Samson loudly sighed as he said,

"... Real fucking funny, Trevor."

“... Wasn’t the Yellow Power Ranger a girl?” Leon Vahan said.

“Don’t be sexist,” Trevor said, “Today she’s a boy!”

“That has nothing to do with… never mind,”

Then, the two top Agents, Meifeng Liao and Cindy, came in… wearing matching cutesy French maid outfits, both holding feather dusters.

Immediately, everyone broke out laughing.

“What?” Meifeng said as she smiled. “Aren’t we adorable?”

Cindy wrapped her arms around Meifeng’s torso, smiling like a fool.

“Ohmygod- Yeah, totally adorable,” Bianca covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. She then looked around at everyone with a grin. “Oh man, I haven’t been to the Halloween festival since I was a teen- it’s great. As the resident St Portwell local, I can give anyone who wants it a tour… Show you all the best spots and the like.”

“I think you’re the only one here from St. Portwell!” Leon Vahan said.

“If you don’t mind,” Meifeng said. “It’s not fair to make you play tour guide if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind,” Bianca replied. “It’s an opportunity to show off the place!”

“Alright, unless anyone has anything to say,” Cindy put both her hands together and then pushed them outwards. “Let’s get out of here. I, for one, am sick of looking at this room!”

“Agreed,” Maximilian said as he stood up.

Everyone funneled out of the room, but as they were leaving, Meifeng said, “Remember, we’re on call!” She started.

“... And have fun!”

---

---

---

Gretchen (Or Greta) Faust's Labwas a sanctuary for the girl. It was her little slice of the 8th Street Mansion, which everyone got, but Greta made it clear that it was hers and no one was allowed in there without her permission. For a good reason, as there have been incidents in the past where people used the wrong potion or ended up setting off her explosive potions. As she typically was, Greta was completely knocked out at her desk, and the room was pitch black except for the glow her potions created. Taking naps was just typical for the overworking Greta, but what was not typical was the fact she had on only a white bra and panties. She snored incredibly loud.

... The door was pushed open, and the light came on; Greta raised her head towards the door, feeling that strand of drool come down from her face. She saw Jacqueline and Miranda inside, and their eyes shot open, and their faces went red.

"Oh my God, sorry!" Miranda raised her hands, turning her head off to the side, not to see any more of Greta.

"... This is why you knock," Greta shook her head as she walked towards the coat rack and put on a long white lab coat, buttoning it up. Then wiped the drool she had left.

"Again, we're sorry," Jacqueline ran a hand through her hair.

"Now, what can I help you with?" Greta asked, leaning against her desk.

The two girls nodded at each other.

"Annabelle," Miranda started, "We need you to start working on some kind of cure for her."

Greta shook her head.

"Good grief," Greta started as she walked over to her glowing wall of green potions (the healing ones), "First your sister wants me to make all these damn potions all the time, and now you want me to take on another problem?" She narrowed her eyes at the two.

"It's important... we don't know what's wrong with her..." Miranda said.

"That's rich coming from the girl with the Omnicient book," Greta rolled her eyes.

"Look," Jacqueline said as she pulled the Expert's Book from her armpit, walked over to Greta's desk, and placed it on it, opening it up. It was currently full of information on The Hunger... which was primarily useless information on the Curse's origins (a dimension she had never heard of) and all the people currently infected with it... but what was most essential was that the curse grew stronger the more people the infected consumed.

The Book gave zero information on how to cure it.

Greta leaned over and scanned the book before she turned to Jacqueline and said, "I'm going to need some time to examine the contents of this." She pushed her glasses up her nose. "However, I have something more pressing I'm working on."

The two twins raised their eyebrows with open mouths as Greta walked over to a large glowing vat with her hands behind her back. When she approached the vat, she pivoted around on her heel and kept her face turned upwards as if looking down on them... even though she was one of 8th Street's shortest members. She began her speech,

"As you two are aware, members of the Old Coven are being dropped like flies," Greta started, "That is not what I am working on... but I am under the impression that this may have something to do with the Stygian Snake, or someone might be working to release the Stygian Snake."

She placed a hand against the large metal vat and continued, "I am going to assume that the worst possible outcome will take place, and the Stygian Snake will escape. Which is why I am developing a special potion in case that occurs."

She adjusted her glasses.

"Don't you have a little bit of ti-" Miranda tried to say before Greta shot her down.

"No, I do not," Greta said. "We are preparing for war, aren't we?"

The Reed twins were silent.

"... Aren't we?"

Jacqueline and Miranda sighed simultaneously as they spoke in a strange unison.

"... Yes,"

Greta walked to the side of the two, then gave them the side eye as she said,

"We can figure out how to fix Annabelle after this blows over," Greta said before she sighed. "Deal?"

They were quiet before they said,

"... Deal," The Reed Twins said at the same time.

"Very well," Greta started, "Now, if you're not going to help me create potions, I have business to attend to."

"What? Sleeping naked on your desk?" Jacqueline snorted.

"Yes, in fact," Greta adjusted her glasses, "I am."

The two Reed twins rolled their eyes as they walked out, and Greta sat back down on her desk... and braced her face into her arms.

---

It was finally time for the Halloween Festival!

The two Reed sisters skipped into the main hall, holding hands, wearing light-pink princess dresses and pink shoes, and having silvery tiaras. They were both wearing identical costumes that made it very hard to tell them apart... and they looked around at the other members of the 8th Street Coven and their costumes. The first person that caught their eye was George, who had dressed as a Spartan with a red cape slung over his shoulder, a brown kilt and belt, wrist cuffs, and a helmet. He exposed his muscular body as he sat down in the chair. The next person who caught their eye was Nadine, who had painted a skeleton on her face and hands; everything else was concealed by a blue sweater with a long red skirt and high heels, making her even taller. Aaron dressed up like an astronaut, and Malik dressed like a Pirate. Brianna was dressed as a Safari Guide with a Khaki dress shirt, shorts, and a guide hat. Lee and Flora were matching, dressed as knights, while Flora had the Aegis Piercer in hand. Greta was dressed up as Nina Cortex with blue body paint, a black shirt, and a skirt with a red tie… Maya was dressed up as an angel, with a white lace tube top, a puffy skirt that barely covered her ass, a halo, and small, feathered wings she’d spent the last week meticulously making.

Vashti entered from a side room, yanking the tail of her costume free from the door as it closed on it. She was dressed in an alligator onesie that was one size too large, the mouth that doubled as the costume hood drooped over her face. She pushed up the rows of felt teeth and grinned at Maya as she said, “Wow, bro, great costume as always. I’ve never seen someone do slutty chicken before!”

There were the difficult-to-ignore sounds of someone roller skating into the room, and presenting herself was Phoebe Carmicheal. She was wearing a bright red leather leotard with devil horns, holding a trident. She had on black roller skates as she passed Vashti, blowing some bubblegum.

“Sis, don’t do my girl like that!” Phoebe shouted as she skated over to Maya and hugged her. “That said…. You forgot the roller skates!”

“Yeah, I’m an angel, Vashti; you need to get your eyes checked,” Maya sneered, leaning into the hug and wrapping an arm around Phoebe’s waist. “Wait, shit, I knew there was something else I had to buy last week! Fuck, does anyone have a spare pair of roller skates… Where’s Carol?”

“... Right here!” Carol shouted, dressed up for a Roller Derby with roller skates herself, elbow and knee pads, and a pink helmet. She had on pink shorts and a lime green shirt. “I only got like two fucking pairs… I don't know why everyone acts like I gotta billion fucking pairs of roller skates! Your shoe size better be a six!”

“Well, you’re always wearing them, so,” Maya shrugged. Damn. Someone eternally a kid had a bigger shoe size than her. But she wasn’t going to admit that! She could grab some socks to stuff them with if she had to. “I am, so let me borrow your other pair.”

“You know the deal, Maya,” Carol put her fists on her hips as she said, “You gotta help me buy some booze first!”

“Carol, calm down!” Phoebe laughed. “You’re like fourteen!”

“I don’t give a fuck!”

“Mm, I dunno, dude. We’re all a little too mature to be giving liquor to kids,” said Vashti, her face squinching as she took a swig from an open bottle of bottom-shelf schnapps that had fished out from somewhere inside her gator costume. She gagged and offered it to Phoebe. “Shit, I mean, soooo good. Shot?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Phoebe downed the shot.

Carol crossed her arms,

“Motherfucker… I’m twenty-FUCKING-four!” Carol rolled her eyes. “You know that… you know what? Fuck it!” Carol waved her hand away.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Maya lowered her voice, covering the side of her mouth towards Vashti as if she couldn’t hear her. She pointed to a small, white handbag at her feet. “I got some in my bag; you can have it.”

Carol grinned like a goblin and whispered, “Thank you, Vashti is a motherfucker.”

“You know, Vashti, that costume is hilarious,” Jacqueline giggled as the two went over to Emily, sitting at her throne, wearing her favorite green dress with her arms crossed, watching this unfold. The two Reed sisters walked over to Emily, and the girl raised her eyebrow as the twins smiled at her.

“... Yes?” Emily asked.

Miranda wiggled her hips as she said, “... Where’s your costume?”

“I don’t have one,” Emily rolled her eyes as she spoke, “I’m going as myself.” She turned her nose upwards and touched her chest as she spoke.

“That’s boring!” Jacqueline shouted.

“Hold on!” Miranda raised a finger before the two disappeared into the halls of the 8th Street Manor. A few minutes later, they returned, and Emily’s eyes shot open as they both held a ridiculous green dragon onesie. It was enormous, with a hole in the mouth where her face would be. Emily twisted her face at the sight as the two presented it before her.

“I. Am. Not. Wearing-”

---

Emily was at the Halloween Festival wearing the costume.

Emily was hunched forward, with her eyes closed and an expression on her face implying that she wanted to die. She was being dragged forward through the crowds of people… and as far as the eye could see, there were stands selling food, drinks, or some product. However, Emily could only groan as her two little sisters skipped alongside her. The 8th Street Coven was one giant, hard-to-ignore group… led by the Reed Twins. Who came to a stop as they asked,

“What do you guys want to do first?!” Jacqueline excitedly said.

“... Kill myself,” Emily rolled her eyes.

"Go on then," Maya sneered. It wasn't as snide as her comments towards Emily normally would be - because she was trying her hardest not to fucking fall over. As normal, she held Phoebe's hand… but it was more like a death grip than a cutesie handhold. "Let's get drinks first!"

“Eat a dick, Maya…” Emily let go of her sisters and put her face in her hands.

“Yaaaaaaas!” Phoebe said, “So you can fall on your ass because you really aren’t good at roller skating, are you?”

"I'm going to fall on my ass anyway!" Maya half-wailed, grabbing Phoebe's arm when she nearly slipped. "I said I wasn't good at it."

“You better not fuckin’ break those! Those were expensive!” Carol chided.

“It’s cool; just ask Emily for an advance on your allowance, dude,” said Vashti. She agreed with Maya for once—drinks were a must, but the lines were too long. “I’m not missing the haunted mansion again this year.”

“George!” Vashti yelled and spun on her feet, not realizing the large Spartan was behind her. Vashti grabbed the tail of her crocodile costume and wrung it in her hands as she twisted side to side with a flirtatious smile. “Oh, George. Hey, we’re all gonna get in line for the haunted mansion. Could you grab us all drinks? I’ll save you a spot. I wouldn’t feel safe going in without being protected by a big, strong Trojan.”

George smiled as he flexed his muscles and said, “... Sure th-”

“Are you seriously expecting this big motherfucker not to break all our drinks?!” Carol shouted, laughing as she jammed an elbow into his side. “Lemme go with you, George! You’ll fuck it up if you don’t.”

“Looks like we’re splitting up?” Miranda turned on her heel. “We’ll hit up the haunted house later; I’m kinda hungry.”

“I’ll stick with you two,” Emily said.

“Where are we going?” Maya looked at Phoebe, who she was planning to stick with because what was the point of a matching costume if you weren’t together? Plus, she needed the physical support. “Can we go into the haunted house with roller skates?”

“I don’t know, but honestly,” Phoebe said as she roller-skated. “Getting drunk would make this lame-ass festival so much better. So, let’s get fuuuuuuucked up! WHOOOOOOOO!” Phoebe screamed.

“Heh, that I can agree with,” Maya grinned. “Let’s get drunk, then hit the haunted house! It’ll be way better then.”

“Let’s then steal candy from the kiddos!” Phoebe shouted.

That was when the 8th Street Coven went their separate ways.

---

“You dressed,” Lynn shouted through the bathroom door, “mine is perfect.”

Lila smiled in response. She had her costume on, and she was excited to wear it out to the festival. It has been a long time since she had done something like this. Before the sealing, she had to always consider that she’d have a massive murder following her around. Sure, since the sealing she still had a massive murder, even bigger than before, but this was more normal now. These had to be regular crows and not a mystical, magical murder that the Maiden made available to her. A regular murder, numbering in the thousands, that followed her every move and watched her at every moment of the day. And it just so happened that this murder still did things for her when she asked. The Maiden was sealed. There was no way that these crows were anything but normal.

“Yes, and I think I’ll need to commission Faith myself for more costumes,” Lila paused as she checked herself out in the mirror. She had her buttercup costume on. It was much alike the show version however the skirt only fell to her upper thigh. She made sure to wear some bicycle shorts because the wind would be her enemy. Overtop the costume she had a black biker jacket, and her hands had fingerless leather gloves with a cutout heart on top. Black fishnets covered her legs while the black choker around her neck complemented both the ensemble, and the faint green makeup and glasses that framed her face. Lila checked herself in the bathroom mirror, before she turned her attention towards the door. “I bet you look hot.”. Lila turned back to the mirror and saw the maiden standing behind her, arm stretched out.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lila shouted as she spun around. The room was empty behind her, and as she turned towards the mirror again it reflected the same.

The door swung open and Lynn quickly rushed in. Her blossom costume was more traditional. She had a red jacket on top, and had white thigh highs on her legs. A giant red bow overtop the meticulously styled hair.

“What’s wrong,” Lynn asked as she looked around the room. She quickly saw Lila looking into the mirror with a look of fear strewn across her face.

“I saw,” Lila paused as she took a deep breath, and looked around the room, “the maiden in the mirror”

“Babe, are you sure everything is okay? You keep seeing her, the crows keep doing stuff, and-”

“No, no everything is okay. I think I just have some lingering issues, where ever the maiden took me was… no no no I’m fine, I’m good, I’m okay” Lila paused as she remembered back to that night. To the realm of the Maiden. A tear began to well in her eyes.

“You need to talk to this therapist I found, I just scheduled an appointment for later in the week. They deal with us weird people, I can get you her information” Lynn paused as she walked up to Lila and gave her a hug, “I’m here for you though, that place sounds awful even if you won’t describe it.”

“Thank you,” Lila responded as she returned the hug, “You look cute.”

“And you look hot,” Lynn paused as she pulled back and placed her hands on Lila’s shoulder, “let’s get drinking, get a small buzz going. I can not wait to see the boys”

The two exited the bathroom and went to the living room to take a high number of photos together while knocking back some mixed drinks. Lynn was excited. The savage attack by Linqian had left a mark, but it had healed well thus far. She was able to conceal it enough that one would be able to tell she was hurt. Lynn truly hoped that Linqian would not come to the festival. Lynn truly hoped that she would instead spend the day under whatever bridge that troll called home, alone, and without anything that brings her happiness. And Lynn hoped that she would see that her attack did not phase her, and that she’d still have a good time tonight regardless of everything that happened.

Lila was not excited. Even now she could see the maiden in the mirror. She could feel the maiden reaching out to her, wanting something. How could this happen? Lila thought once the maiden was sealed it would make everything better. That she’d never have to worry about a fucking murder following her every step, or about a cheap horror movie jumpscare? Why was the maiden still present? For the first time, Lila wondered if something went wrong with the sealing.

“So.. how were your dreams last night?” Lynn asked as she drank some tea.

“You had one too?” Lila responded as she groaned. “Raven, the pit…. The snake?”

”The very same,” Lynn sighed. Dreaming was very much a forgotten experience. Every night she drank enough to truly never dream, at least remember the dreams. And this one was clear, even if the message behind it was not. ”I wonder if anyone else had the dream, and I wonder if anyone knows a Raven Jones.”

Eventually an Uber notification pinged her phone pulling their focus from the conversation. Their ride was here, and it was time to head to the ferry.

---

---

“Those costumes turned out so good,” Sypha spoke as they slid into the seat opposite Lila and Lynn. They were dressed as Jackie Kennedy, their pink suit completely accurate to the one worn on that fateful day. For some reason Sypha was carrying a small section of sheet metal.

“Did the boys chicken out?”

“They really did, and no, the boys are coming. They’re just running a little late. You going to the festival alone?”

“I am not,” Sypha paused as she pointed behind Lynn and Lila. There were four members of the 317 on the ferry with them. Alex, Zeri, Thomas, and Lori. Alex was dressed up as Bob Ross, complete with fake facial hair and the wig. Zeri was dressed up as a plague doctor, and it was obvious that it was more of a renaissance fair outfit as it looked quite expensive. Thomas was in a cheap wizard costume with a wobbly plastic staff, and finally Lori was dressed up as the White Violin from the umbrella academy. “They had to finish up a project but now that they’re done, they’re free to join everyone else!”

“Exciting,” Lila said with a small sigh. Her eyes had drifted to the window of the ferry and was watching as the murder made a halo over the top of the ferry. Why?

“Anyway,” Sypha paused as she pulled out a business card. The front side was just ‘317’ and the back had Sypha’s name, and all of the socials for the 317. “If you take a group photo feel free to tag us, get us trending! I’ll get back to the children but it was nice seeing you both,”

Sypha stood up, gave the two a weak wave, before she returned to the rest of her group.

“Jasper just texted. They’re at the dock waiting for the next ferry,” Lynn smiled. “Lila we’ll need to talk to Jasper about his manners. He won’t send me any photos.”

Lila simply smiled, then laughed, and returned to her phone to take another photo herself.

---

---

“Fuck,” Lynn said as she huddled up to Lila.

“What,” Lila asked as she turned in towards Lynn.

“I’m cold,” Lynn responded as she tried to get closer to Lila.

Lila frog blinked at Lynn. “You were the one who suggested these costumes. I should’ve thought these costumes through, asked for more layers,” Lila paused as she looked around, spotting the 8th street plotting nearby. Great. The one group that Lila hoped would not show up. The one group that could turn a good day into a bad one. Then she saw Emily in the dragon costume. The one person that deserved to look stupid. The one person who’s misfortune could turn a bad day into a good one. She turned her attention back to Lynn “hopefully a couple drinks will make us feel warmer,” she smirked as she finished. They may have been at the back of this specific drink line but it was moving fast. And nothing made Lila feel more excited than overpriced drinks while wearing costumes.

“And hopefully the boys get here soon. I bet they’re warm.”

“And I bet they look amazing,” Lila smirked at the thought.

“Oh they do, Jasper texted me ‘get ready’ and still refuses to send any photos,” Lynn said as she pulled out her phone.

“Jasper was really quick to get on board with the whole costume idea,” Lila responded as she shifted her legs in place trying to warm them up.

“I think he’s been wanting to show off his legs for a while. This was his chance,” Lynn laughed as she finished, “I’m worried about the two of them.

“Me too, me too,”, like exhaled and looked around, “I wish they were just being gay together. And I wish they trusted enough to tell us what is going on.”

“They do trust us, but they can’t tell us for some reason. At least if the future is to be believed, I’ve been wrong before. I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.” Lynn paused as she lost her smile. She wished she could figure this out alone, but, she did not want to leave it to chance. She looked around and also spotted the 8th street nearby. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll keep trying to figure it out, but if it isn’t clear to me soon I’ll ask around. Maybe Britney, maybe Jack…maybe Sloane.”

“We’d never be able to tell him,” Lila responded as she shot Lynn a side eye.

“It’d be a secret,” Lynn returned the gaze. A chorus of caws from the area around the area pulled Lynn’s attention. “Lila…” She had noticed the murder the day after the sealing, she’s noticed it every day since, she noticed them as they got into the Uber, and she noticed it as they took the ferry. Something was wrong here, and the future was much more certain as to why. “Talk to Britney, promise me you’ll talk to Britney.

Lila looked around the top of the stalls, building, and trees spotting the murder once again. In her mind she felt that something was pushing against some invisible wall, trying its hardest to come out. She knew that there was something wrong. Something went wrong with the sealing. Something had to be wrong. Yet, those thoughts did not last for long. Lila did not let them linger for long. “I don’t think I need to, the bitch is sealed. I’m fine.”

