Hidden 8 mos ago 8 mos ago Post by FernStone
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FernStone One Again Addicted to Pepsi Max

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Interactions: Emily @Punished GN, Vashti @Atrophy
Kari's House


”The fuck,” Aryin said as she watched Jack suddenly appear. She always found that kind of magic to be extremely concerning. What would stop a teleporter from doing something shitty? She made a mental note to buy a fucking bell and force Jack to wear it so that he can at least announce his presence instead of just appearing. She raised an eyebrow at what he said. 8th street was going to attack? And Lynn, that fucking cunt LYNN, predicted it so? Who the fuck cared? Aryin knew Lynn as an unreliable, unstable, piece of shit back in the old days. And from what she’s learned Lynn is still that unreliable, unstable, piece of shit who talks shit about her dead friends and drinks to hide away herself from the pain of her own existence.

”I guess we’re going to be safe today if that bitch is predicting shit again,” Aryin joked and elbowed Linqian as she did.

”Fucking hell, what an attention seeking bitch,” Linqian rolled her eyes. As if anything Lynn predicted came true. She was a waste of space. She should just stop fucking breathing, because someone less shit could be using that oxygen. Fucking bitch. ”Jack’s fucking stupid for believing it- and he’s meant to be the smart one! Well, y’know what, sometimes you need a little less brains to actually be fucking sensible.”

”You’re so right,” Aryin said as her thoughts remained nothing more than the sound of a gentle wind and nothing else, “do you remember all the shit she messed up? Like who even decided she was worth saving? And why was she invited back? She could have gotten so many people killed if we just blindly trusted her predictions,” Aryin crossed her arms as she looked around, “I bet she realized she fucked by saying what she said and it’s going to just flood us with predictions. Don’t drive down Main Street it’s still closed due to the crater, don’t buy the chicken dinner tonight it will be under cooked, Aryin scoffed as she threw her hands up.

”Don’t talk to Sloane, she’ll be a bitch to you,” Linqian added mockingly, sneering. Then, she paused, and had a thought. ”Wait. You’re not buying yourself dinner all the time, are you? Come on, that’s fucking expensive, and unhealthy… Fucking hell, Aryin, do I need to teach you to cook?”

“Not all the time but,” Aryin paused as she rubbed the back of her neck, “It’s just gotten more expensive to cook at home than to order something shitty from the fast food joints you know? Living on my own has been fucking expensive man,” Aryin sighed as she looked over to Linqian, held her fingers in the shape of a gun, put it under her chin, and jerked her head back as she made a gunshot sound.

”Tell me about it, shit’s fucking awful,” Linqian shook her head. ”Look, maybe I could make you some like… packed meals. I make a shit ton for me and Yi-er anyway, wouldn’t be much extra effort. You could just-”
*BOOM*

”What the fuck?!” Linqian spun around, one hand going to her back and grasping the gun. She didn’t quite pull it out or run for the basement stairs… turning back around to look at Aryin with a frown. ”I’m not hearing shit, am I?”

“No you’re not,” Aaron responded. He looked down, back up to Linqian, and back down to his body. The sudden explosive boom made him swap uncontrollable it seems. ”I hate when it does this,” he paused as she swapped back. This was one aspect of her power that she could never quite master, despite it being the aspect that she worked on the most over the years. She sighed annoyed at the swap and shook her head. ” That could’ve been anything though, I doubt it was 8th street. There’s no way Lynn was-” a moment later she heard her voice for the first time, and an anger began to brew in her core.

”Emily…fucking…Reed,”

Linqian gritted their teeth, dark eyes flashing with anger. ”That fucking bitch.”

She wasn’t actually talking about Emily. She was talking about Lynn, making a fucking correct prediction for once in her fucking life. What an asshole! Linqian could just imagine her smug face and she wanted to burn it off. But there wasn’t fucking time for it. Her eyes narrowed as the shouting upstairs continued… And Britney was mentioned. ”Fuck- I don’t give a fuck about most of these dicks, but not fucking way are they getting Britney. I’ll lose my fucking job! No, actually, Greyson will probably fucking shoot me- also I like her. Fuck.”

Linqian clenched her fist. Should she get out the gun, or- ”Hey, fucker, you remember the spell we used to always use?”

”Oh,” Aryin chuckled, ” oh I do. We’re too hot to handle, remember?” Aryin joked as she remembered the weird kid, ” If we can find something to cover up while we get into position I think Emily will fucking lose her mind seeing us like that again,” Aryin smiled a devious smile as her eyes scanned for anything that could cover her body once she stripped down. If it was just the coven she would say fuck it, they’ve all seen her naked before. The problem was that weird kid. She did not want to expose herself to a literal child. She spotted a linen closet nearby and quickly opened it, and grabbed a few sheets. She tossed one to Linqian and walked next to her. ”Shall we change?”

”Fucking-” Having a sheet thrown at her gave Linqian flashbacks to the halloween party, but this time she caught it with her hand rather than her face. She pushed those annoying memories aside, and grinned. ”Let’s fucking do it.”

Linqian pulled off her fleece jacket first, unclipping her waist holster and shoving the gun in a pocket. She then bundled up her jacket so it was hidden. She didn’t want to melt it, but she also didn’t want anyone else getting it. She then very quickly stripped everything else off, not really giving a fuck about revealing anything, before pulling the sheet around her chest and securing it as best she could. Her clothes were kept in a messy bundle in her arms. ”I ain’t leaving my shit down here- wouldn’t put it past someone to fucking steal it… Let’s go up.”

Aryin followed suit. The first step was swapping back to Aaron to make everything was a little bit less form fitting and making the strip down process easier. He took off his top, and then his bra, and then threw the sheet overtop his frame and covered his bottom half. He kicked off his shoes, and then quickly pulled off the rest of his clothes and quickly bundled them in a messy, but contained, pile that he carried under his arms. He swapped back, looked at Linqian and smiled, ” That cunt probably forgot what we can do.”

Aryin ran upstairs and placed his clothes on the couch in the living area before they found themself near the door. She looked to Linqian and smiled. ” You ready bitch?”

”Always, hoe,” Linqian smirked back, clothes dumped beside Aryin’s (gun hidden among them). She narrowed her eyes at the looming monstrosity, then the actual target. Emily. ”We’ve gotta get close first. Let’s fucking make some noise, cuss her out, and get in front of Britney. Then we do it, cause I’m not fucking slow walking all the way over there.”

“We’d look so fucking cool doing the slow walk though,” Aryin whimpered before she agreed, “but I agree. We’re protectors, let’s fucking show that cunt that were too hot to handle.”. Aryin used one hand to throw open the door, and the other grabbed Linqian by the hand and pulled her through the door, ” let’s give that bitch a fucking show.”

”Oh, we’ll give her a show, alright,” Linqian laughed. She didn’t lose any time pushing through the rest of the coven, right to the front. She made sure they were as up close to Emily as they could get without being insta-hit by George, posturing right in front of Britney (but far enough away from weedy Luca, strangely in front of her too, to not get hurt).

”Look who it is, the pettiest fucking bitch in the city!” Linqian sneered, rolling her eyes at Emily. ”You’re not taking anyone, so fuck back off to the hole you came from.”

Aryin smiled as she looked Emily up and down. ” You’re as pathetic as I remember. Was the thrashing you had the other day not enough? Is Emily fucking Reed a fan of getting her ass kicked? And the rest of you, y’all okay hate criming someone? Carol?”

She then tilted her head, lips curving up into more of a suggestive smile towards Vashti. ”This isn’t what I meant by call me, but… make sure to watch closely.” She gestured down her sheet clad body, covered just enough to be decent, before turning towards Aryin. Her hand balled into a fist. ”Lets fucking go.”

Aryin said not a word, instead she turned and faced Linqian and pulled her first back. A second later two fists were flying through the air, finding homes in the stomachs of Linqian and Aryin. Aryin focused their strength, durability, and their raw ability to hold the line and channeled that magic into her fist as she impacted with Linqian. At the same time, Linqian put all of her energy and rage into a molten heat that had her fist glowing as it slammed into Aryin.

A bright, orange light coated them both as they turned hot enough to melt steel. The sheets burned to a crisp, nothing remaining… but they were both so hot that they glowed orange, and it was near impossible to see anything.

Linqian grinned, turning back to face Emily and her croneys. She’d missed this feeling, the combination of her own powerful heat and Aryin’s tough skin. It was fucking amazing. She shifted to a slightly lower posture, fists in front of her.

”Vashti’s mine, I want a piece of that hot ass- you take George, throw him across the fucking forest,” Linqian narrowed her eyes. ”The rest can take Emily.”

”Yes ma’am,” Aryin said with a fiery grin as she pushed herself as fast as she could towards George, cocked back her arm and threw a punch.

”Heyyyy, hot stuff,” Linqian rounded on Vashti, fist cocked back. ”Prepare to get real fucking hot.”

Then she sent a searing punch towards Vashti’s chest.


Interactions: Emily, Carol, Britney @Punished GN
Kari’s House, Patio


Luca was relieved when Ken appeared, before Jasper could run over and help him up. Ken could help him without hurting him. Luca even smiled at the bubbling feeling of the telekinetic hug - familiar, warm. The closest thing to physical contact he’d gotten until Stormy made the rot flee a few days ago. He was happy to properly see him.

That was, until Ken started talking about it being war. No. They shouldn’t fight. They should leave. Jacqueline had said they should run, and she was right. Luca knew how strong 8th Street could be. They were cohesive. They had nearly ten years together! Whereas this group fought even while getting attacked…

And to tell the Rot that it could have its day? To let it out? It wasn’t that simple. Ken knew better than anyone how sick the Rot was making Luca. Not that it was killing him, but he’d seen Luca on the days he could barely get out of bed. Letting the Rot out, properly, could kill him. Letting the Rot have what it wanted would only make it stronger.

”Wait, Ken, we should lea-”

He was gone.

Luca looked at the clone in his place, and let out a soft sigh. It was fine. Hopefully they’d be able to talk it out! Yeah. It didn’t need to be a fight. There was no need for that. Everything could be resolved peacefully-
*BOOM*

Shit. Luca’s eyes widened as a horrible undead creature loomed over them, gaze moving down to the people below it. Emily, George, Vashti… shit… Aaron, someone he didn’t recognise, Maya, Carol. The first three were difficult enough to handle, but Carol could heal everyone constantly. All they had was Sully. In Luca’s eyes, this wasn’t a fight they could win.

And he was an incredibly optimistic person.

Taking a deep breath, Luca moved closer to the front of the group. He ignored the aching of his legs as he moved, and the echoing laughter of the Rot in his ears, whispering for him to let go. To discard niceties and just destroy. He couldn’t do that.

”We’re not handing them over, Emily,” Luca shook his head, smiling as if there wasn’t a massive monstrosity looming over them. Like this was just a nice chat, rather than an attack. ”Can’t we talk this out? Was there any need for all of this?”

He knew deep down that they couldn’t. Not with Emily. He couldn’t reason with Emily. It might be possible for the others… but he had to make sure the two they wanted were safe. Lila would be protected by Jasper and Lynn, at least. Maybe Adora too. But Britney? So many people would gladly hand her over.

Luca couldn’t allow that. Even after everything she’d done to them, she didn’t deserve death. She deserved worse.

Likely surprising everyone, Luca moved himself to be directly in front of Britney. Decay her. Far enough in front his aura didn’t touch her, but still obviously placing himself between 8th Street and her. Rot them to their bones. He held his bare hands out in front of him.

”Carol! I know you hate Britney- I understand. She ruined our lives… but killing her won’t fix that!” Luca shouted, coughing as soon as he raised his voice. He could feel the Rot inside of his mind, pushing at him to just give in. Destroy them. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. Betray them, kill her. They could still talk their way out of this. There had to be a way to get out of this without hurting anyone- just turn them all to dust.

”She can help fix you. She can probably help us all, but none of us asked! Killing her won’t change things- because Emily’s not going to help you! So please, don’t do this. I don’t want to fight any of you.”

He then turned his head to look at Britney, brown eyes growing mournful even as his smile remained. Seeing her still hurt, it brought up all of those feelings he’d processed and moved on from. The things that held him back from living his remaining years in peace. But he’d accepted his own fate. Coward. He wasn’t going to watch someone else lose their life. A life for a life just ended with them both dead.

Luca lowered his voice, speaking to Britney for the first time in ten years. ”You should run.”
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Mixtape Ghost N
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Mixtape Ghost N SOMETIMES EVЕN RICH NIGGAS GET LOST

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The 8th Street Coven.
Interactions: The Entire Coven - also Linqian (@FernStone), Aryin (@NoriWasHere), & Kenshiro (@AtomicEmperor).
In front of Kari's House.



” You’re as pathetic as I remember. Was the thrashing you had the other day not enough? Is Emily fucking Reed a fan of getting her ass kicked? And the rest of you, y’all okay hate criming someone? Carol?”
Aryin


George quickly scoured the environment, putting a flat hand on his eyebrows as he searched for something before he laughed and said.

"... Looking for someone who cares, dumbass!"

"Believe me," Aaron said as he took a puff out of his cigarette. "I'm here because I'm getting paid. Put money in my pocket and maybe I'll walk away. Maybe..."

"Long as somebody fixes me, I don't give a fuck!" Carol quickly snapped back as she dug into her rain jacket pocket and pulled out a glowing blue potion. She chugged it, before using her Time-Reversal Abstraction to fill it up again. She kept at it over and over again while Linqian and Aryin walked up.

Emily casually flicked her hand towards Aryin as if she was an annoying child, not even so much as looking at her, and turned her head towards the tree lines. They were better looking than these freaks. "... And last time I checked, George chucked you into the sky like Team Rocket." She quickly snapped back, putting a hand on her hip. "Shut the fuck up and just bring me Lila... and Britney." She said.

”Lets fucking go.”
Linqian


Emily flicked her hair out of her face as she grinned. She looked at Aaron Sawyer, who nodded and tossed his cigarette away. He reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out a Glock 17. Emily turned back to Linqian and Aaron.

"Wow, you sluts are as stupid as I remember!" Emily chipperly said, raising a hand at the very Kari's house. The plan was going perfectly now that two members of Sycamore were separated from the rest. However, the plan requires the sluts to fall into a false sense of security... which means she goads Stormy to hop to their protection. "So, I guess you sluts are opting for a bloodbath, then!"

Emily snapped his fingers, and the second floor of Kari's house ignited in hellfire—a raging fire that threatened whoever was still inside.





Then she leveled a hand at the front of the house, and she grinned like a maniac. A massive fireball formed—one that got bigger and bigger and bigger—until it was larger than her entire body and the screaming faces of Babylon's victims could be heard begging for mercy. Then...
"... YOU SLUTS CAN ALL SHARE THE SAME GRAVE!"

Emily let out her vicious battlecry as the fireball flew for the house's front. As it flew, it took the shape of a skull and left a trail of fire that made it look like a shooting star! However, she quickly teleported behind the giant monster.

Meanwhile, George put his arm up and blocked Aryin's fist... and his skin sizzled as he loudly hissed in pain. "... Ffffffffffffuck!" He screamed, before he came around with a wide-arced kick, intending to send Aryin flying.

That was when Flora aimed the Aegis Piercer into the sky and let loose a barrage of arrows directly at Kenshiro.
Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Blizz
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Blizz Grand Chancellor Supreme of the Wizard Council

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Jack saw the creature pop out out a portal and shake the ground with its presence. He saw 8th Street walk out from behind it, too many for most of the coven to realistically take on directly. Far off in the distance, to his left and somewhat behind him, he could see walls of ice rising up as a strange field of energy bisected it. If his memory served, that was Briana's anti-teleportation spell. Jack got fucked over by that a time or two on his tracking runs... Emily was there. Vashti was there, and was about to get slugged by a glowing hot Linqian. Was she fucking insane? Jack had half a mind to drop a Void portal under her feet just to save her from getting dogpiled by that many people.

Instead, he decided to play this smart. If she wanted to bang knuckles with the likes of Babylon and fucking George, then Jack could at least give her some quiet support.

Meanwhile, a roundshield formed over Stormy's wrist like an instinct. He eyed the hulking behemoth and assumed it was some form of Abominable or an Apparition. He didn't recognize some of them, but his attention was grabbed by Luca getting in between them and Britney. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-

"He can't get in there and fight in his-"

The house was on fire before he could even finish his sentence. Stormy flinched as it just started to spontaneously combust, only for Emily to shoot a flaming skull at it. More shields manifested to block any bits of debris or shrapnel that might've been thrown his and Drake's way.

Fuck.

"Drake- Let's go. I'm with you." Ignoring Drake's comment about Luna fighting them, His free hand began to glow the usual green shade of all his auras. "Take this, get in their faces and Emily can't burn you. Do it quick, before they can start throwing more magic out and make it less effective," he said, voice just low enough only he, Sully, Luna and Tayla could hear. "Luca's going to get himself killed and I do not trust Linqian to take on that many people alone, I'll be right behind you." All Drake had to do was tap his hand against Stormy's, and he would be given a Phantombane aura, to help him run into the fray with a bit more insurance.

In the aftermath of that miniature red sun produced by Emily, something appeared. The light emitted from it allowed for something to be manifest in the shadows cast. It was a vague humanoid shape made of darkness, like something from a nightmare. It appeared in a puff of black smoke with a zombie-like gait, and swung a solid fist aimed at Aaron's, a cheap shot at the guy who pulled out a gun. It was supposed to get his attention and distract him, even if only long enough for him to break the trick like glass with a bullet.

Meanwhile, in the upper floor of the house, Amara was in a frenzy. The explosion from Emily's abstraction means the front door and most of the lower floor itself weren't options. She kicked in the only remaining door she hadn't tried, and found Sloane and Lynn minding their own business.

In her hands was a .45 caliber pistol with a hefty suppressor on the end, pointed down to the floor. Red flames, broken pieces of the walls and smoke blazed around her, but she wasn't alone. As she stepped into the door, three ethereal figures in the shape of humanoids filled the room. They were featureless, except for different hairstyles and matching pairs of glowing yellow orbs for eyes. These were the ghostly fighters in the Army of One.

"Stairs are cut off!" she said, holstering her gun and tipping the dresser over. Now on its side, the three of them had an anchor. "Piece of the roof just caved in over them, we'll have to go through the windows! If we're fast, we can get out over the fire... The trees should be fine still!"

One of the phantoms ran over to a dresser, pulled a drawer out and swung it at the window to shatter it. Another swing knocked out extra glass, and a third seemed to satisfy the phantom. Another phantom came over and pulled the curtains off of the window, ripping them in half with the first to knot them into a long rope. The third picked up the now-empty drawer and tied it into weight.

"Give me that-" Amara took the makeshift grappling hook and hooked the hope around the weight in broad loops, knotting them so there were extra ways for it to catch. Amara leaned out the window with the air of a phantom, holding her breath for the smoke, and spun the contraption like a lasso. It caught around the chimney, and she gave the other end to a second phantom, who silently leapt out the window and hung right above the flames. The third phantom ran out, catching the second's hand and slid down to the ground where everyone could see.

"The phantoms are gonna catch you, that one will shield you from the fire for when you drop down, the second is gonna break your fall-" The remaining phantom demonstrated by jumping out, latching onto the hanging phantom. It was tossed further away from the reach of the fire before getting caught in a full body grapple by the one on the ground.

"Go! She can't stay like that for long!" The phantoms were technically undead, but demonic hellfire surely didn't discriminate. It would only be a matter of time before the phantom cooking over the fire, and the rope it hung from, would be burned away. With the stairs and most of the bottom floor going up in flames, they didn't have long.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Atrophy
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Atrophy Meddlesome Kid

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Interactions: Linqian @Fernstone
Kari's House



In her final moments time stretched on forever.

Vashti was dying. She was absolutely dying. Kari had been right. She wouldn’t see the New Year. It was killing her. The anticipation was a noose tightening itself around her neck, the talking a serrated knife carving up her stomach like a holiday roast. She stood in the shadow of the frankensteined abomination, its rotting flesh that burned her nostrils and made her mouth water a foreshadowing of what was to become of her. This was torture—forced to witness her beautiful future and then made to wait. In the end, boredom was the greatest killer. She hated to admit it. She was even a little envious. It had taken her title.

Oh but the plan, the plan, the plan! Fuck the plan, fuck Emily, just go in there and fuck up everything. Her storm shouldn’t be just a light mist of rain that watered the flowers and ruined natural curls. It should be a monsoon, a hurricane, a flood of apocalyptic proportions, the kind that got mythologized over centuries and millennia, becoming the cornerstone of religions and putting the fear of gods into peons. However, this time there would be no survivors, no records, no falsifying of the truth, just billions of bloated bodies bobbing upon the surface as a warning sign to any extraterrestrials that this planet had already been conquered. But no, no, no, there was a stupid little plan; annihilation must wait.

Besides, wasn’t it nice to be reunited again as one big happy family? Vashti smiled and threw Sycamore a peace sign as Carol screamed for the repeated slaughter of Britney Williams, wondering to herself why Carol planned to let that bitch off so easily. Vashti’s eyes lingered on Luca as he called for peace, even suggesting that Britney could help them. Vashti liked Luca. She liked how sweet he was, how fun he was, how stupid he was, how fragile he was, how destructive he was, how in-fucking-denial he was. He didn’t need help. She would know.

Ten years ago, Britney and the others had helped her—or so they claimed. In reality, they were only helping themselves, afraid of what would become of them if Vashti hadn’t pulled back when the Leviathan had turned on the Coven. Vashti hadn’t been fixed when they sealed away the Leviathan. She was broken. It was only when she got the Leviathan back that she started feeling right again. Luca was lucky he never had to go through such a separation. He just needed to give in to those urges and he’ll be happier. She knew she was. The Leviathan was the best thing to have ever happened to her.

Maybe the second best.

”Lets fucking go,” said Linqian as she appeared dressed only in a sheet, not unlike how she had been when fate and a Vanburen had snatched her away from Vashti. Her arrival was the panacea that cured Vashti of her terminal boredom, breathing a bit of life back into what would’ve been a beautiful corpse. Overhead, thunder rumbled as the wind began to kick up and rustle the leaves as the sparks flew between the two, Vashti’s eyes sparkling with excitement as Aryin slugged Linqian in her stomach. The rain began to pelt down properly now, steam hissing off of the inviting curves of the molten figure as the sheet vanished in a puff of smoke.

Vashti’s mind went blank. Had this been part of Emily’s plan? Sorry, Emily who?

”Heyyyy, hot stuff. Prepare to get real fucking hot,” said Linqian, telegraphing her punch—as if that was the part of Linqian’s body that Vashti had her eyes on. The unbearable heat radiating off of Linqian was strangely pleasant.

“I was hoping you’d warm me up, bro,” said Vashti, faking a shiver as sweat dripped down her flushed face. She tugged at the shawl around her burning neck, her body violently jerking back to avoid the punch thrown by Linqian. She was a fraction of a moment too late, the punch catching her in a glancing blow that scorched a hole through a hoodie that she had snagged from Lila’s house. Linqian had not learned her lesson about getting close to Vashti. Vashti's hand snatched out and grabbed Linqian’s wrist.

“What's with you people punching me in the tits?" hissed Vashti. "When Bianca told everyone that you were a massive dirty ho I thought she was just being a fucking bitch.” She smiled. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, bro."

Her grip tightened on Linqian’s wrist and twisted, threatening to snap it, eyes firm and focused, the flesh on her hand sizzling and popping from the heat and forcing her to push away and let go. Vashti hopped back a few paces from Linqian, shaking her blistering hand. Lightning flashed as the rain began to turn the earth into mud, the storm intensifying faster than ever due to her elevated excitement. Vashti smirked, rushed Linqian with a feint, dropped back with a spin, snatched up a handful of mud, flung it towards Linqian’s eyes with hopes to momentarily blind her so that she could catch her off guard with spinning back elbow that would knock Linqian out—or cave in her pretty, little, empty head.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by NoriWasHere
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NoriWasHere

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Bring it down, bring it down, bring it down


Jasper dove to the ground as the house exploded behind him. In each hand he carried a canvas, one knight and one ranger, both ready to be summoned. All they needed was the finishing touch, their specific intention, and a decision on which one would come out first. Jasper pulled himself away from the burning house. Jasper worried for a moment that there were still people inside, that they were trapped and needed help. Yet he could not help them if he was dead himself, and he turned his attention to the giant monster and the apparition that she summoned. It was big, but quite as the snake, and for some reason that made this fight a little more palpable. How did he get roped back into this chaos? He sieht so many years chasing a high to forget the horror of a supernatural war and here it was once again in front of his face, and all here felt was anger. He looked towards the huddled frontline of the 8th street and saw Aryin and Aaron already in the fight. They had gone molten, early, and this meant that 8th street muscle would be pinned down.

