[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XiUHyUc.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/K7gWNb1.png[/img] [/center]
[right]Interactions: Sloane [@Atrophy], Drake [@Shin Ghost Note]
[code]Kari Wilson’s House[/code][/right][hr]

[color=9966CC]”Sloane!”[/color] Anya was right behind Sully, hanging back so she didn’t get in the way when he shoved the Chalice into her friend's face. Normally she'd find his brutish way of going about it irritating, but in the case it didn't matter. Sloane needed the elixir one way or another. A soft sigh of relief escaped her slightly parted lips as the horrible rotting receded, muscle and skin reforming and her movements getting stronger. She was going to be alright, it seemed, as she got enough strength to push away Sully. 

Good. It would be a shame to lose someone like her.

Anya waited until Sully stepped away to get closer, crouching beside Drake and Sloane with a furrowed brow and concerned expression. A [i]genuinely[/I] concerned one, not hidden behind all the layers of false kindness she normally wore. 

[color=9966CC]”Here, take this.”[/color] She took off her long, light grey wool jacket and draped it over Sloane. It was damp but not quite soaked through… It would do. She was glad she'd worn one that went down to her knees today, with the two of them being about the same height; anything shorter wouldn't do much for Sloane. 

She then looked at Drake, almost smiling. [color=9966CC]”This certainly is one way to apologise to Sloane.”[/color]

While Anya wasn’t particularly friendly with Jade, and thus didn’t have the (formerly) good opinions of Drake that Sloane did. But he [i]had[/i] rushed over as soon as she was hurt… And helped Sully made sure she got healed.

[color=9966CC]”Anya,”[/color] she eventually replied to Auri’s request, tilting her head towards her, feeling it was a little ridiculous. Couldn't she manually count? Or ask Greyson to check that everyone was there?

Ah, he’d made a beeline right for Britney… of course. Anya’s lip curled up in disdain for just a moment as she watched him. Love really did make you weak.

[color=9966CC]Is that not what’s happening to you with Sloane? The more you care about her the weaker you get… Ah, but that’s not it. I didn’t care enough to sever.[/color]

She forced her gaze off Greyson, and her thoughts off that, skimming over other nearby coven members. Linqian, near naked, Aryin, near naked, Jasper… near naked. Sloane was right, what the fuck happened to everyone’s clothes?

[color=9966CC]”Maybe the winds blew them off,”[/color] Anya said drily, a delayed response to Sloane’s question. She bit her lip, continuing in a surprisingly soft tone. [color=9966CC]”How did you get here, Sloane? I brought my care, so I can take you home? Maybe… you can come with us, Drake?”[/color] 

[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img][/center]
[right][b]Interactions[/b]: Britney [@Shin Ghost Note], Greyson [@AtomicEmperor]
[code]Linqian’s Home -> A Place Where Her Home No Longer Exists[/code][/right][hr]
Linqian was in the kitchen. She didn’t remember how she’d moved there - no, she did. The hallucination had shifted, changed. She was younger. Huanyi played on the floor a few steps away from her, pushing his toy cars around with dramatic sound effects. He looked to be only eleven… which would make her nineteen. 

She remembered the tiredness of those years. Two full time jobs, with barely any time to sleep in between. But she couldn’t feel the tiredness. This wasn’t real. 

In a way, things had been easier then. She didn’t have to think as much, and-

[color=#5487FF][i]”I said I’d make dinner, Qian-er,”[/i][/color] Jinhai’s voice came from right beside her, as he leaned against the counter with a smile. 

Jinhai was still there.

[color=a22929][i]”And let you burn the house down? I don’t think so.”[/i][/color] Linqian rolled her eyes, bumping her hip against him to try and shove him away so she could cut the vegetables in front of her. He laughed, stepping slightly to the side but still leaning over her. Fucking… he really used those extra four inches of height he had to be a pain. [color=a22929][i]”I will shove this knife in your eye, Jinhai.”[/i][/color]

A brief flash, Jinhai’s eyes lost all life. Blood stained his white shirt. A knife was in his chest. She shook her head, the image disappeared. It wasn’t real in here.

[color=#5487FF][i]”You’d miss me too much,”[/i][/color] Jinhai teased, but he still stepped properly back with his hands up. Linqian wanted to wipe the smug grin off his face, but she also wanted to take a photo so she could remember it forever. She wanted to remember his smile. Not… not the end. [color=#5487FF][i]”And who would make sure Yi-er does all his homework?”[/i][/color]

[color=a22929][i]”I can do that,”[/i][/color] Linqian rolled her eyes, not looking away as she started cutting the vegetables. She did it perfectly - because this was a perfect world. What she wanted. [color=a22929][i]”Just cause I can’t help him doesn’t mean I don’t make him do it.”[/i][/color]

[color=#5487FF][i]”You never did your homework,”[/i][/color] he grinned. [color=#5487FF][i]"I remember you came up with the worst excuses, then stopped bothering altogether.”[/i][/color]

[color=a22929][i]”I'm not Yi-er, he's smart. I'd never let him-”[/i][/color]

A smouldering smell overwhelmed the freshly chopped vegetables. Shouting… No. She shouldn’t be able to hear the outside.