“I’m worried, and I don’t want to worry about you and the boys at the same time. Just trust me, talk to Britney and see what she says. Okay? Please?” Lynn paused as she smiled a weak smile.

“It’s a waste of time,” Lila paused as she looked down, “but I promise.”

The line moved further and Lila and Lynn took another step forward. Lynn heard a ping on their phone. “Jasper and Luca are here, but they’re grabbing food… they’ll make their way to us after. Dicks.”

The night was still very young, and there was a hope of great fun ahead of them.

---

With nervous anticipation, Luca stared his phone.

He was sitting in his bedroom on the floor, cross legged and with his phone in front of him. It was the day that he and Olivia would normally call - and this week he'd hoped that she would. But there was still nothing. Maybe he should just call her himself? Maybe she was just busy? It was difficult to keep his thoughts from spiralling, even for someone as positive as him.

Not, it was fine! He should just call her.

Luca leaned forward and tapped the call button, easily finding Olivia's number. He leaned back as it started to ring.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Click- the person you are calling can't come to the phone right now. Please-

Luca shot out his hand to hang up before the full message played, dread pooling in his stomach.

Maybe she was just busy? No, it had been too long. He’d have to call her family again… With a frown, Luca dialed Olivia’s family home landline. After a few beeps it got through.

“Hello, Maria Ruiz speaking, who is this?”

”Hi, Mrs Ruiz? It's Luca.”

"Oh, Luca! What can I do for you?"

”It's about Olivia... she still isn't picking up my calls. ”

"Don't worry about that, Olivia came home a few days ago!"

Huh? Without telling him?

"She said she was very busy, and had to go somewhere with work. Didn't give much details, but don't worry too much. It's lovely how close you two still are, but she seemed to have a lot to do. I'm sure she'll call you when she's got time."

”That’s a relief. How is she, apart from being busy?”

"Perfectly fine! Well, she seemed a bit off, but she’s just stressed."

”Off how?”

“Oh just in a hurry, not wanting to talk to us on her way in… But as I said, she’s really busy. I’m sure she’ll be back to normal when she gets back home. No need for you to worry anymore.”

”Alright.” Something seemed… strange about it, but Luca tried to ignore that feeling. Why would it feel strange? Olivia was alive and fine, just acting a bit different because of stress. Nothing to worry about! ”Let her know I was asking after her.”

“Of course! She’s so lucky to have a friend like you. Was there anything else you called for?”

”No, just checking up on Olivia. I’ll let you go now.”

“Take care, Luca. Goodbye.”

”Bye.”

Luca reached over to hang up the call. He didn't have the energy to control his abstraction, phone disintegrating beneath his fingers as soon as he'd tapped the end call button. Ah well. He had another one, and was incredibly familiar with the process of getting his number swapped over.

He leaned back against the mattress that served as his bed, eyes half closed. It was strange for Olivia to be so busy without telling him. Not a single text, or even an email. It wasn't like her... But at least she was alright! That was a weight off his chest. His mind had been going to worse and worse places about what had happened to her, his positivity eroding away as the rot gleefully latched onto his worries. But Olivia was alive and safe, just busy. That was more than enough. He could concentrate on keeping everyone else alive.

With a yawn, Luca crawled into bed. It was only the middle of the day but he was exhausted after the last two nights, and the phone call had taken a lot out of him. Thankfully he'd gotten enough work done that morning... And Jasper wasn't around today, so he wouldn't be causing anyone worry by sleeping the day away. He'd been struggling a lot more physically, especially with some kind of skeleton creature constantly interrupting their nights. The mental load of pretending to not be falling apart was an added stress on top of the constant decay of his body. He was so tired, and everything ached.

Hopefully if he slept most of the day, he'd feel a bit better tomorrow when Jasper was back. That would work. Luca curled up on the threadbare mattress, pulling a holey blanket over him. The already straining threads began to come apart where it touched his bare skin, unravelling into new holes. It wouldn't be there when he woke up, but that was fine. He had plenty more.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, curling into a tight ball, and shoved his face into a lumpy pillow. It didn't take long for sleep to pull him in, exhaustion outweighing the constant burning sensation across his skin and the bed rotting around him.

---

---

Jasper put his car into park outside Lucas apartment complex. He had just got dressed back at his place, and was in costume. His body had visible cuts, bruises, and bandages. The past week was rough, but he and Luca had powered through it all the same. Today was a day that Jasper looked forward to, and it appeared that their Skelly foe had granted them at least a few days reprieve from the attacks. His costume fit well, and his legs were fully on display. His chest hair found an escape route through the top of the dress itself, and he had gone a few days without a shave to truly commit to the role (he still trimmed it into a clean look). As he opened the door and stepped outside, he and a random stranger locked eyes. The stranger looked at his costume, back to his eyes, and then they simply shook their head and walked away.

“Prick,” Jasper whispered as he entered Luca’s building.

Eventually he made his way to the elevator, up to Luca’s floor, and back out of the elevator. He looked down the hall and saw that the paint was finally cleared, and the broken window replaced. A smile crept across his face. Maybe things were returning to normal, maybe it was over. The smile faded. No. It wasn’t over. Skelly would be back. Skelly would try and kill then both again He had to be ready. He needed to protect Luca. Jasper walked forward with a frown before he got to Luca’s door and knocked. His smile returned and was genuine. He was genuinely happy to see Luca again, the two had grown closer over the past week. Was it because they were two awesome people? Was it because a weeklong fight against a four armed skeleton tends to make those engaged in the fighting closer? Who cared, all Jasper knew is that he was looking forward to the festival tonight, and looking forward to spending more time with Luca.

The door opened just a crack, with a single eye peeking out. When Luca realised it was Jasper he threw it open the rest of the day.

”Jasper! Phew, I was worried it was a delivery…” He grinned. Luca felt just… a little uncomfortable in the green dress he was wearing. He knew that he passed pretty well, but there were just some things he didn’t have! Like the chest hair he got a full sight of as soon as he opened the door- shit, he didn’t have that. At least his legs, short as they were, were hairy enough to work for the look. Just like Jasper he was covered in cuts and bruises. They had slowly started healing the last couple of days, but about half had reopened just from him existing. It was difficult having such fragile skin… but hey! At least the skeleton hadn’t appeared the last few days! And he got to spend time with Jasper… and Lila and Lynn.

”Come in, come in,” Luca stepped back into the halloween, before glancing over Jasper. A light blush dusted his cheeks as his gaze moved down to Jasper’s legs- nope! Just a totally cool dude checking out his totally cool dude friend’s legs. Normal friend behaviour. ”Damn, you look good, bro- I can’t believe how well these turned out.”

“I had faith,” Jasper sighed at the accidental joke, “and fuck yeah we do, I was never worried about you looking good but it really did work a miracle on my legs,” he paused as he flexed them, “Lynn wanted a photo of us in costume but I told her she would have to wait for perfection,” he paused as he looked at his phone. Lynn had already sent several photos of Lynn and Lila on the way to the festival. They were currently on the ferry and had run into Sypha. It seemed the 317 would be very much present at the festival today.

Though that did put an idea into guy his head. A photo would be nice. Today would be a good day, and he knew he would want that memory to pop back up again as time went on. Jasper looked up to Luca and smiled. The confidence that man had was something that Jasper aspired for. Jasper was confident enough in himself to pull off a look like this and it wasn’t his first time in a dress, but he was also tall and muscular so he knew that he’d be afforded more grace in this outfit than Luca would. Thus, the fact that he was so quick to agree to it and have the audacity to look as good as he did was enough to force Jasper’s smiles wider.

“Luca, let’s get a photo together. Something silly, something fun! Lila and Lynn are going to be all over us later for group photos, I want one with just you before we get that camera fatigue.”

”Hell yeah!” Luca grinned, trying not to think too much about Jasper’s legs. Especially when he flexed them. Calm thoughts! Friendly thoughts! He glanced down at his own skinny legs with a slight sigh. If only it was possible for him to bulk up at all. Well, it was all good. He looked back up with a grin. ”We should do a cutesy fighting pose! You can probably prop your phone on something on the breakfast bar… Definitely gotta use yours, mine has a shit camera.”

Jasper quickly moved to the breakfast bar, careful to not kick up the skirt as he did. While he did have some compression shorts on to keep things.. contained, he still felt the need to do his part himself. He eventually found a way to prop it up, and started the fifteen second timer. He quickly moved back to the side of Luca, expertly keeping out of range of his rot, and struck a pose. He placed his hands on his hip, moved his feet out wide, and puffed out his chest. He took one look at Luca and smiled wide.

Luca put one hand on his hip and thrust it out to the side, while throwing up a fist in the air with his other arm. He smiled brightly, eyes creasing. His raised arm shook slightly, but he managed to hold the pose until the timer had finished counting down and a quiet click sounded.

”Oh, I bet we looked so good,” Luca dropped his arm, turning to Jasper with a grin. He really wanted to see the picture, but it would have to be at a distance or sent to his current phone.. He definitely didn’t want to destroy Jasper’s much nicer one. ”Will you send it to me?”

“Of course we did, we’re both hot,” Jasper said with a wink. He turned his phone showing the photo from a distance, waited a few seconds so Luca could look, before he turned the phone over and sent the photo directly. His eyes lingered on the chat. The two had been up late texting the night before. Jasper paused as her looked at the time. They were a short drive to the ferry, and he wanted to ensure that they made the crossing. “We should get going soon, you ready for tonight? I’ve needed this kind of escape.”

”Oh yeah, I can’t wait,” Luca grinned down at his phone, concentrating on not destroying it. The picture was good… on a whim he set it to his lockscreen. Not like his phone would last that long anyway. He then slipped it into his pocket. ”I haven’t been to the halloween festival since i was… fourteen I think. I’m so excited to get to hang out together and see all the stuff there is to do.”

He’d never expected he could again. He was still not 100% sure about it, because he’d have to be careful around any crowds - but at least Jasper, Lila and Lynn could block him off from other people and the risk of blinds getting close enough to be hurt. ”Lemme just grab my bag…” he scurried towards the couch, grabbing a drawstring sports bag. He’d shoved an extra set of underlayers and a few bottles of painkillers just in case. Today felt like a good day, but you never knew. ”Alright, I’m ready, vamos!”

---

Jasper led the way down to his car. He could not help but notice that he kept sneaking a look at Luca. If it was just one he’d not think too much about it, but it was a few times. It was totally straight to want to look at a handsome friend every chance you got, right? His car was once again clean, save for the two bags in the backseat. Both were filled to the brim with painting supplies, snacks, and a few claw hammers. A single sledgehammer sat next to the bags, though this one was painted up and decorated with doodles. The drive to the ferry was a short one, and they arrived just in time for the next ferry. It was crowded. Jasper did his best to keep the blind, and otherwise, away from Luca by using his body as a shield.

“Don’t worry bro” Jasper smiled, “I’ll keep them away from you.”

”Thanks dude,” Luca let out a soft sigh of relief. It was difficult being around so many people - thankfully it would take a while for his aura to damage people, even if they were blind, but it would cause instant, intense pain. He wanted to avoid that.

He was like a little kid getting on the ferry, looking around with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. He’d hardly left his apartment the past ten years, outside of time spent with 8th Street, nevermind getting on a boat! He’d forgotten what the sea breeze felt like. He practically ran to one of the railings when they set off, leaning against it and out - his clothes providing a protective layer between him and the metal, so he wasn’t actually going to fall over. The wind tousled his hair, messing up the middle parting he’d put it in.

”Hey, Jasper, look!” he pointed out into the water, where a round grey head could be seen. ”A seal! Lucky us!”

Jasper couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Luca as he had his titanic moment. The way the wind rustled through his hair, making a mess of what was once perfect, the way he had a look of awe about him as he experienced the wonder of the ocean, and the way.. Jasper pulled himself from the thoughts and smiled. He could’ve stayed in those thoughts for the rest of the day, in a totally straight way. This was nice. They had done nothing yet but it felt like they’d done everything together today already. In a totally straight way. “That’s too cool, I’ve been on this ferry many times and I’ve never seen one before. It seems you’re a good luck charm,” Jasper joked as he leaned over the railing next to Luca. “So, you haven’t been to this festival in a minute. What’s the first thing you want to do? Haunted mansion? Food? Both?”

The seal disappeared beneath the waves, and Luca turned his head towards Jasper. He let his arms dangle over the railing, careful not to touch it with his bare hands. ”Hmm, that’s a hard one… How bout we get food first, so we have fuel for the haunted mansion. Or maybe we should save that till last? Do the best thing at the end. And hey,” Luca grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously - he would’ve nudged Jasper if he could, ”try not to get too scared if any skeletons jump out at you.”

“Why would I be scared when my big strong protector is right beside me,” Jasper said as he winked.

”That’s true,” Luca laughed, blushing slightly… but quickly ignoring that. It was normal for his face to heat up! Beside the ocean! Somehow! ”Don’t worry, I’ll keep any skeletons away from you! Or anything else that tries to hurt you, like Sloane.”

Jasper laughed. He laughed hard. “I would never put you in that kind of danger. I wouldn’t want her to glare at you. Or say a snarky retort.”. Jasper looked down. Why did he dislike Sloane? The sudden mention of her made him laugh, but it also bright a raging fire of hate that the cute face of Luca barely kept down. Was it something she did, did she say something? There had to be a reason, somewhere in the past, that caused Jasper to feel this way. Jasper thought for a second and his mind drew a blank. Maybe this week of chaos had helped finally put some perspective into his life? Maybe as long as Sloane did not speak, or show her face, Jasper could put this hatred down.

“But thank you, I’ll try not to be too defenseless, especially when it comes to Sloane. That is my cross to bear.” Jasper paused. There was something.. nice about Luca fighting the fight for him. Something that Jasper did not want to dwell on for too long. Instead, he focused on the straight thought of their plans for the rest of the day. Maybe if they were lucky they could hold hands? No… no they would be totally straight ideas, just like Jasper. “I think Lynn will go straight to the drink stands, and Lila too. When we land I’ll check in with them, maybe we can grab food together and then meet up with everyone else!”. Mission accomplished, straight.

”Alright, but I can handle an occasional glare or snarky retort,” Luca laughed. Though honestly, Sloane had never been mean to him. He didn’t think she was so bad… Just a bit dull. She needed to lighten up a little, but thankfully he brought enough positivity for anyone! Not that he needed to provide it all when with Jasper. ”Sure, let’s grab food first then meet up with them… I don’t want to get dragged to loads of drink stands without food first!”

Not that he could drink at all. His liver would probably just stop working. He smiled and leaned over the railing, gaze shifting to the nearing island. ”Oh, we’re almost there! I can hear the overpriced halloween food calling for me!”

“Like a siren on the wind,” Jasper joked as he stood up. He looked towards the island, and back to Luca. “Let’s try and get off last to be safe,” Jasper suggested. Both to protect the blind, and to steal away a few more moments of alone time before the crazy tonight.

”Good idea,” Luca nodded. It was nice having Jasper look out for him and make sure he didn’t hurt anyone… He hadn’t had that since Olivia moved away. Though it was different than with Olivia… because Jasper was a great bro. It was the difference between manly friendship and non manly friendship! Definitely. ”The food can wait for me.”

As the ship docked, Luca hung back - thankfully not many people went past the area they were in. It was nice to have a little bit more time together, on the peaceful ferry as people unloaded. Luca subtly looked at Jasper, trying not to focus too much on how good he looked in a dress. The bubbly feelings in his stomach was definitely manliness jealousy. Definitely.

”Looks like most people are off, should we get going?”

Jasper thought for a second. He did not really want to go quite yet. He was enjoying the company, the conversation, and some more alone time with Luca. It wasn’t like they were not having alone time, they spent a few nights at Luca’s and hung out during the days, but it was still something that he was left wanting more. But he knew he could not stay here for long, and as such he turned to Luca. “Yeah, let’s get going. My guardian will need a full belly to protect me tonight.”

”Yeah, I don’t want to keel over at the first skeleton,” Luca laughed. He’d also have liked to spend more time on the boat - because it was safe and quiet. He wanted to see Lila and Lynn as much as he wanted to spend more time with Jasper, of course. He started to make his way off the ferry, glad to not have to avoid many people. Once they were off, he looked around with eyes wide with excitement. There were stalls as far as the eye could see, and people milling around in all sorts of outfits.

”I want to get candied apples!” Luca’s eyes honed in on a candied apple stall, with sickly looking apples covered in all sorts of designs. ”Wait, we should get something more filling first. Hmm… any suggestions?”

“Hmmmm….. candy apples do sound delicious,” Jasper paused as he looked around the area. “How about we grab a pair of apples first because they caught your fancy, and then eat them while in line for three more filling food?”

”Sounds like a plan,” Luca grinned. He expertly weaved through the crowds, avoiding getting too close to anyone as he did. The line for the candied apple stall wasn’t too big, thankfully. He glanced up at Jasper. ”What do you want? I’ll treat you to this one, since you’ll have to help shield me from crowds.”

Jasper looked over the various options and put his hand on his chin. In truth he’d want to sample one of everything, but at same time he did not want to bankrupt Luca. “You can never go wrong with the classic,” Jasper said as he pointed to the simple caramel coated apple. “You know if you treat me to this one I’ll have to buy your dinner?” Jasper smirked at Luca as he finished.

”Oh no, you figured out my evil plan!” Luca laughed, winking at Jasper. ”I buy you a candied apple, and you have to buy me a full meal in return!”

Luca grinned teasingly. They’d reached the front of the line already, so he ordered two candied apples - a classic one for Jasper, and one absolutely coated in chocolate for himself. He took them both, concentrating hard on suppressing his rotting touch, and handed Jasper’s over to him.

”Oh, do you mind holding this for me for a moment?” He held out his candied apple, swinging his back round to the front and rummaging in it with his free hand. He’d brought a few pairs of gloves for stuff like this - didn’t quite go with the costume, but necessary so he didn’t have to worry while eating.

“Of course,” Jasper grabbed both apples and held them up while Luca grabbed his gloves. “I knew you were evil Luca, playing me for food like this. I am hurt,” Jasper chuckled as he paused, “I was going to buy you a full meal regardless, so the jokes on you for buying me this snack.”.

”Damn, foiled again,” Luca shook his head in fake despair. He pulled on a pair of lycra gloves and reached out for his apple. He wasn’t so worried about accidentally touching Jasper like this, so his gloved fingers gently brushed Jasper’s as he grabbed the apple. ”Well, guess it’s just a nice gesture then, rather than an evil scheme.”

He grinned, biting into his apple. Fuck. It was harder than he’d expected and his teeth weren’t as strong as they should be. He suppressed a wince, moving to nibbling rather than massive bites. ”Where to for something more filling? There’s too many options!”

“Well,” Jasper paused as he looked around. His face a slight more blush toned after the brushing of hands. There was a pierogi, pizza, burger, and some ox meat sandwich food stand in the immediate area. “You down for some pierogi’s?”

”Hell yeah I am!” Luca nodded, starting to make his way over to that stall, and joining the end of the queue. ”Well I’ve never actually had them, but always down to try something.”

---

---

Anya woke up with a start.

Her alarm hadn’t gone off yet, with the late morning light gently spilling through her windows. She let out a soft sigh, covering her eyes with her arm.

What a strange dream.

It was rare for Anya to have a dream she couldn’t control, or to dream at all. Often she sacrificed her own dreams and sleep to physically enter others. But this one wasn’t like that. It was more like a movie that she was watching and couldn’t interact with. Something that had been, perhaps. It was a clear warning about the girl, Raven Jones, but why? The name didn’t ring any bells. And the images… it was clearly connected to the Stygian Snake.

Maybe finding the tree they’d sealed it in was a higher priority after all.

She’d have to discuss the dream with Sloane. She could make her own conjectures, but two minds were always better than one.

Anya rolled over to check her watch, squinting at the time. 11:30am. Ah. Perhaps her alarm had gone off, and she’d silenced it and gone back to sleep.

Last night was a long one. She had to wait until midnight until she went dream walking, so there was a better selection of dreams. The first she’d come across had been a hellscape that had almost injured her, teleporting into it in the midst of a volcanic eruption. She’d left just as quickly as she entered, moving to the next which was thankfully much less dangerous. She’d pushed herself to her limits for over two hours, moving quickly from dream to dream.

She was trying to develop a spell that would allow her to come out of the dream at the dreamer’s location - essentially allowing teleportation via the dream world. But everytime she stepped out of a dream, she always went back to where she’d entered it from. It was frustrating. Having so many types of lux was both a blessing and a curse. So many possibilities, but such great difficulty weaving them together.

Another thing to discuss with Sloane, perhaps. Or Jack now that he was back.