That made the decision easy. If George was tied up with Aryin, and Vashti was tied up with Linqian, that meant Carol had no one to tank a hit. And Carol was someone who could die and come back later on thus his conscience could remain clear. Without their healer the 8th street would have a much more difficult time sustaining this kind of fight, and maybe they could force them to retreat less they end up permanently dead. To target Carol he would need to paint in his intent to be discrete. She could not know she was the target until it was too late. His Ranger would be perfect for this. Jasper added a quick layer to the painting, pushing his intent to target the monster with the first three arrows before unloading everything else on Carol, near Carol, and if that failed to seal the deal he’d at least get a canvas back to bring out his Magnum opus. Jasper looked over to Luca and knew that this decision would not be without consequences, but given the situation Jasper hoped that Luca would forgive him for this.

Jasper flipped his paintbrush and pulled the Ranger from the page. It was as tall as him, sporting a very similar muscular build. It wore no armor per se, thus revealing the Kaleidoscope of color that made up its body. It did have a quiver filled with twenty arrows that each had a magical explosive tip strapped to its back and to the untrained eye it would appear that it was covered in jewels.. As it hit the ground, it drew its first arrow and let it fly. It hit the top head of the monster first, digging in before detonating. It then drew its second and let this one fly towards one of the throats, hitting and exploding a moment later. Finally it let one final one loose, impacting with the left leg digging in, exploding, and hopefully causing some damage. Without missing a beat it drew another arrow, aimed the bow at the other leg, before it quickly shifted and aimed at Carol and let an arrow fly. And then another. And another, and kept shooting until its quiver ran dry.

Jasper did not wait to see if the arrows hit, if they caused damage, or if Carol survived. He needed assurances, and that is where his knight would come into play. His knight had his hammer, and if Carol survived the sudden barrage she would find it much harder to survive a few blows from the hammer. He used his paintbrush to pull the knight from the painting, thus causing the Ranger to melt into a puddle of paint, and exhaled a little harder this time as he did. The knight hit the ground running angry and he had the hammer ready to strike. It wore a plate and mail armor that was more traditionally composed, with a red and gray color scheme.

Jasper meanwhile began to put distance between him and the fight. He knew that his normal constructs would not last long in this fight. He knew that he needed his gun. But he needed to find a place to paint it away from this god damn rain.
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Hidden 8 mos ago 8 mos ago Post by AtomicEmperor
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AtomicEmperor Radioactive Frog

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Edict: This Whole "Void Heart Thing"

Mentions: A Five Part Narrative Collaboration featuring:@FernStone, @Estylwen and @Punished GN | Direct Dialogue: Henri Han, Phantasia Vorpal, Anya Baksh, and some Special Guests |
Location: Several Locations

Part One: November 2nd, 11:00am
A Random Bus Stop
Henri Han by @FernStone

It was much earlier in the morning than Henri would normally get out - not that he was a late riser, just incredibly lazy when it came to getting out of the house. But he had a mission today! Well, more a meeting… but a very fun one! He hadn’t expected to be able to see Greyson, his big sister’s super cool friend, so soon after the Halloween festival. Yet here he was! Wandering down a street he was pretty sure he’d never been down towards a bus stop he didn’t know the route of. But it was all good! Life was all about new experiences.

He had no idea where they were actually going… Maybe they were going to take a bus out to the mountains (if there were any nearby) and go through a whole training montage like the action films he saw! Probably not, probably not, but it was a fun thought. He made sure to keep a look out as he watched, head darting about as he looked for the familiar, charismatic figure while trying to keep his mind open for any… mental taps.

There wasn’t a great deal of time for Henri to be spacing out as the familiar flashing began to probe his Emotional Field. Edict was plenty used to casting and driving, but the current maneuver was a bit risky. It was essentially a broadcast, something like the ice cream truck rolling down the street, except for magical people. It wasn’t terribly long ranged, and he was expecting to get a reflection back which would let him hone the signal, but if someone else came into it he knew he had to be quick on the draw.

Anyone from Sycamore would recognize him from the signal alone. Caution was necessary.

He had stopped by the local Chinese market the other night to probe out some Mandarin knowledge, and he picked up the character for Brother which he continuously flashed in big pink print until he had the boy somewhere vaguely in his view. Thankfully most of the Blinds in the area were inside, tucked just outside his reach from the lane in the street.
He was driving his favorite part about being home; the old Cadillac painted in black and red and gold like some villain from the disco era come back to haunt the living. They called her “Smokey”, the rolling five-hundred cubic inch V8 motor rumbling beneath her hood in all of its slow, meandering glory.

He had the roof and windows up, and as he got closer to Henri, he cut the signal off. The massive body of the Cadillac coasted to a stop at the curb. The passenger side window rolled down.
”Di-di! Hey! No spacing out, Henri, get in the car!”

”Huh?!” Henri’s head snapped around, thinking for a moment that he’d misheard. Didi… Sometimes Linqian would call him that when she was feeling extra nice, but normally it’d just been Jinhai. He teared up a bit, wiping his eyes and jumping into action. He pulled open the passenger door, got in, and immediately twisted around to grin at Edict.

”This is a fucking sweet car! Wait, don’t tell my sister that I swore- she’s real annoying about it as if I’m still a child. But wow, I didn’t think old cars could be nice. Ours was like... Falling apart. Pretty sure I can drive anything after learning in that! At least I don't have to worry ‘bout getting stranded thanks to Jie’s new boss and the guy who wrecked the old one… did us a favor honestly. If I ever meet him ima thank him for saving me from crashing it myself just to force her to get a new one.” From when he got into the car, Henri just didn’t stop talking. He was practically vibrating in the seat, as if filled with energy that had nowhere to go. ”But this is so fucking cool!”

Edict grinned and leaned in a little toward Henri as they pulled away from the spot.
”Henri? I’m Jie’s new boss, you fuckin’ goober.” he was laughing as his head turned back to face the road.
In a lot of ways, Henri reminded Edict of a younger Kali; their enthusiasm for things they didn’t know about or understand seemed insatiable, and it was well appreciated energy.

He grinned to himself as the car rumbled along.
”Did she tell you that a werewolf crashed her car? Well, from what I hear, she actually hit the werewolf, but also he’s a friend of ours so it’s kind of… Well, you know. Friends break your stuff, they fix it. In Leon’s case, he’s rich. He just grabbed a car from a random lot and made sure it was nice and safe before he gave it to her. And I made sure she got the nice one.”
Edict beamed as he could already feel the sick addiction to praise welling in his chest, knowing this teenager was about to go from looking at him like a cool dude to looking at him like he was a fucking God.

”Wha- you? You’re her new boss?” His mouth fell open, so far that his jaw practically unhinged. He knew her new boss had to someone she knew, because she’d managed to find the job so quickly after moving back but… he hadn’t expected it to be him! This revelation was so big to him that he completely ignored the bit about a werewolf crashing into the car. ”That car is fucking nice. So nice she won’t lemme drive it! She gave me the other one, so I can’t complain, but wow… When I flew back last week I was worried we were gonna get stuck between Portland and here but then she takes me to this awesome, new car and I’m like whoa. Where'd you get the money for that? None of her old bosses ever got her a car! Nepotism works out, I guess… she’s got you as one boss and Uncle Andre- oh, close family friend- as another. Sweet deal.”

He grinned, looking at Edict like he’d hung all the stars in the sky rather than just providing a car and a job. He then held a finger up.
”But, you shouldn’t call her Jie. I’m just guessing, but you seem a bit older than her, right? Jie means big sister, you shouldn’t use it with someone younger. You should call her…” he paused, smile turning evil. ”Meimei when you next see her. She’ll love it.”

Edict cackled like a maniac as the sincerest young man he’d ever met was telling him that his sister would love being called little sister by him of all people. He imagined it going down so well; the mean-mugging and the cussing. The rage.
”Oh no, definitely not. I only called her that to you because that’s what you’re most comfortable knowing her as. It’s referential, not personal. She’ll always be Linqian to me, and I’m sure she would get touchy if I tried speaking Mandarin around her. Not that I know much, just what I can mind-read off of people like you.”

As he said “you”, Edict shot a hand across the seat and ruffled Henri’s curly mop.

”Look at you, man… You look just like Jinhai at your age. You… I bet you miss him a lot too, huh? Linqian without Jinhai is a lot like peanut butter without the bananas, at least for me. I thought for a long time I was going to like the peanut butter once the bananas were gone, but now something’s missing. And, I’m really sorry about that, Di-Di. And I’m sorry Linqian hasn’t been truthful to you about how he died…

Edict let the words echo across the car. He wasn’t lying, per se. He did miss Jinhai, mostly because despite everything else, he knew what banter was. He never had a problem telling Edict that he wasn’t liked, but he also never had a problem exchanging jabs whenever the opportunity came.
Granted, him not being here made stunts like this a thousand percent easier.

”Yeah, I do…” Henri trailed off, turning to look out the window for a moment. He loved his sister, she was more like a mom to him than the actual mother he could barely remember. But it was the same for Jinhai. And Jinhai had been around more. Henri knew it was because Linqian was working hard for them. At one point she’d been working so many hours at multiple jobs that she’d only been able to come home to nap before going back out again. But it meant he was closer to Jinhai… just a bit. ”It’s not the same without him around… but I bet Jie’s feeling the same way. Ge was with her for her whole life. They had plans, I think. She was definitely planning to work less…”

He shook his head, turning to look back at Edict. ”But, what do you mean she hasn’t been truthful? He was stabbed. I saw the police report and everything. She wouldn’t let me see the body before we cremated him, but she wasn’t lying about that. She wouldn’t.”

Edict’s head shifted back and forth several times like a snake slithering upward toward a higher perch. The grimace on his face was born of consideration, carefully choosing his next words. There was a fine line between the truth that Linqian had given him and what was real. But, frankly, the truth put the kid in danger. It was necessary; for him to grow.

”When we were a bit younger than you, sixteen, seventeen… There was a war in this city between a monster that wanted to destroy the world, and a bunch of teenage wizards. It’s how we met, its where we learned to use our powers: Now there’s someone out there killing our club. Our Coven.”
His face was stern, and he gave Henri a frown.
”Linqian’s not gonna tell you. She figures, since you’re not one of us, that whoever is responsible for these murders isn’t going to hurt you. But I don’t think you deserve to be blindsided. Especially if you have a chance of defending yourself.”

Henri's eyes widened, and the gears in his head were visibly turning. It was a lot to take in… ten years ago was when his parents had died, something he didn't remember even though he'd been there. Linqian and Jinhai said it was a natural disaster, and then spent the next month or so with a group of friends for 'support'... It must have been that monster. But-

”If they're killing everyone in your group then… that means Jie's in danger too.” Henri's expression swapped near immediately, from a bright and sunny smile to wide eyed fear and a harsh frown. ”That's why she's back here… something's trying to kill her and she didn't even tell me- but how can I defend myself against it if Ge couldn't?! He was like. Super smart… how will she defend herself? Fuck.”

Just like that, Henri was beginning to spiral into a full crisis.

”Henri, I need you to be strong because I’m trusting you. Alright? Listen to me. We need to talk about how I can help you get through this as well, because I won’t be able to do things for you that I can for others. It’s… Too dangerous.”

Scrubbing Henri’s mind of fear and panic would only bring more attention onto Edict if Linqian noticed. This was already a big risk, but… Well, what was life without a little havoc?
”I am so serious that your sister cannot know about us meeting. You can’t tell her. It will get the both of us in too much trouble, and you’ll never hear the end of it… But, you are going to come clean about your magic. You’re going to confess like you don’t know she knows, capice? Like you’re a freak, like you’ve lived with a disease all your life and you’re getting it off your chest.”

Henri was nodding along, taking deep breaths to calm himself down, right up until he was told to tell Linqian about his magic. His head snapped around to stare at Edict.
”But… but… she didn't tell me about it in the first place, that must've been for a reason, right?! If I tell her she'll just have another thing to worry about-”

He shook his head, raising a hand to his mouth and nibbling on his nails for a moment. Actually, maybe that was wrong. Maybe it would mean she didn't have to worry as much. Yeah! That was right, then she wouldn't have to worry about him also being in danger and he'd be able to protect her. Yeah! He'd have to get better at magic first but… he could do that!
”No, you're right- of course you're right. I have to be strong- and to be able to do that I need to tell her about it. I'll make sure to act like my life depends on it. Uh, lemme check…” Henri got out his phone, pulling up the work schedule Linqian had sent him. ”She's working the next three days… I'll tell her in four! You can hold me to that- assuming she isn't doing any work for you that day- and, uh, I dunno. I'll pay some kinda penalty if I don't!”

Edict furrowed his brow, unsure of the young man’s situational awareness. It seemed like either he hadn’t grasped the absolute gravity of the situation, or he simply wasn’t bothered by it.
”Penalty schmenalty, my man. It’s very important, the penalty could be death and you may not even see it coming. It's best you come clean to her as soon as possible, even if she doesn’t want to help you learn. Even if she says that she wants you to give it all up. You’re going to learn, and I’m going to help you, because there’s gonna be a time when she’s going to need to lean on you. Understand that?”

”I understand,” Henri nodded - he mostly understood. The gravity of the situation hadn't sunk in, and was unlikely too. Henri had most been sheltered from the realities of loss by his siblings and had basically coasted through life. Even with Jinhai dead, it didn't quite seem real to him. But he could do what Edict was telling him to. ”She won't want to help me learn- well, she won't have time to anyway. But I definitely will learn! Right now I can hardly do anything with it… all I can do is suck in some light and then shoot it back out, or make myself stronger with it. I have no idea how to make it better, or about anything, really… if that killer comes for Jie now I won't be able to do anything. Fuck, I thought it would just be a fun thing I could like a party trick.”

Edict shook his head as he pulled the car up to a quiet looking warehouse down by the harbor. It wasn’t ideal, but it was a private place that the two of them would still have the benefit of being protected. One of his Uncle’s facilities, the place was staffed by a group of guards and a few other people responsible for the computer work being done inside. It was a large place full of containers and shelves that stacked from the floor to the ceiling, and several open-ceiling rooms on the first and second floor that served as office spaces.

”Its important you know that your sister’s work for me has nothing to do with my everyday business. Important because I don’t want you accidentally implicating her, or conflating her employment with what I do.”
Edict slowly walked to the side of the building, wrapping his knuckles against the door in a targeted fashion. The metal slider flicked open, and two eyes peered out at the two of them before it slammed shut and the door fully opened.
”My business is… Not for you to be involved in either. I don’t want you getting any thoughts about bags of money or jewelry heists: I am an import/export specialist, and that’s all you need to know.”

Men in suits. Pinstripes, colorful ties, Uzi machine pistols hanging from their shoulders on slings. Some of them looked hard, like they’d been cut from stone blocks, and they stared at Henri with barely contained hostility. When Edict caught one of their gazes, he stuffed him with his shoulder and stared at him like a predator defending its young.
”The fuck are you looking at, Rudy? Eh?”
The man immediately softened and backed down, and they continued on through the facility to a set of stairs that went down.

The concrete room was something like a secret hideout: The walls were paneled with dark wood, and there was a bar with nobody at the helm along with some gambling tables. Craps, poker, roulette, the more that came into focus the more clear it would be that the place was an illegal gambling den. It was personal, for family use, and there weren’t any games scheduled for a while.

Edict had a briefcase with him, and he put it up on the bar.
”Alright… So, first thing’s first, you come on over and sit here on this couch.” he said, patting the arm of the couch next to him. From the case, he produced a pen and a pad of paper.

Henri was just a little bit overwhelmed. Just a little bit. But not a lot, because he was someone who could totally handle anything, including the fact that Linqian's boss slash friend was possibly some kind of criminal. Mobster? He didn't really know about these things outside of movies. He was cool like in the movies. And this place looked like some kinda gambling den right outta a movie! What the fuck- it was a lot to be hit with… thank god his sister wasn't involved in any of that. Henri didn't want to be involved in that either! Then what work did his sister do for him? Wait, no, he shouldn't ask. He wasn't even supposed to know who her boss was. It was totally fine.

With a nod, Henri super confidently walked over to the couch and definitely didn't trip over his own feet on the way. He saved it with a half twist of his hips, turning around awkwardly and landing on the couch as if that was planned all along. Nice save!

”Sooooo… Am I about to have to sign some kinda agreement about not telling anyone about all of this?” Henri laughed, looking around. After a brief shock he'd taken all the shocks in like he did everything with life - not thinking too hard about it, and just completely chilling. It was clear the more he looked around the more energetic he got and the more questions he wanted to ask. But he held his tongue about all the ones about Edict's business. ”Y'know when I see a pad of paper I start thinking I'm back in Uni and about to have to frantically keep up with lectures- kinda stupid right? Not that this is gonna be a lecture, I hope… what is the paper and pen for?”

Looking at the notebook, it was clear the thing was well used. As Edict flipped through it, one could easily see it was full from page to page with writing filling the margins as well. He flipped and flipped, pausing on one page to get a look at an old example before speaking again.
”No, no. You can consider this a… A formal interview. Essentially I’ll be picking through your brain, hunting for your Kindling event, observing your usage of power through memories, basically-”

He flipped the pages again, finally landing on an empty one and taking a deep breath.
”-getting your profile as a wizard down on paper, so I can examine and put a plan together for you after we talk to some professionals.”

His look was very serious, sincere as hell. To be fair, Edict didn’t really know what he was doing at all besides that he was doing what he always did: Getting as much information as possible. He was going to pick Henri’s brain for a lot more than some magic crap.
Or was he? There was a long moment where Edict considered if he was just doing this because Linqian didn’t want him to. Just to prove to her that he didn’t have to be a complete scumbag.

Or maybe he saw a kid who could be helpful, and he hated thinking that someone was wasting the potential. He stood at the precipice of a decision: A fork in the road between ruination and brotherhood.
”You, Henri Han, are a part of your family’s legacy. You carry the blood of magic passed down through countless generations, and all that influence has pooled in you. You’ve been gifted with the chance to use that magic, the Lux of your body, to do great things for your friends and family that others in this world are simply incapable of doing. With your gift, you’re able to see the flow of life beyond the mundane: Your Third Eye is open.”

He pulled his sunglasses from the pocket they were hidden in in his jacket and slipped them over his eyes, looking back up at Henri. Instantly, his Emotional Field was being bombarded by a thousand memories that Edict had seen in his life. From the mundane to the horrifying to the ecstatic. Each one beamed across the field, shattering at the side of Henri’s vision for what seemed like minutes, but had only been a few seconds.
None of it was coherent; simply a display of power.

”Your mind is naturally protected from many horrors that would otherwise make what we call a Blind a free target. An Emotional Field. And, like most stable young folks, yours is particularly strong and robust. In order for me to truly utilize my powers to help you, I’ll need to get behind that field.
Essentially, I need your consent, Henri. I need to know if you’re willing to Let. Me. In.

”I'm willing!” Henri said near immediately. He had no reason not to trust Edict - he said everything so seriously and it all made perfect sense. They needed to know what Henri could do first to figure out next steps, and it would be much faster to just let him in. His notebook was absolutely full, and seemed legit - not that Henri could read much of it in the quick flipping through.

And Edict was strong. The movie that played across Henri's vision was insane - he hadn't seen anything like it. He'd barely seen any magic beyond his own, but whoa. It was like a glimpse into Edict's life and power without truly comprehending anything… which only impressed Henri more. Combined with everything he said, giving Henri the confidence that he could be something with his magic - he could protect his sister with it.

”What do I have to do?” Henri twisted around to look at Edict, though it was difficult to make eye contact when his eyes were shaded. He tried to look as serious as possible, but his lips still twitched up towards a smile and he was shifting constantly in excitement. ”I only got magic a couple of months ago, so there isn't much to see… but just do your stuff. So how do I let you in… uh lemme try letting down my emotional field thing."

Henri furrowed his brow as he thought about it. How did he do this… was it like using his magic? Wait. The night of the Halloween festival, when Edict had initially prodded at his mind. It had been like he was trying to get in but blocked by… something. Was that his emotional field? It was like a strange barrier that he hadn't known was there, blocking the tendril that tried to slide in. He briefly closed his eyes, picturing it. A glowing forcefield around his mind, sturdily keeping anything that he didn't want to come in out. Like something right out of a movie. He just had to disable it. Suddenly realizing how to drop it.

He mentally turned off the switch, forcefield dropping. His emotional field lowered, and Edict was invited into the warm, sunshine filled room that was Henri's mind. A small living room, cluttered with family photos and cupboards half open, mess strewn across the couch. A friendly, well lived in place. It was different from the happy place of Linqian's mind - likely the apartment they'd moved to away from St Portwell. Her and Jinhai were featured in a lot of the pictures - mostly photographs of the three of them, Henri's memories with his siblings painted clearly on the walls. It was open and warm, as if there was nothing to hide, and Edict was welcome to come in and take a look at whatever he wanted to.

Edict was so used to having to open the door himself that walking into a welcome home was rather shocking. Blinds never exuded enough willpower to project Centers like this, but Adepts never trusted him enough to leave things so comfortable. It was messy, not in the sense that things were dirty or out of place. Just that things were living. It was a real place. Not some fantasy, no, Henri Han’s paradise was here on Earth. He took a mental note, and his hand blindly began to write in a strange forced code to which there was simply no key. He would, like any language, simply recognize the “words” on the page.

At first, he found it completely empty. But he could feel Henri’s breath all around him, slow and gentle. Unbothered by a new presence, unlike some who couldn’t help but get nervous. He kept looking at the pictures and things, smiling to himself at Jinhai’s own smile. The resemblance… He couldn’t help but be jealous that the three of them had gotten to land so squarely in the middle of both their heritages. It made him want to grow his hair out again.

"You totally should!" Henri said, his projection appearing within the room as well and looking around with a grin. It didn't really register with it that he'd heard Edicts thoughts rather than something he'd said out loud… if Henri heard it Edict just want him to, right? "Y'know Jie used to be ashamed of her hair… I think she got bullied a bit when they lived in China, so she straightened it for the longest time. Then she just stopped one day. Dunno what clicked there. Whereas I never cared! I mean, I was always surrounded by people with hair like mine… Mom and dad always made sure we had a bit of both cultures, and Jie and Ge tried to keep that up with me."

He grinned brightly. "I do hear that I look like him a lot."

Edict halted all outward thought, realizing how deeply he’d underestimated the young Adept. He turned, a furrowed brow on his face as he looked at the fridge and made his way toward it. Opening it up, it was full. A total projection, without any sort of prompting. He pulled a can of seltzer out of it and went for a few of the cabinets until he inevitably found where Linqian kept her stash. Two cups hit the table, and he poured some jin into the seltzer and slid one to Henri.

”Well, you can underage drink in your mind. We’ll share one while I try and figure out how you’ve managed to avoid being a fucked up teenager.” Edict shook his head, pulling the drink to his lips and feeling the most realistic drink he’d had in someone’s mind in quite a few years.

”Sweet!” Henri grinned, grabbing the drink and taking a large swig of it. He immediately scrunched his face up at the taste. He quickly adapted to post the taste of the alcohol, and essentially… being in his own mind. He shoved aside some hoodies on the couch and plopped down on it. ”Why would I be a fucked up teen, though? I guess my parents died when I was young… but I hardly remember them, if I’m honest. Everything after that was pretty fine! Y’know, Jie acts all rough but she raised me real well. Y’know, when we first moved we lived in this one bedroom flat and she slept on the sofa for a whole year so I didn’t have to, even though I would’ve fit on it better.”

”Well you should remember that… Little Brother, I… I can’t lie to you in your own head. It’s kind of fucked up, but essentially you’ve got quite the little fortress going on in here. Usually people are unsure of things, or unfamiliar with their insides like this. You seem naturally gifted. Actually, Jinhai was like this. There was a time when we tried to be friends, and he let me into his mind and I kind of… Well, I had the same thought you heard. About being jealous of your looks. He got pissy about it… Oh… Well, so it won’t come back to bite me, I’m nobody’s friend in the Coven. Nobody liked me. I’m a criminal, and I’ve never not acted like it. Your brother? He really didn’t like me, but he did try. Bless his heart…” Edict trailed off, and his eyes looked at Jinhai.