[color=CD5C5C]No, no, no, ”no, no, no, please let me-”[/color]

Once again, Jinhai disappeared in front of her eyes. 

[center][hider='dreams I couldn't keep'][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoU0QqLNn3I&ab_channel=SumerianRecords[/youtube][/hider][/center]
[color=CD5C5C]”- stay.”[/color]

But it was gone. He was gone. 

Linqian didn’t even bother looking around. She didn’t care. She couldn’t give less of a fuck about whether everyone was alright. Jinhai [i]wasn’t[/i]. Jinhai was [i]dead[/i]. And she might as well be, with the fucking life she was living- [sup][i]she wanted to be. Why couldn’t she be? Why must she suffer-[/i][/sup] She wanted to go back. She’d give anything to go back.

There was a chill in the air that prickled against her skin, but she barely felt it. All she felt was numbness. Nothing. 

She was still crying. 

Linqian turned to look at Britney as she grabbed her shoulders, then at Greyson when he appeared out of nowhere. Had he been here the whole time? No, probably not. He was worried? Probably not about her… Ah, it didn’t matter. The tears didn’t stop, and she didn’t bother trying to stop them.

You couldn’t close to the floodgates when they were open, not without a bit of force.

She removed Britney’s hands from her shoulders to take Greyson’s jacket, pulling it on and closed to properly cover herself up. No snide comment, no eyerolls, none of the normal shit she'd give him. 

[color=CD5C5C]”Am I okay?”[/color] Linqian echoed them both. Of course she wasn’t. It was obvious that she wasn’t. Who would be fucking okay after that?! After losing the only person she could depend on… one of the two people she had left. Then having to see him again, as if he hadn’t gone. She wanted to stay in that hallucination forever. Fuck, she wanted to see him again. [color=CD5C5C]”Yeah, I’m [i]fucking[/i] great.”[/color]

Linqian suddenly turned around and punched the vine wall beside her. She punched it again and again until her knuckles were scraped raw, blood sluggishly trickling down them. She then pulled her hands back, shaking them as the blood splattered onto muddy ground. 

The pain gave her some clarity - and with it came the rest. An explosion of pain across her face where Vashti’s skull had smashed into it. A hazy dizziness still at the back of her skull. A dull ache in her whole body from falling to the ground, wrestling with Vashti in the mud. But it didn’t get rid of the pain that bothered her the most. The agony deep inside of her where it felt her soul had been ripped out. It would never come back. But it was enough to stop the tears, the weak things she hated shedding so much. 

She turned back to Britney and Greyson as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t just been crying, and as if she hadn’t punched something until her hands bled. She raised a bloody hand to wipe away the tears, lips pulling up into a smile. It didn't reach her eyes. 

It was an incredibly jarring shift. 

[color=CD5C5C]”Well, that was a fucking bust,”[/color] Linqian grimaced, acting if everything [i]was[/i] okay. She actively avoided looking over at anyone else, even as she finally replied to Auri’s stupid shout. [color=CD5C5C]”Linqian.”[/color]

She then tilted her head up to properly look at Britney and Greyson. She should just go, make sure Huanyi was alright… but he’d said he’d be out again tonight, probably not back until midnight. The house would be empty. She couldn’t handle that emptiness. Not where there should be four other people- not where [i]he[/i] should be. Not in that house filled with memories that was no longer a home. She couldn't. [color=CD5C5C]”Either of you have plans for after this? I need to-”[/color]

What did she need? A drink, but she couldn’t have that, she had a ten hour shift tomorrow. It was a bad idea, anyway. Some fun? Sure, but that wasn’t really it. That would just be a want. No, this was a need, she-

[color=CD5C5C]”I need to not be alone.”[/color]

The words came out as a hoarse whisper that only Britney and Greyson would be able to hear. She bit down on her lip, eyes dropping to the floor. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to say that… or had she? 

No, she hadn’t.

[color=CD5C5C]"Father Wolf is still around, y’know, and we don't all have a live-in ex boyfriend for protection."[/color] At least she assumed that was why Greyson was staying with Britney. 

It was a pathetic excuse, playing it off as a joke, when she’d gladly welcome his knife.  At least then, she’d know peace - either in the nothingness that came after, or joining Jinhai in the afterlife. Was there any point in delaying the inevitable sweet release? Why couldn't Vashti have given her that today? 

Her smile dropped again, only making what she'd meant clearer.

There was a part of her that for once didn’t care if they saw just how broken she was. Vulnerability made her weak - but it was fine. Let them take advantage of it if they wanted to. Use her, kill her, she didn’t care. How could it get any worse?

The worst had already happened. Twice.

They probably had plans anyway. Britney would check on Lila, she assumed, and Greyson... Well he'd want to spend time with just Britney. There was always Aryin- Linqian caught sight of Aryin leaving out of the corner of her eye.

Nevermind.

[color=CD5C5C]”Don’t worry about it, you probably have plans.”[/color]

A lack of the usual confidence. She didn’t have the energy to keep it up. Not here, not now.

It was fine if she went back to the empty house.

Either she’d die quickly when Father Wolf finally came for her, or she’d suffer hours alone until her next shift, when she had to be fine again.

Just like always.