For now, she had to get out of bed. Thankfully her shop was closed mondays and tuesday, but she still had admin work to do before getting ready for the halloween festival. If she was quick, she’d be able to get it all done. If not, she’d do it afterwards.

---

---

When Anya got off the ferry the first thing she did was look around to check if there was anyone she knew in the vicinity. It would be best to avoid other coven members if possible at first, but she would make polite smalltalk if necessary to keep up appearances.

Thankfully she didn’t see anyone she recognised.

Anya appeared to be dressed up like a half assed witch at first glance - in a long, black dress with multiple layers and petticoats underneath adding volumes to the skirt. But upon closer look, she was absolutely covered in fake bugs. Spiders of all shapes and sizes, cockroaches and beetles adorned her dress. Her hair was pulled into twin braids, with thin white ribbon threaded through it and spiders attached to it. She even had a small spider glued to her right cheek, spider webbing spiralling out from her eyeliner and a small line of ants painted across her other cheek.

She’d organised to meet up with Sloane at the entrance of Cracker Town itself, just a bit out of the way of the festival stalls. She made her way there quickly, just in case Sloane was early… which was possible, but hopefully not the case, considering Anya was also early.

There was no sign of Sloane in the area they’d organised to meet, so she hadn’t made her wait by only being ten minutes early. That was good.

She sent Sloane a quick text.
To Sloane: Here. Are you on your way?

It was best to let Sloane know that she was here, in case she’d arrived earlier and was wandering around - or had ended up dragged into inane conversations she needed an out from.

While she waited, Anya checked her sleek, black handbag to make sure she’d brought everything she planned to. Business cards, check, nightmare ward infused crystals, check, a couple of dream locator infused bracelets, check. Halloween was the perfect time for her business, between people who couldn’t handle the eeriness that came with it and those who enjoyed it too much. She wouldn’t be pushing it too hard, because she was primarily here to have a nice time with her friend, but if the opportunity arose? She wasn’t going to miss it.

---

Portland International Airport was as busy as could be expected on a Friday night. People milled around waiting for others to get off planes, while travellers quickly walked from A to B to get wherever they needed to. It was loud, constant tannoy announcements ringing through the overly bright arrivals area.

Linqian stood to the side, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. Sunglasses covered her eyes, to hide the dark bags underneath them, and watched the arrival exit doors intently. She'd driven hours to get here after finishing work at midnight the night before. She was exhausted and cranky and just wanted to get home. This was not how she'd wanted to spend her day off.

But of course, half an hour after the flight had landed and still no sign of Henri. She could've left later. She should've assumed that the luggage collection would take a fucking age! Hell, even if it didn't she could've made him wait. It wasn't like he had anything to do right now, while she had way too much.

Yet here she was, unnecessarily waiting.

She took a deep breath, pushing down her irritation. The last thing she wanted to do was take it out on Henri. It wasn't his fault. None of this was. He was coming back because he was struggling and she'd be supportive (but wasn't she struggling too?). He was the one person she really tried to control her temper around... Outside of situations where she was getting paid.

"Jie!"

Linqian’s gaze moved over to the source of the far too energetic voice. Henri was half jogging towards her, with two massive suitcases pulled behind him. His dark curls were an absolute mess, falling over his eyes. He was wearing a baggy hoodie and jeans. Not that she’d expected him to dress up, but he could at least wear a coat when it was so cold out.

"You been waiting long?"

"No," Linqian lied, easily slipping into Chinese. It had been frustrating having to only speak English recently - it had always been the case, but before she'd had Jinhai at home to talk in their mother tongue. It was much easier to express herself in it. "The traffic was bad so it worked out well."

"Oh, that's good. I thought you might be waiting a while. It took ages to get my bags."

Linqian shook her head before indicating for him to follow her. ”Come on, let's go.”

She grabbed one of his suitcases, grimacing at the weight of it. Her arm muscles strained to drag it along behind her as she led Henri out of the airport and to the carpark. They walked past rows of parked cars before reaching the car she'd gotten from Edict. It had been a bit of a dilemma this morning deciding which one to bring - she didn't particularly want her brother in one that almost definitely had dodgy origins, but she'd used it more the past week thanks to her plans to let Henri use the one from Leon. In the end she'd chosen her driving comfort over her slight worries. As long as she didn't get into an accident it should be fine. She unlocked it and popped open the trunk, lugging the suitcase up into it.

"Wow," Henri whistled. "Nice car. How did you afford that, Jie?"

"It was provided by work." Linqian shrugged. Technically not a lie. "That new job I said about, remember? And come on, it's just a car."

"It's amazing compared to the piece of crap you used to drive," Henri retorted, flashing her a shit eating grin.

”Shut it and get in,” Linqian rolled her eyes, but there was very little bite to her words. Henri wordlessly grinned, shoving his other suitcase in the trunk and getting into the passenger seat.

"Sooooo can we-"

”No.” Linqian didn't even let her brother finish as she pulled out of the parking space, making her way towards the barrier to exit the parking lot... And unwillingly digging out the fucking insane amount she had to pay for less than an hour there.

"You didn't even let me finish."

”I don't need to.”

"C'mon, Jie, I just wanted to ask if we could go to McDonalds or something on the way home."

”Are you paying?” Linqian side eyed him. ”We've got food at home. You saying you don't like my cooking?”

"Noooo. But it's late, are you really gonna cook when we get home? I'm hungry now."

”Here.” Linqian reached into the back and chucked a plastic bag onto Henri's lap while at a red light. She flipped off the car behind her that pressed down his horn like she'd done the worst shit by not starting as soon as the light turned green. ”That'll tide you over. Don't pretend you've been eating at reasonable times recently, anyway. I've seen all your purchases.”

"You're the best." Henri dug into one of the bao she'd packed. He practically devoured it before reaching for another.

Linqian rolled her eyes, even as the corner of her lips tugged up into a doting smile. There was nothing she loved more than feeding her brother. She remembered when he was younger and had eyes bigger than his stomach, devouring a whole plate of bao and then complaining about a bellyache for the rest of the day. It'd been so cute.

”While you can't escape, let's go over some ground rules.”

"Jie," Henri groaned around a mouthful of food. "Cmon, I'm an adult."

"An adult relying on my money," Linqian rolled her eyes. She gestured to the bao he was eating with one hand. "Eating my food. No rules, no food."

"Are you blackmailing me, Jie? Was this a trap?! Please, anything but that!" He gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "I've barely survived without it... Fine, I'll follow your rules."

"Good. First, you need to help around the house. Cook for yourself when I'm working over dinner, help with cleaning and do your own laundry. Nothing much. Second, no having people round without asking me. Third, back home by midnight unless you let me know. Fourth, I know this is a break but... I don't want you just wasting it. Either you keep up your studies a bit or..." She trailed off, frowning. Should she really tell him to get a part time job? He was taking the time out of college because he was struggling. It wouldn't be fair to throw him into the world of work while dealing with grief. She just couldn't do that to him. She'd already been supporting him thus far, so why change things? He'd get one if he wanted to. "Get grief therapy. I'll pay for it."

Henri gulped down his good, before replying. "Alright. I'll do all of that... I mean, you think too little of me! I've been living independently the past few months!"

”Yeah, and when we visited your place was an absolute dump.”

"It wasn't," Henri whined, like the petulant child he no longer was. "You just came at the wrong time. I was gonna clean the next day, honest."

”Do you really think you can lie to me? I practically raised you, I can tell when you're lying... so don't even think about shirking your duties now you've moved back.”

"I won't, I won't."

Henri dug back into the food, and a comfortable silence settled between them. Linqian reached over to turn on the radio, putting it to a low volume so it was just background music. Her stomach lightly growled but she ignored it, and Henri didn't hear it. He was too busy eating all of the food she'd brought... For both of them. Ah well. That was on her for not making more. She should've remembered how big his appetite was.

"That was so good, I'm stuffed," Henri grunted, leaning back and holding his stomach. Linqian laughed lightly. Yeah, it was alright. Just seeing him content made her feel full. "Oh! Uncle Andre said to come round when we got in."

”I'll drop you off, then, and you can get the bus home.”

"He specified both of us."

”Is he paying me to be there?”

"No he's not gonna pay you, but c'mon, it's like seeing family!"

”It's really not, I work for him." Though she'd slept with her other boss so she wasn't exactly an example of stellar professionalism. "I'll pick you up after, take it or leave it.”

Henri pouted. "Alright."

There was a moment of blissful silence when Henri pulled out his phone and started texting. She concentrated on driving, the fervent tapping beside her less annoying than half the things that came out of her brother's mouth. She loved him, but he was an absolute pain sometimes. He either didn't think before he spoke, or said things to purposefully piss her off.

"Sooo," Henri put down his phone, grinning at Linqian and leaning in her direction. "You found anyone special now that you've seen your old friends?"

Case in point.

”No.” If Linqian didn't have to keep her eyes on the road she would've been shooting him her harshest glare right now. Instead she could only glare at the car in front of her, imagining it was her brother. ”Do you really think now is the time?”

"Well why not? It's been so long! You need to find someone, settle down, be happy."

”Oh, and why is my younger, barely an adult brother lecturing me on this? I don't think it's any of your business.”

"Because time is running out! Soon- ow! You shouldn't hit someone while driving!"

”I still had one hand on the steering wheel,” Linqian replied drily, having just slapped the back of his head. ”I'll hit you again if you keep talking like that. Do you think I'm old? I'm only twenty six."

"Nooo, but you said having kids is something you always wanted! Why aren't you just going for it?"

"Do you think I can't have children past thirty? I don't have the time or money... Are you going to babysit for me if I have some now?”

"Of course! I'll be the coolest uncle for your kid! I can't wait! I bet they'll be the cutest... Oh I hope they take after their father, rather than you. Then they'll be so cute and not angry."

”Shut up before I kick you out of the car. Don't start making up fantasies as if I'm about to have one.” Linqian rolled her eyes, tempted to smack him round the back of the head again. ”Anyway, I already have you, I don't have the energy for another kid... why are we even talking about this?”

"Hey, hey, I'm an adult. Don't let me influence your decision."

It was like everything she said went in one ear and out the other. ”Do you think I'm putting my whole life on hold for you?” She was, but she would never tell him that. ”I really regret telling you that I wanted children one day... anyway, why do you want to know if I found someone?”

"Cause you haven't been with anyone since Marcus... It's been three years! I'm just concerned! I thought when you met with your old friends, maybe sparks would fly... A flame would reignite! The way you and Ge always talked about them made it seem like a possibility."

Yeah, because they'd had to take out a lot of the details when discussing it around their Blind brother and they rarely discussed the bad around him. It had been much easier to explain as a group of friends who were there for each other than going through all the details with him. Of course, now that was coming back to bite her in the ass.

”You just want something to gossip with your friends about, don't you?”

"No... Well, one of them did ask if you're single."

”Not for him.”

"I already rejected it. But Jie, you're not still hung up on that scumbag, are you? Is that why you keep tryna change the subject?"

”Of course not.”

"Good. I swear you should've killed him back then."

”That would be exerting too much energy on him.”

"I could've done it for you! I'm real good with a gun, remember when we went to the shooting range and I did best out of all of us?"

”Sure, letting my fourteen year old brother murder my ex would have been a great look. I slapped him twice, anyway, that was satisfying enough.”

"I don't think it was! You should have slapped him for every girl he cheated on you with! How many was it? Six?"

”You remember it far better than you should.”

"Cause that piece of shit hurt you so much, I'd never seen you cry before til he'd-"

”Can we not talk about this?” Linqian interrupted, feeling her stress levels rising. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her serial cheater ex. There was plenty that had happened in the lead up to her finding out he was cheating that she has kept from Henri, and some even from Jinhai, that made her feel sick just thinking about him. It was not a conversation she wanted to have with anyone, especially her younger brother. ”He's in the past. I'm over it. I just don't have time for a relationship right now.”

It wasn't true, of course it wasn't. He'd done too much to her for her to just be over it. Bianca had been the relationship she didn't want to lose, but he'd been the one to ruin relationships for her. How could she open herself up like that again?

She gritted her teeth. This was like she didn't like talking about it, or even thinking about it. Her chest tightened as she tried to suppress the ugly memories it brought back. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel. Fuck.

”Let's talk about you instead of me. How was the leaving thing your friends threw for you?”

Once he started, Henri didn't stop talking. Linqian was thankful for it - she just had to listen to him getting increasingly excited about increasingly random subjects, with the occasional agreement or snide comment. She could just concentrate on driving and listening. No thinking about anything else.

There was still discomfort squeezing her chest, but she could ignore it. Just like she did for everything without an immediate explosive or icy solution. She ignored it.

---

---

Le Tournesol was unusually quiet for this time of the evening.

The lighting was dim, with the raucous laughter of two young men echoing around the place. Andre was sitting at the bar, going through the books, and Linqian was behind it tidying up. She kept glancing over at the two laughing - Henri and Andre's younger son, Louis - with a frown. Henri had followed her all the way to working that morning, disappearing with Louis for a while before hanging around for her entire shift. While she was thankful he was under Andre's extra watchful eye and she wouldn't need to worry about him tonight, she really didn't like him being there the whole time she was working. She loved him, but he was incredibly annoying when she was trying to work.

The bar was closing for most of the evening - there was no point staying open for the duration of the Halloween festival, when everyone would be on Cracker Island. Instead it would reopen afterwards to catch the drunken stragglers who were still out. Thankfully Linqian didn't have to work then. Working up until the early closing had been enough of a pain. At least she'd gotten a shit ton of tips today and yesterday thanks to all sorts of tourists coming to the city.

With another sigh, Linqian put down the last dirty glass to dry. Everything was tidied up for a short close, and put in order for those doing the later shift.

”I'm going to get changed,” she said offhandedly to Andre, putting down a dish towel and heading into the room at the back that served as a break room. It was small, with a table pushed up in one corner and chairs dotted about. There were shitty lockers on one wall for them to put their stuff while working. Linqian put in the key for hers and shoved her shoulder in it so that it would open.

There was a bunch of stuff in it that the coworker she shared it with had left, and her bag. Linqian took off her apron and dumped it in the back. She then slammed the locker back shut.

She didn't have all that long to get ready for the Halloween festival.

Thankfully her Halloween "costume" was mostly normal clothes she could get away with at work. She wore an off the shoulder, white ruffle blouse with long, loose sleeves. On the bottom half she wore a poofy, red skirt over a frilly white petticoat that fell midway down her calf. On top of it all was a black, underbust corset - which she tightened now to accentuate her figure rather than allowing her to breath while working. Low heeled, black boots finished the relatively normal look off.

Linqian squatted down and rummaged through her over the shoulder, plain black bag to pull out the final piece - a hooded, bright red cloak that fell to her knees. She'd never admit that it was made from an old bed sheet and a couple of hours of hand sewing that had resulted in multiple finger pricks and her nearly punching a hole in her wall. Her blood was definitely still on it somewhere.

Now that she was done with, she finally had time to think about last night… and the weird fucking dream she’d had right before waking up late. In the rush to get to work after she’d barely considered it, but now? Yeah, it was on her mind. She was used to strange dreams nowadays, barely going a night without something, but this one was beyond that. Some random girl she didn’t know, some kind of warning… And those fucking murals. She couldn’t get the one of a small snake bursting out of someone’s stomach out of her head. It was just disturbing. She really didn't want to think about it, but felt she had to. If it was a warning then she shouldn't just ignore it. But warning her of what? Some girl she'd never met? It had said she'd caused all her problems... She somehow doubted Raven Jones was the reason she was in a bunch of debt and barely making ends meet. But Jinhai's death, perhaps?

Linqian groaned. She didn't have the time to consider it too deeply right now. She had to finishing getting ready or she'd be late. She went into the staff bathroom to touch up her makeup, grimacing at the face staring back at her. It was difficult to hide the dark bags under her eyes even with concealer… But she put more on anyway, and an extra dash of red eyeshadow which she’d swept across her eyes. Her dark red lipstick was fixed. Her hair was tied into two low ponytails, just behind her ears, with the curls cascading down her shoulders - a bit messier than it had been that morning, but good enough.

There were a couple of faded marks across her neck and upper chest that weren't quite covered by the cloak. The guy she'd hooked up with on Saturday had gone way over the top with it, she'd needed it too much to just stop over a minor issue. She wasn't normally bothered by a couple, but this many brought up questions and that was just tiring as fuck. Thankfully a scarf had mostly covered them... And they were faded enough by today that she really didn't care enough to cover them. If someone paid attention to them, that was on them.

Satisfied, she grabbed her bag and went back out into the bar. She made her way over to her brother and Louis, preparing to give Henri a long winded speech about not being a little shit in public.

"Whoa, Jie," Henri exaggeratedly widened his eyes, mouth falling open. "You look almost exactly the same as before!"

Louis sniggered beside him. Linqian glared at them both, considering if she had time to give her brother a good beating before leaving. Probably not.

”Like you’ve put in much effort,” Linqian raised an eyebrow. Henri was dressed as Luigi, with a bought outfit and terrible stick on moustache, while the slightly shorter (at 6’) Louis was Mario, with an equally as terrible stick on moustache. ”At least I put in some.”

“But I look good, right?” Henri struck a silly pose with his hands on his hips. He looked ridiculous between the baggy overalls and the stuck on moustache.

Linqian bit back laughter. ”Good for an Italian plumber I suppose, but it’s really not flattering. Especially this,” she gestured to above her lip. ”It doesn’t suit you. Never grow one. And the outfit? Its-”

"Linqian, come over here for a moment," Andre interrupted before she could continue to rip into Henri, beckoning her over.

She rolled her eyes, but made her way over to the bar, leaning against it and raising an eyebrow at him. ”Yes? I'm off the clock, this better be good.”

Andre chuckled, entirely used to and unbothered by her attitude. He slid a stack of business cards over to her, and a fifty dollar bill. "If you agree to hand these out at the festival I'll give you 20 dollars now, and another 30 if you get rid of them all."

Linqian narrowed her eyes at the cards suspiciously, picking one up to read it. The bar's name was printed in delicate text in the middle, with an address underneath. On the back were the words '2 for 1 on the first drink.' It was a good deal, and one that would bring customers in and make them money as they bought more drinks beyond the deal. It would advertise them to tourists too. Linqian could already picture how busy it would be, and how fucking stressful her next few shifts were going to be.

And fifty dollars was pretty generous for just handing out cards.

"Let me take a couple of cans of beer with me and it's a deal."

Andre considered it, before nodding. "Fine. Nothing too expensive."

Having got a bit extra out of it, Linqian smiled and pocketed the cards. She then went behind the bar and pulled out six cans of assorted brand beer - Bud Light, Stella and Heineken. It wouldn't be missed, since the place was pretentious enough to have a couple of craft beers on offer and plenty of other mediocre ones on tap. She shoved them into her bag, on top of the tupperware already in there.

With that done, she walked back over to Henri and Louis, fixing her brother with her best warning glare. Beside him and Louis, both over six foot, she looked tiny - even with the slight heels boosting her height a bit. It made her frustratingly unintimidating.

”Don't cause any trouble,” Linqian craned her head back to look up at her brother with a frown. ”Stick with Louis, and let me know when you’re heading home. Don’t try doing anything dangerous. No loitering or affecting other people’s night. And don’t even fucking think about disturbing my night unless its something important, got it?”

”And you,” she turned to Louis, pointing a finger at him. ”Don't you dare buy him any drinks. I refuse to pick up my brother from the police station for underage drinking.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it, I’m not a kid!” Henri complained.

“I’ll keep him out of a jail cell,” Louis snorted. He then glanced between the two of them and made some excuse about having to talk to his dad, going over to Andre at the bar.

“Jiejie,” Henri started, in the whiny tone he used when he wanted something. It had worked when he was five, but not so much now that he was eighteen. "Can I go with you?"

"No way. You agreed to go with Louis and his friends."

“But I’ve never met them. I’d rather hang out with you… and meet your friends!”

Linqian frowned. Normally she'd give into every whim her brother had after a bit of grumbling, but she really didn't want him around the coven members. Ugh. They were the last people she wanted him to meet right now. She purposefully asked Edict if he’d go with her so she had an excuse to not go with Henri, and avoid the risk of him meeting any of them. She definitely couldn’t let Henri come along because of that. Getting into Henri’s mind, Blind as he was, would be child’s play for Edict. No way was she allowing that.

”The answer’s still no. You need to make friends here, and I need some time with mine without my little brother tagging along.” Not that she was meeting many friends. Just the one… if that even counted as a friendship? Eh, she wasn’t going to think too hard about it. She was sure they'd bump into others during the night.

“Then can I have a bit of extra money for the festival?”