There was a moment where Edict couldn’t hide his mind and where it went. His hurt, his pain, and the recent reconciliation between himself and Britney that was beginning to move his heart in another direction. Henri would catch a whiff of violence and anger, and a woman’s voice speaking in a deep Caribbean accent and a language he wouldn’t understand were it not for his and Edict’s minds slowly meshing together.

There was a moment where Henri could hear Jinhai’s voice. It was a tirade, a burning admonishment from Jinhai’s lips to Greyson’s ears that called him awful things. And then another in Linqian’s voice. He was projecting memories, letting the two brains meld tighter.
”I’m not that anymore. I’ve thought about that. But now I can’t get anyone to give me a second chance, except for two. You met Britney the other night… And your sister. But she’s still afraid, because she doesn’t want me to talk to you. She thinks I’m going to hurt you, or do the things that I used to try and do… That I still do in my line of work.”

There was a loud, flashing moment where Edict and Henri were standing across from one another bathed in violet and pink strobe lights. It was a club, and people were dancing all around them.
But it was just a flash. They were standing across one another at that table still.
”What I do, I do for business. I thought those people were going to be my brothers and sisters forever. But they dropped me. And I came here today because I was going to manipulate you and hurt your sister by doing so… But you’re strong, Henri. And I’m blessed to be strong too. I can help you now, and make your life better and do better for your sister and the others too… And I can show them what they’ve missed out on. And you can tell them firsthand one day. What do you think about that?”

”Wait, so…” Henri narrowed his eyes, vision swimming from the sudden strobe lights and mind processing all the words he’d been bombarded with. He couldn’t control his expression as Edict revealed what he’d actually planned to do. His smile dropped, shoulders tensing and arms crossing over his chest. At the same time the room around them flickered slightly, a picture of young Henri with his siblings falling to the floor with a thud. His siblings' angry tirades didn’t phase him - he’d heard it plenty from Linqian, occasionally from Jinhai. But that did.

As much as Henri was incredibly dense about many practical things, he wasn’t stupid. In fact, his mind was almost as quick as Jinhai’s.
”My sister is one of the two people who gave you a second chance.” His voice was strangely flat, the light hanging from the ceiling between them flickered wildly. ”And you were going to use me to hurt her for something ten years ago. Do you know what it was like for her then? Our parents were dead. She thinks I don’t know, but I’m not stupid. She was working two jobs with no break. She came home, slept, left for work. I barely saw her- but she dropped you…”

The light disappeared, plunging his mind room into darkness as it was absorbed into his body. There weren’t many light sources in the room… but this was his mind. His memories. It wasn’t difficult to expand it out to the whole apartment, stealing the light from every room. His hands started to glow, arms growing stronger. He moved forward, closing the gap until he was just a step away from Edict.
”I think that you shouldn’t have told me you were going to hurt my sister- why the fuck shouldn’t I just throw you out of my mind and fucking tell her?!”

Edict would’ve grinned at a reaction like this any other time… But he wasn’t taunting Henri. He wasn’t looking to get under Henri’s skin, or rile him up. However, he did take another sip of the drink. It was dry and tasteless, and reflected the shift in tone. It wasn’t a good place anymore, not unless he did the convincing.

”You lie to her. She lies to you, they lied to you. But it was never malice. It was out of love and care, that they didn’t want to trouble you and you didn’t want to trouble them. But what is honesty to you, Henri Han? Do you have someone you can be one hundred percent honest with? Who isn’t going to judge you?” Edict spoke calmly to Henri. He wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t unable to spin or weave a lie.

Simply put, he chose not to. Henri would just hear it anyway.

”But as far as kicking me out? You can’t. Simply put, you let me in. You don’t get to let me out. If I snuck in? Well, you’d be able to get me out. But I asked, and you opened. Then and there is where I would’ve taken advantage of you, Henri. But I didn’t. I saw this beautiful little place, and you know what I thought of?”

There was a grating, churning shift that rotated the world around them. Every piece of furniture or surface seemed to twist in spot until it was similar but… Different. Different materials, slightly different orientations. The living room furniture was different, there were no more lights to take, it was a strange greyscale world. A memory caught in black and white.
Pink washed over it, and gave way to color until they were in a very similar apartment. There were no photos, but there were different art pieces, African looking totems and blankets with Saharan animals on them. The smell of lilac and vanilla wafted through the air. It was eerie how similarly the places were set up.

”It reminded me of my happy place. Uncanny, huh? How similar they’re set up? It’s… I have a lot of these. I call them Centers. But the oldest and closest one is this apartment. My Mom’s, when I was finally forced out of my Father’s house to live with her. It’s where I first really learned about magic and about Lux. I thought about the story I was going to tell you, and about how I was going to lie to you… And I remembered that when I was learning, nobody did that to me. And that I would’ve been heartbroken if they did. And I put all of this together when you… When I saw this.”

In an instant, they were back to Henri’s own Center, and Greyson smiled at him now. Not Edict, but Greyson. Eighteen year old Greyson Devola, freshly Made and fresh out of the Sycamore Tree Coven. He was in a t-shirt, some shorts… Not the smart business attire that Edict had worn in.

”It would be an awful waste if you kept doing party tricks your whole life, just like it would be an awful waste if I spent my entire life spinning my wheels on a perceived slight. Not when we can both be more useful for the people who love us and who we love back. So what do you say we start from the top?”

Greyson held out his hand.
”I’m Greyson. Greyson Devola. Mobster, Warlock, and a recovering fucked up kid. If you don’t think you want to know me, then that’s fine. I’ll leave, and I’ll disappear out of your life just like she would want. But let me stick around, and I’ll do right by you, and her.”

At first, Henri wanted to punch him. But he wasn’t like Linqian - quick to violent anger. What he did share with her was quick emotional changes, flash of anger disappearing as Greyson continued to talk. He was right. He hadn’t taken advantage of Henri where he could have, after Henri so easily let him in. He was offering to leave. He hadn’t actually hurt Linqian yet. And if she really was in danger, he needed to get stronger. She wouldn’t help him. She had too much on her plate.

And there was no one else. Henri was willing to forgive the harm that could have been for the openness that had actually happened.

”Alright,” Henri let out a long breath, and with it all the light he’d gathered flitted out of his body into two soft, glowing orbs between them. It softly lit up the room. He looked at Greyson’s outstretched hand, and didn’t go to shake it yet. ”Let’s start again. But you have to promise to not hurt my sister. She’s been through enough. Do right by her, like you said. If you do, you might be surprised… she’s pretty fucking cool towards the people she cares about.”

He smiled again. It wasn’t quite as bright as before, but it was there. He reached out to shake Greyson’s hand.
”I’m Henri Han- well, Jie would want me to introduce myself as Huanyi, but not many people can pronounce it. I’m good with either. I’m a mechanical engineering student- unless I drop out- and a part-time magical light man. But I want to be more than that. So nice to meet you again, and please help me improve my magic.”

A warmth filled the room as both individuals accepted the agreement. Maybe he'd gotten a little wrapped up in the moment, but Greyson kept his head empty. He motioned toward the couch. The two of them had a table full of food, snacks and drinks.
”Time moves slower in the Center. We've got an hour outside, four hours here. Get ready for cram school, Huanyi."

He pronounced the name perfectly.

Part 2: November 2nd, Evening
The Apothecary, Back Rooms
House of Cards by @Estylwen

The room was dimly lit with a candle on the vanity table. A sweeping dark hat framed the dusty mirror, obscuring the face of a woman who was furious.

A pen palmed her hand, scratching out black ink in a diary. She wrote, letter by letter in furious cursive.

Revenge List:

B-R-I-T-N-NNNnnnn—


Phantasia stifled a moan as a pounding headache took over. She blinked, completely losing her train of thought, looking confused at the paper, before her brows furrowed. The diary smashed into the far wall, and Phantasia sat there with her head in her hands, glowering in the mirror.

This ruined her plans. Her experimentation had cost her dearly.

Plus… The itch in her mind had only grown. She had to see him again.

Everything was messed up. Her carefully constructed plans, her revenge. The mantle on her shoulders, her responsibility, her duty to the sealed. The barbarically sealed.

Void would have some witty remark about this, surely. He always knew how to get under her skin.

Phantasia sighed. Edict would have his own plans. And she, her own. At the end of this, only one thing was clear: She needed to even the scales.


November 2nd, Night
Luxury Heights Project, 5th Floor


The operation was a little too wound tight, a little too well-polished. With the advantage of sending the invitation, Phantasia arrived first, setting up her men around her. They were on the fifth floor of a half-constructed skyscraper project. Five suited men were visible where they stood. Four stood behind cement pillars, hands on their holsters. The getaway car below was primed with additional men and a warm engine.

Phantasia stood near the edge of the floor, in the open but within her circle of men. Like her men, she was also equipped with a Kevlar vest under her white blouse and dress skirt. She had one extra addition, however. Around her neck was nothing other than a shock collar.

She stared expectantly at the stairwell, recounting the note sent to Edict.

I cordially invite you to the Luxury Heights Project, 5th floor, to further discuss business.

If the Devola crew was anything, it was Militant. At least half a dozen cousins had served in the last half of the war, and their relatives out in the Med had been shipping plenty of Italian and captured American surplus in order to cover their losses during the decade prior.

The Sicilian Families had never taken kindly to Fascists at their doors; they were moral busybodies far too interested in people’s private affairs to let money be made cleanly, and disputes handled quietly. So the Resistance had been hard at work modifying captured weapons and body armor to specifications fit for the more covert work of La Cosa Nostra.

Edict smiled as he thought about those brave bastards gutting their enemies in roving gangs of half-silent men and women with submachine guns tucked under their coats. The Gang marched practically in unison, suits and ties and tactical vests, cigarettes hanging from lips that spoke in soft tones, the clicking of metal impacting metal and leather soles impacting tiled floors.
One fiddled with the weight of his Browning, gripping the twenty-round box magazine like a handle to readjust the weight on his chest and back.

Edict was thankful he was wearing sunglasses; she didn’t need to know his eyes were closed. The day he’d gotten the letter, he sent a mole to the projects with a camcorder to capture the routes to the fifth floor, and he’d studied the shit out of it in order to commit to memory.

Now a Power Word marched his entire group’s steps like they were one entity, the puppet master in the middle disconnecting their ability to see from their brains.

He could feel they were nervous, and frankly he was too. But, not like them. They were all Blinds; easy tools for slaughter if the need arose. A wall he could put in front of the bullets and escape behind. There was a backed up secondary command which would let him drop the connection to them while releasing a morphine-like effect all in the same pull.

A painless death. Just in case.

As the group ascended the stairs, Edict gathered the visual data from his soldiers in rapid fashion.

She’d seen him, he’d seen her… They both knew what they were dealing with now. He only wondered if she’d thought about everything they shared between then and now.

And there she was. They ascended to the fifth floor, and one head turned to meet the House of Cards. Each head and body twisted and pivoted like robotic soldiers, turning to face Phantasia with their full bodies. They filed in, and Edict split the group, standing at the front. His black long-coat was tucked tight to his chest by the kevlar plate carrier he was wearing, his tie tucked underneath.

He was wearing an all-red ensemble. No need to see him bleeding. One of his men gave a weak whimper, the sensation of not being fully in control of his body an otherworldly torture.

”Phantasia, my Darling… I’d say you’re looking lovely, but you already knew that. I guess the pill finally dissolved, eh? Did you at least give my ideas a little bit of thought?”
Edict grinned from behind dark glasses. Pink Lux was radiating off of his body in such a heavy fashion that he had an aura visible to any other Adept around him.
Slung around his shoulder and chest, a state of the art next generation Thompson M3A, its compact sixty round drum magazine wound tightly as it bristled in waiting for its time to shine.

Phantasia did something she normally never did when greeting the approaching unisioned men. She held her hat, and removed it completely, giving it to a suited man beside her. Her pink eyes illuminated the dimness of the fifth floor, streetlight from outside cutting through the missing walls.

Her gaze locked onto Edict's. Then shifted to his men. Hm. It was as she thought. He had taken precautions. She couldn't get a hold- or more exactly, there was no will to grip, no wall to push over. Like a connection had been severed.

Well. No matter.

She tutted a bit. They were carrying bigger guns. She should have known. But no matter. It meant they both weren't beating around the bush, so to speak.

Her electrified nerves tingled in anticipation, and she smiled a sharp smile.

“You honour me, Mr. Devola. I've given your ideas plenty of thought. But…” Her gaze shifted over the men opposing her and their strapped guns. “I think we both know what I've concluded.”

She gave a small whistle, gesturing to the No Man's Land between them. Two suits stepped forward, placing a fold-out table and two metal chairs in the center.

“We know what you think, and we also know what I think. And I feel a little injured, having your ideas in my head so.”

She gestured to the table, pulling out a deck of cards from her sleeve. Nice and slow. No need for anyone to get any funny ideas that she was pulling a gun in a situation like this.

Yes. Settling her disputes the Cards way. Her way. She licked her lips in anticipation.

“How about we make a game out of it? No need to get our men injured, yes? A round of poker. You win, I'll let you put whatever idea you want in my head. I win, and you surrender to my eyes. You owe me that much.”

She cupped the cards in front of her, before causing them to leap from one hand to the other in a smooth card spring flourish. The sound of crisp cards clicking against one another as they settled back into her hand brought a sense of satisfaction to her face, and she smirked at Edict.

“At the end of the day, this is about your beloved Britney, isn't it? A war can be avoided between us, if you choose to solve this… diplomatically.”

She gestured to the table, waiting for Edict to take a seat.

Edict, however, was more than skeptical. Playing cards with people who know magic is like going into a lying competition with a Presidential Candidate; some even think they’re not cheating, but if one has any kind of power they’re bound to use it in a productive way. There wasn’t a shred of evidence that made him comfortable in any way.

But just like Phantasia had hoped to gleam knowledge from her invitation into her head, so too did the young Capo in regards to this game.
”Best two of three… I find best of one to be entirely unsportsmanlike. Flukes, freak chance, cheating…”
Edict would’ve narrowed his eyes if they were open, but he still flourished with his hands, all six of his guards making the same motions with vague pained groans as they did so.

”I agree entirely.” Phantasia said with an amiable tone, eyes hovering on the groans of his men.

”Y’know, I’m at a terrible disadvantage as it is… The eyes and everything… You can’t possibly know how hard it is to put six blurry points of view together into one image.”

He did, however, take his seat. He didn’t like any bit of it, however, and expected nothing but the worst outcome. He’d prepared for an escape attempt at the very least, but Edict found himself contemplating the outcome if he failed at that. Who would come for him? All his death would be is an early warning to Britney to start running…
But if he thought like that about everything, he’d never have made Capo. He’d not have seen everything he had so far in his life. He’d definitely not have still done his part against the fucking Stygian Snake.

His gun brushed between his legs, and for a moment there was a flashing thought of hoisting it under the table and raking the magazine full of forty-five in and across the table. Enough bullets and he’d die, but… If it wasn’t enough? Or if they missed out of shock? But he couldn’t coordinate the others without telegraphing, not without risking the chance of his own inaccuracy blowing his skull out of his face from the rear.

Edict’s forearms came up onto the table, fingers folding into one another.
”Let’s get this over with…”

Phantasia watched carefully, before passing the deck to one of her men, and sitting across from Edict. The cards were shuffled, and cards were dealt. Phantasia gazed over her cards, leaning back idly in her seat.

The air was charged with a heavy weight. At any moment, either party could open fire and finish what they came here to do. She walked a fine line, a tightrope between life and death at that very moment.

Yet, such was the life of a mobstress.

She picked two cards out of her hand and threw them face down. The dealer picked them up and replaced them, and she looked over her new cards. Her face was a careful mask, but a hint of sincerity surfaced.

She leaned forward. “I was looking forward to that meal at the Elder Lamb. Two families, side by side, drinking wine and breaking bread.”

As she spoke, her hand dropped to the side, enough to jostle free two cards that lay tucked in the sleeve. With a sleight of hand, she quietly slipped them into her hand, dropping two others.

“I guess we're too far gone for that, huh? You really adamant on this girl?”

Her tone dropped to a somber tone.“You really adamant on this ending in bloodshed?”

She waited for Edict to discard and draw for his own hand, and then she flourished her cards face-up on the table.

A full house, aces high.

“I win the first round, Edict.”

Edict's heart wasn't in the cards. It was miles away, with a six foot chocolate queen who had big hair and a bigger brain. He was twelve years back, quietly watching from the sidelines as a group of teenagers drank and partied and tried to forget that some of them were going to die the next day.
Edict faced death long before he met the Sycamore Tree. It was part of the life of a Mafioso, you had to look it in the eye and direct it toward your enemies while steering it away from your allies. Luck wasn’t an option, you had to manipulate the draw for every single thing, because the stakes were always so fucking high that failure quickly became a non-option.

But he wasn’t there. This was difficult; it was love, but it was hate. It was wanting to help, but not wanting to help with what they wanted. Phantasia Vorpal was Made, just like Edict had been. The Boss of her own family, a Capo of the North-West Federation, fairly respected among their peers, and all thanks to the exact same little secret that Edict had used.
One of the guards got a good shot of the cheated cards hitting the floor.

”You dropped something, Vorpal… I fold.”
His eyes stared directly at her through closed lids. Phantasia's eyes immediately narrowed, covering the skip of her heartbeat.

Edict continued. ”While you deal the next hand that I’ll inevitably lose, how about you tell me something? Did it ever occur to you that our mutual friends; the important ones, that is. Did it ever occur to you that they’d have something to say about you going on like this? Over some ghost? I think you and I both know that this goes nowhere.”

“That's the thing. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.” Phantasia said with a soft smile.

Another set of cards slid into his fingers, and he waited to lift them to check.
”We’re both Made, Phantasia. Two people Made in a life that wouldn’t normally accept us. We stand at unreasonable heights, following the ancient code and tradition of La Cosa Nostra. The war we wage would far surpass the heads of our dearest elders, and yet you’re willing to drive us there? Over this… Minor… Problem?”

Phantasia paused and listened as Edict spoke, not looking at her cards right away. He referred to Void as a ‘minor problem’. How little he knew.

She picked up her cards, fanning them out a little, looking over the faces to level adamant eyes at Edict.

”You're right. We're in a position that not many folks get, or even dream of. We get to choose if those around us live or die…”

She withdrew three cards and gently tossed them face-down towards the dealer.

“Sometimes, our hand is forced…”

The dealer laid out three more cards, which Phantasia slipped into her hand.

“Sometimes, the sacrifice outweighs the risks…”

She uncrossed and crossed her legs, dress settling in ruffles around her. She leaned a little forward.

“If I killed your uncle, right now, you would have sacrificed something great. Too great to bear. Wouldn't you do anything fix that? Blood for blood?”

Phantasia's pink eyes narrowed at Edict. “It's the same for me when I lost Void. So you see, we're at a crossroads. The immovable rock meets the unstoppable force, so to speak.”

After Edict had discarded, she laid her cards out flat, clicking slightly on the table. A High Card, Aces high.

“Reveal your hand, Edict. Let me see you go good on our little deal.”

Edict had pulled two cards and slapped them on the table, getting two more as Phantasia spoke. He considered what she was saying about Void Heart and how special he’d been to her.
”An eye for an eye is so uncreative, Phantasia. Frankly, it’s the small game.”

He didn’t grin as he looked at the straight flush he had in his hands, nor did he react when she laid her flattened hand down to play it. It was safe to assume she wasn’t the type to fold, even if it meant saving herself.
”I should’ve injected some better ideas… But, I recognize you and your position. I hope that’s been obvious. I didn’t gelatinize your brain, I didn’t plant any bombs in this building in anticipation of our meeting: Frankly, I’ve been nothing but respectful.”

“Indeed you have.” Phantasia said.

He laid his hand down on the table, staring up. Six to ten, a flush straight in spades slid down on the table.

The six heads of his enthralled guards all fixed on Phantasia as Edict would with his own two eyes.
”My round. Maybe, before we get to this last round where you drop two more cards out of your hand and swap them with your sleeve cards, you’ll give me the common courtesy of explaining why Void Heart is so important to you? And, maybe you can explain why his host was shacked up with a gang of frothing cultists and not with our Family? It may go a long way in helping me reconsider things before they get… Ugly.”







Phantasia conceded the round. Now they were tied, 1-1. Everything hung on this last round.

As the dealer shuffled the deck and passed out the new hands, Phantasia could feel the eyes on her. Edict wanted a story. Who was the Void Heart to her?

It was an excellent question. One that she had thought on quite a bit in these past few days.

That troublesome Void Heart…

Phantasia sighed, looking over her cards as she leaned back in her seat. “A respectful Capo such as yourself deserves an answer, at least before things go south. I'm not cruel enough to deprive you of that.”

She set her hand face down on the table, leaned forward, and laced her fingers together. Her eyes were just a bit far away, recounting a time that felt like eons ago.

“The Void Heart came to me through Luna, you might remember her.”

Her head tilted, eyes shifting between holding each of the gazes of the suited men staring at her.

“The Void Heart and its host, Alizée, were doing odd jobs for me here and there, until the fated night my casino burned down. When I tell the story, I always fail to mention that I was in that fire. Void came to the rescue of my guards and I, preventing a collapsed wall from smothering us. To this day, I owe that inky little ball my life. I suppose that's why I never killed him…”

She picked up her hand, glancing down at it before returning her gaze to Edict.

“I kept getting reports of men collapsing for no reason. It wasn't until Alizée and the Void Heart were caught in the act of feasting on my men that I realized their betrayal. By that time, they had gotten closer to those folks dressed in black, preaching about Eden… I let them jump ship, since I owed my life to the Void Heart. Hearing his passing… From the very people he took refuge in before and after me…”

Phantasia softly shook her head. “It was too much.”

She picked out a couple cards, and set them aside. The dealer gave her replacements, which she slipped into her hand.

“Does that satisfy your curiosity, Edict? Will you sleep peacefully now, after you try to kill me?”

Edict’s lips pursed and his nose crinkled as he tried to keep his mind loose and without tension. He wasn’t upset, certainly he understood what she was going on about, especially with the idea of loyalty and personal honor. The tattoo on his back symbolized that kind of mentality, the same ideological conditioning that was drilled into the head of every young boy and girl who stepped into their Life. The Family, the Firm, it was supposed to be a code that they lived by.

And this magic shit really got in the way of it. It really got in the way of business, and Edict at once thought about how he wished everyone shared his mindset. He wished he could just force it on her, on the only people who needed it forced on them. Those who were worse than blinds when it came to their rabid power-hungry madness and vicious greed. He was one of those men, sure; but how long could one be that?

One of his guards looked at his cards. They weren’t great.

”That’s not the code, Phantasia. Our Thing here… You’re a Boss, see; maybe of a small family, but you are. I’m here as a member of the Devola Clan: My Father is Capo di Tutti Capi. You know this. Yet, you’re willing to push this line and break This Thing of Ours? Then frankly, Phantasia… I don’t believe your story anymore than I believe you’re holding a legitimate hand.”

Phantasia's eyes delicately narrowed at that, but said nothing.

Edict leaned back in his chair, fingers fiddling with his cards as he took the last few deep breaths he may have ever.
”But if you’re telling the truth, then frankly the Sycamore Tree had nothing to do with Void Heart’s death. You know that Temple does business with Dollhouse? Illicit goods and materials, vendored through me. Me directly. I know what they do, Phantasia. And I know how to get to them. And that knife that Void Heart is stuck in.”

He folded his hand, sliding it across the table.
”Don’t let the last words between us be bloody, Sister. Tu mi gratti la schiena, io gratterò la tua… (You scratch my back, I scratch yours.)”

.
.
.


It was a dark night. Clouds hung in the sky in an oppressive atmosphere. They stood on the rooftops overlooking the casino's charred embers, still smoldering.

Phantasia stood stony-faced, refusing to let her men to see the despair ripping her apart inside.

“Zu'u kriist voth hi ko vulom. (I stand with you in the darkness.)

An abyssal black ball hovered in the air beside Phantasia, red eyes shifting from the smoke to her, cracking in the center to form a jagged smile.

“I never abandon my toys, and Alizée's taken a fancy to you.” He said, creating a phantom hand to thumb at the pale girl watching the embers with grim fury.

“We're gonna get whoever did this, alright?”

.
.
.


Phantasia felt the flashes of memory in her mind, and her eyes subtly changed from pink, to purple, and back. There was an emotion stirring in her that she daren't believe, that she daren't indulge.

There was a long, unsettling pause, the men behind her shifting from one leg to the other, eyes on their Boss.

Until she finally spoke.

“Let’s say I believe you. What do you have to gain from this, besides avoiding a war? Would you really give up a valuable business connection to satisfy me?”

Her eyes narrowed, boring into him, willing to see past the mask.

“There has to be more to it, there always is.”

He was right, of course. Her hand was a farce this round. She glanced at it once, and folded. Instead, she leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands overlapped.

“So, let me entertain your thought. Let us discuss the terms.”

She glanced at the pistols gleaming in her men's hands, then back towards Edict.

“Killing is easy for us, but a bloodbath won't solve our problems… You know what I want. I want the Void Heart. What do you want?”

Edict settled in slightly, taking a deep breath as she acquiesced to intelligent discussion. His slave-guard eased their arms slowly, tension falling away from the room as a dozen men overall took a drink of warm life from the air around them. He thought about what he actually wanted…

”I think what I want is for the two of us to come to an understanding. That This Thing of Ours will always transcend this Outer Sphere bullshit. That, when the chips are down and the cards are folded, we can still come together and shake hands like our Ancestors would’ve wanted.”

He cleared his throat, lifting his sunglasses to show his closed eyes, and opening them for the first time in the entire meeting. In response, Phantasia immediately shut her eyes, and gestured to one of her men. Her hat was returned, the brim covering the top part of her face.

”I want trust. I want you to acknowledge that we could’ve killed one another a dozen times over and we haven’t, because there’s some sick mutual respect here. You recognize that I’m putting business ventures that are rooted in a relationship that I’ve cultivated for over a decade. That, like you, I have deep personal ties with many involved in this unfortunate situation.”

He reached his right hand up slowly to pull the Velcro off one of his vest’s containers. From it, he pulled a lighter and a silver cigarette case. At the press of a button, the lid popped open, and he took a stick from within before slowly reaching it over the table, offering one to the Lady of the Cards. She took it, one of her men passing a holder for it to slide into. A quick light, and a draw of air.

”I want our solution to be dynamic, just like we are. Plans may change, and we’ll simply adapt. For instance; I’d like a guarantee that Britney Williams will be left out of this. Do I expect you to hold such a thing if things start to go south? No. I imagine desperation.”
With his free hand, he brought the smoke to his lips and flicked the lighter. A warm puff of smoke fell from his nostrils in ringlets.

Phantasia held the first light in her lungs for a moment before letting go, smoke curling around her. She seemed pensive for a moment, before she spoke.

“Trust. Understanding. A guarantee,” A light smile graced her features. “Edict, I acknowledge that both of us have no business being alive in this moment, yet here we are. And we are nothing without our Code, and I am nothing without my word.

“You have my guarantee. Britney Williams will not be harmed. I'll even go a step further and say, I'll leave the ones in the Sycamore that did the deed alone. They won't hear anything from me.

“If at any point I break that promise while the two of us have our trust intact…”


She flicked the ash of her cigarette, before her head tilted.

“You can kill me.”

Another long draw, and smoke swirled around her.

“My family's got old blood in the city. Some bad blood too. But, this Thing goes nowhere without ‘friends’. And I'd like to consider you a friend after tonight, Edict.”

That light smile was on her face again, turning a bit nostalgic as she quoted an old Italian blessing, adapting it a bit in acknowledgement that, perhaps, they could get along after all.

“Che il nostro rapporto sia come il buon vino. Gustoso, deciso e chiaro. E come il buon vino, possa migliorare ogni anno che passa. (May our relation be like good wine. Tasty, sharp and clear. And like good wine, may it improve with every passing year.)

Edict stood and bowed before the Boss of the House of Cards like any gentleman would.
Kill her, kill her, kill her, k-
”You’ve made me the happiest man in the Shimmer, Phantasia. We’ll pop the cork a couple decades from now, and I’m sure it’ll be extra sweet.”

Part 3: November 3rd, Early Morning
Edict’s Apartment
Anya Baksh by @FernStone

For Edict, sleeping wasn’t always a blissful thing. Tonight, he was more on edge than he usually was given the circumstances. As he made his way from the elevator into his apartment, he tossed his jacket over the back of a chair and took a deep breath as the weight of his equipment tugged on his frame. Phantasia Vorpal, Layla Hyacinthus, Void Heart, Alizée Altieri…
What the fuck, man…

Greyson found himself slowly slumping over the counter, sinking lower and lower until his still-armored back was pressed against the warm wood cabinets of his kitchen island. All he could think about was how it wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. How he was supposed to come here, get his revenge, and be gone. Britney wasn’t supposed to mean a damn thing to him anymore.

She told him, after all. That she didn’t want to see him anymore. That she regretted him. No, no… She never said regret. Did she even say she wished anything was different? It was so hard to remember what was a projection and what had actually happened… How much of what he remembered was poisoned time, memories tainted by his own personal twisted feelings and love-loss between points A and B?
No, no… It’s not supposed to be like this! Why… Why do I care about them caring?

His watch beeped. It was three in the morning. He’d already set up with Natalie for early tomorrow, which meant he only had a few hours before he had to be up and refreshed again. That meant instant sleep, and that meant dosing himself.
Greyson had found people like himself all over the world: Burned out wizards whose main pleasure in life came from the fact that they were magical tricksters who could practically do whatever the fuck they wanted in normal society. Lux Addicts, never having to chase a high because it was guaranteed every time so long as your magic was sharp. Some got their rocks off on using their powers on others, some on themselves…

Greyson was both. He felt love in every spell, whether it was cast inward or outward. It was necessary for the Pink Lux to flow properly, that one truly love in the moment. Few bonds match the love and hate an addict has for their substance of choice. Only, he had to cut the second part out no matter what… Because while Greyson’s love for his Father, and by extension the Mafia, that caused him to Kindle, it was the love of his circumstances that he called upon to cast his spells every single time.

There was a little while where it was Her… It was that Kindling feeling, and then it was Her. Now look at me…

Fast moving images of Britney’s face flashed through Greyson’s vision, and his head slowly tilted on the spot. For Greyson, sleeping was never a blissful thing. It was an interr-

Darkness. An empty mind for the first time the entire time he’d been in St. Portwell. Tonight, there were no active doors blocking visitors. Just an exhausted, tired, sad and lonely little man. A perfect target.

A soft purple glow appeared in the corner of the darkness. It started off small, before it lengthened into a thin line. This line expanded out and the glow disappeared as a human shaped figure stepped out. A delicate eyebrow raised as Anya paused, looking around the blankness of the dream. She rolled her fountain pen between her fingers, corners of her lips quirking up into an amused smile. Oh, he must really be exhausted. To be dreaming without any true contents. He looked it. For a moment, Anya just silently observed, without announcing her presence. It was a shame there was nothing much for her to discover, but the lack of anything was information in itself.

”Well, this is rather boring,” Anya announced, Channeler gently flicking to the side. It glowed softly, a more pink tone, and the scene began to shift. An empty space, but one with lighting - a room, perhaps, not quite fully formed yet. She didn't particularly care for decoration in this case. She wasn't here to influence his dreams or to gain information. She was here to talk. With another gesture of her fountain pen a comfortable armchair appeared right beside her. She sat in it, one leg crossing over the other. She'd chosen to wear a long, dark skirt tonight, which swished gently as she sat and moved her legs before settling around them. Her dark brown lips pulled up into more of a smile.

”I’m glad you allowed me such an easy entrance today, Greyson. I've had quite the few days. I'm sure you have too… Trying to get everything under your control now that you're back in the city that tiring?”

When Anya’s voice first echoed through Greyson’s mind, he nearly jumped out of his skin. His body had been slumped in the same position as it was in life, only he wasn’t dressed. Boxers, a tee, socks… But his form still moved like it was awake, reaching for the gun that wasn’t there to shoulder it and aim at the intruder.
Only, he wasn’t awake and the intruder wasn’t the worst person to see in a dream. His heart beat thumped around the two of them like an echoing war drum, slowly calming as an interaction that was familiar to the both of them occurred.

There was a melding of familiar strains of Pink Lux, light easing in around them more and more until a common space existed. At once, it was like he wasn’t even asleep. There was no real transition or fading in and out; if one wasn’t used to such liminal spaces like dreamscapes, it would’ve been terribly jarring.
But Anya Baksh had been in Greyson’s head in a way that nobody else had quite gotten to. Not like he liked that, but it wasn’t the worst thing.

Like he’d always been dressed, he was standing by a liquor cabinet with a couple glasses, pouring Anya her favorite drink in the lounge they’d met at the first time they decided to do business with one another as adults. It was a good environment.
”As if I can get that pack of morons under control? Wishful thinking, Anya.”

His sleeves were rolled up, his collar open without a tie. He had suspenders, and creme colored slacks with no belt. Just extra buttons. He still didn’t have shoes: He was comfortable.
”Played it cool the other day, huh? I guess you don’t want people thinking we’re cliqued… Smart. Now, what’s so important you wake a guy up?”
Not that he was awake, he knew he was still resting. Even now, with the excessive brain activity warming that cavity in his skull, it was still better than just forcing himself to stay awake.

”Well, I do have to keep Sloane happy,” Anya laughed lightly. She leaned back, taking a sip of her drink. Carefully, slowly. Unfortunately while the person whose dream it was wouldn't be affected by any alcohol consumed, she would be. An unfortunate side effect of interacting with it.
”You have the same with Linqian, don't you? She's got quite the intense hatred for me, and I wouldn't want you to lose your little employee.”

She smiled. It was clear where she'd gotten the information from - not Greyson's dreams, but Linqian's. Hers had always been rather easy to get in and out of unnoticed, and were filled with information right now. As were many of the coven members following all the murders.
”I didn't realise you were enjoying the emptiness so much, I would've left you be. It's not so much a specific thing as it is everything. I figured we should touch base now that you're back in town.”

She swirled her glass, loose, white sleeves of her blouse shifting with it, before taking another sip. Perfect. It was a shame no drink tasted quite so good in the real world.
”I’ll start with some information on my end, before it gets out and reflects rather badly on me. Your concerns over it will be quite different from everyone else's, of course. Sloane, Jack, and I,” she held up a finger with each name, smiling, ”got in contact with the PRA after the raid. I'm sure you remember Sloane talking to their leader? I was the one who made the call in the end, diplomacy isn't exactly her… strength. Unfortunately, the woman had pawned us off into an utterly inane trainee agent. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite as awful as him.”

She sighed, waving a hand and grimacing.
”That’s unimportant. I met with him, and his ability to keep secrets was just as poor as his flirting. All it took was a little push. Did you know their previous Regional Commander was a member of Das Sonnerand, the Nazi's that ran rampant until just months ago? Quite the bad look for a government agency.” She smiled again, eyes creasing slightly as if it were genuine. ”I’m informing you so that you don't think I'm working with them. I'm taking from them, nothing more.”

Greyson nearly spat his rum out. It tasted so good in these fucking dreams, he reactively tried to save it even though it didn’t matter. Habitual.
”Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Anya!? No bullshit!?”
He squatted slightly, his hands on his knees as his torso bent. His face stared at Anya with a sarcastic expression.
”Y’know, I think the President owned slaves a few hundred years ago. Looks pretty bad for the literal leader of a government…”
He pulled back, waving his empty hand.
”Who gives a fuck? If you said current Regional Commander? I’d be excited here with you, but I can’t really muster a fuck about some old Kraut who liked what was happening during the war. Seemed to me like that Asian chick was the one in charge, so whatever paddle the Bureau of Equal Opportunity spanked their asses with, it fucking hit.”

There was no cigar, but then there was. The cherry red tip glowed as Greyson waved his hands around with a drink and a smoke. How habitual.
”You uh… You see everything about Linqian and I? You see me clip those wings?” he piggishly asked, expression changing slightly as if to suggest something as he leaned against the bar.
”Ain’t much different than paying an escort at this point…”

Anya rolled her eyes at him. A sign that she was relaxing too, in company she didn't have to pretend around quite so much. No need to be the perfect, good person Sloane seemed to think she was. Or pretend to actually care about anyone outside of herself.

”You can be a real dick sometimes, Greyson. Ah, most of the time, actually.” She snorted, lips turning from smile to sneer. Unfortunately I did see that. In rather graphic detail, almost impressive from someone with such little mental magical defences. Strong willed in another way I suppose. That is one escort you can keep paying if you wish to, since she was dreaming of it so vividly. I didn't expect to prefer the dreams where I have to watch my friend getting stabbed.”

Friend in the loosest sense of the word. Anya and Jinhai were just like Anya and Greyson, without the shared pink lux. They met in dreams, conspired, and understood each other's selfishness. Unfortunately, Jinhai had a much more irritating hang on.

There was more about the PRA she could bring up, of course, but she wasn't so inclined to right away when he'd been such a dick about it. Not that she disagreed, which was the most irritating thing. It was his turn.
”What exactly are you getting her to do? Information gathering? I don't particularly care for the means, but it's rather smart if it's working. Nobody suspects an idiot is trying to get something out of them. They don't trust us even without knowing about our collaboration.” She tilted her head, and smiled. It was clear was she was asking for - what did he know. Was there anything important to her.

”Oh, she works out alright.”
There was the most faint sound of a wet slapping noise in the far distance. Frankly, Greyson was a bit mad at Anya for barging in. Usually they had an agreement, scheduled something, but here she was just catching up like they were tea pals.
”You’ve only walked into a couple of those other dreams.”
The slapping turned into the soft, dull puncturing noises of a body being stabbed; the pained moans.

For the briefest instant, they weren’t in the Lounge. The moon was pink, Greyson was in a tuxedo, the burning Sycamore Tree was adorned with bodies hanging like icicles from its flaming branches.
And then it wasn’t. He smiled at Anya. Clearing his throat, the background noise faded and became some light music. Greyson sat down in a chair that hadn’t been there but now was.
”She is… My little helper. I give her a large quantity of money, and yes: She reports back to me on the things I can’t see because people won’t want me around. Rather than make an ass of myself in front of people who already don’t like me, I can just get her to do it, and people just fucking forgive her because she’s Jinhai’s sister.”

But he couldn’t hide that there was something else. That was the kind of agreement their abilities had. She would always have an inclination that he wasn’t being fully honest, but he had the benefit of being in charge of the show.
”I… Feel bad for her. All we think about is that she’s Jinhai’s sister, that’s the only person she really is. Part of me wants to help… So, I’ve been talking to her younger brother. We met him at the Halloween festival. I started to feed him a line, but… He… Reminds me of Kali. Of the old Kali, before the Feds. Goofy weird kid, but he’s got a good heart.”

Greyson cleared his throat again.
”He’s magic. Kindled recently. You should try slipping in there, see if you can. Kid’s got a fortress on him: Like Jinhai. Except it’s all kindness. He’s got Light powers, so it only makes sense… It… Makes me want to forget the past, Anya.”

”Sometimes, I regret teaching you lucid dreaming. Sometimes.”
There was another eye roll at the quiet, background sounds - neither pleasant, but neither actually bothered Anya. She'd quite literally seen it all. As much as she would rather not, she wasn't a prude like her only friend… towards both sex and murder. Of course, the brief flash of coven members' dead bodies hanging from a Sycamore was the most uncomfortable. Not because she cared for their deaths, but rather the possibility she might end up among them.

There was always the chance.

”You know how it works, Greyson, I would need to meet him before I can try to get in. Perhaps at Jinhai’s funeral I'll have the opportunity. It appears I'll be invited, surprisingly.” In part thanks to Sloane paying for the majority of it, she imagined. She didn’t really understand why Greyson felt bad for Linqian - after all, she’d dug the grave she was now in. Anya had very little sympathy there. But she never had, even for people in situations they didn’t deserve. But her younger brother being kindled was interesting to know. Last she'd talked to Jinhai before his death he hadn't been.
”Jinhai spoke about him occasionally, when I used to visit his dreams. A smart child, supposedly, but those two sheltered him too much. It was obvious from how Jinhai spoke about him. But, quite frankly, I’m glad that you’re considering forgetting the past. Glad, but surprised. I didn’t think all it would take is a teenager that actually has hope. ”

Anya shrugged, legs uncrossing as she leaned forward. A small table appeared in front of her and pictures started to form. Portraits of the coven members.
”Not because I’m against killing them. You know where I stand on that. But it is rather limiting to fixate on revenge for something that happened so long ago, to so many of us. Perhaps the accusations towards you were harsher, but using any percentage of your mind thinking about it is a waste. They may be a ‘pack of morons’ as you said earlier, but I disagree that it’s not possible to control them. Take Linqian, for example. One of the hottest tempers, yet she’s under your control in a way, right? They’re morons, but they’re useful morons.”

She tapped one of the photos - Sloane’s.
”Sloane, too. Not well liked, stubborn and seems difficult to even make a suggestion to. But to her, I’m perfect. She’s not far off, aside from her strange belief that I truly care for the coven. I tell her we have to do something for everyone’s good, she’ll do it.”
Anya smiled, looking up at Greyson with a warmer expression in her eyes than she would normally ever have. Perhaps she was growing a little too caring towards Sloane. Not something she was particularly happy about, but not something she could control. Having a single friend wasn’t the end of the world. She still had no qualms talking about her like this.
”What I’m saying is that killing them all is a waste. They can be controlled, and they can be useful - even if that use is protection against our current killer.”

Greyson took in what Anya was saying through a gentle haze of self pity. It wasn’t really Linqian he was worried about, though it was nice to be able to reconnect in a strange way. Moreso, it was Britney knocking around in his head. But he knew enough not to share everything even if she’d know he wasn’t being honest. What’d it matter, after all? They knew the agreement.
So, instead of saying anything, Anya would easily draw up the feelings. The same dream he usually had when his guard was down; Britney Williams in some skimpy sheer nightgown. Only, this time she was dressed. She wasn’t standing next to him with a plate and a drink. She was over him, her chin leaning on the top of his head from behind and her arms wrapped around him..

He held her hand. They wore rings.

”It doesn’t take much to make a man happy. Cash, and a person he can really trust.”
He squeezed Britney’s hand, and she disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke. Greyson took a deep breath. The bloody tree reverberated back into view, then glitched between itself and something else. A quiet place, the Sycamore Tree decorated with spheres of color representative of the different colors of Lux.

”I’m workin’ for Dollhouse. To do… Something to the Coven. I’m not gonna do it: I’m gonna stop them.” he had a look of conviction.
”But they want the Tree. It’s a Font, right? There’s power in the roots. Who better to use it than the people who put it away in the first place, I figure… We can cut something out once it’s all over, right? Do it properly this time?”

It was difficult for Anya to keep the disdain from her expression when Britney appeared, so disgustingly romantic with the rings, but she managed to retain a calm smile. Put back up the mask of politeness for a moment. It wasn't that she disliked Britney. Of course not. It was the romance, the love, the want to tie himself down to one person. Men were simple, she supposed.

”It seems that everyone is after the Tree.”
Anya pursed her lips. If the Dollhouse, who she'd heard of and knew very little about- but enough to know they were dangerous- wanted the Tree, and the PRA did to… who else would?
”The PRA are also looking for the Tree too. They say it's out of concern, but I don't believe that. Whoever finds it will use it. I agree that we should be the ones to find and use it. Do what we should have in the first place, before everything devolved to petty fights under poor leadership.”

She let out a soft sigh, gaze trailing to the Sycamore Tree. It was a nice thought. If they could control the coven, that was. There were too many that wouldn't be able to handle the power.
”I already discussed looking for the tree with Jack and Sloane. Sloane was for it, Jack was against it, for now. Of course… if Sloane finds it first, she'll want to be in control. Something I can handle, but a possible issue.” She sighed again. ”Working with the Dollhouse, but subtly against them, is smart. Far smarter than not working with them. How much do they know about the Tree? The PRA know pitifully little.”

”He doesn’t know enough…”
Greyson was seventeen again, cross-legged beneath the Sycamore Tree. Anya could recognize the flashes of the event immediately: The black sky, the rushing wind, the chanting. The Ritual of Clean Slates; the day after they’d sealed the Stygian Snake, there was a ritual that had to take place.
The leadership agreed that knowing where they buried the beast was bad all around. Nobody needed to have that kind of power…

It was the only time Greyson had been allowed in everyone’s heads. He had to scrub everything, after all. The last thing he was ever useful for. But he held a secret: That he hadn’t finished. Did anyone have their memories? No, but he still hadn’t completely cleared the memories for the ritual to be completed.
The actual tree and its surroundings were blurry, like they weren’t real, so one couldn’t gleam a location if they happened to probe his mind.
”If Luis knew everything, I’d already be dead.”

He showed Anya the last time he saw Luis in person, a trip to Miami before he’d come here to St. Portwell. And then he showed her that man killing him a thousand different ways in the blink of an eye.
”The memories would wake up. But, I can reverse it. When the time is right… When our enemies are gone.”

His last image showed Greyson in a suit at a table, surrounded by other strange faces. Anya was shifted into a position as if she were some sort of board member.
”Let’s take Dollhouse for ourselves, Anya. We’ll cut some others in. Useful people, like Linqian and Sloane. Loyal idiots. And then when the time comes, we’ll open the door again. And we’ll make things better for ourselves, and by proxy, them.”

The dream shifting outwith of her control so rapidly was something Anya disliked, but had to accept when it came to visiting Greyson's dreams. The risk with any pink lux, but especially one she'd passed on a fraction of her dream manipulation knowledge to. But being shifted to a specific position… she couldn't hold back her frown at that.
”Yes, let's. Having control of the Dollhouse will allow us control of the magical world beyond it. It will be difficult to convince Sloane, with her strong morals, but if it's for the protection of everyone else… That’s a future concern. There are a few more that could be useful, but I can't say I care for any of them.” Ah. Did she just admit to caring for Sloane? A bit of a slip up. No matter.

”As for the memories… I'm not surprised you left a way to reverse it. Sealing the Stygian Snake in a tree was never going to work as a permanent solution. Not as it is now, without protection.”
She waved a hand, fountain pen glowing as the image of a woman appeared. Average height, average appearance, Asian with tired eyes and dark hair tied in a bun.
”There’s a risk when it comes to the memories. This is Lihn Phan, a therapist in the city. Pink lux too. She has a spell that allows her to see and share memories someone has forgotten. There's a chance she could access the memory of where the Tree is from another coven member, which would be… a problem with who she sees. Adora for one. I met with her, and have entered her dreams, but unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out the extent of her pink lux. Perhaps something you would have an easier time of.”

Anya held up her hands with a genuine smile.
”Easier to nip any problems in the bud, right?”

Greyson considered what Anya was talking about, and as he did so, the room they were in flashed with a hundred mirrored screens, each one popping up a great big green thumbs up.
”I’ll send Henri. It’ll be a good first assignment for him, since I have the memories. Letting her get near me would be problematic if she found some way to get into my little box…”
Which was almost always present somewhere in Greyson’s Warm Little Center. He often wondered why he called it that, on account of how it never seemed to make anyone but him feel warm…
”I think people misjudge me.-” he said before his mind could betray him to her. ”-I really do have my loved ones’ best interests at heart. Crudeness aside; I was never taught better. You keep someone in the dark until the problem isn’t a problem, and then you get them a gold watch to celebrate. Until then, you keep your mouth shut, you handle your business, and you fuckin’... I don’t know…”

He cleared his throat. Another admission.
”But it’s the year of our Lord ς̷̢̥̙̤̌̈́̆̈́̌͜0̷̨̞̪͖̏͒̑̎͘͜ς̴̧̠͉̘̘̆͑̏̑̚μ̶̱͍̯͚̜͌͑̓͠͝, and nowadays if we plan on actually… Working with someone, you’ve gotta communicate. So here-”
The closest screens moved forward, opening up a group of images. They were faces. One was bigger than the other. He was obviously familiar, the chiseled features supported a lion’s mane of black hair.