The corner of Linqian’s mouth twitched down. No. She should just say no. She’d already given him money, and it was only fair she had some to enjoy herself tonight. Surely she deserved that? But she’d already rejected Henri. It was difficult for him right now, the least she could do was give him a little extra to have fun.

Linqian held out the twenty dollar note she’d just received.

Grinning, Henri snatched it from her fingers. “Thanks, Jie, you’re the best.”

”Yeah yeah, whatever,” Linqian waved him away. ”Remember, keep out of trouble.”

She didn’t wait for his response, leaving the bar to head towards the port.

---

---

The harbour was absolutely heaving.

Linqian had expected it, what with all the tourists and free ferries to the island, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. The thought of waiting over where it was absolutely packed did not appeal. Just looking at all the people made her want a smoke.

Maybe she could have one while waiting. She moved a little away from the waterfront itself, going down a few buildings and finding a wall to lean on. There was still plenty of time until the ferry they’d agreed to meet for, and if they had to get the next one she wouldn’t be all that bothered.

She pulled out her box of cigarettes and lighter from the handy pockets in her skirt. The packet opened to reveal there was only one cigarette left. Linqian sighed. After this, she’d try quit to save money. She’d been so close before, cutting down to only one or two a week, and then Jinhai had died. Just like that she was right back to it. Fuck, it would be a nightmare to do, but if she thought about it in terms of money saved… Yeah. She had to try.

Linqian felt more relaxed with a lit cigarette between her lips. It helped her to destress after work and turn off the customer service side of her brain. This was her time now… outside of handing out a few cards. Which would be annoying as fuck to do while going around with Edict. Ah well, if she didn’t manage it was only a loss of thirty bucks. Thirty bucks that she could use- fuck, relaxing! She wasn’t going to worry about that all tonight.

Linqian leaned against the wall with her foot up against it, cigarette in between her fingers. She shoved a hand in her other skirt pocket and pulled out her phone to text Edict about exactly where she was so he could find her easily.

---

---

Hopefully he wouldn’t pop up out of nowhere to snatch her cigarette and throw it away. She put her phone back away, staring out across the sea front and raising the cigarette back to her lips.

---

---

Time passed, uncaring. The hours and days mixed and swirled together, blending and blurring like when faces and bodies suddenly lose definition and simply become a crowd. Sloane’s face took the center of the frame, the bandages over her nose and the continuity error of the sudden appearance and disappearance of a black hat lined with a veil the only thing changing as time lapsed while she blankly stared ahead like a mannequin. Only a slow zoom on her unflinching pupils reflected the changing scenery around her: a cramped dining room full of old crying women surrounding a table overloaded with untouched food. A wall of stiff shoulders standing at the ready as a flag was draped over a casket. A crew of baggage handlers testing the limits of the phrase “handle with care” as they unknowingly or unsympathetically chucked refrigerated crate holding remains into a cargo plane. A blazing furnace lighting up a dark, nearly empty room as a box is unceremoniously pushed into a fire, cutting to ashes being placed in an urn for nobody.

Sloane blinked as the elevator dinged, bringing her back to the here and now. The second it took between the elevator reaching the top of her apartment building and the doors opening dragged on for an eternity. She caught her reflection in the polished metal, the slight warping of the image making her appear as melted and exhausted as she felt. One farce and four funerals later, only the brief respite of stopping in at a Halloween popup had energized Sloane to make it through the rest of her day. She glanced down at her shopping bag, a hint of red fabric poking through the protective tissue paper, and breathed deeply. Attending the Halloween Festival at a time like this felt mad, yet the normalcy it brought about to her otherwise “unconventional” week was actually quite therapeutic. The elevator dinged again, the door opened, Sloane stepped through the threshold, and the doors slid shut behind her.

Sloane didn’t immediately feel unsafe as she approached the door to her penthouse. It took a moment for the unease to set in, like when accidental eye contact was made with a man across the bar and the sense of accomplishment she felt at managing to not awkwardly glance away suddenly shifted to a swell of anxiety as they took it as an invitation to approach. Her hand hesitated on the handle of her front door as she heard a faintly reminiscent jazz number playing on the other side of the door. She didn’t leave the stereo on when she left, and even if she did it certainly would’ve been tuned to something more melancholic and somber. She slipped a hand into her pocket and held on to her Channeler as she cautiously opened the door and crept down the hall as softly as her heels would let her. She wasn’t concerned that she didn’t know who was intruding in her home. She was concerned that she knew exactly who was here.

Her fears were realized as she turned the corner.

Sitting in her armchair, drinking her brandy, and listening to her stereo was an older man well into his sixties dressed in a casual suit, his slicked back hair doing little to cover the bald spot on his head. His eyes were closed behind the thick frames of his glasses and it was difficult to tell if he was bobbing his head along to the rhythm of the music poorly or if he was constantly catching himself from nodding off. Thumbing through her bookshelf was a woman in black that in the dim lamplight might as well have been Sloane’s doppelganger. Her brow furrowed in disapproval at the book she was reading, a look that matched the one of disgust on Sloane’s face as she saw her mother and father. The faint light of Lux flowing through her Channeler glowed from her pocket as the stereo clicked off and Sloane stepped further into the room, making her presence known.

“Sloaney, sweetie. You’re home,” said her father, getting up from his seat with a smile. The genuine warmth and happiness in his voice made Sloane freeze. The last time Sloane had seen Malik Faris he’d gunned down their butler Warren without an ounce of hesitation or regret, the same way a person would absentmindedly smash a mosquito. That had been over a decade ago.

“We’re going to miss our reservations,” said her mother, thumbing through the pages of a book. Yasmin Faris didn’t even look up to acknowledge Sloane. Unlike her father, Sloane had seen her mother within the last year. Unintentionally for both parties. It had not gone cordially.

“We’ll be fine,” said Malik as he took a few steps towards Sloane. He let out an easy laugh as he reached out to her. In the past ten years he had found some way to reconstruct the tips of his fingers. “Wow, look at you. Figured you would’ve outgrown the goth look by now.”

Quietly, almost inaudibly, the words muttered out, “...at a funeral…”

Sloane found herself knocked back into the mind of a seventeen-year-old girl whose father kept making “joking” comments about her appearance and broke eye contact with the man. On the rare occasions friends crossed paths with her father they always talked about how funny he was, seemingly uncaring that his punchlines only ever punched down on his daughter. She had grown since then. She snatched back the confidence he’d knocked away and wrapped it back around her like body armor. She didn’t care what this man or anyone thought about her (and for real this time, not like when she was a hormonal teenager screaming the same sentiment as she stomped out of a room, desperate for anybody’s approval).

“What happened to your face?” he asked with a look of concern that almost appeared genuine.

“I was at a funeral for a friend,” said Sloane more assertively, ignoring the question. She found some pleasure in the way her father recoiled uncomfortably. A glow of Lux again and the TV was on and muted, turned to the news, as the overhead lights fired up and a glass of brandy poured itself for Sloane as she walked by her father and grabbed the tumbler. “Why are you here?”

“Why does an old man need a reason to see his little girl? I just missed you, Sloaney. ” asked Malik, gesturing widely.

“Great. You saw me. Only took you ten years. See you in another decade,” she said.

Yasmin huffed sharply, “I told you this was a waste of time.”

“Hey, c’mon, you said you’d give her a chance,” said Malik.

“That was before she so rudely made us wait.”

“Stop talking like I’m not in the room,” said Sloane, turning to her mother who refused to look her way and instead found interest in a different book on the shelf. “What part of I was at a funeral didn’t you understand?”

“Right, no, we got it. Sorry for your loss, kiddo. Were you close with the departed?” asked Malik.

“No,” said Sloane

“Oh, one of those gotta make appearances or your social standings will go down kind of funerals, huh? Man I hate those. The dead won’t know if you show or not, so why does everyone else gotta be such a prick about it, yeah?”

“It wasn’t that either, said Sloane again. Finn’s funeral had been as barebones as it got. There were more staff on hand than visitors. “Nobody would’ve cared if I hadn't shown.”

“Hah. Then why go?”

Sloane didn’t know. It felt like the thing to do. She hoped when she went someone else would feel the similar obligation to show up and acknowledge that her life had some kind of impact. She took a sip of her brandy and left space in the conversation for silence to fill the room, interrupted only by the occasional shifting of paper on paper as her mother casually thumbed through a book. Her father shifted uncomfortably, opening his mouth to speak and immediately getting cut off by Sloane. “Why are you actually here?”

“Like I said, I wanted to see you,” said Malik.

“No, why are you actually here?”

“Um, well, again, to see my daug—”

“Cut the bullshit,” said Sloane firmly.

“She shouldn’t speak to you that way,” said Yasmin out of the side of her mouth. Sloane glanced at her mother. Talks of theft, blackmail, torture, and murder hardly made her mom blink, but colorful words always threatened to ruin the botox or make her eye do that twitching thing. Sloane couldn’t tell for certain, but for a moment she’d almost seen an eyebrow move. “We didn’t raise her to use such language.”

“You didn’t even raise me, Yasmin!” said Sloane, a rare hint of heat bubbling up in her voice. “I was raised by a Nicaraguan maid that you poisoned and an English butler that he shot right in front of me.”

“Sweetie, Warren and Maria—” Malik started.

“Her fucking name was Marta,” said Sloane, her voice raised but still controlled.

“Language!” hissed her mother, snapping the book shut.

“Right, right, sorry Sloaney. Memory’s the first thing to go, you know?” Malik chuckled, the laugh falling flat as his daughter’s expression did not lighten. “Look, Marta and Warren's deaths were a, well, a mercy killing. The city was doomed. Even if they had survived the attack from the Stygian Snake, which they wouldn’t, their families had all been wiped out during its assault. No parent wants to witness the loss of their child. I’m sorry you had to witness what happened to Warren, but it was the right thing to do sweetheart. It eased his suffering. I’m not happy we had to do it, but it was something that had to be done.”

“A mercy killing…”

“That’s right.”

Sloane sighed deeply as she sat forward, hair falling in her face as the dark reality of what her father had said set in as she stared into her drink. He truly believed he had done something noble and just by executing their staff instead of allowing them to witness atrocities and more suffering. A shadow was cast across her vintage rug as her mother moved to the other bookshelf, oozing and pooling across the carpet like the blood that had seeped out from Warren in the grand hall of her childhood home. She had seen countless deaths since then, but the first one would forever be burned in her mind. A seventy year old man, bald and liver spotted with a mustache like a walrus, white shirt soaked wine red, blood gargling out of his mouth as his lungs filled with blood from where her father had failed to hit his heart when he’d shot Warren in the chest.

“It took minutes for Warren to die. You could’ve shot him again,” said Sloane, watching the brandy swirl in her glass, disgusted that she even had it in herself to discuss the optimal method to perform a mercy killing, let alone to even pretend that it was anything other than just a murder.

“Jesus, kiddo. Wetwork was always more of your mother’s thing. I realized in that second that I was no killer. I freaked out. The reason I took so long to return was because I was having a panic attack in the next room. Honest. I’m not a bad guy, just a bad shot,” said Malik.

“You could’ve warned them. You could’ve sent them away with their families. Somewhere safe, ” said Sloane. Malik shook his head. Of course at the time her parents thought the world was ending. Almost everybody did. The Coven had proved them wrong. “You could’ve stayed. We stopped the Stygian Snake. You just abandoned me.”

“Hah!” Yasmin laughed so sharply that it caused Sloane to jump.

“Honey, please,” said Malik, waving his hand to silence his wife. “Sloaney, you got everything wrong. We tried to save you. You abandoned us.”

Silence fell over the room again as Sloane struggled to even comprehend the absurdity of the statement. What they had tried to do was abduct her, but even if in their misguided brains they somehow thought they were doing the right thing then why did they never bother trying to do it again? It wasn’t like her parents had waited until the final moment and left when the ship snapped in two and sunk into the Atlantic. They had spotted the iceberg well before it even struck and had quietly evacuated without informing any of the passengers, launched all of the lifeboats for the hell of it, and then boarded and cruised away on their own luxury yacht that they had trailing behind the ship the whole time. Sloane sharply inhaled a breath, ready to unleash a torrent of harsh words that had been bottled up inside of her for a decade, when her father hit first and knocked the hot wind out of her.

“You abandoned us and it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do sweetie. Oh god,” said Malik as his voice cracked. A visible look of panic crossed Sloane’s face as her father’s shoulders began to heave as he started to loudly weep. “At first I was just angry, and then I was embarrassed. So scared to admit that I’d been wrong. So scared that you’d just hate me.”

At least that was what Sloane thought he said. She looked to her mother for confirmation. Yasmin’s eyes were downcast, the closest she’d ever come to showing genuine regret. She looked back at her father although it was difficult to do so. He looked smaller here than he did in her memories. Discomfort crept over her as he continued to sniffle and blubber like a child, thick tears running down the trenches in his wrinkled face and mixing with the snot clingy to the gray hairs of his beard. He was still saying words, but they were near nonsensical phrases punctuated by the snicker-snack of sobs.

Sloane realized too late that he was moving in to embrace her, falling upon her like a zombie minus the merciful act of ripping out her jugular with his teeth to end her suffering. She wanted to push him off but felt the strength evaporate from her arms like it would in a dream, leaving her weakly holding a frail, sobbing old man. She could feel the chilling presence of her mother loom closer like a sentinel, not close enough to touch yet still close enough to drain away Sloane’s heat. In the past week she she had been betrayed and assaulted by a close friend resulting in an emotional and public breakdown, tear gassed and arrested by a government agency, buried a handful of friends, was being hunted by a serial killer, and worst of all had been made aware of the existence of a person like Trevor. Yet somehow, this experience was more terrifying and awful than any of those.

Yet again, time passed indeterminably before Sloane was able to react. It might’ve only been seconds, but it felt like eons. Dinosaurs evolved into birds faster than Sloane was able to push her father away. There was a gentleness to it that was somehow still devoid of kindness, the type of precautionary touch she’d give to an antique whose fragility was still yet unknown. Sloane stared at her crying father in his eyes and saw her reflection in their brackish waters, mistaking the cold figure in them for her mother. She folded her arms tightly across her chest to provide a barricade for any further attempts at a hug. Her dad wiped his face and gave an embarrassed smile.

“I’m sorry, honey,” said Malik. “I was wrong back then. I don’t want your forgiveness because I don’t deserve it. I just want to be a better father.”

“You want to—” the words broke in Sloane’s throat as her face twisted and contorted into a look of anger, her eye twitching like her mother’s would. She quickly recovered and shrouded the vitriol, twitching aside. “I need you to leave.”

The uncomfortable silence returned again and pressed the entire room beneath its boot as it choked the atmosphere. Slowly, dejectedly, her father nodded as her mother ushered him to a closed door where she pulled out a small object, tapped it against the frame, and guided her husband through a portal. Her mother moved to follow then hesitated, turning to fix Sloane with a stare, her eyes lingering on her daughter’s broken nose. Yasmin’s lips parted into a thin, cruel smile.

“Thank whoever did that for me. Your nose was always unflattering,” said Yasmin, stepping into the portal. “About time it gets fixed.”

---

---

That night Sloane had a nightmare. Of course she did. Dreams were just an extension of reality, and her life had always been so dreadful. It had only become more so as she heaped on more responsibilities of things that she had no real control over, instead becoming just another thing to worry about and distract her focus. She had put her businesses on the backburner—work seemed unimportant when Father Wolf was on the prowl. The morning and afternoon of the Halloween Festival had been a blur of phone calls as she shuttled to and fro between Cracker Island and her oddity shop to ensure that the Curious Curio stall would be properly supplied with “paranormal” rubbish and the prize pool amongst the various games stalls would be stockpiled with creepy dolls branded with her store. Even if she was to be stabbed violently to death in the street that evening, she still owed it to her employees to make sure that her business flourished.

She still managed to find enough time to get herself ready for the festival. Typically Sloane didn’t give a hoot about festivities, but Halloween was different. She loved Halloween. It was the one time of the year where she had not only the opportunity but the social obligation to put on a mask and be someone different. For a few hours she was allowed to not have to worry about the world and if it was still turning, as if her removal from existence would somehow bring about a global crisis instead of being like removing a single drop of water from an endless ocean. Although the vivid nightmare and Father Wolf still weighed heavily on her mind, Sloane was still going to attempt to enjoy the Halloween Festival—or rather, thought Sloane as she adjusted her wide-brim red hat and tucked a yellow scarf into a red trench coat, Carmen Sandiego.

“Carmen” made her way to the harbor in time to hear the ferry blow its horn as it signaled its departure. While her alter ego could’ve easily stolen a boat, and Sloane already owned one, she made the assumption that making port at Cracker Island would be a nightmare and decided to simply wait as if she were one of the common people. By habit she looked at her wrist to check the time, her watch safely sitting in the drawer of her nightstand at home as it didn’t go with her costume, and instead slightly frowned as she saw the burn scar she’d gotten nearly ten years ago. It had faded overtime, but she was convinced it would never go away. She pulled out her phone to check the time instead and noticed that she had missed a call from an employee. So much for hanging up her responsibilities. She called them immediately.

“It’s Sloane. Hold on, it’s too loud here,” she said as she wandered away from the dock to find somewhere quieter. “Okay, what is the problem…”

Minutes later Sloane returned to the dock the way she had left it. She turned a corner as she pulled out her phone to reply to a text message from Anya: Here. Are you on your way? Sloane hammered out a generic, boring, and factual response saying how she was awaiting the ferry, deleting the message as she absentmindedly passed by a lady in red in favor of texting something more clever. Sloane decided to take a selfie instead and write something cheeky like how she had gotten distracted by stealing the lighthouse.

It was only through the screen of her phone that Sloane finally registered the woman she had walked by, the cheap cigarette and curly hair that spilled out of a red hood immediately making Sloane feel her stomach sink. She lowered her phone. The last time she’d dealt with Linqian the woman had almost assaulted her, and if not for Lynn being an absolute bitch Sloane doubted she would’ve been spared the bible beating after the cuffs had come off. A cold wind cut through her jacket, impossible to tell if it was the ocean breeze or Linqian’s presence. The best thing to do would be to just leave. Sloane took a few steps following that very intention, the heels of her boots thunking heavily on the wooden boardwalk before coming to a sudden stop. Was pushing off the inevitable really the right thing to do? The large red hat turned ever so slightly so that Linqian was but a fuzzy blob in Sloane’s periphery.

She remained there in that middle state for a moment, too afraid to directly make her presence known and too scared to abandon the only opportunity they might ever have to honestly speak with one another without there being an audience carrying cans of gasoline and matchsticks.

---

---

---

It had been a long day, but Lynette knew it wasn't done yet. Her days were never done. Twenty-four hours of waking life; the surveillance operations couldn't just be passed off to others when it was an entirely spellbound affair.

The funeral earlier that day had taken a great deal of her energy, and now she was feeling sluggish as she once more changed her clothing. An all day affair in a heavy, dark black mourning gown. It was weighted at the bottom, and in between the fabrics were concealed ballistic plates to deter any sort of Blind assault.

Stripped down, Lynette looked in the mirror at her nude frame. In vanity, she managed to pose for herself, a smile cracking across her face. She shifted her legs, arms, watching the almost unnatural musculature ripple just beneath her pale skin. She bit her lip at the sight of herself, nodding before finally breaking off.

In that moment, she felt the same lurching connection that she'd felt a million times before. The sensation of deja vu that told her she was locking into a sequence. Her innate gift of White Lux manifested in dreams of vivid clarity that detailed action and emotion with uncanny accuracy. In the moment, she caught the edge of anticipation and sadness. Both welled up as she edeticly recalled the clothing she proceeded to don.

Her favorite dress robes. She remembered Max bringing them to her, how her Mother-in-law had made them with the assumption that Lynette would maintain her position as Priestess of the Dawn. The burned orange and gold swirled together upon the stole, the pure white cloth of the robes themselves shining in the dim light.

She followed the dream to the letter, making way for her lockbox and undoing it to remove a wide brimmed hat. She fluffed up the middle, letting the pure white witch hat climb up to its full height.
Also removed from the box was a blade. The metal was black, cold, and jam packed with so much orange magic left behind by Max that she figured if she cut someone with it they would just explode.

He always told her to keep it close, but seeing it was painful. But, magic told her she needed it now, so it folded into her big sleeves and sat right near her hand where it was accessible.
And then it came, the interruption. Frantic knocking at her door.

“Mistress!? Mistress! She's back!”

Lynette clenched her jaw. She didn't know who she was, but she could render a few guesses. Wordlessly, she pushed the door open and blew past the attendant to make way for the main chapel. This is where her dream gave out, leaving her to deal with what came next.

---

… The doors to the main chapel burst open; kicking down the door was the esteemed leader of the Greenwood Coven, Ruby White, except in her plain clothes, which consisted of black leggings, some sneakers, and a red Nike t-shirt. Notably, she had that massive tree branch she used as a staff in hand. Everyone looked at her in awe as she raised her staff in the air and shouted,

“... Bring me Lynette!” Ruby began, “Tell her the Chosen One has returned!”

She screamed… and all the Temple members were looking at each other in confusion, mumbling this and that about a ”Chosen one.” That was when Ruby grabbed her staff with her other hand and fired a few pale-yellow blasts of her spring beams at the ceiling. Each blast was enough to punch a hole through drywall and left behind various plant life and vines. Everyone ran away screaming as Ruby reached into her pocket, pulled a blunt out, slid it between her lips, and pulled out a lighter. She sucked on the blunt in the open fire as it created smoke.

Her eyes landed on a vase.

Then she walked over to it and pushed it over while waiting for Lynette to show up…

At first it was left to Clarissa to deal with, and while she didn’t lift a finger against her once proud sister, she did let loose with a verbal tirade while the others ran. It wasn’t until Lynette actually arrived on the scene that she cleared herself out and left them to speak.
Lynette, ascending from the stairs, stared down at Ruby as she smoked on one of the pews. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, her old pupil. No wonder she wore the robe; she needed the comfort.

”And here I got dressed for this. What the fuck do you want?”
She had no interest in pretense or image with Ruby. Out of anyone, she cared the least: She knew Lynette’s mind.

“Wow, rude,” Ruby said… before she took a large step forward and loudly tapped the bottom of her staff against the floor. “So, Lynette, the Temple’s esteemed leader, I have a question for you…”

Ruby took a long drag of her blunt, held it, before letting it out, and then asking the golden question,

“... Why did your little pet bitch attack my friend and ruin my plan to take Judas’ head?” Ruby asked, tilting her head. “Maybe you forgot, but don’t your people and my people have a little deal where we stay out of each other’s way?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes.

“... Are we forgetting how much of a fuckin’ powderkeg the city is right now?”

Lynette was still a bit sore about the whole thing; it’s not like Alizee hadn’t paid for the mistake with her life. She did her best to listen to Ruby, and taking a deep breath she descended from the dais down to Ruby. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and held up her hand. Two fingers extended, expecting a hit from the joint.

She didn’t speak at first, clearing her throat.

”Well, you didn’t exactly come to see the funeral, did you? The problem was dealt with the night it came up, and a young woman died. But now you come around like it’s some sort of problem I need to settle when you were the one who, and this is self admitted: YOU had plans to pop the powder keg.-”

She paused to stare at Ruby; the kind of stare she used to give when she was disciplining the girl all those years ago.

”-Especially with the Sycamore Tree and their situation, Ruby! Why the fuck did you have plans like that in the first place!?”

Ruby bared teeth.

“... Lyric Brown, Felica Harvey…” Ruby named as she pounded her staff on the ground. “The friends I had that were killed by the Nazis for their artifacts.”

She was silent as she said,

“After Kaiser Draeger went down, their artifacts went into the hands of those bastards, and all we were trying to do is get them back. Problem was that a lotta’ them are under Judas’ wing after Das Sonnenrad fell, and he has a problem when you fuck with his men.”

Ruby shook her head.

“So, we were going to remove him from the equation. I mean, if he was willing to let literal Nazis under your wing, then he really had it coming.”

Lynette grabbed the bridge of her nose and growled. Her hand flicked out, snagging the joint out of her hand and pulling a heavy tug from it. She held it in for quite a while, longer and longer until it was too much and she had to drive it like a flame from out of her lungs.

”Oh, Ruby, if you weren’t such an egomaniac you’d have help with this sort of thing! And then we all could’ve been involved and we could make sure that these things get handled in a way that isn’t how we handled them back in the day!”

She stuck her hand out, passing the joint back to Ruby as she took a deep breath. It cleared the lungs and brought a moment of her blood rushing to her head.

”Now what? You want some sort of help? Recompense for your lost wares? Or did you just come to hear me blow smoke up your ass about a problem you made? Or do you forget that I love you and that you’re welcome back here along with your entire cast if you could just end your childishness!?”

“Problem I made?” Ruby tilted her head, placing a hand on her chest as she feigned shock.

“I… I want to remind you that the Greenwood Coven wants no issue with The Temple of Graceful and Esteemed… Whatevers,” Ruby began, standing up straight and shaking her head. “And in return, I want you to affirm that incidents like this will be avoided in the future.”

She sighed.

“... Maybe, we could work together to that end,” Ruby hung her head. “It’s becoming obvious that Greenwood - my people - need help out here in St. Portwell. Except against Emily. That bitch’s ass is mine.”

Lynette gripped her hands, balling them into fists of frustration.
”Ruby, you know we’re not adverse to trimming the fat, but whatever 8th Street’s problem is, we need to deal with it the same way! We are working toward Paradise! This land is sacred! The thing in the fucking ground, Ruby! You know it’s necessary that we have as many bodies as we can get!”

Ruby jammed a thumb into her chest as she valiantly said,

“And 8th Street is my problem to deal with. Not the Temple. Not yours. Mine. I’m sorry, but this is something I have to do, Lynette.”

”The fucking Chosen One can’t take faith that her enemies would be taken care of by natural process? That the fruits of our labor won’t be borne to us as we have worked for them so far? Ruby, you could have everything you want and more at your fingertips, but you’re too impatient, Gods Damn You!” Lynette barked, smashing her hand against the pew.
”Why must it be this way with us!?”

“Impatient?” Ruby tilted her head. “I’m only saying that it wouldn’t sit right with me if I used the Temple’s resources to, you know, defeat my arch-rival. As far as all the other fuckers? Yeah, sure.”

She sighed.

“But, Honored Temple Mother, how can we fix the broken bonds we have between us? I know I left a few years ago to strike out on my own… but, St. Portwell is… well…”

She awkwardly laughed, hoping that Lynette would get the point.

”Don’t fucking butter me up, girl. Honored Temple Mother my cunt. You have your own Coven, you’re your own woman now. You’ve dug holes. I told you: I love you. Just end this Chosen bullshit. I am a mere prophet: my duty is to usher in the realm and the age. After that, we can talk about who is meant to rule.
Lynette took a longer breath, taking the joint back to pull another long draw.

“Fine,” Ruby rolled her eyes, speaking like an annoyed teenager. “But, I don’t want to rule St. Portwell. I don’t even think the city should be ruled. The city is meant to be free. The only problem is that we got assholes like Emily, Judas, and Kaiser Draeger who try to impose their will on others.”

”You will learn in time, my Love, that someone must hold the leash. And when that time comes, we will have the war that will settle things. For now, it’s all a game. A long set of postures and poses as we jockey for position.”

Lynette’s personal posturing was over. She let her guard down, quick to welcome back as was her philosophy. It was impossible to burn a bridge with the woman, and in turn she expected that no bridge would ever be burned on her. Every option was open. They were established, and St. Portwell’s tenuous status as nexus of the Paranormal world was only getting more tenuous as the prodigal children returned in flock. The Miracle Children were home.

”So, Ruby… Tell me about the artifacts. What happened?”

Ruby shook her head,

“The Artifacts I am looking for belonged to my friends, Lyric Brown and-”

Lynette interrupted her:
“Sisters! Your Sisters!”

Ruby sighed, gritting her teeth.

“... My sisters, Lyric Brown and Felicia Harvey… Lyric was a genius that who made a whole lot of them, and Felicia had the Unicorn Gem. One day, they were hanging out with my fellow sister, Autumn when Das Sonnenrad goons attacked them. They spared Autumn because…”

She awkwardly trailed off before she continued,

“... You know, but they took their artifacts, and that was why Greenwood went to war with the Sunwheel Cult. Why Greenwood allied with that bitch Emily… all I want to do is get the artifacts that they loved or worked hard on, out of the hands of the Nazis. That’s it.”

She sighed.

“Everyone keeps getting in my way…”

Lynette’s face became frustrated immediately. There was a sense that tension climbed from the floor back up to the ceiling.
”Spared her!? Fucking spared her? God, their philosophy makes me fucking sick. Jobs half done, ends left uncut over some crap about races that don’t matter?”
There was a pause as she tried to think of what to do about the situation that didn’t involve direct murder.

”Alright… We play ball with them. Play into their bullshit like we’re willing to go for it. Us. Not your Coven. We’ll barter for them on your behalf, maybe send them a few of our supplies. We get back whats yours, pay for our wayward Daughter’s transgressions toward you, and we can move forward on the same pathway. If it comes to blows? Then we can both go in for it.”

“Barter with the Wolfpack?” Ruby asked. “Have fun with that… but if you ever want some bikers dead, you know who to call.”

”You think we don’t already deal with Judas and his group?” Lynette replied in a snappy fashion.

“Well, from what I hear the PRA took care of him,” Ruby said, “But rumor has it someone else took over… I think Dean Walker.”

She shrugged.

“Either way, this marks the day of a partnership, correct?” Ruby answered. “Maybe if we were working together, we could have avoided the whole situation with Alizee and I’ll uh…”

She looked around.

“... I’ll see if I can fix the holes in the ceiling.”

Lynette’s face formed a genuine smile. It was noticeable, a tick that almost everyone in the Temple joked about. If the teeth are out, she’s about to shout.
Currently, she was soft and only one side of her mouth curled up practically to her ear.

”Nevermind them, Ruby. The plants are lovely.”
Ruby nodded her head, before she took a long drag of her neglected blunt, held it, and turned around. She took a few steps towards the door and then looked over her shoulder,

“Keep in touch, Lynette,” Ruby said, “I know we both went down different paths… but I think some part of us are…”

She loudly gagged.

“... Similar.”

Lynette’s smile held.
”Don’t be a bitch, Ruby, you know you love it. What was it when you were younger? Aunty Lynnie? We’ll see you again soon, the Kids are coming home for the Troubles ahead… You’ve seen it too, haven’t you? Why else would you be scrambling to reclaim artifacts now?”

Ruby was silent, and didn’t respond.

“... I have to go talk my girlfriend out of putting cat ears over regular clothes as her costume,” Ruby sighed. “I’ll see you around.”

That was when Ruby swiftly departed.

Did Tayla want to go to Cracker Island? No. Did she care for the Halloween Festival? Not since she was a kid, but she has a kid now. Which mean doing shit and going to shit she'd rather be at home during. Siwan's too young to remember any of this anyway, but she wouldn't be doing her due diligence as a parent if she didn't take her baby to the festival. Her father's coming too. It's been awhile since they all hung out somewhere that wasn't the boat or at home. Didn't help she had that god awful dream last night. It bothered her so much, she called in sick and kept Siwan home from school. She needed to have him close. That dream was too bizarre for her to feel comfortable without him being away from her.

She didn't put any effort into her 'costume.' She painted blue shimmery stars on the left side of her face with her eyeshadow, wore a black baggy sweat suit, That Melody, and called it a day. For Siwan though, she put him in the cutest little pumpkin costume and took a lot of pictures of him, before they left the house at 2pm. She wanted to get there early. That's when all the baby to toddler activities would be in full swing. Most of which would close by the time it got dark around 5pm.

They arrive at the island on their boat, docking it, then standing in line for tickets. Siwan looked around in her arms in wide eyed wonder at everything around them. He's never been to a festival before. He couldn't speak well enough to ask questions, but he did point at stuff he wanted her to answer. "That's a pumpkin. Like you. You're dressed like a pumpkin. And that's a Ferris Wheel. I'll take you up when it's dark out, so you can see all the lights." The moment she said that, she decided she wouldn't wait until the sun was down. The water would be pitch black in the darkness and that freaked her out a little bit. The sea at night looked like a void of nothingness. She avoided looking out the windows at home before the sun came up for that very reason. She could deal with it in the early morning, since the sun put in the work to rise while she put in the work to help her father earn money.

"Never mind. We'll go sooner." She wanted to be out of here by sundown. All the adults and teens up to no good come late. She can't have her baby exposed to even the slightest hint of the people she used to hang around. Since he was under 2, Siwan got in free, but her and her father had to pay for their tickets. They got in. Everything was orange, somewhat scary looking, and Halloween festive. It was a Tuesday, not a lot of people arrived yet. Kids were still in school and not many parents were going to take off work to bring their kids early. It was most elderly, people that wanted to be here with plenty of day time to spare, and mothers with their toddlers here.

They took Siwan to the baby section. It had a petting zoo, coloring table, Halloween play, Halloween story time that started at 3, games meant for his age group. It was all very cute and wholesome. [color=DE198A]"Pig!" he squealed, pointing at the piglet in the petting zoo. She took him to the hand sanitizer and rubbed it into his hands, before taking a cup of animal feed and giving him a little bit to give to the piglet.

"It's 돼지. Can you say 돼지?" she asked him, holding it his hand out. The piglet ate right from his hand. The slimy texture made him squeal some more. He pulled his hand back, trying to decide if he like it or not.

"대지!" he attempted to repeat.

"You're not wrong, but you just skipped the W altogether." She laughed and kissed his cheek, getting some of her red lipstick on him. "We'll work on it." She wiped it off, then gave him more feed to give to the other animals, picking him up to reach the taller ones like the baby cow and llama.

They feed the animals, until he ran out of feed in the cup. She took him to a port-a-potty to wash his hands and made it back just in time for story time. Her father decided he wanted to do that activity with him, so she let them find their seats. She sat on a bench a few feet away and put That Melody on. She needed to get in some practice and what better way to do it, then in a decently crowded area.

A myriad of thoughts assaulted her at once. She got her bearings and concentrated on a group of old people across the way ordering funnel cake. It was all flitting thoughts of the food being too expensive. Someone's wife used to love this (she died 2 years ago). Another wished their grandkids were here (they lived too far). It was all boring. She focused on family getting apple cider. The dad was having fun, but his wife was tired. Their kids hated the cider, but drank it anyway. Mom would get mad if they wasted money. More boring. She hopped from group to group, purposely avoiding the story time area. She didn't want to zero in on her family's thoughts. Story time went on for an hour. She stopped training in thirty. It was going to take some stamina to get used to taking in thoughts and filtering through the bullshit. She can't let the Dollhouse down. Not with the deal to keep Dean the hell away from her.

“Oh you got to be kidding me…” Lynn whispered as she smacked the screen on her phone.

“Should I ask?” Lila smirked.

“Jasper sent a photo of two caramel apples…” Lynn paused as she placed the back of her hand on her forehead. She paused as she faked a cry. It seemed that her act of dramatic flair made her forget her next words.

“Before..” Lila added as she took another step towards the salvation that drinking promised.

“Before, thank you,” Lynn paused as she looked over to Lila, “before he sent me a photo of them in their costumes” she paused again as she returned to her phone, “looks tasty though,” Lynn showed the photo to Lila.

Lila, though, had her attention fixated on one person in the crowd. She could not take her eyes off the sad display that was Emily. The egotistical, narcissistic, queen bitch of the 8th Street Coven. Something began to pull at her mind from deep down. Something began to whisper unheard demands. Something wanted Lila to make Emily uncomfortable. And Lila was all too happy to listen. Emily was someone who destroyed the old coven, Emily was someone who made life back then hard to live, and Emily was an easy target for once in her life.

“Lynn, I think I know just the thing to distract you from those dicks,” Lila paused as a smile crept across her face, her eyes still locked on Emily.

Lynn followed the eyes and spotted Emily again. What was Lila planning? Lynn lowered her eyes and slipped to the possible future for five seconds before she returned back, and smiled as she looked up to Lila. “You sure about this?”. Lynn had a disdain for Emily that she was never able to put into words.

“Oh.. my.. God, Emily?” Lila shouted across the crowd towards her target, her mouth remaining agape in a feigned shock and surprise, “is that you Emily Reed?”

Emily and her two sisters stopped, as Emily crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder. “... Yep, that’s me,” Emily started, “...Weirdo.”

“I love the costume, fits you…” Lila paused as she took a step out of line, “okay. ” Lila spotted Miranda and Jaqueline, and flashed them a genuine smile. It faded slightly, but noticeably , when she returned her gaze back to Emily, “You three want a drink, my treat.”

Miranda put her hands together and did a twirl, “Really? We picked it out for her!” She smiled at Lila as she locked hands with Jacqueline.

“We’ll take one,” Jacqueline said with a smile.

“I don't take drinks from… Oh… wait,” Emily shook her head, before crossing her arms. “You’re that Sycamore-slut… How is fumbling under that airhead Auri working out for you?” she grinned.

“It’s just like the old times but surprisingly less awful,” Lila paused as she remembered the Dairy Queen fight, the PRA raid, the fight outside the church, the general lack of guidance and direction, and all of the dead that now line the mural, “surprisingly less awful. Come on Emily, just one drink,” Lila paused as she let the offer in the air, “catch up.”

“Or two,” Lynn said as she leaned out and shot the three sisters a smile, “Emily, you look good!”

“Fine,” Emily said, rolling her eyes. “If you insist…”

“How fun,” Lynn said with a smirk. She shifted her eyes towards the twins. “You two look lovely! I love the princess outfits! I’m Lynn, I’m always happy to have new drinking friends.”

“Lila,” she paused as she waved, “what’s your poison tonight,” Lila asked Emily directly.

“I’m Jacqueline,”

“I’m Miranda, thank you!”

“And it's great to meet you,” Jacqueline said.

“Red Wine, because I have class,” Emily said.

“We’ll have white wine,” Jacqueline said with a smile.

Of course she was a wine snob. Lila might have pushed back on whatever voice was telling her to engage with Emily if they drank something original, but a wine snob? “It’s fun how I spent the past decade rarely seeing anyone from the old days and then,” Lila paused as she took another step forward in line, “last week I run into George, Carol, and Greta. Then today, it’s Emily Reed,” pausing again she looked back to the twins. “I looked up to Emily when we were younger,” Lila paused as she looked back to Emily. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth. Lila only looked up to Emily because Emily moved through the world as if they were the most important piece in it, and they were loud about it, and to young Lila that was enough to garner his attention. Yet Emily was never not loud, she was never not the most important person, and her want to be the leader she pretended to be eventually split their found family. And Lila was still bitter. “What have you been up to since the split?”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Greta told me everything… So cut the bullshit,” She sighed.

“And if you really looked up to me, you would be in 8th, but you made it clear how you feel about that…. So, again, cut the bullshit.”

“What did Greta’s say, that she’s still mad that I didn’t give her a hundred dollars?” Lila paused as she leaned back, “I thought 8th’s offer was a joke because of that.”

“Yeah,” Lynn paused as she looked towards Lila. She looked towards the drink stall and they were closer to the front now. “They just came up, asked us to join, wanted some money for it, and left. Carol stole my flask. It wasn’t the best first impression.”. She paused as she shifted her eyes back to Emily.

“I had, and still have, no desire to roll with any coven again but,” Lila paused as she leaned in close, “why didn’t you send out the call to those of us who left? When this shit started happening? Why did it have to be Auri?” Lila paused as she flared her jacket out. “I don’t know if I would’ve joined after hearing what Luca said, but I might’ve heard you out.” Lila shifted her eyes over to the crows that littered the area.

“And I see you two can’t help but fellate yourselves over it,” Emily said with a roll of her eyes. “Actually forget about what Greta said; I had my fill of annoying retards during my time in the Old Coven.”

Lila sat still for just a moment as the word lingered in the air. As it lingered Lila regretted her decision to try and poke the bear, not because the words hurt but because it made her angry. And as it lingered the crows around her became agitated. They began to fly from post to post, branch to branch, cawing as they did. Each one looked down on Emily, as everyone should. They found lower, and lower, and lower spots and they increased their caws as they did. “You’re doing great, Emily, at this leadership thing. I have no idea why you got voted out.”

“Ooooh, did the person you choose to get the attention of, strike a nerve?”

“Emi-“ Miranda tried to inject.

“But you’re doing real good at this pretending to be a girl thing…” Emily leaned in a grin, “… Micheal.”

“EMILY!” Both Jacqueline and Miranda shouted.

Lila did not wait for the name to settle on her ears. Lila did not wait for her thoughts to mull her response over. Lila did not wait. Her hand shot out of her jacket, already balled into a fist, and it quickly connected with Emily’s nose. She did not wait once again, she quickly pulled her arm back and readied another strike, this one aimed for Emily’s jaw.

As she let loose the second strike, a familiar voice whispered in her left ear “let me in,” and without waiting to think, Lila did. Her eyes quickly turned black once more, and her hands underneath her gloves began to change into claws. All around the crows erupted at once, filling the air with a thousand caws.

Miranda let out a high-pitched scream.