”We know Leon. You all don’t know his spooky family.-”
The monitors shifted, bringing up a very candid image of the Temple’s main family and heirarchy.
”-The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals. A cult who believes the end of the world is the start of the next, and they want to make it happen right here in good ol’ St. Portwell. Typical shit. Ignore this.-”

The main one opened a video of a strange ritual. A plate of food on an altar, Lynette Richoux in dark robes. An oath taken.
”-We’re all technically members; I just took advantage of it for business. Now I have an in, and they’re the ones responsible for Void Heart’s recent sealing.”
He handed over Layla’s memories to Anya on a silver platter in the form of a dossier file that slid across the table. Touching it, Anya would instantly feel the flush of information first hand from those moments, as well as the situation between The Temple, The House of Cards, and how Sycamore factored in.

”I meet with Dollhouse later this morning to let them know the situation and see how they want to handle it. Frankly, House of Cards is the more dangerous group in my estimation. More likely to do something unhinged for the sake of it. After that, I’ll… Probably head to that thing at Kari’s house. I’ve been staying with Brit, and she mentioned it, but since I had business earlier I had to step out.”
He had another drink in his hand instantly, and another for Anya.
”Do we have a deal for now?”

It was a lot of information to process, but Anya did so easily. She already knew about all the factions at play in the city, but not quite to this degree. She'd seen whispers of the Temple in Leon's dreams without realising it was his family. She didn't know they were all members either. The House of Cards was one she'd briefly looked into through Luna's dreams and then ignored as unimportant. Frankly, she still didn't care all that much, as they were unlikely to be a danger to her.

But working with Greyson was more beneficial than not. The information that came from Layla's dossier was interesting enough to make Anya smile. Ah, poor Layla. What a tragedy - but so idiotic to go to a group like the House of Cards to solve what was barely a problem. She was glad now Sloane hadn't been invited to the sealing.
”First, in the interest of 'communication', I'll briefly tell you my connections. Ah, well, connection, the PRA isn't of us. I'm working with Ezra Vanburen. I'm sure he needs no explanation - interestingly enough he's paranormal in some form. He's looking for help manipulating some of his peers, and in return, well… We'll see,” she smiled, and gestured with her free hand. ”I’ll be at Kari's house, to make sure things run as smoothly as possible.”

She smiled, and raised her glass towards him.
”While I'm not particularly concerned for my own wellbeing, I do agree that the House of Cards isn't a problem we want to leave unchecked. Best to deal with them first. I'll do what I can on my end through their member's dreams. So yes, we have a deal, for now.”

”Did you say Ezra Vanburen?”
Greyson’s face grew wide and terrible. The monitor shuddered for a moment, and an interesting image spat out. Another giant man, and another familiar face.
”Recognize her? Petty Patty the Peener Eater?-”
It zoomed in tight on the face of Trisha Vanburen of the Sycamore Tree Coven. Then up to the other man. He looked so familiar and so different, but then one of the other monitors blinked.
”-Shacked up with Leon’s younger brother Casey. Saw ‘em on the cams of one of the bars Halloween night, then saw them myself Yesterday while they were out buying food. Funny how small St. Portwell is…” he grinned.

”Of course I recognise her, it's impossible to forget someone so horrible,” Anya raised an eyebrow at the images. How curious. She was surprised that Patricia was still haunting St Portwell… well, she was dependent on her family's money after all.
”I’m sure it won't last long. Do you remember how many relationships she had the short time the coven was around? Five or six, perhaps. There was even that boy who died when with her, what was his name? It doesn't matter. I'm surprised Leon is tolerating it. Well, it. is funny how these people gravitate to each other.”

Her lips twisted into an almost smug smile.
”Ezra certainly didn't know that she had magic. It was enough of a shock to wake him up. But this is even more interesting… Small town indeed.”
She was sure Ezra would be delighted to find out his worst sibling was also hooking up with a member of what was practically a cult.

There was a gentle vibration that wobbled the entire world. Greyson looked a bit upset.
”You know, this happens every time… It's six-thirty, and I’ve gotta get up. I’ll see you soon, eh?”

But he was already awake, staring at the fridge. The soft morning light was just pushing through the large windows that surrounded the penthouse. His mouth was dry, and he had a sick feeling in his stomach. Barbaric hunger, it growled and bit at him, and Edict slowly stood to face himself again.
The shiny metal surface showed his sunken eyes lacking in any kind of sleep.

You’re gonna die if you don’t make up your mind.

Part 4: November 3rd, Morning
Downtown St. Portwell, Christiansands
Guest Starring @Punished GN

The boulevard kissed by the grace of Christiansands was bathed in the late Autumn’s cool sunlight. As Edict crossed the street from his parking space, he tugged his long coat tight to his chest, his shoulders rotating in their sockets as he stretched his muscles. The night prior had been spent making another temporary bubble of breathing room available for Edict and his few allies within the Sycamore Tree Coven, and now he was approaching the most dangerous aspect of his job up until now.
Dollhouse didn’t play. Luis certainly didn’t want to hear that Edict had a problem he couldn’t avoid, but it also wasn’t necessarily Edict’s fault. But he knew the score; you didn’t walk into a situation without a plan. And the plan, for the moment, was to get Dollhouse to shift focus.

With House of Cards playing Phantasia Vorpal’s game, the chances were only going to get higher that they’d become a problem for the magical syndicate. They were after Sycamore, but The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals was a big cash organization with the capability of producing and reproducing materials barely found in their dimension. Their account was Edict’s responsibility, and while he didn’t think that they’d just roll over and let the House have their way with Andrade, that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to get messy regardless.

So, he wanted to present a sit-down. That was always the first way he’d been taught to handle conflict; at the tip of the tongue, not the sword. Violence was the last way out, unless it was the first way out in which case it couldn’t be avoided… Which tended to happen fairly often. Edict found himself considering a line of thinking that had escaped him since his days in the old Coven.
I really am a softy. So sensitive, so deep, so troubled…
The new leaf thing was really going great. He was a whole twelve hours without using his powers, and longer if he was allowed to use his powers but only for good. His fingers twitched as he pulled at the side door to Christiansands and entered into the hall adjacent to the main club.

Edict pulled his gloves and hat off, thinking about the first time he’d been to this place. It was usually so lively, but this early in the day there weren’t even cleaners. It wasn’t a bar; it didn’t have a kitchen or anything to serve food out of, so the only place for him to go was probably the VIP lounge.
They’d seemed receptive to having the meeting, getting back to him only a few minutes after his meeting with House of Cards concluded the previous evening. He doubted Luis was in town, and wondered who exactly would take the man’s place for such a thing.

His lips pursed together, and he gently whistled an old tune as his legs began to saunter toward the back where the stairs were to go up toward the VIP. It was around a slight corner, and he casually leaned with his step to see if there was a body blocking the entry way, or if he’d just be able to go up.




“... Edict!” Luis said cheerfully, he and Natalie were sitting on the sofa across the room. Luis had his arm across the back… And behind them, standing with her arms behind her back was a tall, mysterious, African-American lady. “Come in, come in! We’ve been expecting you…”

Without his glasses, Luis would be able to see Edict’s surprise.
"Woah, holy shit! Luis, I didn’t think they made coats thick enough to keep you warm in weather like this…”
He slowly approached the sofa and let his torso bend, arm holding the hat wrapping at his gut as he bowed.
"Good to see you again as well, Natalie…”

It wasn’t exactly a rule so much as a rule of thumb, that the person who was menacing around in the background usually ended up being a guard. In those cases, they weren’t addressed, no matter how badly Edict wanted to make a fool out of himself trying to hit her switches.
"Thank you for meeting on such short notice… I didn’t think you were in town, but clearly I was mistaken. Gladly, as well. There’s a dispute brewing, and I was hoping to present what I’ve done, what I’m doing, and what I’d like to do about it.”

It had to be a plan, after all. You didn’t visit people like this without at least pretending you have a plan.

“... No drinks first?” Natalie took a sip of her whiskey, then laughed.

“Well, let’s get right into business then,” Luis said.”I’m certain you are itching to tell us all about it.”

“Where is Heinrich?” Natalie asked.

“He’s around,” Luis said. “You know he’s shy.”

“... Or he scares the piss out of everyone,” Natalie said.

"Oh, I won’t oppose a drink! I figured I’d respect your time, but if nobody here is short, I’ve got eyes on what Sycamore’s up to right now. Eyes I’d trust. May I sit?” Edict asked.

“... You’re our guest,” Luis said. “Think we’ll make you stand?”

Edict shrugged his shoulders.
"Something I learned in your part of the world-” he started, popping the buttons on his coat and pulling it away before he sat down. "-is that the surface of the water doesn’t always tell you how dangerous the current below is. I prefer askin’.”

He pulled his cigarette case out and plucked a smoke from within. His lighter flicked into the relative silence of the club, and he took a puff to blow away the tension.
"I’ll tell you, the Festival this year? What a bust… Practically gutted, y’know I remember being a little kid and going, and man, the stink bombs and firecrackers, you’d think it was a warzone. Now? It’s fuckin’ Kiddie Land if you don’t think about the hundred or so wizards in the crowd.”

“Surprised you went!” Luis laughed.

“Yeah, that doesn't seem like your scene at all, but Shayton went!” Natalie laughed. “Ran into that..: weird kid. He slipped right by us again, but we’ll find him.”

"Been goin’ since I was a kid. Good fun for the whole Family, Uncle and cousins and siblings, everyone goes. I just happened to make plans with my dear old friends. Bunch’a putz’s.”
He had no problem conjuring his recently swayed feelings. He still wasn’t sure he even felt any different than he had before.

"Shayton… Don’t ring a bell? Oh, shit, the old Grando with the locks? I did see that kid, not for real long though, what’s goin’ on with that?” Edict asked with a casual tone.
In truth, he hadn’t even remembered the kid until now with Luis mentioning him.

“... Well,” Natalie shrugged. “During Judas’ last stand, the kid nabbed him before the Feds could. Started asking him a bunch of questions about your favorite serial killer.”

“Judas was about to rat us out.” Luis leaned back and put his hands together. “Shayton silenced him.”

"What the fuck is he, some kind of Ab? There’s no way he’s an Adept unless he’s some serious Green fucker with a kiddy fetish…”
Edict stared off into the smoke of his cigarette thinking about that creepy face.
"Ah, never mind, that’s my job to figure out, right?” Edict laughed, holding his cigarette case out across the couch.
"Anyone care for one? Naturally processed, these expire y’know? Our Op down in Louisiana…”

“Fuck yeah, the fancy shit!” Natalie said, as she took one. Luis silently took one himself, and they both lit theirs with their respective lighters.

“But, Shayton thinks the kid is a shapeshifter… Adept, Adjoined, Agent…” Luis shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, we’ll find that out.”

He took a puff, then said, “Next time you see that kid, let me know. We’ll send some men to grab him…”

“Hell! Maybe we’ll send Shaquita!” Natalie laughed, gesturing towards their silent bodyguard.

Edict grinned.
"You can send Shaquita my way anytime you’d like.”
A thick rolling exhale trickled back into Edict’s nose, a french inhale accompanying a wicked grin as his eyes trailed up to the Bodyguard.
"But I will. Hell, he could be with the Sycamore right now. Not that it’d be a great time to move, between Drake Blackmore, Stormy Carson, could be anyone over there willing to throw wrenches…”

Edict had eased back into the couch he was on, eyes doing their best to not wander too far for fear of giving any lingering nerves away.

Shaquita shook her head as Natalie laughed.

“I’m very acquainted with those two,” She finally spoke. “I can take them.”

“But timing is everything,” Luis said. “And we’ll have the perfect opportunity to grab him soon enough. But, what did you want to tell us, Edict?”

“Yeah, I’m shaking with anticipation here!” Natalie laughed.

He hadn’t gotten that drink…
"Right, of course. I’ll give it to you straight: House of Cards is making an issue. Usually, we’d keep things in the Family, you see, since it should supersede the sorts of disagreement we’re having. I wouldn’t come to you if it didn’t cross over into our life.”
Edict flicked his ashes into the nearby tray, the crystal perfectly shined and polished; and it’d have to be done again before opening.
”Alizee Alitere. Dead! Her Apparition pal, Void Heart? Apparently, some time ago, they saved Phantasia Vorpal from the fire that consumed the old House of Cards… Now, the thing’s been sealed! She’s looking for revenge: Wouldn’t be such a problem were it not for the people involved.”

Taking another drag, Edict leaned forward trying to recall everything.
”Seems like Alizee was wrapped up with the Temple. Y’know, the Temple of… Pfff, whatever. The Cult I’ve been siphoning material from for you. Those Orange-Enchanted Arms and shit? It’s their problem, which makes it my money’s problem. The way I figure, that makes it your problem as well, considering some of the more expensive products that come out of there. What was that last shipment of Niatanium worth?”

He smirked, waving his hand.
”Don’t answer that. I already know, and I’m willing to bet it’s more than you want to lose. The long and skinny of it: Their man inside, the chef Andrade Salamente, is their chief Sealer. Blue and Black Lux user, he’s got this knife that they’re obsessed with. I’m betting because it’s what their man Void Heart is trapped in. It’s in my estimation that Phantasia Vorpal’s willing to go to war over this. Not just with the North-West families, but with Sycamore, with The Temple… I’ve got a few ideas, but I didn’t think it’d be right to act without coming to see you first.”

“Alizee Alteri…” Luis trailed off, “Shame what happened to her. If we had known that Sycamore suspected Judas, then we could have nipped that in the bud, but it is what it is.” Luis finished that statement with a shrug.

“Perhaps we can talk to them and see if we can mediate peace before this gets out of hand.” Luis asked.

“... Or we can send Shaquita to air that ratty casino out!” Natalie said.

”It’s kind of amazing how quickly everyone threw their hat in for Judas as Father Wolf.”
Edict was ready to try something that he figured wouldn’t work, but it was subtle enough.
”If only they really knew, huh?”

The words hung in the quiet air. Edict raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“... Desperation is a bitch,” Shaquita spoke up from behind them. “Isn’t it?”?”

Edict’s eyebrows raised even higher.
”Desperate is pulling a gun out in the hopes that you’ll hold me.” he replied, laughing.
”Anyway-” he started again, leaning back. ”- I’ve got some plans about how to handle the situation, unless you wanted to try and get Vorpal’s crazy ass to back off of course.”

“We are going to always negotiate first…” Luis said, “But do tell, I am curious.”

He cleared his throat.
”Well… First thought was just letting them turn on Sycamore. Vorpal, and the little hoe-stess that Void Heart decided to suckle up to; Layla Hycicanthus or whatever, they were both real hard for Auri Auclair, Jack Offhorn or Hawthorne, whatever… But I guess my Britney was involved, so I had to do some adjusting already. Now I’ve got them solely locked on the Temple, so I was hoping that since we’re all involved and tangled up with one another, we’d just do a sit-down between Lynette and Phantasia. But they’re both crazy enough that something bad could happen, and I don’t mean bad for either of them.”

He bit his lip.
”So my gambit would be to bring someone in… Word on the street is that Salamente is looking for an apprentice: Someone to pass down the ol’ spellbook to in case anything were to happen to him. And now, after the House attacked him, they’re accelerating the process. I have a candidate, and they’d simply unseal the Void Heart and let him run home to Vorpal. Deal with those consequences later.”

“... And if that doesn't work?” Luis asked.

”I think we’d have bigger problems than we have right now if it didn’t work. I didn’t say they were foolproof plans, just… Plans, y’know? ‘S why I’m here, feel?”
Which was true. Knowing the Temple, they’d be willing to part with their prize for the right price. It was what happened after that really worried Edict. Chances were, Void Heart wasn’t just going to play nice with Sycamore, even if things somehow smoothed over between the House and Temple.

That meant there wasn’t a scenario where Britney was off the hook. That was scary.

”The alternative would be to steal the knife for ourselves, and release Void Heart and whoever else we can when the time’s right. I’m certain he’s not the only monster locked up in that knife…”

Luis was silent… obviously thinking.

“My issue with both of your plans is that the Void Heart will escape,” Luis began. “The issue… The issue… The Void Heart - and whatever host he chooses - is unpredictable. The incident that Veni Vedi Veni is proof of that.”

He shook his head. “You see Edict, we have a plan for… quelling the chaos St. Portwell faces. And the issue is that the Void Heart is a walkin-”

“... Floating,” Shaquita noted.

“... A floating, chaotic element, and chaotic elements like him have no place in my model for the city,” Luis explained, “If he runs back to Sycamore, it’s only a matter of time before he begins causing trouble. Like I said before, if we had knowledge beforehand we could have avoided this situation entirely!”

Edict cleared his throat, wondering if it was worth making a stink over.
”You saying I didn’t do my job Luis? I beg forgiveness for not predicting that the unpredictable would happen. Frankly, I was hoping to get everything under control before word got back to you… But the writing is on the walls, you’d have seen it soon enough. This is my money we’re talking about. Fuck the city, you can have it. I just want the tree cut down, and to ride off into the sunset having done my part.”

Not exactly…

”But what I’m hearing is that you’re interested in keeping the floating nutsack in his prison? I had also thought about forcing him directly into a new target under our control… Some blind I’ve had the chance to work on first; get them hooked so Void’s influence is secondary to their addiction…”

“What we need is the Floating Testicle to be a non-issue,” Luis calmly answered. “He made it dead clear that he, and his host, will not behave. Not just that, if he makes the stupid decision to go back to Sycamore a third time…” He sighed, and shook his head.

“... In other words, the thing is problematic.” Luis finished.

“Might I intrude?” Shaquita asked.

“You may,” Luis said.

You don’t want the House of Cards to be a problem,” Shaquita said to Edict.

”There’s only a few things I’d want more.” Edict nodded.

“And you don’t want the Void Heart to be a problem,” Shaquita said to Luis.

“That is correct.”

“His idea of releasing the Void Heart to his last - or even a new host - is not a bad idea,” Shaquita began, “But, there’s nothing saying we can’t just teleport the Void Heart and his host to a different dimension. They already made it dead clear that, despite seemingly caring so much about the Void Heart, they pretty much let him go unmonitored. Or, I know we don’t mess with the Feds, siccing the PRA on them and letting the House of Cards duke it out with them.”

She sighed, “That way, the Void Heart and the House of Cards are simply someone else’s problem.”

Edict’s face scrunched slightly as he thought about the ramifications of the PRA getting involved. He, frankly, would’ve rather gone back to Seattle to get permission from the Bosses to have Vorpal killed than he would’ve had the Feds poking into Mafia business.
”That last bit’s great until you’re the one whose organization is under the looking-glass. Feds in La Cosa Nostra’s business ain’t great: I say if they don’t cooperate? They get the portal treatment. Shunt’em all into whatever hellscape we can, and keep makin’ money with the Temple until they get the same end.”

And what end do you get?

He took a deep breath and thought for another second about what was coming next.
”Do we have any kind of leverage here? Something concrete we can lean on either side over?” Edict asked after a few more moments’ thought.

“None at the moment other than that girl Layla…” Luis trailed off for a moment. “Right now, using her is simply not an option.”

“It doesn’t have to be the PRA, but the point is that we just make The Void Heart someone else’s problem,” Shaquita said. “I would recommend putting them in the Pit, a monster like him would thrive there.”

”Then it should be the host he wants, no? Give him back Layla: I’ve already dosed her several times. By the time we get the two of them back together, she’ll be willing to listen to whatever it is I say. I tell her that you guys are going to help her, and hey the Teleportation goes wrong! Bye bye Voidheart, sorry Phantasia these things happen.”
Edict shrugged his shoulders in his assertion.
”Then we make it the Pit’s problem, she can’t be out taking revenge on people when she’s busy trying to open a hole to get back to her precious purple testicle.”

“Trust me,” Shaquita said, tilting her head downwards. “She’ll want to stay there. It’s a home for people like her, after all.” She cracked a wry grin.

“Sounds solid… as a Plan B,” Luis began. “Before we take any option, we’re going to meet with The House of Cards’ leadership and see if there is any way to peacefully resolve this. We know that’s not going to be possible, but Dollhouse doesn’t jump to the nuclear option unless strictly necessary….”

He glanced at Natalie, then Shaquita, then Edict, “However, we will already have Plan B ready by the time of the meeting so we can put it into action when the Vorpals inevitably don’t play ball.”

”Right… So, do you want me there? Or am I free to return my focus to the Sycamore Tree?”
As in, find a better way to cover their asses. Edict may've been feeling a change of heart lately, but that didn't stop those goons from being the single most disorganized pack of morons one could find.

The streets of St. Portwell would be safer once they all dispersed.

“Go back to Sycamore,” Luis waved his hand. “We need eyes on them especially…”

He put his fingertips together, “They are a very unpredictable lot, to say the least…”

”Yeah, the absolute least, I’d say…”
He looked between Luis and the other two women with some amount of concern, knowing for certain

that the pack of untrained cats that was the Sycamore Tree Coven would stop at nothing to put themselves further into harm’s way.
”Now, as far as this little… List… You gave me?”
He pulled the note out with the names of people he was supposed to watch.
”It’s a fuckin’ crapshoot. I’m hearing the names, trying to move people toward them to get lookin’, but I can’t read minds like it’s easy. People know when I mess with them. Anything to assist with that?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Luis said, “You’re supposed to keep eyes on Sycamore first and foremost. If you happen to pass by them, then keep your eyes on them…”

Edict nodded, scrunching his face. Luis always played with his hand close to his chest. Shrugging his shoulders, he nodded along with Luis’ instructions.
”Well… Alright! I’ve said my piece then, that’s the situation. Currently, if my informant is correct, there’s a larger gathering of them at the residence of a former member. A deceased former member… She was pretty important back in the day, Kari Wilson? Definitely an HVT if she wasn’t six feet under. But I guess they’re tossing her property for any notes or hints they can find.” he offered the information up freely, figuring nothing was going to come of it now.

”I can get eyes on direct, or keep working my angles otherwise. Your call if you want me to rush over there or not, but I’m certain I’ll be able to get them copied if they find them. Regardless of being there or not.”

Shaquita raised an eyebrow the instant he named Kari.

“We would have loved her in Dollhouse,” Luis said before he shrugged. “But, alas.”

“Who’s this informant?” Natalie asked. “Is it our newest employee?” She smiled.

Edict’s eyes narrowed. Newest employee?
”Linqian Han?” Edict asked with a slightly concerned voice.

“No,” Natalie said, “… Tayla Choi.”

There was the echo of an interaction still ringing in Edict’s head. A burning bar, a strung out Severed blind.
”Fat lot of good she’ll do being Severed. When did this happen?”

“The same night you had fun times with the Feds,” Natalie laughed.

“We gave her an artifact we acquired,” Luis said. “That Melody, allows her to convert thoughts into sound.”

Edict’s face turned from confusion to concern almost instantly.
”If that’s the case, I’d appreciate a meeting with her. Because I definitely said something to her the other night without considering that she was working with you. If we have to work together, it’ll be pivotal that the situation gets diffused. I understand that it may be outside of your desired involvement, but… It’d be a favor, frankly, for me and my big mouth.”

“We’ll arrange something,” Luis said. “Otherwise, she has no place in Dollhouse.”

”Then it’s settled.”
Edict stood up, grabbing his coat and starting to swing it back over his shoulders.
”The thing I care about most is the House of Cards. It puts this in jeopardy, and it puts La Cosa Nostra in jeopardy: I’ve done a lot of hard work to prevent their prying, Blind eyes from trying to learn about business that isn’t theirs. I look forward to hearing about the results… Anything else you think I can take care of in your stead?”

Luis grinned.

“… We have everything under control,” Luis took a puff. “Trust us.”

Edict grinned, nodding his head.
”Luis… This is me we’re talking about. Of course you’ve got my trust.”
He wondered absolutely nothing. Edict’s head was empty of errant thought, cleared and focused. If Tayla Choi had That Melody, then for as long as Edict was going to be around the Sycamore Tree Coven, he’d never have another stray feeling or emotion or image cross his mind. It was too dangerous for something like that to be used on him. She didn’t need to dig deep to broadcast a whole lot of compromising shit if he wasn’t paying attention.

Obfuscate. Keep things hidden behind the smokey glass…

But he wasn’t going to play with Tayla Choi…
Unless?
No… Out of respect for Luis’ plan, he’d not intentionally make her. He’d let her poke and prod, he could take it.