Emily fell on her ass, thankfully dodging the other hit. Her head was spinning as she grabbed onto the ground, then grit her teeth. She pulled her leg back and shot it directly at Lila’s shin.

---

Linqian could feel someone’s gaze on her.

It was probably just some guy who’d walked past and was checking her out, understandably. She took another drag of her cigarette, smoke blowing away with the sea breeze, and looked up to tell whoever it was to fuck off-

The words died on her lips as she caught sight of Sloane… actually dressed for halloween. For a moment she was speechless. It was completely (discordant) with her image of Sloane. Who even was she? Linqian squinted. It wasn’t some kind of spooky, generic costume… Something from a show or book? Linqian hadn’t watched television properly since she was a kid.

Wait, why did she even care?

Linqian’s lips twisted down into a scowl, and her dark eyes narrowed into a glare.

”What the fuck do you want, Sloane?”

Sloane had already begun to turn away, anticipating the outcome of any conversation with Linqian, yet she couldn’t stop herself from rearing back towards the woman as Linqian called out to her. Sloane glared at Linqian, the harbor becoming nothing more than a backdrop as the boardwalk shifted and became a fencing strip with Linqian squaring off across the piste from her en garde. A phantom referee called for the match to start and as predicted Linqian had opened the attack with a lunge of vulgarity. Sloane was quick to answer with a harsh parry and a wry riposte.

“With you? Absolutely nothing. Ever,” said Sloane, her eyes vacant and dull like those of a fish from this morning’s catch. Her tongue flicked out a puff of air—a scoff, maybe, or perhaps Sloane’s best attempt at scathing laugh. “I was just checking to make sure that I wasn’t about to be blindsided by the Quran or a copy of Dianetics. This area is rampant with violent nutjobs assaulting people with scripture.”

She coughed into her glove as if Linqian’s cigarette was bothering her despite being upwind and moved, ready to score her point and abandon her imaginary epee in the water as it once again became part of a harbor. However, Sloane’s feet wouldn’t budge as if they were encased in concrete, and nowhere near were they as heavy as the thing that was weighing upon her heart. She shifted the tilt of her head ever so slightly, her chin lowering by a handful of millimeters. Perhaps Anya would’ve been able to determine what the look meant, but to Linqian it might as well have been an imperceptible shift in demeanor.

“No, there is one more thing,” said Sloane, sounding like a courtroom stenographer reading back the record over a heated property line dispute between two neighbors who happened to be insurance agents. She slipped her hands into her coat pockets. The ink must’ve not dried on the transcript and gotten blurred as her words became staccato. “She’s wrong. Lynn is, I mean. You don’t deserve it. Nobody does.”

How earnest Sloane was could only be guessed, but Linqian would know immediately that she was talking about Jinhai.

Linqian rolled her eyes, preparing to deflect Sloane's riposte and lunge back in for a vicious strike of her own- when Sloane completely shocked her. Her eyes widened, her jaw went slack and her eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. Was Sloane dying? Had she finally seen a doctor about the massive stick stuck up her ass?

”Wow, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me,” Linqian laughed in disbelief. She was going to take it as being genuine - not because she thought Sloane had stopped being an uptight bitch, but because she hoped the relationship Jinhai had built with her was worth enough for Sloane to believe it wasn't deserved. She took another drag of her cigarette just to cope with Sloane being 'nice', turning her head away from her to blow out the smoke. She wasn't so much of an asshole to force second hand smoke on a non smoker. ”You're right, for once. I don't deserve it, and nor did he. As if he deserved to die just to make my life shit… Fuck, people are quick to forget what Jinhai did for everyone here- at least you haven't. Nice to know some of his friends don't forget him as soon as he's gone.”

It was obvious Linqian was being genuine with what she said, with a completely neutral expression - compared to the harsh scowl that never left her lips around Sloane. She may hate her, but she could also appreciate that she hadn't just abandoned Jinhai like most of his other friends had… friends that hadn't had the same problems with her. It was a single point in Sloane's favour.

“I never will. Jinhai was special,” said Sloane, looking out across the harbor. Linqian was right: people were quick to forget about everything you did for them. When Sloane had been kicked out of the Coven, Jinhai was one of the few people who had treated her like she wasn’t dead. Even before all of that he had seen that she wanted only to help and had appreciated her dedication. Jinhai had made Sloane feel accepted. It didn’t matter now what people thought of her, or at least that’s what she told herself, but when she was a teenage girl it was the only thing. She had wanted nothing more than to be around someone like that, but Linqian had made that impossible.

“He was my friend. One of my few friends. I cared more about him then you would ever know,” she said, turning back towards Linqian and closing the distance between the two by just a couple of steps. The air was still chilly, but Sloane felt uncomfortably warm in her jacket. “So I am sorry for your loss.”

After Jinhai had been murdered there had been no phone call, no funeral invitation, not even a publicly listed gravesite to visit. Sloane didn’t need any proof when she had a decade of circumstantial evidence that said it was Linqian’s fault Sloane never had a chance to mourn.

“But you say that Jinhai’s death made your life shit and I just can’t agree with that,” said Sloane. “Jinhai’s death was a tragedy. Your life is a comedy of errors. Start taking some responsibility.”

”Are you fucking with me?” Linqian's lips twisted back down into a harsh smile, eyes glinting with cold rage. There was the Sloane she knew and hated. All the good words she'd said about Jinhai were blown away just like that. How dare she? ”Do you think you fucking know me? All you have is a twisted idea of what I'm like based of your initial fucking judgement. Do you have any idea what I've been doing for the last ten years?”

Linqian pushed herself off the wall and closed the remaining distance between them, smoldering cigarette hanging at her side. She didn't push into Sloane's personal space, but she was close - glaring down at her with a near murderous gaze.

”I dropped out of highschool to support my family. I've worked non stop for ten years, paying to keep a roof over our fucking heads, to keep my brothers fed, and for Jinhai's education. I sacrificed everything for him. I would do it every single fucking time, no matter what, but don't fucking come at me about taking responsibility! I've been responsible my whole fucking life. All I wanted was someone to share the bills. A fucking break.” She bared her teeth, suppressing the hot tears that formed in the corners of her eyes. Fuck. She was not going to cry, even out of anger. She wanted to punch her, but suppressed it by dropping her hand to a trembling fist at her side. "You don't fucking know me or what I've had to do for my brothers, and continue to do for the one left to have the fucking life I'd hoped he would without Jinhai's help.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand what it was like.” Sloane didn’t step back as Linqian approached, her hands still buried in her pockets. “I don’t know what it’s like to have a family worth sacrificing my life for or to have brothers I want to protect and choose to take care of. I wish my life was so simple. It sounds nice. All I have are obligations. You think I want to spend every single hour of my life worried about what’s happening to this city? You think I want to invest all of my energy in protecting you people from a serial killer when you people wouldn’t give a shit if something bad happened to me? I don’t want to. I have to. I have to because nobody else will.”

“But when I say you need to start taking responsibility, I’m not talking about taking responsibility for other people. I’m talking about you. I’m talking about your behavior. I’m talking about that.” Sloane’s eyes flicked down to Linqian’s shaking fist. “What? You want to hit me like you did Lynn? To what end? Because you missed your chance in the church? Because it’ll make you feel better? Because I can’t relate to your tragic history? Or is it just because you’re selfish and violent and pointlessly bitter?”

“Take your best swing, but before you do it ask yourself: when everyone in this Coven is wiped out because people like you made it impossible to work together, will you take responsibility for your brother having nobody left?” asked Sloane, her lips parting in a sneer.

Linqian wanted to. She wanted to slap Sloane so badly. Her fist clenched in a ball so tight her nail started to dig painfully into her palm, her temperature slowly ticking downwards. It radiated out from her, a creeping chill that would have Sloane shivering as close together as they were. She thought Linqian's life was simple? That hers was so much harder because of her ridiculous want to be the city's saviour? Fuck.

”I won't give you the satisfaction,” Linqian spat, keeping her shaking hands at her side. What would happen after she hit Sloane? She'd just be proving her right. Fuck, she wanted to prove her right. And what would Henri think if he somehow found out? ”Nobody needs your protection. Nobody's making you worry about the city when you could live a great fucking life, sad and alone. Fuck off.”

Linqian took a step back, chest heaving up and down. Sloane had taken a knife and stabbed it right in her weak point before twisting it viciously. She didn't want to die. Not because she cares for her own life, but because she didn't want Henri to be left with no one. ”Fine. I won't have my brother lose someone else just because you're a stuck up bitch who can't keep her mouth fucking shut. But you think I'm pointlessly bitter? I have plenty to be fucking bitter about. Jinhai died fucking three weeks ago and I'm saddled with fucking debts,” shit stop talking, ”while dealing with bitches like you so I don't fucking die, while barely sleeping in a house with,” no, no, shut the fuck up, ”Jinhai's ashes in a fucking cupboard because I can't afford to fucking bury him! But I'm just selfish, violent and pointlessly bitter.”

“What?” The sneer wiped itself from Sloane’s face as her eyes widened, a light of real emotion flickering in their darkness. In that moment Sloane realized that there existed a reality where Linqian had been correct in her accusation and that Sloane had profoundly misjudged Linqian. Her voice shook as she spoke, “I thought you just didn’t invite me to his funeral. I didn’t know.”

Sloane’s eyes broke away from Linqian in a panic, darting to and fro like a frightened rabbit as she felt her pulse quicken. The thought of Jinhai being stashed away in a cupboard with the tupperware because Linqian couldn’t afford a burial service shot a wind of reality through Sloane that was so strong it was able to momentarily lift the veil of privilege that often blinded her. Desperately a part of her jumped out and tried to pull the veil back down, saying that it was a lie put on by Linqian for some pathetic angle that was beneath Sloane’s understanding, but Sloane knew it wasn’t. A strange thing happened at that moment: Linqian’s behavior suddenly became understandable. Sloane still didn’t believe that it was right—driving the already divided Coven further apart had its repercussions—but it was understandable. The idea of Jinhai being in a cabinet was unbearable and Sloane hadn’t even dealt with it for more than a couple of seconds. Linqian had to carry that for weeks.

“Linqian, I…I…” Nothing Sloane said would matter. Her words had no value to Linqian and she knew it, having been the one running her mouth as their stock tanked. Her vision blurred, tears threatening at the border of her eyes. She felt powerless. Useless. She made up her mind and blinked away the tears.

“How much?” asked Sloane after she system rebooted. “For a funeral, for a tombstone, whatever. How much do you need?”

”I'm not such a terrible person that I wouldn't invite people who cared about Jinhai to his funeral, even you,” Linqian snorted, looking away. There was no satisfaction in seeing Sloane show some true emotion. Like always her explosive rage left as quickly as it arrived, and she was just left feeling defeated. This was something she was ashamed of and it ate away at her every day. Her brother deserved better in death and she couldn't give it to him. She kept failing him over and over again. She'd already let it slip to Leon and Britney, and now she'd let it slip to Sloane too. Fuck. ”I don't want-”

She cut herself off with a frustrated groan. Her hands were still shaking, cigarette ash dropping to the floor from the almost burnt out stub, but it was no longer because she wanted to punch Sloane. For the first time she was considering taking the money. Why shouldn't she? But then she'd be in Sloane's debt. She hated the thought, and had been too stubborn to accept any help up until this point. She still didn't want to. But she thought about Jinhai, in a cupboard she couldn't bear to open, and Henri, who kept asking when they'd be able to bury him.

She'd do it for Jinhai. It wasn't like everything else. Sloane, and other coven members, had known him. It was fair to accept contributions. She wasn't going to do it for anything else. Just the funeral and burial. It wasn't the same as getting a handout, it was a donation for someone they'd cared about. Yes, she could tell herself that and ignore that disgust twisting deep in her gut.

”Around five thousand for everything. Just burying is one thousand five hundred. But I'm not just going to accept your money.” She finally looked back over at Sloane, but there was very little emotion in her gaze. No anger, no sadness, just emptiness. She hated herself for this, and she was still pissed about everything Sloane had said, but above it all she just felt numb. None of those emotions would bring Jinhai back. Her stubbornness wouldn't see him buried. ”I'll let everyone else know, and anyone that wants to can contribute. With my new job I can cover some. Britney already knows, anyway. It's only fair to everyone, so they can attend something for him. Otherwise I would just have him buried with family present.”

Sloane had fully anticipated Linqian to just outright refuse her and had readied herself to explain to the woman that it wasn’t an offer. She showed no hint of satisfaction as she nodded her head at the price point. It was less than what she imagined. Perhaps Linqian was lowballing her, but she wasn’t going to push. Sloane was less happy about the idea of getting the others involved. She could just imagine someone calling for a vote regarding what kind of food would be served at Jinhai’s wake. What she couldn’t imagine was Linqian going around asking for contributions to a funeral fund, although it was quite clear to Sloane now that she couldn’t imagine much of anything about Linqian accurately.

“Don’t be stu—” Sloane stopped herself and shook her head.

“Are you sure? I can just take care of it.” Sloane knew Linqian was sure. She had never seen the woman act so clinical and objective before. It was clear that she was only even toying with the idea out of love for her brother. “I mean, let me help. Are you sure you want to talk to everyone about this? I can let them know. I can take care of setting up the collection.”

Linqian really didn't want to talk to everyone. She didn't want to talk to anyone about it. But she'd already told the worst person she could… no, second worst. The worst would hear it from Sloane no matter what. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to take it all back… but she couldn't. For Jinhai. He deserved the funeral she couldn't afford.

”You know what, sure. You let them know. Doesn't even need to be everyone. Britney, Jack, Stormy, Anya.” It was difficult to hide the disdain in her voice when she said that name. But she was part of the list that had been friendly to Jinhai, and Linqian had already forced him to cut her off in life. It wasn't fair to do the same in death. ”I can't see anyone else contributing. Definitely don't tell Leon, or his cult might get involved.”

She took another step back, head turning to the side and laughing bitterly. She couldn't believe she was having such a civil conversation with Sloane. Jinhai would be amazed. Was this maturing? No, it was just a necessity for him. ”If you take care of the collection nobody can accuse me of using my brother's death for money.”

Because she was sure people would.

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll fabricate some horrible ulterior motive to be the reason why I’m doing it,” said Sloane with a huff.

Sloane allowed her hand in her pocket to finally release her Channeler that she had been holding since the start of a conversation. Sloane wasn’t naive enough to believe that having one conversation with Linqian that didn’t end in a violent eruption meant they would suddenly resolve any of their past problems. At the end of the day, Sloane was bleach and Linqian was ammonia—on their own neither were very palatable and when forced to mix together they could wipe out an entire room with their toxicity. However, Sloane hoped that the next time that Jinhai’s recycled pile of recessive traits went to beat her outside the head with a book she’d pass by King James and grab a brochure instead.

She caught sight of the ferry approaching out of her periphery. As illuminating as speaking with Linqian had been, Sloane had come to the Halloween festival with the intention of enjoying it, which required being around someone who at the very least had a GED.

“Don’t go hunting the Big Bad Wolf without the rest of us, Red. There are plenty of other people who want him to pay for what he did to Jinhai. Try and enjoy the festival,” said Sloane, turning away and heading towards the dock. She had gotten to the spot she had originally stopped upon and paused again to look back at Linqian. There was something else extremely important that she had to say and she had nearly forgotten.

“Also, you should really quit smoking,” said Sloane, waving her hand in front of her face. “It’s awful for you.”

Linqian was so close to being the nicest she'd ever been to Sloane and telling her to enjoy the festival too, however someone without the ability to have fun enjoyed it. She choked on her words when Sloane went and completely ruined the civil moment they'd had. Linqian didn't have the energy to get back up to aggressively pissed again - instead she just wanted Sloane out of her sight as quickly as possible.

”Oh fuck right off.” Linqian flipped Sloane off, half wasted cigarette held beside her middle finger. If she had another packet on her she would have lit another purely out of spite. She fucking needed it. ”I don't need your approval to smoke myself into an early grave.”

Rolling her eyes, Linqian stepped back to the wall she'd been beside before. She twisted her body to lean her shoulder against it so that she didn't have to look at Sloane, effectively cutting off any further conversation. One hand agitatedly went to her lips, shoving her remaining cigarette in between them - as if there was anything more than the butt left. She sucked on it aggressively, lips twisted back into a scowl but dark eyes still devoid of much emotion. She was making it clear that she wasn't willing to listen to anything else Sloane had to say, beyond the conversation they'd just had about Jinhai. Hopefully she'd quickly fuck off so Linqian could have a moment to collect herself before Edict appeared… which would hopefully be too late to catch this ferry, so they didn't have to get the same one as Sloane.

Sloane held her gaze steady on Linqian, her hand slowly rising to her mouth as if to cover another fake cough. Beyond her fingertips the corners of her lips turned up and were pulled tight by rarely exercised muscles as Linqian made Sloane not only smile but laugh, the sound like the sudden loud screech of untuned violin strings used to provoke a cheap jumpscare. It was drowned out by the sounding of the ferry’s horn as it pulled into port. She called out to Linqian over her shoulder as she turned away, “Fine, but I’m not going to pass around a second collection plate.”

Sloane gingerly raised her hand in a half-hearted farewell as she walked away, her fingers dropping until there was just one left.

---

---

They were getting closer to the front of the queue for pierogies.

Luca was practically vibrating in excitement about trying something new, nibbling away at his candy apple. He wasn't talking much thanks to it - he had to eat slowly so as not to hurt his teeth, and chew it up a lot so it didn't scrape his throat. But it was good! And he couldn't wait for some proper food-

Thunderous caws filled Luca's ears, interrupting something he was about to say to Jasper.

It was loud and distressed. He froze, head snapping towards wherever it had come from. He couldn't see the source but the crows... He could see plenty of them. They were almost at the front of the line now, but there was only one person that many crows would gather for.

Lila.

Shit.

Was she in danger? Was she hurt? It didn't matter. Crows didn't just get aggressive like that. Food wasn't important compared to his friend. His breathing quickened, uncomfortable fluttering clutching his chest.

”Jasper, we need to go!”

He didn't actually wait for Jasper's response, and just assumed he'd follow. Luca darted his way through the crowds, weaving through small gaps that he could fit in without touching people. At his size it was much easier to slip through the throngs of people. He left a trail of pain behind him, quick enough to not be damaging, and a candy apple that slipped out of his fingers and dropped to the floor, ignored. All he was thinking about was getting to his friends and making sure they were alright.

He arrived as Emily fell on her ass, thankful the drinks stands were close to the food ones. There were crows everywhere, Lila looked more pissed than he'd ever seen him - he could guess what had happened, just about. He didn't stop moving, sprinting towards them.

”Lila!” Luca jumped in between the two, physically putting his body in the way of Emily's kick. Thankfully for her it hit the long, white socks covering his calf rather than any bare skin, sending pain shooting through his leg. He winced but stayed standing, holding out a hand towards both of them as if he was fending off two wild beasts. His chest heaved up and down in heavy pants as he struggled to breath. He struggled to get enough air into his lungs, completely winded, but ignored it in favour of stopping whatever was happening here.

He twisted his head to look pleadingly at Lila - only to be met by a bottomless black gaze that wasn't quite hers. There was a familiarity, like the flickers of rot that he caught in his own eyes every time he looked in a mirror. The maiden, whatever she was, wasn't gone. Luca's heart jolted in his chest, breathing running even more ragged. What did he do? He didn't know how to handle this. He'd spent the last ten years barely retaining his sanity, pushing down his own apparition, how did he help someone else suppress theirs? The Rot's laughter rang in his ears, the apparition stirring from its slumber within him to press up tauntingly against his mind. He ignored it.

First, he needed to de-escalate the situation.

”Miranda, Jacqueline, lovely to see you again, can you please take Emily away?!” he looked over to the twins with a forced smile. A cursory scan told him there were no other 8th Street members there right now... Thankfully. The situation would only be made worse if someone like Vashti was there too. He then looked down at Emily, eyes narrowing. There was a swirling chaos in his gaze unlike the pure joy that normally filled them, anger at his friend being possibly hurt and wrestling with the eroding of his own mind as he was thrown into a stressful situation. ”Try to touch her again and I'll rot your hand off."

Luca turned to face Lila, showing Emily his back in the hope her sisters would stop her from doing anything... And if not, he'd follow through on his threat. He could take a hit. It would only hurt her more. While he didn't trust her, he trusted them. He reached out to try and grab Lila's hands. He suppressed the rotting of his skin as he did, even with his gloves offering a protective layer between them. Just turning it off hurt him, his arms beginning to shake and his mind filling with static as the rot started to slither through the forming cracks. But he didn't want her to touch any of his bare skin and begin to rot. His aura filled the air around them, slowly but surely stabbing against Lila's skin in an invisible attack he couldn't control. But he couldn't risk moving further away and having her attack Emily again, or vice versa. He needed to calm her down somehow.

She's let her in now. It's too late. It isn't. She can force her out. Do you think it'll be that easy? Let me take over and I'll talk to her. No. I won't fall for that. I'm not that stupid... I can do it myself. Can you really reject my help? To make things worse? I won't listen to you. I know what you want to do. Oh but wouldn't it be so nice to let go? Let me out, rot away the one that hurt her, protect your friends. I just want her to be alright. I don't want to hurt anyone. You will. I won't.

Luca shook his head, ignoring the rot, even as it continued to laugh in his head. He had to concentrate on Lila. He stepped closer to her.

”Lila, please, you have to calm down.” He hoped that she'd recognise him even like this - and if not, perhaps the maiden would recognise the Rot where it lingered at the edge of his consciousness. He tried to take up her entire vision, difficult when he was so slight, and hold her gaze with his own. Erratic energy danced across his eyes while flecks of rotten green and yellow infected their normal dark brown. ”Emily isn't worth it. Force the maiden out of your head.”

He glanced over at Lynn, mouthing at her, 'stay back.' He also signalled behind his back towards Miranda and Jacqueline for them to leave, if they hadn't dragged Emily away already.

Luca didn't know how unstable Lila was right now - how much she'd let the maiden in, how much of this was her. He'd never fully let the rot in but there had been times when it hadn't entirely been him, or when they'd shared his body for a short period of time before Luca had been able to suppress it again. Each time the rot pushed itself in longer and decayed his mind further. It was always dangerous, and no matter how much of the maiden was in control, this situation was too. He could take it - maybe not physically, but his body was already so damaged what was a little more? But Lynn with her bad luck should keep a safe distance away.

”Hey, come on, Lila. Let's just ignore her and go have some fun, yeah?”

---

---

Just under half an hour into storytime, an unassuming, Asian woman sat down at the other end of the bench Tayla was on. She was dressed up as a low effort witch, with an oversized black hat, a layered black dress and her dark hair tied up in a low bun. She couldn't be much older than thirty, with a youthful face but a tired, gentle gaze that moved from all the children gathered for story time to Tayla. The empathy she was automatically spreading around her lightly brushed up against Tayla's emotional field. Her eyes widened slightly and her eyebrows raised, raising further when a hint of emotion was read upon Tayla lowering the headphones over her ears. The emotion reading was subtle enough that Tayla wouldn't necessarily notice it unless she paid attention, and Lihn pulled it back once she realised she'd been doing it in the first place.

It was difficult to turn off sometimes. She naturally read the emotions of those around her like it was a sixth sense.

"Sorry," she turned to Tayla with an apologetic smile, gesturing to the bench they were both sitting on. She was apologising for the accidental emotion reading as well, if Tayla had noticed it. "I should have asked before sitting here."

She sat in silence for a short while, fingers gently tapping against her thighs. After a few minutes she shifted in her seat so she was angled slightly more towards Tayla.

"Do you have a kid here?" Lihn asked. She wasn't normally so social outside of work, using all of her energy on her clients during long hours, but something about Tayla drew her in. Her therapist's intuition was telling her this was some with... Issues. And assuming she had a child, which she must do to be at the Halloween festival during the children's events, then that was another reason for Lihn to want to talk to her. She looked young, and Lihn knew what it was like to be a young mom. She'd had Thanh when she was only twenty three, after all. "Silly question, you wouldn't be here this early if you didn't... That's mine over there."

She pointed to a nine year old girl sitting among all of the toddlers and parents at the story time. The young girl was short with her long black hair tied back into two cute pigtails. On her head were a pair of cat ears and she was in all black, completing the outfit with a tail and full painted face with a cat nose and whiskers. She was animatedly listening along, leaning forward as if she couldn't get enough of it.

"She pretended to be sick to get out of school and come here earlier. Almost had me cancel all of my appointments... She wants to be a writer when she's older so supposedly this story time is 'imperative' to attend. I think if she knows the word imperative at nine she shouldn't be going along to toddlers events, but who am I to ruin her fun? She also insisted it wasn't cool to sit with her mum during toddler storytime."

Lihn laughed lightly. She looked back over at her daughter, who seemed to feel her gaze. Thanh turned around and grinned, before seeming to wave her away. Lihn laughed again and waved back.

"Ah, I should introduce myself. My name's Lihn," she smiled gently as she turned back to Tayla, eyes curving up to make it look soft and genuine - though it also highlighted the dark circles beneath her eyes that she could never seem to get rid of. The price of working long days while having a child. "Don't feel you have to tell me your name if you don't want to, I understand, I'm just a stranger. I don't get a chance to talk to other moms often because of work so I got a bit ahead of myself."

The Apothecary
_{Interactions: None.}

---

2321 Ash Ave.

That's what the sign said. Layla stood under it, bandaged and dressed in black, looking up at the black sign, and the gray streets around her, before daring a step into the alleyway.

Void wanted her here. Why? What did he know that he could only share in his last moments? Was this… his way of caring for her?

Or was she just sewing her own seeds of despair?

In the alleyway was a small staircase that led to a red door. She descended the steps, took a breath, and gave the door a knock.

There was a pause, before there was a voice. “We're closed.”

Layla swallowed before speaking.“The Void Heart sent me?”

A short pause before the door unlocked and opened, as if on its own accord. Layla took a breath, and stepped in.

The Apothecary was dressed like a New York speakeasy, with red velvet booths, chairs and tufted wall accents. Rich mahogany shaped the bar at the end of the room, and in the stools were two patrons: a woman with a wide hat covering half her face, and another woman with black hair and a piercing gaze. They both turned to Layla as she entered, and the woman with the wide hat offered a small smile.

“Welcome, Layla. You're early. I trust your ‘friend’ wanted to leave you in good hands…”

Layla's brows furrowed. “You… you know? How do you know…?”

She couldn't explain it, but this woman… she put her at ease. Like cough syrup for a sore throat. Contrasting the feelings Layla had stirring in her, like despair.

The woman glanced at her colleague before a soft sigh escaped her lips. “Better we talk in the back. Mr. Roosevelt, whip her up a strong one, whatever she likes, on the house.”

Layla soon found herself in one of the back rooms that stank of smoke and cologne, sitting in a booth across from the two woman. In front of her was her favorite drink. She wasn't a drinker, but with what happened…

The James Bond martini in front of her was no surprise. She took a tentative sip, before glancing at the women with a questioning gaze.

The woman with the wide brim hat held up a soft hand. “I believe introductions are in order. My name is Miss Vorpal. My colleague beside me is Isabella Blackthorn.”

Layla gave a nod, before she responded. “How… do you already know who I am?”

Miss Vorpal smiled under her hat. “It’s my job to know.”

Layla's lips pursed. “And… how did Void… Know you?”

“Darkness has a habit of attracting one another in this small, small city.” She said with a light chuckle.

Layla leaned back in her seat, “So you… you know what happened?”

Miss Vorpal’s lips pursed gently as she glanced at Isabella before turning back to Layla.

“We know that you were asleep when they murdered my dear friend.”

Layla's eyes widened. “You… you were there? But how?”

A slight smile graced Miss Vorpal's features. “Trade secret, my dear.”

Layla's voice dropped to a somber note. “Why… why didn't you stop them?”

“Because my spy would have been severely outmatched. I never foresaw this, otherwise I would have planned a way to save him. Your ‘coven’ did well to keep this under wraps. Even my spies didn't pick up on the plan. Not until it was far, far too late.”

The door to the back poker room opened, and Mr. Roosevelt stepped up to the booth, placing down a hot plate of bread sticks, grilled shrimp skewers, and melted butter sauce.

“Please enjoy.” He said humbly before excusing himself.

Miss Vorpal gestured to the tray. “Please, have something to eat.”

Layla's mouth watered. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday when she threw up that accursed temple food. Void recommended these people as his last wish. If they were going to kill her, she'd be okay with that. But if Void liked them, she was probably in moderate safety. Void would never let her get hurt, right? He was gentle with her when she listened to him. He cared…

She took a bite of delicious shrimp, swallowed, took another bite, and burst into tears. Immediately, she felt someone slide into her booth seat, patting her down gently.

“Hush, hush, dear. Look at me, and be at ease.”

Layla sniffed, and looked up. Immediately, radiant pink eyes locked with her in an eternal stare as Miss Vorpal lifted her head.

She was beautiful.

Immediately, Layla felt a lightness in her chest where there had been crushing, sharp and unbearable heartache. She took a breath, like she hadn't breathed easily in hours. Tension left her shoulders, and a surprised smile lit up her face.

As quickly as Miss Vorpal gazed at Layla, she broke the connection, and hid her eyes below her hat once again. She patted Layla again before draping her arm around Layla's shoulders.

“How do you feel, Layla?” She asked softly.

Layla blinked, the smile still lifted on her face. “Better. Better than I've felt since this whole… shitshow began.”

Miss Vorpal's lips pulled in a slight frown. “Swearing does not become you, Layla.”

A pause, before Miss Vorpal continued. “Now, the man responsible for Void's death, Mr. Salamente… What did you want to do about him? What do you think of… all of them?”

Layla blinked, staring up at Miss Vorpal with innocent eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You don't think Void sent you here without any reason, yes? This is how I'm going to take care of you, by exacting revenge that will heal you.”

Layla's eyes bulged, but her feelings remained calm and serene, lacking the panic that she assumed she would feel. “But.. but..”

Miss Vorpal pressed a finger to her lips. “Hush. Mother knows best. If you don't want a part in it, that's fine. I will do it myself, for my old friend. The world is a less perfect place without him, and he will be sorely missed.”

Layla listened softly, before she felt desire move within her, expressing itself in a wish. “I… I want that. I want Void to rest in peace. He didn't deserve to die. I was too weak to do anything… I shouldn't have listened to him, but at least now… we can ensure he rests in peace?”

Layla’s chin jutted out. “I want to help.”

Miss Vorpal smiled. “I know just the thing… But for now, eat and rest. We will keep in touch…”

---

Layla's Apartment
_{In collaboration with @Punished GN}

---

Raven Jones is a monster.

Layla stared over her coffee, deeply disturbed, and deep in thought as she stirred the brew with a spoon.

It was so vivid… She remembered every piece of the dream, unlike other dreams she had. Like a message. But who would want to send a message?

How did she fit into all this?

Layla softly shook her head, and took a sip of her coffee. A wince as her hand moved, nearly dropping the coffee, red spotting the white gauze wrapped around the wrist and thumb.

She made a face, “Shit.”

The bandages made a nice match, one for each hand, and one circled tight around her neck.

Hiding the fresh marks…

A pause, before she gripped the locket around her neck. “No, no I'm fine. I'll be fine.”

She checked the address again on her phone: St. Portwell News Archives.

A pause before she whispered in a low voice.

“I know it didn't work out before, but maybe this time we'll be lucky.”

Another pause.

“Yeah, Kari Wilson, and Lionel Hunter, those were their names. Maybe we can find out something.”

She had tried other leads, trying to come up with something, but the leads were cold. Auri, of course, didn't give a location, only names.

Damn her.

Layla paused before tilting her head to the side. ”Well of course Britney asked to come over. We'll see if she has any plans, then…”

Layla smirked. “Oh don't make that face. It'll be fine. Everything is fine..”

All there was left to do was wait.

---

---

Britney made sure to lay low the past week. She went to work, did a few poses, went home, and that was it… she was hoping that Father Wolf wouldn’t target her next, but in the event of that happening, she made sure to hang around someone at all times even if it wasn’t practical for her to invite guests over.

Because her house was booby-trapped.

Opening the door to outside, the cool fall breeze immediately assaulted her… but fortunately, her outfit, a jean jacket, black leggings, a white workout shirt, and some sneakers, provided some protection against the wind. It was time for Britney to head over to Layla’s… Despite laying low, Britney kept in touch with Layla, mainly because she felt bad for the girl and wanted to learn what she didn’t understand. She made sure to constantly text her, send her memes, etc, etc, to make her feel like a friend.

Because she was close to losing a friend.

Britney walked over to her car… which was in the shop due to all the bullet wounds it suffered (Thanks, Alizee!), and she was thankfully provided with a rental for the time being. It was a Hyundai Santa Fe, which wasn’t her preference, but a car was a car. She carried a backpack, threw it into the passenger seat, pushed the car to start, and backed out.

Britney drove through the busy streets of St. Portwell, over towards Layla’s apartment. She couldn’t help but observe the many different costumes on her way there. She finally made it to Layla’s apartment, and after a short walk… she approached Apartment #07.

She gently rapped her knuckles against the door…

Layla blinked out of her spiraling thoughts at the soft knock at the door, and moved to slide the lock over. She pulled the door open, trying to offer a welcoming smile.

Everything is fine.

“H-hi, Britney. Come on in. You uh, want some coffee? It's fresh.”

”Gladly!” Britney said, as Layla stepped back, letting her take in the apartment. Studio. A modern design in an L-shape. It was sparsely decorated, with a near-empty fridge, and the bed cleanly stripped, sheets unceremoniously dumped on the floor near the far wall, dark brown spots speckling the ice-blue sheets.

Layla herself was dressed in all black. Black plain dress, black leggings, and black sweater overtop.

Layla moved to the coffee stand near the sink, pulling a mug from the cupboard. With careful hands, she slowly poured a cup, steam curling up and the aroma of coffee infusing the air. She brought the mug, along with cream and sugar, to the table, gesturing for Britney to take a seat.

Layla sat across from her, bandaged hands gripping her own cup.

“Uh, thanks for coming today. You uh,” She tried a smirk, like what Void would do. “It’s nice, you know?”

”Don’t mention it,” Britney waved her hand with a warming smile. ”It’s what I do!” Truth be told, Britney knew no one else would had cared or lifted a finger.

She pursed her lips, a dark look crossing her face, before she tried a tight smile. “I know we've been texting a bit, but did you just wanna sit and talk, or go out on the town together…?”

She tried a small laugh, but it felt forced. “I uh, don't really have anything for lunch here. We could do food delivery, I suppose…”

Britney chuckled.

”Oh no, don’t you know what’s going on tonight?” Britney asked. ”... The Halloween Festival! Everyone is going to be there - ^{I think}! We can grab some greasy, overpriced food there!” Britney chuckled as she touched her chest.

”On me.”

Layla gasped. “No. No you're joking-”

Her eyes flicked to her phone, pulling up the calendar. Yep. Yes… it was marked in red and everything: The Halloween Festival. She must have missed the calendar alarm.

She swallowed painfully. The world still moved forward, even if she was frozen in time.

She gave a sweaty smile. [color=7ABBFF][b]“Uhm, I don't know how to tell you this, Britney. I uh- I don't even have a costume ready…”[/color][/b]

Britney smiled.

”Well… don’t worry!.” Britney chuckled. ”I know a gal.. big time fashion designer and, uh, Paranormal like us.”

She paused for a second,

”Bean, or Sabrina, can whip you up a costume in seconds!”

Layla seemed to appear relieved. “You and your fashion connections… Would she be free today? I hope uh, she won't mind a last minute order…”

Layla sipped on the last of her coffee before setting it aside. “Seems that might be our first priority today. I was thinking of stopping by the News Archive, but-”

She sighed. “Maybe… a little fun is… okay?”

”She won’t!” Britney chipperly said as she pulled out her cellphone and she and Sabrina had a series of text messages….

---

---

”Ummm… do you mind if Bean comes here? We can meet somewhere if that’s what makes you more comfortable!”

Layla waved Britney off, shaking her head. “No, I don't mind. There's enough chairs for everyone, anyway.”

”Better than being alone, right?” She thought.

She was met with silence in her mind, and Layla's face crumpled a bit.

“Yeah… enough chairs for everyone…”

”Great!” Britney answered as she shot Sabrina a text with the address, and received a quick reply. After scanning it, she looked up at Layla and said, ”She’ll be here in like fifteen minutes, she said.”

So, Britney helped herself to a seat. There was a brief silence before she asked, ”I was wondering how you’ve been lately,” She started, ”I know things have been rough, but I was wondering if there’s anything I can help you with?”

She smiled at her.

”I’ll do anything not to lose another friend.”

Layla shifted in her seat uncomfortably, listening but not really internalizing Britney's words.

She spoke without thinking, her voice a tight whisper.

“Why did you do it, Britney? Why did you let them kill Void?”

Britney sighed, shaking her head as she looked down towards the ground. ”Look, Layla,” She started, ”Voidy was a problem. I know he made you feel powerful, but he was hurting people. Making Alizee hurt people to further his sick goals. You have to let it go; you’ll be better without him; he was going to make you start hurting people. Then he was going to toss you when he was done with you”

Layla's face reflexively scrunched up as her guard was raised. Toss her? But Void was devastated at the death of Alizée. What Britney said didn't make sense. And hurting people… well, she had done worse.

Britney looked up and gazed at Layla, ”But, when we were in the Void, you said that I didn’t understand… what is it that I wasn’t understanding if you feel up to it?”

Immediately, Layla stiffened. A billion frantic thoughts rushed through her mind. She didn't have a choice with Void - everyone thought they knew him. Acted on a sick impulse to save her. He couldn't hide who he was, and they took advantage of that.

But now? She had kept her secret under such careful wraps that no one from the Coven knew the full extent of her curse. What it drove her to do. What it would drive her to do.

They didn't know her plans.

Immediately, Layla shut down and turned her face away. “I… I don't want to talk about it.”

Her hand instinctively clutched the spotted bandage of her wrist. “The last time I spoke, or rather, was listened to too carefully, I lost someone dear to me. I'm not doing that again.”

Britney was silent, not breaking eye contact for a moment. Then she nodded her head and said, ”... Sure, that’s fine by me,” It wouldn’t take a genius to tell there was something else on Britney’s mind. ”We can just relax for a bit until Bean gets here.”

A bit of time passed, but someone knocked on the door true to Britney’s word.

”Oh, I think that’s Bean!” Britney said.

Layla nodded, and stood to open the door.

The door flew open, and presenting herself was Sabrina Vanburen, a fairly tall African-American woman who possessed a notably long braid that she kept in a bun on the back of her head. She looked at Layla, smiled and waved, and said, “Hi,” She started.

Layla returned the wave, and stepped back, hand on the door. “Welcome.”

”Bean!” Britney said as she stood up and walked towards Sabrina with her arms stretched outwards. ”It’s great to see you!”

She hugged Sabrina, and they both let go of each other, as they both faced Layla.

”Hey, Layla, this is Bean,”

“Sabrina,” She chuckled. “It’s great to meet you.”

Layla watched the two of them, emotions flickering across her face. Two people, a connection between them… Two…

Everything was gonna remind her of Void, wasn't it?

She forced a smile, shutting the door behind Sabrina and moving to the coffee pot. “Please make yourself at home, Sabrina. Do you take cream with your coffee?”

Setting a hot mug of coffee down in front of Sabrina at the kitchen table, Layla took a seat herself.

“Uh, sorry about the short notice,” She glanced at Britney, “Britney mentions you're uh, really good at costumes. Is that right?”

Sabrina grabbed the mug of coffee with both hands and then shrugged as she sat down. Britney sat down right next to her.

“It’s fine,” Sabrina started, “I needed some time away from my roommates, anyway.”

She then chuckled as she shook her head.

“I am one of the best,” Sabrina started before she chuckled, putting a hand to her lips as she said, “At least, that’s what my Instagram page says.”

She paused for a moment as she said,

”She’s Paranormal, so you don’t have to worry about that!” Britney added.

“Even better,” Sabrina said. “Tell me exactly what you want.”

Britney’s eyes lit up as she turned to Layla and said, ”Go with a Bee costume! We can match!”

Layla picked the hem of her dress in thought, before she nodded at Britney. “Uh, sure. That sounds nice.”

Her eyes flicked to Sabrina, a sheepish smile on her face, “A bee costume won't be too much trouble, right?”

Sabrina warmly smiled as she pinched two fingers in the air as if she was now holding the costume… and then, forming from top to bottom, a cutesy Bee costume that would, oddly enough, perfectly fit Layla. She presented it to Layla, warmly smiled, as she said, “No trouble whatsoever.”

Layla's jaw dropped slightly as she took the costume in her hands. It felt normal. Like normal cloth, despite being summoned out of thin air. It was soft, and cute.

Would Void have liked it?

She had a soft smile on her face. “Thank you, it looks really nice.”

“Oh! Do me!” Britney said, and with a flick of Sabrina’s wrist, her outfit was telekinetically taken off, and replaced with a white bee keeper costume. Britney smiled as she did a twirl and said, ”You’re the best, girl.”