”Natalie, Shaquita… Pleasure seeing you both. Luis? You’re The Man, man. Oh, and-”
As Edict backed off, he put his finger up to his temple.
”-I’m workin’ on a spell reversal. I may’ve gotten rid of the keys that day, but I’ll pick the lock. We’ll find that fuckin’ tree.”

“Yes…” Luis grinned. “We will.”

Part 5: November 3rd, Morning
The Road to Kari’s Place

Edict was driving casually, as if there wasn’t a thing more important in the world. He hadn’t gotten any text messages, only sent a couple: One to Linqian, purely informative that he’d be there soon. The other to Britney, telling her he had some good news, and redundantly that he’d be arriving shortly. The only reason he knew where they’d be in the first place is because he got the address from Britney the day before, before his nighttime meeting, but he didn’t exactly like the locale.

It was in one of the reclaimed areas, quiet and desolate as a part of the forests around St. Portwell did their best to swallow up the neighborhood. If something was gonna go wrong, he figured it’d be out there. But, again, thankfully no texts had come back through. He didn’t think anything of it until his phone lost connection: No good towers. Funny how it happened fifteen minutes outside the main residential hub of a main city, but those were the breaks.

He stuffed the gas pedal, and Smokey’s engine rumbled with power as it hurdled down the winding back road into the sticks. He was trying real hard not to extend a feeler out toward the direction he was driving.
No magic… Not on them. Even if they’re in trouble, they’ll stop to bitch at you for it. They’ll spit in your face before they accept you’ve helped them. It’s not for them. It's for you.

Not that it mattered. Right around the time he was turning onto the road he wrote down, there were some rumbles that threw the car off its arcing trajectory and caused Edict to swerve. It slowed him down enough to take a look for what had done it. Panic was already set in, feeling rumbles like that close to the spot. Like there was already a fight or something.

Gentle raindrops were hitting his windshield.

A fleshy monstrosity towered over the nearby trees.

There was a dot in the sky, and it was bright purple.

It wasn’t looking good. Edict ripped the e-brake of the car and popped the trunk from the inside. He was looking for quite a few things, plenty of which he re-packed before leaving the apartment that morning. His vest, not that it mattered much save for the grenades, and his Thompson which he also figured wouldn’t get a great deal of use.
He also grabbed a brick, and after he had everything he needed, he slipped a pair of black leather gloves over his hands and threw his longcoat back on over his body armor. The gun’s sling was tight with so much bulk, but he could still get it into position easily enough.

Catching one person off guard will be enough.

He hit the front seat again after smashing the trunk shut, and the vehicle skittered to a stop another hundred feet down the road. As he made his approach, Edict could see the massive ice barrier blocking off the driveway, giving him ample amount of time to set up.
The assumption was that this barrier was magical, but Edict found he had a decent amount of distance between the start of the driveway and where the ice actually started. He opened the hood of the car, pulling the four grenades that were dangling from his vest, pulling the pins, and setting them to rest on precarious parts that held the pins in place. The idea was that any solid impact would rest the ordinance loose, causing it and the car to act as an explosive entry tool.

Fully aligned at the end of the driveway, Edict stuffed the brick onto the accelerator, and as the ponderous engine made way for max revs, he was free to make for the treeline toward the edge of the drive.
He couldn’t bring himself to wait for the results. Anticipation filled his gut, and he moved on through the trees. As he skulked into the woods, he did his best to run every chance he got, sprinting from tree to tree trying to see if there was a way around the ice barrier. He’d pulled his sunglasses from the loose pocket they’d been slipped into, instantly channeling a subtle tendril to hunt for Britney’s signal on the other side of the barrier.

There had to be somewhere, someone, something who could help him get to her… All he could hope was that she was still there at all.
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Kari Wilson's House



Pretending that to understand everything that Kenshiro mentioned had also made sense to the rest of the group, let alone himself, was likely a waste of time. Or so Clancy guessed.

That Britney had earned her share of scorn made full sense to him now.

Of course.

If it had been her that played a part in turning him into what he was, he'd no doubts that he would've broken her in half. If she had made him...

”Is that a thr-”Britney cut herself off...
Britney


Britney had been ready to kick back, but the other girl had beat her to it.

”... Wait, what the fuck do you mean you were there?! Adora seethed, one hand on her chest, the other on the wall. As she took deep breaths, it was probably evident that she was trying to hide that she was coming down from a full-on anxiety attack, but, again, she was just too arrogant to let anyone here think she was showing weakness. As she looked at the kid, something clicked in her head, and she got mad... It was enough to distract her from her trauma for just a moment. ”... I think I saw you at the grocery store the other day, too! Have you been following me?” She took a few deep breaths and couldn't hold it in any longer. Before, she continued. ”Kid... that is not fucking cute at all!” Adora said, ”That is sick. You're fucking sick. Stay the fuck away from me.”
Adora


The truth was, he had been watching her. And it wasn't entirely for selfless reasons - she was bait. Not that he needed to phrase it like that, but it was the honest rationale behind why he'd spent days following her boring routine, on the off chance that Father Wolf went after lone stragglers of Ashley's old circle.

"You're welcome. Are you done now?" was all Clancy had to say, sardonically tilting his head to one side.

He wanted to say more, like how if anyone was going to have been a target, it would've heen her. Or that she wouldn't have been screaming at him if he'd stopped her from catching a knife in the back. And that he'd clearly wasted time on some wheezy, weepy little girl while Ashley's killer still walked around this stupid town.

Gratitude wouldn't have killed her, if she'd known the truth of it. Father Wolf would've, though.

But it would've been a waste of time trying to explain, and that train of bitter thought was interrupted when yet another assault on what senses were left to him came in the form.of another waking vision - instantaneous as the last, but revealing.

It proved the point that 8th Street had been here. That they were sniffing around. That they knew something at the least, if they weren't already involved. That they were assholes who had stepped onto his internal measuring scale of people that needed to be dealt with.

And then, as if to accentuate that point;

”... Lynn is almost certain we are about to be attacked by the 8th Street Coven. Be prepared, in case she is right.”
Jack


The speaker had appeared and disappeared before Clancy had any chance to ask him question, but the dull thud running beneath their feet told him the about to be was actually right now. Exiting the basement at a pace, Clancy felt for the dufflebag clung to his back. Maybe later. Through a window, he caught a glimpse of what was waiting for them. A group of faces, vaguely familiar from their shared vision but not to him. Towering over them was a mass of... he could have described it as a cross between a venus flytrap, a skinned bear, and carrion thar had been smeared across the road by a convoy of truckers.

It was meat, animate and leaking fluids. Strangely familiar, in a twisted sense.

Finally, he could make out what they were saying; the voice wasn't dampened, strangely enough.

"... It's been a while, hasn't it, sluts!?" Emily shouted, her voice loud enough to be heard all over the property. "Missed the reunion... Well, I wasn't invited! Well, I wouldn't have come either way - that unfair treatment I received at the Halloween Festival told me I made the right choice, anyway!"

She looked around, grinning like a fool. As she threw the hood up, the rain fell on her hair. "So, I'm going to be quick and to the point; we're not here to fight you sluts. I'm here for one person, and one person only, Lila Blackwood..."
"... AND FUCKING BRITNEY! I'M GOING TO RIP HER FUCKING INTESTINES OUT, FEED 'IM TO CYNTHIA, FIX HER, JUST TO DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!"

Carol screamed, stepping from behind the undead monster's leg. Emily just rolled her eyes.

"... And Britney," Emily began, putting a hand on her hip. "So, just hand those two over, and we'll leave you sluts to rob a dead retard's house - do you sluts have any shame or dignity at all?"
girlswhopeakedinhighschool


The girl who'd screamed for Britney's guts - literally - seemed young. Not much older than he had been, if that. She stood out like a sore thumb, almost as much as he did. Why was she with them? Clancy thought back to what Kenshiro had said, something he'd only peripherally noted as the wheezy girl had lost her cool with him.

"She's a Pactmaker! And the whole reason Emily G. Reed is a bitter, wretched fucking cunt today? Is because of you, Britney Williams."

Right, the girl was probably another nightmare of her own creation.

Momentarily, he considered whether it was worth giving Britney to them. He couldn't say he felt any approval at what she'd done, and given his own situation had been inflicted upon him, some wilderness nightmare a long way from home, he felt he probably shared more background with these assholes than he would

But they were assholes, and they were in the way. Either they had a hand in the murders, or they were going to be a blocker to finding whoever did. And he was hungry.

Besides, he considered, what would Ashley have done?

The other girl, Lila? Something odd struck him about her, but he couldn't figure it out. He couldn't say she deserved to die, and he knew enough of Emily and 8th Street to know that they were unlikely to be moved by invoking the milk of human kindness.

Emily had mercilessly badgered Ashley. Asbley wouldn't have wanted him to let her friends die like this.

Britney got off, for now - but he wouldn't be shedding tears for her if anything happened.

Not that he could

The others were mobilising, rushing outside without regard. Given how well that had worked last time, Clancy reconsidered.

Looking to the stairs, Clancy paced up to find a better vantage, tugging his hood upwards over his head. Behind him, Luca's voice was in one ear, telling Britney to run and-



A wave of heat erupted over him, and the rest of the upper stairwell. A blinding light that struck him like a kick to the gut. Clancy staggered backwards, tumbled, and hit the ground floor on his hands and knees, needing a moment's pause to regain his composure as his now-burning clothes blackened under hellfire rained from above.

Luca was stood there in the doorway still, flames licking outwards from above and below. The memory of charred flesh in a condemned apartment block sprung to mind. Of panicked homeless and addicts pounding on the interior of boarded-up doors and windows, begging to be let out before the smoke inhalation got them.

It wasn't a kind way to die.

Ashley wouldn't want this.

Forcing himself to his feet, Clancy paced towards Luca, seized him by the lower half of his shirt, and then hesitated as though something corrosive had slapped him in the face, the boy's expression crinkling as icy-cold fingers twisted at the fabric and skin beneath.

"Run," he echoed, before shoving Luca out the quieter side of the porch, away from the burning timbers of the balcony above as the weight of the building threatened to give way under the additional pressure.

Leaving him stood there at the porch, in full view of whatever remained of 8th Street, charred clothes still smouldering.
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Kari Wilson’s House


Anya didn’t think much of Jack’s warning about 8th Street coming. When did Evelynn’s predictions work out? Though, after the recollection showing them looting the house, it was better to be safe.

The basement wasn’t the safest place to be. There was no escape route. There was no way-
*BOOM*

Anya grimaced. She followed Britney up the stairs- though not quite as quickly, and ended up in the doorway. An undead monstrosity… Emily G. Reed. What a surprise, Evelynn’s little prediction had come true. This wasn’t a situation Anya wanted to be in. She had no reason to fight 8th Street. In fact, she would quite gladly hand over Lila.

But Britney was going to be a problem, unfortunately. If she was handed over, tortured and killed, there would be nothing to hold Greyson back. He’d likely go on a killing spree, and their little plan would go up in flames. While Anya wasn’t one to place all her bets on a single game, it was a future she quite liked.

Not leaving, then.

Anya moved out of the doorway and house as Luca approached, avoiding getting caught in his aura. She moved slightly around the house, outside but sheltered by it slightly as the light drizzle increased to a downpour. She needed somewhere to safely summon-

The house caught alight, and a large fireball flew past her. Anya crouched down, arm going over her head to protect herself from the light debris that flew down onto her. She was out of the house, far enough away to not be hurt, but… Sloane was still in there. The one person Anya perhaps cared about surviving.

But not enough to sacrifice herself.

What could she do in a burning building, anyway?

Anya moved away from the house as quickly as she could, and into the forest. She crouched down behind a forest, carefully brushing back her long hair so she didn’t look too undignified. While it might look like she was running away to most, that wasn’t the case. To most of the coven’s knowledge she had no spells that could be used in a fight. Her spellbook had been much smaller and rudimentary there. It was only after leaving- being kicked out of- the coven that she’d been able to tap into her gold lux.

She had hoped to save it for another time, when she could truly show it off. But there were two people who knew about her summons: Sloane and Greyson. Greyson wasn’t here yet, but once he was… Ah, well, she didn’t want to deal with questions from either of them about why she didn’t do anything.

It was a waste of time she couldn’t be bothered with.

Thankfully, the last two nightmares she’d visited gave her quite the creatures to select from: Stormy’s and Linqian’s (who somehow had a nightmare immediately after an erotic dream). Linqian’s had heavily featured werewolves - something that Anya had witnessed in enough of her nightmares, along with simple dogs, to know it was a fear of hers. Linqian was working for Greyson, and inadvertently taking her out would remove another body between Anya and 8th Street.

Stormy’s it was then. Hopefully his mental walls were as strong as his magical ones.

Anya pursed her lips, eyes narrowing in concentration. She gently moved her fountain pen, slowly tracing a soft, glowing purple outline in the air. The soft light only lasted a few seconds as she continued down, tip of her pen glowing. With the size of the summon she was attempting, it would take her five minutes of complete concentration to bring it into existence.

Hopefully she would be able to complete it.


Interactions: Vashi @Atrophy
Kari's House


Shit.

Linqian winced at the tight grip on her wrist as the rain got heavier and heavier, sizzling off her boiling skin and cooling it. She was still super fucking hot, hot enough to burn and hurt, but no longer metal melting temperatures. Her ability to tank hits was reduced too.

She hadn't thought about Vashti's storm when she started this fight!

But she could still take more of a punch than normal.

”Can't pretend I don't want to see them,” Linqian shot back, anger boiling over just at the mention of Bianca. Bianca had never been close to Vashti, when did she tell her that? She’d loved her and that fucking bitch talked about her like she- fuck, pay attention.

Her own distraction was enough to miss the feint, arms moving up in front of her face to try block the mud thrown in it. It splattered across the heated surface, sizzling, and through her arms across her face. Linqian squinted, visibility dulled by the rain and the mud-

Vashti's elbow slammed right into the arms in front of Linqian's face, the momentum smacking them into her head. It fucking hurt, it disoriented her, but the increased durability and arm protection kept her awake and aware. And the pain- well, the pain was fucking good. It helped keep her mind clear, fighting through the dizziness even as she slipped back on the mud covered floor, feeling her legs starting to slide out from under her. She was going to fall. Fuck-

Linqian’s arms came down and forward, trying to grab onto or wrap around Vashti. At the same time her lips curved into the closest to a seductive smile she could manage while falling backwards. Anything to bring her down with her. She needed to touch Vashti - not in the kinky way, as much as she really fucking wanted that, but to do as much fucking damage as she could before retreating. If she managed to get Vashti on the ground with her, Linqian was going to fight through the fucking pain and get as close to her as possible - legs and arms wrapped around her, bodies pressed close together, heating them both up until they burned.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by silvermist1116
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silvermist1116

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Tayla didn't think they'd arrive as soon as she asked for a ride out of here. Fuck me. Something crashed down out the sky, shaking the ground from the force of it. She stumbled a little, then turned around and saw people she didn't recognize at all on top of the most hideous thing she's ever seen. They called out Britney and Lila. Oh, so they had a mission. Ain't got shit to do with her. They can have her as long as it meant she could go home tonight. She didn't say that out loud though. She didn't have any friends in the group, nor anyone she trusted. She can't let them know that she'd sell any of them up a river for her life. If people know you'll stab them in the back, then they'll jump at the right opportunity to do the same to you. There were few in the group that wouldn't, but most of them would. She'll like to keep the few good people somewhat in her good graces.

"Have fun with whatever the fuck that is," she said, backing away further into the trees She meant it when she said she didn't fight anymore. They'll have to take that for whatever they think it means. She looked out into the forest towards the street. She can still get the fuck out of here. That just means running.

No sooner she had that thought an ice barrier shot up to cover the easiest to get to exits. Double fuck me. Her only way out now was to go into the woods behind Kari's house and hope she can get to the other side before the sun goes down. And also hope she doesn't get lost. Trek through the forest or hunker down and wait it out? She walked a further into the forest, finding a tree with a low enough branch for her to get leverage to climb. She care to see the battle, just be far enough away from it, because it seems she waiting this bitch out.

She climbed about ten feet and sat on a thick branch that didn't creak under her weight. She sat with her back to the trunk, the branch between her legs and leaned back. She'd just got comfortable when the sky opened up and poured rain. Motherfucker! She got some coverage from the rain from the tree. She didn't want to chance climbing back down and slipping. She got the sense this wasn't natural. Given there hadn't been a cloud in the sky today.

She put That Melody on and got everyone's thoughts within Kari's property and the forest beyond it. The distance on this thing was too fucking far for her. The sounds of the fight amplified in her ears, everyone's thoughts rushed through, and instantly gave her a headache. It's overstimulating, but she always knew that there was a chance this would happen. That she would be caught up somewhere there's a fight and she might need to use her headphones. She didn't need to use them now, but she who knew when she'd get the chance to practice her control in such a chaotic setting again?

She got a jumbled of everyone's thoughts. Something about a fight at the festival causing this, that kid being a product of Britney's fuckery, general thoughts of trying to survive this, along with thoughts of absolute violence coming from 8th Street. It's a fucking mess and too much for her to parse through. She reached up to take her headphones off when a far off thought caught her attention. Fucking Greyson. Her hate for him helped her focus.

He was trying to find a way around the ice barrier. Finally, he's good for something. If he can find a way in, then she'll have her way out. She tuned everyone else out to focus on him. He had his channeler on. His thoughts reached for Britney. The concern of this thoughts, his desperation to find her. Oh fuck. He's in love with her. Yikes. A terrible man would have terrible tastes in women. She'd been told that any attempt for a telepaths and empaths to connect to her thoughts or emotions wouldn't yield anything useful for them. He probably won't even notice she's here, since his thoughts are focused elsewhere. Good. Keep ignoring her. She's learning a lot about him.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Mixtape Ghost N
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Mixtape Ghost N SOMETIMES EVЕN RICH NIGGAS GET LOST

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Interactions: Linqian/Luca (@FernStone), & Vashti (@Atrophy).
Kari's House > The Slugfest with 8th.




Emily wants Britney and Lila.

If it was just Britney on the line, she would have gladly given herself up for the good of the group. After all, just like what Kenshiro, Sloane, and Clancy said, this was all her fault. The issue was that they wanted Lila, too. That was just not going to happen... she gave the Noble Vow a little flourish in her hand; if she got close enough, this should be enough to kill Emily and Vashti in one hit and end the threat of the 8th Street Coven for good.

”We’re not handing them over, Emily. Can’t we talk this out? Was there any need for all of this?”
Luca


Ooooh, Luca.

So painfully naive. There was no way this was going to end without blood. Britney let out a sigh.

”You should run.”
Luca


Luca spoke to her.

She didn't have the right to be spoken to, but he told her to run. Britney thought that the entire Coven should just cut and run. A fight like this was absolutely stupid. She couldn't find one valid reason that would benefit either side. Alas, Emily G. Reed didn't see the world the way they did (like a normal, rational, human being) and had to cause needless violence and bloodshed. It was clear that Emily wanted Lila more than anything, however, and maybe if both of them just fled out the back...

”... Look who it is, the pettiest fucking bitch in the city! You’re not taking anyone, so fuck back off to the hole you came from.”
Linqian


Britney's facial expression crunched up as she saw fucking Linqian and Aryin just marching out of the house half-naked. She stared at them as they just walked up to Emily, and the color drained from Britney's face as she realized that, regardless of how this goes, they're going to have to fight. They activated some spell, and then they were fully butt-ass-naked as Britney saw the heat shimmering from their body and started boxing with 8th Street's heavy hitters. Okay, sure, a fight was obvious.

Britney gave Luca a look and said,

”... I'm not running, Luca.

That was when Britney climbed off the porch and landed on the ground.

Connection to the earth established. Grounding with Gaia. Tapping into the essence of Edafosmancy...

The soil raised off the ground underneath her feet and formed a miniature hill, one that she used to glide across the ground into the fray. She could use her soil manipulation to counter attacks from even the likes of George. She focused on Vashti, however, who was duking it out with Linqian, and Linqian dived to wrap her arms around her waist. Britney figured that she would give her home-girl some help.

Channeling flow of life into Floramancy.

Several thick vines sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around Vashti's legs. They would then attempt to tie her legs together to limit her mobility.


Interactions: Luca (@FernStone), & Stormy (@Blizz).
Outside Kari's House > Straight Into the Fight.




”... Well, that escalated quickly.

In less than a minute, Linqian and Aryin ran out and started throwing hands while naked, and the house caught on fire. They wanted Lila and Britney... well, Drake didn't care if they took Britney, but he wasn't going to stand by and let Emily think that she could boss them around. If you gave someone like her an inch, she was just going to keep pushing and pushing, and pushing, just to see how far she can take it. Though, he was glad that they had the sense to stand up and fight - except, Tayla, who didn't want any part of it. That was fair, if she didn't want to fight then who was he to make her? And that's why Drake's here.

To fight for the people who can't fight.

"Take this, get in their faces and Emily can't burn you. Do it quick, before they can start throwing more magic out and make it less effective. Luca's going to get himself killed and I do not trust Linqian to take on that many people alone, I'll be right behind you."
Stormy


Drake grinned and gave Stormy a fist pump to gain the Phantombane Aura. That was when he created his Thunderguard and his Thunderlance... and without a second thought, Drake charged in. He flew through the air, keeping close to the ground, at lightning speeds. However, he kept his eyes on the group... and saw that kid shoving Luca. He knew that the kid meant well, but Jesus! Didn't he know that one solid blow would be enough to kill Luca?!

Drake changed course, flying through the air, dispelling his lightning weapons, and caught Luca, wrapping his arms around him. He went with Luca's direction and motion so the sudden stop didn't hurt him. However, Luca's decaying touch was a bitch and rotted away at Drake's favorite leather jacket and the skin underneath it. He hissed in pain, as he said,

”... Got you, buddy.”
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Hidden 8 mos ago 8 mos ago Post by NoriWasHere
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NoriWasHere

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Interactions: VASHTI
KARI’s



"They’re fighting for you and you want to run," The Maiden whispered to Lila as she was turning to help the Amara clone on the ground. Lila stopped in her steps as her head twitched violently at the words. All across her mind she could feel the feathered bitch pushing her influence like cold tendrils that wrapped its grip around her thoughts. Lila forced her head to stay still by placing her hands on her heads side pressing down as she did. "No, no, no no nononono," Lila whispered. "They’ll die fighting for you while you run," The Maiden continued, " you have always been a coward no matter what lies you tell yourself.". Lila groaned as she felt The Maiden push even harder to be let in. The Maiden was suspiciously quiet before this, and it seemed she thrived in the moments of chaos and emotional turmoil. And this was a moment of both.

For starters she saw Vashti wearing one of her favorite hoodies. A confirmation of who was at fucking fault for the damage at her house and the pain it caused her gram. Lila wanted to punish her, to rip her hands from her arms, and then her jaw from her face. Lila wanted to make her feel nothing but pain for a brief moment before she sent her off to the dreamless sleep. The joy that would bring flooded Lila’s brain and she smiled a wicked smile once more at the thought. Vashti walking through the world without her hands, her jaw, just a worthless shell of the woman who once grabbed life by… Lila paused the thought as she saw her vision get that much more clear. She blinked once, twice, and a third time as she looked over the battlefield. She could see Emily, Vashti, and every one else with such clarity. She gasped. The Maiden had found a foothold once more.

"Fuck, nonononono," Lila whimpered as she began to feel the bones in her hand push to the side as her claws began to push its way out. Lila tried to stop it, she tried to think of the monster movies she loved, the friends that she cared for, and the various cute animals she saw in her day to day at her job. Yet despite these pleasant thoughts she yelled in pain as her fingertips split open, and as the skin on her arm’s split pushing feathers through like a thousand papercuts. Lila doubled over as the pain surged with each subsequent feathers and claw and tears began to stream from her eyes as she tried to scream but couldn’t force a sound from her lips. More and more feathers sprouted from her arm, higher and higher the pain surged, and more and more of the ground became coated in her crimson blood.

After what felt like an entirety, Lila’s breath was the only sound that escaped her lips. A soft whimper soon followed by Lila still felt like she was in control. She looked at her arms, her claws, and tried to push herself up from the ground but something suddenly felt off with her back. And as something began to press against the skin on her back she suddenly found The Maiden pushing for control. Lila held on in her mind as her back began to visibly push outward at two spots on either side. Further and further out the skin began to stretch, the bulging mass visible to Sloane, Amara, and Lynn. The pain was back and this time it was a hundred times worse than anything she felt to this date. She screamed at the top of her lungs, revealing her presence on the battlefield. The scream continued, growing in intensity as her back bulged outward, more and more, and more still. Eventually, the strength of whatever was trying to get out was too strong to hold back and her skin ripped in two even lines and her wings shot outward with such force that it ripped her shirt and bra from her back.