Layla had a naive smile on her face as she watched the costume appear on Britney's form. That was cute, they really would match.

Before her brows delicately furrowed, and her heart did a weird hiccup. Bees were at the whim and fancy of the bee keeper, without any power on their own, prone to giving up honey at a moment's notice.

Surely… This costume matching didn't mean anything, right?

A forced smile was plastered to her face as Layla swallowed the internal power struggle she felt. “You look great, Britney. We will be the best costume pair at the festival.”

She thought about the festival. It'd been a while since she'd attended. But she always enjoyed it. It was a liminal space where one could forget about their problems.

Maybe it would have the same effect on her this time.

Spurred on by the thought of festive food and enjoyment, she half-joked. “I'm tempted to starve until the festival, but I imagine you two might be hungry. Shall I order some pizza?”

“Mhmmm, sure!” Britney chipperly said.

“I’m fine,” Sabrina started, “I just ate.”

Layla nodded, gently dropped her costume over the back of her chair, and pulled out her phone. “So one large pizza to share… Pepperoni?”

“That’s fine,” Britney answered.

She opened up one of those fancy food apps. There was a pizzeria just five minutes away that made delicious pizza, and she may or not have already developed the habit of eating out there more than once over the years. She placed the order, along with some drinks, and set her phone aside.

“Should be here in about 15 minutes. Hope you don't mind a bit of a wait, Britney.” Layla said.

Her head tilted. “So uh, who's all going to the festival?”

Britney smiled as she put a hand on her chest and said,

“Me, you, Bean…” Britney chuckled before she turned to Layla and said, “You mean as far as the Coven? I don’t know exactly, but Auri and Adora are going. The others…?”

She shrugged.

“Probably we’re gonna see a couple here and there.”

Layla exhaled a sigh of relief. She didn't want to see Auri or Stormy. Britney had wiggled her way into a weird little friend zone ever since Layla saw her pull the Noble Vow on Void. He'll, Void would probably be furious with her if he saw Layla being all chummy with Britney.

But everything was fine, right?

However, Layla knew she didn't have the strength to see the rest. Secretly, she hoped she didn't see anyone else from the Coven. It just… left a sour taste in her mouth. Brought up painful memories.

Void's a memory now, huh? Fuck.

”Only if you want me to be, sweetheart.” She could hear Void's voice crystal clear in her mind, giving her a semblance of what was, what could have been. What she could only pretend now.

Layla tried to hide a crumpled face, even now all she wanted to do was cry.

No, it wasn't polite to cry in front of guests.

Instead, she tried to smile wide, swallowing hard and gathering her strength before she dared to speak. Even then, there was a telltale warble in her voice.

“That sounds a-alright. This is gonna be…,” Breathe. Don't break down again, “So much fun!”

“... Is everything alright, Layla?” Britney asked. “You know you can talk about it with me, right?”

“... Should I go?” Sabrina asked.

“No, you’re fine,”

Everything is fine.

The lie she desperately clung to. Because, to break the illusion meant to acknowledge something too painful. Something she couldn't bear. Not yet.

Everything is fine.

Layla pinched her eyes shut, taking big, deep breaths to steady herself. She should be grateful to Britney. Yes. Nothing was wrong. Don't blame her. Embrace her.

She could repeat a lie a thousand times to believe it. She had to. Or she really would fall apart.

Everything… is… fine….

Layla gave a shaky smile, waving Sabrina off. “You're okay. It's just been a bit of a tough week.”

Her eyes glanced to Britney, willfully embracing her lie as she spoke. “Britney saved my life, you know?”

“Oh?” Sabrina put a hand to her chest, “I mean, Britney is good people. I’d know.” Sabrina smiled.

“Thanks, Bean,” Britney answered, before turning back to Layla. “... When will the Pizza get here? We should probably eat real quick and get a move on!” Britney snorted.

Layla nodded her head, then checked her phone. “Couple of minutes. Then uh, yeah, I'll get changed and we can uhm, head out.”

When the pizza arrived, the aroma of melted cheese and pepperoni slices suffused through the air. Layla set plates out, distributed drinks, and opened the cardboard box.

“Please help yourself.”

After an early lunch, Layla excused herself to the bathroom. She came back out, a sheepish smile on her face as she donned her new threads, the cutesy bee costume. Complete with an antennae headband and shoulder strapped wings.

“Awwww you look adorable!” Britney said, grabbing the sides of her face.

Layla reached for her crosspack, trying to shake her self-consciousness.

“You look fine, sweetheart.”

A slight purse of the lips. Was this voice she pretended to play in her head a coping mechanism?

Did it matter?

“I'm uh, ready when you are.”
“Let’s g-” Britney turned towards Sabrina and said, “Bean, you don’t have a costume.”

“I was thinking I would just…” Sabrina said, “Dress casually, this time around.”

Britney put a hand on her hip as she said, “That’s boring.” She chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll…“ Sabrina rolled her eyes as she did a twirl, and her regular plain clothes transformed into an identical Bee costume to Layla. “There.”

“You look adorable, too, Bean!” Britney chuckled, as she walked over to the door. “We can all ride in my car. Let’s go.”

---

After the ferry trip, the trio ended up on Cracker Island, and they saw hundreds of people, including different stalls and locations. Cracker Island was the place to be, but Britney was smart enough to pick up on how Layla wasn’t particularly excited to run into any of their friends. Britney was fine with this, as the whole point of this was to help Layla. She stepped off the Ferry, holding her purse in hand as she said,

“What do you all want to do first? Haunted Mansion? Maybe see the performances?”

“Who’s performing?” Sabrina asked.

“Astrid Storm, then I think my friend Laurey’s band is gonna be playing later,”

Sabrina awkwardly coughed. “Let’s find something else to do; I’m not on good terms with Astrid or her family right now.”

“That’s fine!” Britney said, “We can just vibe.”

The familiar sights and smells put a smile on Layla's face. Getting out of the house really was nice. It felt like everyone was out that night, and the costumes were diverse and colorful.

Child-like giddiness crept up on Layla like an infectious laugh, and she gently tugged on Britney's arm.

“Haunted house, haunted hoooouse.”

“Let’s go!” Britney felt Layla’s giddiness infect her as she put a fist in the air.

Mention: @FernStone Lihn

Tayla felt a poke. A little harmless thing trying to invade her emotional fields when the woman next to her sat down. She tensed up and turned to look at her, headphones now around her neck. She hadn't picked up anything malicious when she entered her range to hear thoughts. Doesn't mean she's not good at masking intentions and keeping them from the forefront of her mind.

She should've asked before poking her. It was a like a slip it seemed. She wasn't touching her with magic anymore. She could let it go. She'll reserve completely doing that just in case. She shrugged, not caring about the seat. She didn't own the bench and it's not like she took up a lot of space to begin with.

She looked in the direction the woman pointed to a little girl way out of place among babies. She snorted. Cute. Her gaze drifted towards her own family. Siwan was on his feet, standing in front of where her father sat behind him. He was holding onto her father's shoulder, engrossed in the story. She pulled out her phone and took a quick picture of them. At this angle, she only saw a little of their faces, but it's cute. She couldn't help smiling.

"Tayla," she introduced herself. She eased up a little bit. She's never talked to another mother before. Other than simple pleasantries with the moms dropping their kids off at daycare. She kept it moving after that, never wanting to have long talks about motherhood before. Most moms weren't like her. Recovering drug addicts that's spent eight years being pimped out for drugs and deals. All of it fuzzy memories she'd rather not look too closely at.

"That's mine over there with my dad," she said, pointing to a middle aged Korean man with a pumpkin child blocking his view. "It's his first time here. Thought we'd get here early before the crowd really came. I don't want him around the hot garbage that goes on after sundown."

She knew just how bad that shit could get. There's always a fight, vomit, drinking, someone taking a chance at not getting caught fucking in public. They rarely got away with it. "Is she gonna go to the play? I'm sure that's got something to do with writing too." The play was for all ages. She's not sure if she wanted to sit around for an hour watching adults in costumes prancing around the kids. Coloring and drawing at the crafts table seemed more fun.

---

Jack had arrived at the island long before anybody else had. They took a boat, and he simply teleport across the water, onto buildings in the dark of night. In a grey robe filled with shadows, he stalked the festival unseen. Every couple of minutes, Jack would teleport away to another rooftop, or another alleyway to scope out the place. In one hand he held his channeler, an old book full of spells and magical knowledge that he had accumulated over the years. Between jumps, he stopped to comb through its pages, hoping to jog his memory. But alas, he couldn't find any mention of Raven Jones. The personification of the Pit's will? Easy. He had whole other books about the Pit. Sunshine Jones? She was a bit more elusive, but there were stories about her being banished to the Pit, likely for a reason. But Raven Jones was an enigma. He had absolutely no idea who the girl was. Why was she important in all this? He could wrack his brain like this all day and reread every page in every book back home, but would he find anything else?

Jack snapped the book shut, and slid it away under his garish costume. Pulling his phone out to check the time, he teleported around to get an idea of where everyone was.

A dusty rooftop near the docks; Anya arrived, and looked to be waiting for someone. Sloane, maybe? He pulled his phone back out and sent her a text.


He waved to get her attention. Once she spotted him, he disappeared.

A dim alleyway across a street; Tayla brought her kid and was talking to a stranger. Someone he didn't recognize, but Tayla could take care of herself.

Behind the corner of an old warehouse; Sloane and Linqian were arguing... Without killing each other. A surprise. He overheard something about Jinhai.


Back up on a roof by the drink line; Luca, Lila, Lynn and Jasper were in a bitchfest with 8th Street. He just happened to overheard Emily Reed throw out Lila's deadname. And then he saw her punch someone with a bird-like hand. Honestly, Jack didn't blame her for that. But he was vindictive at heart. So when everyone's attention was on Emily, their shadows reached up to grab an unattended bottle of red wine. Emily's goons wouldn't see it creeping up behind them, but the Sycamore members would definitely see the whole thing tip upside down, and dumb all of its contents over Emily's head. The empty bottle clattered to the ground before anyone could turn around and find a culprit.

And then, he was gone again.

Lila's phone would go off, as she received a text message from Jack, almost immediately after the incident.



Suddenly, Anya was no longer alone, as Jack came into existence near her. He pulled his hood down as the shadows produced by his magic faded, revealing the usual frazzled face she knew.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news, is that Sloane and Linqian are having a conversation that hasn't devolved to death and destruction. The bad news is that 8th Street are here, and Emily Reed picked a fight with Lila. But Luca, Lynn and Jasper are with her, and I embarrassed her in front of them without being seen. I think they'll be fine." He has a mischievous look his face, which implied he was clearly quite pleased with his deeds.

"Shall we?"

---

---

Stormy shot off an message through the website that the college used. In the last two days he had managed to grade over 30 essays and send them back with comments. This was the first year he didn't format his class around a physical, in-person system, but it seemed to be working out so far. More people attended it than the previous two years, which was definitely a good sign. He looked up from the boat he was riding towards the island and put away his phone as he arrived. Others went in elaborate costumes, but Stormy had showed up in nothing more than his usual rugged aesthetic with a single difference: A headband, with a pair of comically large cat ears.

His sense of fashion truly knew no parallel.

It was intentionally bad, sort of a humorous costume rather than a good-looking one. Stormy stepped off the harbor and into the festival. He first took a walk to remember where everything was, since he hadn't been here in literally a decade. All the lights, all the people, it reminded him of what they protected during darker times. And it reminded him to enjoy what they all had while they had it. But these types of days were no fun when spent alone, so Stormy decided he should look for someone.

He mad his way across the island until he got to the ferris wheel, and then kept walking until he saw Luca, and Jasper dressed in... Interesting costumes. Lila and Lynn were there too and Stormy was just about to actually walk over until he saw Emily Reed. Keeping his distance for a moment, no one looked particularly happy, at least not in a genuine way. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Stormy had a pretty good idea when Lila fucking clocked her across the face.

And then a bottle of wine magically floated over her head and defaced that dragon getup of hers. He saw a cloaked figure up on a roof, which held a finger to its face. Or rather, where its face would've been. Stormy nodded, just before the figure teleported away.

"Why am I not surprised..."

That was his cue to walk over.

Stormy closed the distance, walking up to the small crowd and immediately getting everyone's attention. "It seems somebody had one too many drinks tonight," he joked. "You've got a mean swing, by the way- I saw that. So, what seems to be the problem here? I didn't know Lila was fond of punching people, these days."

---

---

---

Naturally, these Sluts come out of the woodwork to gang up on her.

First, Luca blocks her kick towards Lila, and then a bottle of red wine spills all over her. She loudly shrieked out of anger as she just knew one of those sluts were behind it. However, Luca's threat was promptly ignored, and she hopped to her feet - however, she felt Jacqueline and Miranda pulling at her as she (attempted to) lung towards Lila anyway! She was pulled back as she felt the fucking red wine seep into her stupid little onesie that she didn't want to wear anyway. She bared her teeth as she looked down and felt it press against her skin. It felt all weird and gross. She shook her head as Stormy walked up, and then she shook her head and pointed at Lila and said,

"This crazy bitch hit me!" Emily started before looking up at Lila's feathered arm and then pointed at her nose. "What is wrong with her!? Here, of all places, she chooses to put her dirty hands on me?" Emily placed a hand on her chest.

Before she crossed her arms and looked at Luca, she said, "And what happened Luca? I had your back when you were in 8th Street! Did you fucking forget what Britney did to you? Did to us?"

Tears started running down Emily's face as she started pounding a fist in her alternate hand.

"She violated both of us! Then the rest of the Sycamore sluts let her walk scot-free to shake her ass down a runway while people like you, Vashti, Carol, and I have to live with the consequences of it!"

More tears ran down her face as she finally put the finishing blow on her rant.

"You should have my back here! Why are you acting like we aren't in this together?!"

---

"Nice to meet you, Tayla." Lihn followed Tayla's finger to the older man and the young child who looked much less out of place during the storytime. It was cute how engrossed he was, and the involvement of Tayla's father brought Lihn joy. There was a hint of jealousy in her heart too, but something she could easily suppress nowadays. She smiled brightly. An unconventional family it seemed, unless the child's father was just busy with work. Lihn wasn't one to make assumptions either way. "His first time? Well he's in for a treat. It's nice your dad came with you both, must be fun for your little boy getting time with you both. Good of you to make sure he can still have a nice time without being exposed to all the late night problems... I do wish it could stay kid friendly later, but you can't control adults that want to go wild."

She sighed, offering Tayla rueful smile. That had been her once, when she lost her parents and almost lost herself to alcohol and all sorts she didn't remember taking. It had led to the blessing that was her daughter, but it didn't mean she found it comfortable to be around. Just sad. She was a therapist now to help people who felt the need to turn to things like that to help. "I'm lucky my brother can come pick up the kiddo before it gets too late, since I'm on call for a few clients at the festival. Precautionary measures. Wish I could just go home with her and avoid all that."

Tayla asked about the play, and Lihn shrugged. "Probably, but last year she came away complaining about how bad it was. I don't understand her taste sometimes. We'll go if she wants to and if not, there's plenty else to do." She gestured to all the activities. "I imagine she'll want to watch it even if it's just to criticise how it's written and tell me how she'd do it. Can't blame her, I'd rather not sit through it for the seventh year in a row... But it's her day, so if she wants to I will. That's how it is as a mom, right?"

There was no bitterness in her voice at that, a soft smile still on her face. She loved her daughter more than anything, and already didn't spend enough time with her because of work. Sitting through an hour of an awful kids play was a small sacrifice to make for her.

"What about you three? Will your son want to watch the play, or are you going to enjoy some of the more hands on activities? When Thanh- my daughter- was that age she could barely sit through anything longer than fifteen minutes. It was cute, though, how much she wanted to run around." Lihn laughed. "Enjoy it while it lasts, before he gets older and more rebellious. Suddenly they don't want you to sit with them for toddler story time."

Edict woke up in a cold sweat, feet instantly swinging from the bed as he rushed for the bathroom to vomit up whatever he'd imbibed last night. He was well convinced there was a curse placed upon him, incidents the day prior having gone belly-up. That Witch he'd met... Had it not worked? Why a Recollection like that? He was really regretting coming back to St. Portwell as his guts worked their way back up out of his mouth and into his toilet: He'd already made a fool of himself at the Church Meeting, his position in the group was tenuous at best, then slighting a Family Connection only to wake up to this bullshit? Not to mention... That was the Beer Chalice!

He'd recognize Sully's flask anywhere; at least the guy used it like a flask. The whole Coven was a herpes outbreak waiting to happen back in the day with so many lips touching that thing. But, whoever the girl was... She had it? It was the past, so it had to be long before it made it into that lug's hands. Edict's mind didn't stop working just because he was giving himself up to the God of Porcelain. He felt a stranger's hand rubbing his back. He couldn't say he knew her name, but the comfort was nice. Once everything was done coming up, Edict turned his head to look out the bathroom window. The sun was close to rising, soon he'd have to check the wire tap recordings. Coffee, working out, then the Festival. Nobody missed it if you lived here; it was one of the best events in town. And a reason to dress up. Linqian had actually made plans to talk shop while they hung around, and he hoped there'd be some of the other more rowdy members of the Coven to hang about with. Almost sickening how he enjoyed hanging out with these people.

He spit the last of the poisoned, mucus filled phlegm into the toilet and flushed one last time, standing up. The woman didn't say anything; he hadn't told her to. Part of the transaction.
"Go home."
The girl took a deep breath, nodding as if she had any choice but to agree. Her hand left him, and she coldly gathered her things and dressed herself to trod off into the chilly city morning, leaving Edict alone with himself. He had a long day ahead, and thinking about this Recollection was going to get exhausting fast.

---

The height of the afternoon had passed now. The air was on the cusp of changing as Edict drove down the road with the Impala's top down, his sunglasses dutifully blocking out most of the sun's harmful rays while still illuminating the wonderful St. Portwell bay area. It was starting to tilt westward, meaning the people gathering on Cracker Island for the usual fun times were in for one Hell of a sunset. Edict definitely wanted to be there. He took a peek in his mirror and grinned to himself as he saw his Uncle and cousins in the car behind him. The old man gave a smile and a knowing nod while Alice and Marie fussed about with their costumes behind him. Edict threw a thumbs up, and he saw the old man's hand wobble back and forth as if to say so-so. He laughed openly, and reached for his cellphone to talk to him. As he did, he was hit with Linqian's text message. He shook his head and dialed his Uncle.

"Lord of Pork, this is Mixed Bowtie."
"Knock it off you Simian, what? Whadda'ya want?"
"I kinda missed my business, so you take them and head for the other place. I'll meet you guys on Cracker."
Edict laughed as his Uncle threw his hands up in the mirror.
"Don't shrug me, Old Man, I'll drag you across the bay on that fuckin' boat."
"That'll be the day, Punk. You and your fancy magic tricks."

He flipped Edict off with a great big smile as he hung the phone up on him. Edict proceeded to turn out of the traffic and down a nearby side street and into a random parking lot. Life was easy when you didn't worry about the car getting towed. A few minutes later and he was rounding the corner toward Linqian.
To see his costume was to believe that he couldn't be more self aware. Usually he tried to dress as casually as possible around people, but what better way to tell people that you have a sense of humor than to caricaturize oneself?
What walked toward Linqian was dressed in a pair of black and white wing tips, perfectly pressed gold and black pinstriped slacks with a thin Armani leather belt. His body was covered by a similarly pinstriped vest covering a dark gold button down shirt. His white suit coat was slung over both shoulders like a shawl, with a gold chain clipping the two sides together to ensure it didn't fall off. On his head was the most gaudy fedora with the same black and gold pinstriping and a white band wrapping around it. He also, not-so-conspicuously, was carrying around a guitar case that looked like it had some weight to it.

He had a full cigar in his mouth, tip glowing cherry red while plumes of white smoke climbed up from behind his sunglasses and into the air.
"Woah, there she is... Where's, uh, The Big Bad Grandma? What, Leon not come with you?"
It was the most obnoxious Brooklyn accent that came out of his mouth, with that cigar still clutched in between his grinning teeth. He stopped right next to her and put the guitar case down on the ground with a thump, pulling out his phone and scrolling to an image of Leon dressed up like a grandma werewolf on the 'gram. Him, and seemingly the rest of his family, crowded outside a stall in the middle of the festivities.

"He posted it like an hour ago. Crazy how life works, huh? Father Wolf if I've ever seen him.-" he joked, finally stopping to see Linqian's vaguely long face. "-Wait, what's up? I know that look, and I swear I didn't even have to poke. What's up, huh?"