The force of the wings shooting out shot blood and flesh particles across the area, with the three women caught in the crossfire. In this moment Lila and the maiden had merged, both were one and both had their eyes on Vashti across the battlefield. They lingered for a second before they slowly moved to Emily. A wicked smile crept across her face as her head twitched slightly, before Lila laughed entirely too loud for the situation. The monster, the arrival, the threats, all of 8th street finally revealed that they were a joke. Lila’s head shot back to Vashti, twitched once more, before she licked her lips.

Vashti, Vashti, Vaaaaashti,, Lila paused as she took a step back as her wings flickered a green glow, anyone who was looking at them would briefly fall under their curse, come get me.

Lila took off in a sprint running behind the burning house. At the same time, the air was filled with the sounds of a murder approaching fast. Far above the battlefield. Suddenly the sound of their wings ceased, and the air grew silent for just a moment. It would not last for long as the murder braved their way through the storm clouds and began to swoop down on the 8th street below.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Atrophy
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Atrophy Meddlesome Kid

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Interactions: Lynn, Lila @NoriWasHere Amara @Blizz, “Bulletsponge 9000” @Punished GN
Kari’s House




Sloane could feel the look of I-told-you-so burning into the back of her skull from Lynn as a massive crash shook the house. She refused to acknowledge the woman as she shifted to the window, her mind populating a dozen other things that could have caused the noise rather than Lynn’s guess being right. It was Kenshiro continuing to unhealthily unleash his grief in a public forum, or Linqian and Aryin roughhousing, or Drake doing something stupid, or Jack causing someone to react violently by teleporting behind them for another cheap jumpscare as he played his part as the boy who cried wolf. Maybe it was an auditory recollection. Perhaps a meteorite had fallen from space and crash landed right in Kari’s backyard. Whatever it was, it most certainly wasn’t what Lynn had predicted.

Sloane reached out and popped up a blind to look outside. The reflection of her eyes off of the glass showed her pupils become pinpoints as her jaw set firm. Truthfully, she wasn’t surprised. A tiny, annoying, pestering small part of her, the part she assumed was also responsible for when she tripped over words or banged her knee on a table, had believed that Lynn was right. Still, she hadn’t anticipated Emily to show up with an undead siege engine. It was hard to believe that 8th Street would just walk away if they gave into their demands, just like it was hard to listen to Emily speak like she had never been out in public before, instead having spent the last ten years trapped in a high school girls locker room. Any suspicions of whether Sloane’s failed attempt to get a meeting with Emily had been some kind of hazing ritual or not suddenly disappeared as her eye twitched.

A plan began to machinate in her mind. The first step was to obviously have Jack get Lila out of here. Britney, too. While that woman did deserve to be punished for her actions, it was something that should be handled fairly by a tribunal instead of being violent mob justice. The second step was to engage in a kind of mock negotiation, allowing the rest of the Coven time to retreat, regroup, and, if necessary, ready themselves to retaliate. The third step was to stop that stupid fucking BIT—Sloane’s hand slammed against the window as Linqian stomped out across the yard, roping Aryin along with her. She shouted to no avail at the window, treating Lynn to a shocking string of obscenities from a woman who normally used them only sparingly when she needed to deliver a precision strike.

The first punch was thrown and it unleashed pande-fucking-monium. Kari’s room became nothing more than heat, smoke, and the groaning of imminent support beams collapsing as the upper floor of the home was engulfed in hellfire. Amara burst through the door with her squad of phantoms, smashing out the window and ushering Sloane and Lynn out. The slightest of hesitations as Sloane looked at Kari’s computer, the screen already beginning to bubble and melt, was overrun by a more basic instinct as she allowed herself to be rescued. Another wave of heat burst from behind Sloane, the concussive wave of the fireball forcing Sloane to steady herself on Amara’s arm. They would’ve been directly in the path if the rescue had come any later.

The burst left a ringing in her ears. It was accompanied by confusion, panic, and fear. A chunk of wood splintered from the house and cracked her in the back of the head. Her vision tunneled. A look back left her with the blurry imprint of a child burning, the kind of image that would be forever burnt on the back of her eyelids whenever she would close them to interrupt a moment of peace. Her imagination started carving shadows out of the smoke, tortured phantasms of those left inside burning, real shouts swelling with an orchestra of imagined screams, Anya calling her name, her voice fading. Sloane looked away, pulling herself away from the suicidal urge to rush back inside and rescue someone who might not even be there, her eyes watering from not only the smoke. Focus. She needed to focus.

“Lila…”

Right, Lila. Lila was right in front of her. They needed to protect her from 8th Street. The edge of Sloane’s vision continued to pulse with the throbbing pain in her head as she reached out to the doubling-over woman. Had she been hurt by debris too? Lila looked badly burnt, her arms were covered in ash. Sloane’s eyes focused and her hand hesitated. It wasn’t ash. Sloane’s hand cupped over her mouth, eyes widening as something began to crawl, pulsate, and snap underneath Lila’s skin. Sloane held back a scream as Lila released her own, accompanied by the ripping of flesh, the unfurling of wings, and the splattering of gore across Sloane’s clothes and face.

It was horrifying. It was monstrous. It was…strangely curious. In a way, the green glow calmed Sloane, stripping away the fear of Anya being cooked alive and clearing the confusion caused by a blow to the back of the head. There was comfort and beauty in those wings. Was it so strange for someone so grounded and tied down by her obligations to covet the freedom granted by flight? Eyes swirling in enchantment, Sloane’s hand reached out on its own, desperate to grasp what she did not have. Her fingers wrapped around a dark feather still slick with Lila’s blood and tightened. The sound of crows cawing overhead was the ringing of encouragement: do it, do it, do it. How bizarre it felt to be so immediately accepted. Her fingers tightened and twisted, the caws growing louder and louder and louder, as the creature that had been Lila sprinted away, Sloane’s releasing her grip a moment before, the feather ruffled but unplucked, stopped only by an instinctual realization of danger and the Emotional Field granted to her by her bloodline.

Her vision began to blur aga—no, focus. They had to fight. Stupidly, Sycamore had to fight. Sloane was not a fighter. Her first actual foray into the field had been the final confrontation with the Stygian Snake, and if it hadn’t been for Jade she would’ve been killed. She had a handful of encounters since then, often in the company of Drake, Lionel, or Ayrin, but she had never been the heavy hitter and always it had been with a kind of strategy and plenty of preparation already in play. Sloane had even taken up fencing in anticipation that she would be able to get the Apparition Killer from Ashley so that she could be of better support to her cohorts, but in a street fight fancy footwork and quick reactions only got someone so far when their opponents refused to follow the rules of engagement.

Still, she had to help somehow.

“Amara, get Lynn somewhere safe,” said Sloane, shrugging off her jacket.

From the window Sloane had seen that there was a backline hiding behind the undead monstrosity, using it as cover. She seeked to remove that barrier. Hopefully between its many sets of glossy, cloudy eyes at least one pair wasn’t vestigial or she’d just be ruining a perfectly good coat, if it hadn’t already been ruined between the scorch marks and the blood splatter. Heavy rain soaked her as she folded and layered the sleeves so that the fabric was thin enough to be pierced all the way through by her knife but thick enough that the blade didn’t slice itself free when the knife was elevated by her possession hexmark, the jacket lifting with it. Satisfied that it would hold there for long enough to get the task done, Sloane tapped the jacket with her channeler.

There was an orange spark followed by a blue glow that dimmed but did not completely fade away as Sloane infused the jacket with cursed magic. The fashionable coat frayed and tattered, warping to appear more archaic and anachronistic, like something that would’ve been worn in Victorian times, as Sloane’s magic turned it into an object of obsession. Only the undead amalgamation would be targeted by the spell as she conducted her possessed knife with her tarot card channeler, launching the knife and the jacket with it into the trunk of a tree a decent ways away. As the jacket reached its destination she wiggled her channeler as if she was holding the end of the knife, pulling it free from the fabric and carefully returning it towards herself while keeping an eye out for anybody trying to get in a cheapshot.

If the spell worked the undead creature would be drawn to the jacket, completely distracted and disabled until the jacket was wrenched from its hands or destroyed. More importantly, it would create an opening for Sycamore, allowing for the others to bypass the big fleshy barrier and strike at the individuals less suited to take a punch.



Interactions: Linqian @Fernstone Britney Williams @Punished GN Jasper (Knight), Lila @NoriWasHere
Kari's House



Vashti’s elbow cracked against something hot and hard. She growled, an eyebrow raising up in confusion. Linqian’s face might’ve been the prettiest one whose nose Vashti had smashed through the back of her cranium, but it definitely wasn’t the first. The impact felt wrong. It lacked the oddly satisfying squish like wet sand between toes on a bright, sunny beach and there was no beautiful popping sound of a mind being blown apart by the cage designed to support and protect it. Oh, Linqian was proving to be quite a pleasant surprise like Leon before her. Better, even. Just as desperate, but with less hair to deal with and the option to sleep in on Sunday morning after getting no sleep Saturday night. Vashti's eyes shot to the side and caught Linqian's attempt to grapple her. It was a damn shame the girl wanted to get herself killed so fucking badly.

Vashti flicked her arms out as she felt Linqian slipping behind her, deflecting Linqian’s initial attempt to cinch in while protecting herself from too bad of a burn thanks to the quickly deteriorating hoodie she had borrowed from Lila. She was just going to step away then turn around to stomp Linqian’s face into the mud. However, something locked her feet. Vashti looked down to see thick vines wrapping around her leggings. Her head snapped in the direction of Britney as another pop of thunder exploded in unison with the arrows launched from Jasper’s Ranger. A flash of lightning illuminated Vashti’s face, a wide grin stretching across her face composed of sharp teeth, her eyes gleaming. The look she gave Britney wasn’t of hatred or anger. It was something closer to adoration, like that of a child on a playground trying to impress a tired mother as they screamed, Hey, hey, look what I can do!

She so wished that Britney had talked to her when she had her chance. After all, Vashti owed her everything. At the very least she’d present Britney with a beautiful bloodbath to show that Vashti had been the right candidate for the Leviathan after all. Britney had already guaranteed her own fucking death, the very least Vashti could do before Britney’s stomach was sliced open and she and Carol played double dutch with her entrails was to make her proud. Vashti raised a hand to wave at Britney with a playful wiggle of the fingers, her eyes opening wide in shock as Linqian was able to grab onto the back of her hoodie and pull her down to the ground, the vines burning away from Linqian’s heat.

Vashti let out a heavy breath as Linqian wrapped her legs and arms around her. Normally, she would’ve been fully onboard to roll around in the mud with Linqian, preferably face to face, but the smell of burnt hair and barbecued bayou burgers killed the mood. Plus, they had never decided on a safe word, and the melted polyester of her leggings that began to adhere to her skin and burn like napalm was starting to approach Vashti’s threshold. However, with Linqian’s arms wrapped around Vashti’s belly that meant they could no longer be used to block more hits. Rapidly, Vashti threw her head back, cracking her skull loudly against Linqian’s face again and again and again until Linqian had to drop her grip.

Vashti rolled off of her body and through the cooling mud, numbing the pain from the burns. She scrambled over to Linqian to see much to her surprise that the woman was not only still breathing but relatively okay, dazed more than anything. Vashti would have to fix that. She raised her hand up, claws flashing and eyes wild as she delivered the killing blow, hand diverting just a few inches in the final moments that it punched the ground, showering mud in the place of blood as Vashti leaned down. She shoved her other hand over Linqian’s mouth and roughly grabbed the molten threads of her hair with the other, the mud on her palms sizzling, as she hissed in her ear, “Play dead. You still might get the chance.”

Vashti climbed up to her feet, wiping a streak of mud across her face like warpaint, and flipped her hair back. Carol had better be able to reverse the burnt ends. She looked back at Britney and smiled, gesturing down to Linqian, presenting her as the first offering. From that distance it would be impossible to tell that she was still breathing. The rain pounded down even harder, shifting around Vashti as she cracked her knuckles, locking in on who should be her next target. Some asshole cosplaying as a knight was moving to the group. A second later the knight was knocked to the ground, its armor slightly caved in from where Vashti had clotheslined it. A human would’ve had the wind knocked out of it.

Vashti raised her foot to stomp the helmet in but paused as she heard Lila cawing her name. The green glow of Lila’s wings drew her in, sparing the knight from the curbstomp as she blanked and walked away from it. It was so nice to see someone else be so accepting of the gifts provided to them. Underneath the mud her skin itched where the scales of the Leviathan had once been. The admiration soon became jealousy. Vashti honestly didn’t care for whatever reasons Emily had to go after Lila. She just wanted to rip those fucking wings off.

Lila ran and Vashti gave chase, the caws of the murder being answered by the crackling of the storm.
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Hidden 8 mos ago 8 mos ago Post by NoriWasHere
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NoriWasHere

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Interactions/Mentions: Sloane @Atrophy Amara @Blizz





So this was the correct possible future. What a fucking shit show.

Lynn of course saw this as a possibility a few moments ago but to her, this was a false future and she paid it very little attention. In the great scheme of possible predictions, those with a frequency as low as this were barely worth exploring, remembering, or mentioning. You would have thought Lynn would’ve learned this painful lesson ten years ago. You would have thought that the blood on her hands would have always forced her to be more open about what might happen. Yet what good would it do if it was someone like Sloane hearing that prediction?

Lynn did not have long to dwell on these thoughts. The building was on fire and Amara had arrived on time to save them, just as that future predicted. What happens from here is a bit of a mystery as she did not pay enough attention to it during her venture forward, but she knew one thing. She needed to get to Lila, she needed to stop what was about to happen, and she knew she was going to be too late.

Lynn followed Amara’s to the letter as she retreated from the building, the army she commanded was incredibly versatile and her use here was not only unorthodox but effective at the same time. When Lynn hit the ground, her eyes immediately turned to Lila just in time to see her back convulsing underneath the clothes. It was too late to stop this, and Lynn could only close her eyes to shield herself from the brief exposure to the coming hex. Lynn heard the rip off the skin, she felt the warm spray of blood and viscera splash across her, and then she heard the maidens' voice taunt Vashti to follow her. The footsteps she heard marked the departure of Lila towards a future of uncertainty. A future dominated by a struggle and agony, and a future that would lead to a confrontation.

That would come after their group survived today, and Lynn knew they all would have a part to play if they wanted to survive. Lynn, for example, needed to not be a distraction for once. She needed to not be a part of the fight, she needed to trust her friends and trust in their abilities. If everyone had to worry about keeping poor, useless, and vulnerable Lynn out of danger they would not be able to fight effectively. And this hurt. Lynn rarely lamented her lack of ability anymore, it was a sore spot back in the day and she remembered all too well that it was something that nearly got her, Lila, and Jasper killed. Yet it did nothing to help the feeling that she was truly worthless to the coven. She predicted that 8th street was going to attack, a moment before the attack actually happened. She predicted that Kari was more than likely alive, but could not narrow it down any further than that.

Lynn was a burden to her coven, and she was only around because their only other seeker was presumed to be dead. That’s it. That’s the only reason she was invited back. Lynn knew that everyone mostly tolerated her, and this was beginning to weigh heavily on her. Her best friend was turning into a giant bird, and she was being chased by an alligator whore, and here Lynn was being delegated to Amara to find a safe place for her to ride out the fight.

“No, no I,” Lynn started before she swallowed the desire to cry, “i can get to safety, Amara help the others.”. Lynn flashed her eyes to the possible future for a brief moment before she returned to the presence and turned away from the small group and began to run away from the fight, away from Lila, away from Sloane and Amara, and away from the crushing realization of it all. Her footsteps took her to the far side of the property. She could still see the fight but she was far enough away from it all to be considered safe. She leaned her back on a tree and slid down, watching the fight as she did.

And then she started crying. Crying at the thoughts of her friends being in trouble, crying at the realization that she was worthless to the coven, and crying at the fact that the best thing that had ever happened to her might not be dead, but also might not be the same person she remembered. And she cried some more.

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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Atrophy
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Atrophy Meddlesome Kid

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Interactions: Drake @Punished GN Luca @Fernstone
Kari’s House




Sully started reaching for his keys when Tayla asked if anybody drove here, almost ready to toss them to her when he realized that Tayla being alone right now was dangerous. He didn’t want to fight either, but if somebody got injured he had to stick around to make sure they could walk after duking things out. Still, they had no right forcing Tayla to stick around, especially if there was gonna be some kind of rumble, but with her stalker still lingering about it seemed wrong to let her go alone. His eyes brightened as the lonely custodian in his head wiped away the cobwebs, blew off a thick layer of dust, and flipped on the lightswitch. Jack! Jack could teleport. He could easily get Tayla out of here and get back in time to kick dirt at 8th Street.

Sully smiled at his brilliant idea, jerking his thumb in Jack’s direction as he turned his head, annnnnd he was already gone. Sully’s mouth hung open as he spun around in one direction and then reversed it in the other just in case he’d somehow missed their resident weirdo. His jaw completely dropped as a loud crash rang out through the forest as 8th Street suddenly appeared, although Sully was particularly distracted by the hulking mass of rotting beef jerky and dentistry. He put a hand over his mouth, the odor that poured off of the mystery meat kaiju being so bad that Sully could taste it. He pointed his finger at it and gagged.

“Oh god, what the fuck is that thing!”

He ducked behind a tree that was too small to hide his large frame as Emily gave out her list of demands, his shirt pulled up over his nose. No, nope, no way in hell were they going to give over Lila or Britney. As Luca started playing peacekeeper Sully got another brilliant idea—he’d give Greenwood a shout. With their reinforcements Emily would be forced to back down and listen to reason, plus maybe Pearl would be able to put Stankzilla on ice to help out with the smell. Sully patted at his pockets, searching for his phone so he could snap a shot of what was going on and drop a pin for his crew, his cellphone sitting comfortably in the cupholder of his unlocked truck. The rain reminded him that he was pretty sure he’d left the window down, too. He leaned his head back against the tree and stared blankly forward, unaware of how fortunate it was for his immediate wellbeing that he didn’t actually have his phone on him.

Wait! The crack of lightning across the sky might as well have struck him with a bolt of inspiration: a third brilliant idea. He’d give Tayla the keys to his truck so she could beat feet, and she could call Greenwood for him so they would have some back up. Sully pulled his keys out of his pocket, spun them around his finger by the keyring like he was some hotshot showboating gunslinger, and tossed them towards the empty space where Tayla had been with a, “Hey, catch.” Briefly distracted by Drake and Stormy running off to jump into the fray, he turned his head just in time to watch his keys vanish into a patch of tall grass, as Tayla, like Jack, had already vanished.

Okay don’t forget to get those later, Sully noted, looking back towards 8th Street and slapping his forehead. The negotiations had lasted approximately seven seconds. Suddenly everything and everyone and the entire situation was on fire. Sully darted out from behind his cover. He was torn between who he should help: the people fighting 8th Street in the yard or those still trapped in the burning house. He ping-ponged back and forth in momentary indecision, wishing that Stormy or Drake had given him some kind of direction. He ultimately decided that getting closer to 8th Street was a bad fucking call for him and headed towards the burning house, unsure of how effective splashing water on it from the Chalice would be but determined anyway to try, a fireball hitting the patio seconds after he started to make his way there.

“Oh shit!” yelled Sully, certain that everybody inside was now full dead.

Sully saw Drake catch Luca, who had been shoved from the patio moments before the blast, and began to hustle his way towards the pair. He slipped in the mud—why did it always rain so much in St. Portwell—but caught himself before eating more dirt. He skidded to a halt beside Drake and dropped to a knee, grimacing ever so slightly as he felt something make his skin begin to itch. The Chalice became heavy in his hands as Sully filled it with the elixir.

“I’ll start packing the super soaker next time,” said Sully with a laugh that was obviously forced given the pain and nervousness in his voice. “You’re gonna be okay, man!”

He gave Luca a reassuring pat on the shoulder before shaking his hand as if he had just touched a burning hot stove. Gritting his teeth and hurtling through the pain, Sully helped Luca drink from the Chalice. His brow furrowed as he watched the silver of the Chalice begin to darken and tarnish from where it touched Luca’s lips. He still gave Luca enough time to quaff the potion, but passed on the bedside manners as he yanked the Chalice away quickly and scouted back out of Luca’s aura. Sully rubbed the Chalice on his jeans as if to wipe any lingering rot away from it before jumping to his feet as he witnessed, from his angle, Vashti smash Linqian’s head in with a thundering punch. She was too deep in 8th Street territory for him to just saunter over and Sully doubted that 8th Street would respect the Geneva Convention even if he did produce some paint from the Chalice and draw a red cross on his sleeves.

“Yo, Drake. Help run some interference and clear me a path?” said Sully, nodding towards Linqian.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by AtomicEmperor
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AtomicEmperor Radioactive Frog

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Kenshiro

Mentions: Emily G. Reed, Kari Wilson, Britney Williams, Luca Olivera | Direct Dialogue: Evelynn Serenelight/@NoriWasHere | Location: Kari's House

The life of a Dummy Buddy was one often fraught with danger and uncertainty. However, moments like this were better. It was like spending a night in heaven, or a fantastical lucid dream in which you could feel every single bit of passion and pleasure. Even the feeling of Shimmer air on its false skin made it writhe with internal ecstasy, so much so that it didn't even mind being the summoner's pet. It was glad to do as Kenshiro asked, and did as it was told. It smiled, kept a heroic face, and waited to be a simple anchor point. A bait and switch that could be necessary at any point in time.
Kenshiro knew he could just swap places with a random chunk of air, but leaving behind an exact copy that gave off heat and energy made for a useful tool, especially in split second timing. For that faith, that he could be useful to a God in Heaven, the Buddy was more than grateful.

He was happy to keep a brave face as others scrambled through the house. He stayed right where Kenshiro wanted him: Near the front door. There was shouting and yelling, something about someone called Britney. He was fascinated listening to their strange language he could almost totally perceive through passive absorption. The one called Luca was so close, the Dummy could smell the not-right blood in their veins. He wondered if that one knew they were dying.
But the thought was cut short. There was a wave of heat, and the dream ended. The Dummy awoke in its own world. Impact. Violence.

Kenshiro watched as the house was engulfed. There was no time to be mournful or reminiscent, as actions spoke so much louder than words in these trying times. Ken felt the need to release himself upon an opponent who would love to kill him just as much as he'd love to kill her. For all of them.

"Emily G. Reed!"


Kenshiro's voice was leveled like a sonic boom, a telekinetic cone amplifying his voice to an incredible decibel. The pockets of air exploding in the sky diverted the hail of incoming crude missile fire, while Ken's body wrapped itself in a tight, purple shimmering energy. It was as if he was completely fading out of existence as the divergent pressure fields surrounding him whipped air into a spherical screen of purple static. This sphere quickly darted about the sky in a seemingly uncontrolled pathway, accelerating and decelerating in rapid fashion until it began to make a very clear b-line for Emily.
Within the field, Kenshiro was holding his breath within the pressureless void as he did his best to control his ever-shifting mass and momentum in a bid to hit Emily G. Reed with so much weight and pressure that she'd never have the chance to move. With a struggle, one arm reached into his vest and removed a small band of copper. He was going to need every second he could get.

"Haste!"
The copper wire fizzled out of existence. Beneath Ken's headband, a symbol formed in Purple that held the spell's energy. Three extra seconds of perception. The difference between life and death. With a moment, he slowed time to a crawl, catching Emily's silhouette in the back of the monstrosity before flicking and sending his entire momentum toward her and the back of the corpse beast. His hand reached backward, pulling an hourglass from a specially made pocket. It was covered in runes, and as soon as it entered Kenshiro's hand it began to glow a ghastly shade of purple.
From the sphere, he shot himself like a bullet from a randomly generated gun barrel, a massive explosion popping off a burst of purple energy in the sky.

It was way too fast.

Unable to readjust with his second, as Emily's movements brought her out of his effective range with such a smoothness that even he was a little impressed. He was sent clear through the flesh beast's thigh, blowing a hole in it the size of a small vehicle before ultimately careening into the ground. Two dozen feet of subterranean tilling later, and the ground collapsed in front of Evelynn Serenelight and Amara King. Ken climbed from the Earth's open wound no worse for wear. His face met Lynn's, and for the first time in a little while, he smiled at her.
"You're not a fighter... Kari wouldn't want you hurt, would she?"
He pointed downward toward the hole he'd made.
"It's safer down there. Anything dangerous will go over your head. Your other option is leaving... I can make it happen. But you need to find Her! Do you understand? Even if she is dead, you need to be alive to honor Her. Lynn Serenelight... Choose!"
Hidden 8 mos ago Post by FernStone
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FernStone One Again Addicted to Pepsi Max

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Interactions: Drake @Punished GN, Sully @Atrophy
Kari’s House


When the house went up in flames, Luca immediately knew he couldn’t get away fast enough. His legs felt like lead, weighing him down as he tried to limp forward. The fire licked outwards and against him, searing his dark jacket. He shook it off before it fully caught alight, managing to step just out of the flames even as the heat began to burn him.
”Run.”
Clancy

Luca just registered strangely cold fingers pressing against his shirt and skin, and the oppressive heat of the fire behind him burning his fragile skin. It was like everything went in slow motion as Clancy pushed him - watching the kid burning away as he fell backwards. Run... he wasn’t going to be able to run when he hit the ground. He twisted himself as best he could to reduce the risk of snapping his neck. He’d break multiple bones, but it would be alright-

There weren't the expected loud cracks as he landed… in someone’s arms. Luca grimaced, the much softer impact and stop not hurting him anymore than he was already hurt. The burns hurt, but what caused him more distress was the rotting of Drake’s flesh everywhere Luca touched. He hated this. He hated hurting everyone who came near him, and being so vulnerable.

”Thanks,” Luca said, head snapping to the side at Lila’s scream. His eyes widened as he watched the wings forcing their way out of her back, flesh splattering across the people near her. It looked horrible, it looked so painful… And Luca could tell immediately that it wasn’t Lila in control anymore. At least not fully. His heart sank.

But what could he do to help her? He could barely even move.

When Sully appeared, he was able to give a smile slightly less forced than Sully’s laugh. As much as everything was going to shit, at least there were people here he could depend on. Drake, Sully… Jasper, wherever he was. They could get through this together. ”Yeah, you gotta have that super soaker around me, you know how clumsy I am!”

He drank the elixir as quickly as he could, practically guzzling it, while trying to avoid touching the chalice too much. It made it messier, red liquid trailing down his chin, but he avoided properly eroding any of it… it just started to rust. The burns across his body and the painful scrapes from when he’d fallen healed. He felt better than he had in days. He could tell the elixir wasn’t enough to fix any of the damage the Rot was doing to him - something he’d expected, otherwise there’d be an easy fix to his problem - but it helped the aches and pains that came with it.

”Thanks, guys,” Luca said to both of them. He carefully got out of Drake’s arms, standing much more easily than he had before. Not quite painless but… the bearable kind. Now that he wasn’t concentrating on the burning he could feel the Rot weakening within him, catching sight of the glowing green around Drake.

Luca took a few steps back, both to get Drake out of his aura and to avoid Phantombane. He didn’t want the Rot forced out today. Without it, there was almost nothing he could do… And he was still just as frail.

Either way, he wasn’t in a position to fight. It didn’t matter that he had one of the most damaging abstractions here when all it took was a light shove and a wrongly angled fall to snap his neck. His body couldn’t handle it, and he couldn’t bring himself to hurt most of them. But he did know 8th Street better than anyone else here.

”The person who created the undead creature isn’t there,” Luca said to the two of them, glancing over at Linqian’s prone body. Shit, was she even breathing? Drake could probably just run in there but… maybe if he shared a bit of what he knew it would help. ”She’s probably… behind that ice wall. And it won’t matter how much you hurt it, because Carol will just keep healing it. She,” Luca pointed to Maya, ”has sound manipulation and can shoot sand at people. She has range, so be careful. You know what Emily and George can do… I don’t know the other two, they joined after I left.”

He frowned. ”I’m more worried about how many aren’t here.”

Greta, Nadine, Brianna, Lee, Malik, Phoebe… Cynthia. There was a lot of people not visible, which worried Luca. Greta and Brianna weren’t really fighters, but the rest. It made him feel like there was something else going on, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe he was just overthinking things.

”But we need to…” he trailed off, grimacing. He didn’t want to suggest this, because of the six here, Carol was the only one he cared about. But he also cared about people on this side. ”Get Carol away from the creature.”
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Blizz
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Blizz Grand Chancellor Supreme of the Wizard Council

Member Seen 1 day ago


Interactions: Luca @FernStone Sully @Atrophy and Drake @Punished GN
Kari's house



Just as he said he would do, Stormy followed Drake into the fray, Guardian Barriers hanging off of his wrists. He was made magically slower by them, reducing him to a quick jog where Drake could move at a solid sprint. He flicked his wrists, and the shields flew off in the direction Linqian's limp body laying on the ground, Vashti had surely done a number on her, even with whatever spell that was. He didn't think Linqian would be so stupid as to go in without some sort of contingency, but still, the shields hovered over her body to shade her from the rain, and from whatever someone else might try to do in the short span.

Stormy's eyes flicked over to Lila... And there was something wrong about her. She had wings, claws. And those feathers... They tugged at his mind while she flew off behind the house. They were resplendent, radiant like something for which Stormy had no name, he- No, that wasn't right. Something in the back of his mind wasn't really saying that, so much as it was being tugged at. He blinked his eyes shut for a moment, and that oddity was the thing that solidified his plan. When Stormy finally closed the gap between himself and Drake, sully and Luca, green sparks were arching off of his hand. It was as if Drake had electrocuted his fist and made the lightning green, as Stormy's Witchveil aura was ready to be distributed

"You've got fifteen minutes before that wears off," he said to Drake, who was radiating the green smoke of the Phantombane aura. He looked up at the giant abomination that others were no doubt hiding behind. "Sully- You should be able to move Linqian with this. Take it, it'll boost your emotional field and make whatever spell that is affect you less, or not all." He held out a crackling ball of green energy. If Sully took it, he'd be granted a hefty dose of extra magical resistance. "Just be careful when it wears off."

”The person who created the undead creature isn’t there,” Luca said to the two of them, glancing over at Linqian’s prone body. Shit, was she even breathing? Drake could probably just run in there but… maybe if he shared a bit of what he knew it would help. ”She’s probably… behind that ice wall. And it won’t matter how much you hurt it, because Carol will just keep healing it. She,” Luca pointed to Maya, ”has sound manipulation and can shoot sand at people. She has range, so be careful. You know what Emily and George can do… I don’t know the other two, they joined after I left.”


Luca wasn't looking so good, but at least Sully had him. "Drake's faster, he can get in and out of that camp they've got... Drake- You'll be safe from Adjoined and Apparitions as long as you're only there for fifteen minutes. Fly out if you need a renew-" Stormy said, thinking quickly.

”But we need to…” he trailed off, grimacing. He didn’t want to suggest this, because of the six here, Carol was the only one he cared about. But he also cared about people on this side. ”Get Carol away from the creature.”


Stormy considered something... "What is she? Abberant?"

”Yup, Abberant, it's the,” Luca gestured to his own stomach, ”hourglass fused to her. No Apparition.”

"Agent, right. Okay- You and Sully need to get the hell out of here. Odds are good that this homunculus is an Abominable, an Abberant like her. Meaning you don't want to be near me when I use this-" In his free hand, Stormy conjured up a green mote of light that shone like a miniature sun. Just being in its presence, Sully and Luca might feel... Uneasy. As if they were overstaying their welcome in a place that didn't want them. That would be the Consecration aura. As for how he planned on using it ... "I won't use it until you're clear, but go. I'll try to cover you both while you get out, but I need to get in there and help Lila with Vashti."

This was Stormy's plan: Protect the others as best he could while he wasn't right over their shoulders. This was going to be complicated, but there were enough moving parts that this could go from checkers to chess if they just played it right.


Interactions: Sloane @Atrophy
Kari's House



They were all out, and the phantom on the window snapped out of existence to rest. One Amara was outside, she was going to follow up on what Sloane said, but Lynn took off running. "She's got that covered, it seems." Looking around, this day had gone to shit. It was raining like a biblical flood and the red hellfire wasn't feeling like getting extinguished. There was that camp 8th Street had established, and the fleshy monster. The phantoms around Amara began to speak aloud.

"A forward camp and a dreadnought on the field, chosen marks run while they prattle," they both said in unison, with haunting feminine voices. "The move is yours, Soldier."

"Full rank, on me. You get to the car and grab the Beretta from the trunk. Form Seven, GO!"

One of the phantoms nodded silently, turned and blitzed off into the trees in a dead sprint. Three more appeared in a cloud of distorted air, where the rain bent around the fabric of reality. One minute there was empty space, the next, those phantoms were simply there. They observed their environments with the body language of predators.

"We're finding Lila and we're making sure those fuckers don't get what they want. Sloane-" She quickly turned around to the woman who cast some spell to distract the Flesh Monster. "Unless you plan on sticking around for the glory of the fight," she started, with obvious sarcasm at the notion, "This phantom will help get you out. Stick with it, and you and me can communicate back and forth whatever choice you make. Delegate to it, and you follow her orders like mine-" She pointed a finger at the phantom, who simply nodded.

"Phantoms!" All three of them snapped around to their living counterpart, like cadets saluting an admiral, "Forward!"

With that, Amara and her squad of three ghostly warriors took off into the rain, looking for Lila. All the while, one of them remained with Sloane. Its hands folded behind its back with something like diplomatic bearing. "Make your choice, miss Faris."
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Hidden 8 mos ago 8 mos ago Post by Estylwen
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Estylwen The Villainess

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Near Kari's House
Mentions: Drake (@Punished GN) Direct Dialogue: None.







”You wanna really back up your big words? Go get rid of Emily and her goons for us.”
Drake


Luna gave Drake a long stare. What he asked was suicide, but…

She looked up over at the monstrosity that towered over Kari’s home.

She’d seen worse.

As Drake, Stormy, and Sully moved out, Luna turned her attention to the house, and narrowed her eyes.

She was gonna need some help if she wanted to pull this off.














Kipnu Riil






Kari's House
Mentions: None. Direct Interaction: Everyone in the ice fortress.




As Ken bounded up the basement steps, calling for war, the atmosphere went from disappointing to fearful. Layla nearly dropped the bauble she held. 8th Street? Here? Filled with people who hated her dear Britney’s guts?

Wait, how many guts did Britney have? What did guts even taste like?

She moaned behind a hand, her head spinning as she sank down to her knees. Aislin moved to her side, rubbing her back. “Hey, you good?”

“I’m too fuckin’ high for this.”

Aislin fished around in her bag, passing over a half-filled bottle of water. Layla finished it in a few gulps, wiping her mouth. She stayed there with her hand pressed, before she mumbled. “What are we gonna do?”

Aislin laughed. “You really are high- ‘what are we gonna do?’ What we always do, sister. Beat up some bad guys.”

That was when a huge explosion rocked the house, causing Aislin’s eyes to widen. She snapped to her feet, running up the steps to the basement door. She swung it open, nearly burning her hand on the door’s handle. Smoke poured in along with the glow of hot flames, shrieking with the faces of the damned. Aislin covered her nose with an arm, eyes watering as she cried out, “We’re trapped!”

Layla struggled to her feet, reaching out for Aislin as she came rushing back. They held each other, looking desperately for an exit. Before their eyes snapped to the sound of ringing steel and shattering glass. Manicured nails swept the glass of the basement window aside, and a head stuck itself half in.

Luna.

“The hell are you two idiots doing? Get out of there!”

She reached out with a hand as the flames consumed the main level of the house. Layla crawled out first, followed closely by Aislin, choking on smoke as the fire spread to the basement. Pulling them a short ways away, Luna gave Layla a light smack.

“The hell were you thinking? What would I tell Mother if you got hurt, huh?” Her eyes glanced cooly over to Aislin, “You should have known better.”

They could hear the sounds of battle, including Ken’s shrill cry echoing through the air.

“We’re high.” Aislin giggled, wiping smoke-induced tears from her eyes. “Also, the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you like, a criminal?”

Before Luna could answer, Mr. Riil appeared, pulling Layla closer to himself. He ignored the outrage in Luna and Layla’s eyes as he wiped the soot from Layla’s face, then straightened and spoke to Luna.

“You’re lucky 8th showed up. That egomaniac was about to cut off your family ties for good.” He said in a cold tone. “Not that I care, but I imagine you’d function better on our deal if you had at least some semblance of your little ‘pet project’.”

Luna scowled. “Shut up.”

“You still owe me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.” He said plainly. He then moved to address the group, shifting Layla in his arms. She squirmed uncomfortably, but he ignored it.

“Your enemy is split into two groups. In front of the house, and within a construct of ice. Most of the Coven’s attention is on the towering monster and the surrounding members.”

He paused, lifting his masked chin. “Might I suggest hitting them where they aren’t expecting it and starting a two-front attack.”

Luna inclined her head. “You mean…”

There was a wry tone in Mr. Rill’s voice. “Yes. Attacking those in the ice.”




The wind howled. The rain pelted as Aislin, Luna and Layla made their way to the fortress. Squinting through the rain, Aislin knelt, connecting with the wet earth. She turned her head back a bit, yelling over the storm.

“You might want to step back a bit. Incapacitate anyone you see, okay?”

Luna and Layla nodded in unison, stepping back as Aislin began connecting with the ground and animating it. In these conditions, she'd need a second to try and pull everyone within the fortress out. Meanwhile, Luna and Layla were on high alert, the latter hiding behind Luna's shining armor.
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Hidden 8 mos ago Post by Mixtape Ghost N
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Mixtape Ghost N SOMETIMES EVЕN RICH NIGGAS GET LOST

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Emily G. Reed.
Interactions: Linqian/Luca (@FernStone), Stormy (@Blizz), Aryin/Lila (@NoriWasHere), & Sloane/Sully/Vashti (@Atrophy).
In front of Kari's House.



The rainstorm had picked up... turning from a drizzle to a hurricane in less than a minute! The plan was working as designed! She smiled because this house would get launched into the stratosphere soon enough! The house was still on fire, but as the rain picked up, it wouldn't last long... as long as they were panicking and scattered. Because unfortunately, these sluts jumped straight to the violence, which meant the other group needed more time. This means that Emily has to take most of the heat (pun intended). Stormy didn't throw up his shields like she expected, so he must have another card up his sleeve. Her eyes landed on Clancy, who shoved Luca out of the way. The only thing stopping Emily from burning Luca alive was the potential fallout from the rest of the Coven, who, for reasons beyond her, still cared about him even though he jumped ship.

"... Oh, you sluts are exposing yourselves to a minor!" Emily said to Linqian and Ayrin, as her eyes locked on Stormy - he was near Luca, Blackmore, and Sully, behind some shields. A powerful heat emanated off Emily's body, hot enough to instantly evaporate all the rain around her. She shot Linqian a grin as she was on the ground - hopefully, Vashti killed her and made the world a better place! "I should call Agent Liao on you two!"

An explosion of fire appeared on the other side of Stormy's barrier, intending to injure him, but Emily didn't care if the other three idiots went down with him. Even if it didn't hurt Stormy, it would keep him on his toes and prevent him from acting on whatever stupid plot he had in his stupid head. However, that was when Lila's crows began to attack 8th St, and Emily couldn't help but laugh.

"... You were so tough at the Halloween Festival when you had all those people acting as a shield," Emily grinned, as she was so hot that the crows wouldn't go near her for their safety. She raised a hand into the air, aiming a hand at the largest body of the crows in the air. "And this is the best you can do..."

She then let out a visceral scream,
"... JUST HAVE YOUR FLYING RATS PECK AT US!?"

A ball of fire appeared in the middle of the murder - quickly exploding into a wave of red-hot hellfire that outstretched in all directions. Decimating a large chunk of Lila's murder. Some were burnt to ash, while others fell out of the sky on fire. The rain was not enough to save them from their fate

However, Lila whipped out a new form that Emily hadn't seen her pull out before! These sluts have all sorts of tricks, though, it was nothing that... What the fuck is Vashti doing?! Emily's eyes shot wide open as Vashti rushed after Lila, taking the most obvious bait in the world. She chased after Lila like Linqian chased after her father as he left for milk!
"... VASHTI! GET BACK HERE BEFORE THOSE SLUTS MOB YOU!"

Emily facepalmed as Vashti left their formation... it wasn't like those sluts could do anything to her, but they always had something up their sleeve. Some idiotic plan they were cooking up. Though trying to reason with Vashti was an exercise in futility, Emily knew that she had to work with it. She slammed a foot onto the ground, and a curved wall of fire appeared in front of Lila, blocking off her exit so that Vashti would be able to jump up there, put that slut in the ground, and 8th St would be at Dairy Queen in less than an hour!

The only issue was that visibility was getting low. Eventually, no one would be able to see shit. And it was all according to plan... It was time for part two. Emily teleported onto the shoulder of her monster, pulled a walkie-talkie out of her rain jacket pocket, and said,

"... Wave one."

While this was happening, the undead monstrosity grabbed the jacket and examined it... playing with it like a toddler would play with a new toy.
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FernStone One Again Addicted to Pepsi Max

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Interactions: Sloane via Summon @Atrophy
Kari Wilson’s House


Anya was making good, but slow, progress at summoning a larger nightmare. Her hand trembled slightly as she continued to draw a light outline, face tight with concentration. It was tiring and painfully slow to create something this large… but anything smaller wouldn’t be useful. Halfway there.

A disgusting stench wafted up Anya’s nostrils, and she scrunched her nose up. Nausea tried to break her concentration and she pushed it down. She’d visited plenty of unpleasant smelling dreams, such as Luca’s - filled with rot as far as the eye could see. But this wasn’t coming from Luca, or a dream…

Ah. Through the rain Anya caught the shadow of the undead monster, rotting flesh growing more pungent in the air as it played with a jacket right beside the tree she was crouching behind. Concentration broken, Anya bit down on her lip and pressed up against the tree. As long as she stayed on the other side of the tree and it stayed distracted by… was that Sloane’s jacket? Anya’s eyes narrowed. Object of obsession.

She needed a way out of this.

Her summon was interrupted, and she had no practical spells. She needed it directed elsewhere - or for someone to shield her so she could get out. Preferably Stormy. But she couldn’t move out from where the thick tree trunk protected her. Anya closed her eyes, deep frown creasing her lips.

Another summon. A small, quick one, from her own dream. It had been less than two hours since her nap.

Making careful, tight movements, Anya drew her fountain pen in the air right in front of her - soft glow shielded by her own body and the torrential downpour. She sped up the normally two minute long casting by only summoning one small creature, rather than multiple. In front of her a small, foxlike shadow creature formed. She furrowed her brows, quickly getting it under her control.

Find Sloane, direct her to me.

Sloane was the only one the creature would be able to seek out - the only person they’d been around before. Anya just had to have faith that she’d send someone to get her out of this unfortunate situation that… Sloane had caused. Or, that the security team Ezra had assigned to her was in the area.

The little shadow creature scurried out from behind the tree, through the undergrowth. It blended in with the dim light and the rain, quickly seeking out its target and running as fast as its small legs could carry it. As soon as it reached Sloane it stood up on its hind legs - reaching her knee - and tugged her pants. Sloane would recognise it as one of the creatures Anya regularly summoned to help set up her shop, which Sloane had witnessed a few times. As it tried to get Sloane’s attention, it also pointed towards the tree Anya was hiding behind - right where the undead creature was playing with the jacket.

Maya Choi

Interactions: Ken @AtomicEmperor, Lynn @NoriWasHere
Kari’s House


Out of defiance for being used as a glorified megaphone, and being separated from Phoebe, Maya just watched the fight for a while. Two naked, burning women were duking it out with George and Vashti - she was surprised Emily didn’t die on the spot from their lack of clothes - and everyone else was in chaos. Emily had some kind of plan, but she hadn’t really paid much attention to it.

Ah, well, she should probably fight someone. That would be easy enough to do from the safety of the grotesque creature’s leg. No problem-

HOLY SHIT!

A bullet in the form of a person shot through the thigh Maya had been hiding behind. Thankfully it didn’t hit her- or any of them. Her head snapped around to watch Kenshiro slam into the ground and just keep going. She was almost impressed, if she’d cared enough to be impressed.

But he and the girl he was talking to were behind the creature. Maya couldn’t for the life of her remember the stupid plan Emily had but… Vashti had already run off, so what did it matter? Maya really didn’t want some flying asshole turning around and destroying her from behind. She wasn’t into that.

”...Lynn Serenelight... Choose!"
Ken

Maya snapped her finger, causing Ken’s words to echo out in a jarring screech that would hurt his and Lynn’s ears. “Awww, that’s so sweet! You really should jump in that hole, so you survive and search for your dead little girlfriend! I have to say, I can see why she went for you both.”

Maya winked at them both, lips curving into a devious smirk. Oh this was going to be fun. One was clearly a weakling, one not so much. It had been so long since she’d had a proper fight. Even if one of them was sobbing and the other was overly dramatic in how he talked.

“Butttt… I’m afraid I can’t let you leave. So just get in the hole and watch. Or you can join in if you want, I'm not fussy- but I don't think you can handle me. You, on the other hand,” Maya grinned at Ken, expression playful, "definitely can."

Maya clapped her hands together, a reverberating shield of solid sound forming around her. The sound of the rain thudding against the ground, the fire crackling in the background, and Emily's irritating shouting reduced in a bubble around her in sync with her fingers tapping together - catching Ken and Lynn, but not extending far outwards. She then thrust her hands forward, shooting a blast of screeching sound directly at him. If it hit, it would be like being slammed by a wall of solid air, that both caused ringing in his ears and knocked him back.


Interactions: No one she’s playing dead
Kari's House


At first, Linqian felt excitement and adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she managed to pull Vashti down to the ground with her. Mud cooled her back, but her front was burning hot and only increasing in temperature everywhere they were touching. She smirked at the feeling of clothes smouldering and melting underneath her, skin burning and boiling.

A loud crack interrupted her satisfaction, hard skull smashing into her face again and again until her grip loosened around Vashti, legs falling against the floor. Pain exploded from her nose and outwards, black spots dancing across her vision as everything went fuzzy in front of her. Blood trickled down her chin, instantly coagulating. Her nose was probably broken. Shit.

Thank fuck for Aryin’s part of the spell, or she’d be knocked the fuck out! But her head was spinning, eyes unfocused and unable to tell exactly what was up or down. She couldn’t move. Vashti’s claws were coming for her throat, a second time, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

There are worse ways to die. At least Huanyi will be taken care of…

As Linqian accepted her death with a pained smile, cold mud splattered all across her face where it should have been her hot blood. She didn’t- couldn’t- struggle when Vashti covered her mouth and pulled her hair in a way which was far too hot for the current situation. Her breathing grew heavier- not just from the adrenaline- and her eyes darkened. Shit, not the time to think of things that way…. Oh, but it was such a shame. Such a shame when all she whispered in her ear was to play dead, before climbing off her.

To get another chance at what? Living? Not something she was so fond of. At Vashti? Now, that was much more appealing.

She’d go along with it just now. Vashti had made it look realistic enough, right? Everyone would assume she was… well, it was a problem for people on her side. Not so much for the other. She’d wait for the right moment to strike. A surprise attack.

And Aryin would know she was fine. Too hot to handle was still active - if her life was extinguished, so was the burning heat.

Linqian closed her eyes, struggling to keep them open as the cloud filled sky spun above her. Her still head felt like it was swinging in circles, nausea clawing its way up her throat, but for the amount of hits she’d taken… it wasn’t that bad. She was just real fucking dazed, light-headed with her thoughts all murky.

She probably needed a healing spell to sit up anytime soon. Fuck, why had she neglected her magic all these years?! Jinhai had even tried to teach her his self-healing, but it hadn’t really worked for her… but she could’ve made it something that did! She was really regretting that now, fuck.

It was fine. For now she’d just lie here. There was a green glow in front of her - a shield. Shit, well, as soon as the whole world stopped spinning she’d get back up and keep going… Until then, she’d play dead. Moving would only result in her falling back down anyway.
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