[hr][center][sub][color=cecece]Bé and Todd[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]St. Portwell, Oregon [ House on the Hill ][/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [color=cecece]Familial Greetings[/color] [color=ea3333]《》[/color] [[@Aeolian]Bé, Gisèle, Todd, [@Atrophy]Sloane, [@Estylwen]Aislin, [@NoriWasHere]Jasper, [@AtomicEmperor]Leon][/sub][/center][hr][table][row][/row][row][cell][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5383761][img]https://i.imgur.com/lYnRbBy.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5383761][img]https://i.imgur.com/QEMSLIf.jpg[/img][/url][color=2e2c2c]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/color][/cell][cell][quote] [color=8d8e8f] Despite the glazed, uninterested expression resting lifelessly upon Bé's countenance, he had, in fact, not completely disassociated since arriving in the meeting room with Gisèle and Todd. The young Frenchman had been listening keenly to the situation unfolding. After all, his life was on the line with this existential menace threatening to wipe them clean from the face of the earth, and frankly, Bé had no intention of letting anyone or anything take him out against his own volition. And despite his mild misanthropic views of the world and its inhabitants, there were a few people for whom he did not wish that misfortune upon. One of them had called out to him at that moment, garnering his focused gaze. Their eyes met, Bé and she, Sloane and he. It had been the first time they were in a tangible distance from one another since, heavens, who knows how long. But despite the years they had not seen each other, Bé couldn't help that her presence and gaze graciously offered him a moment of respite from the malignant ooze seeping from the pores of almost everyone else there. He could smell them, or perhaps that was Luca, bitter-tasting, decaying fruit better left to wither into the dirt from which it came. But for now, at least, if it is any consolation, she was here and he was glad for that. Bé returned to her a feeble smile. He was not much for grinning. This was the best he could muster at the moment. Meanwhile, Todd had been listening to, though his expression portrayed the exact opposite of Bé's. He smiled warmly to everyone who met his gaze, giving a cute, familial wave. Warmth; that was the aura Todd radiated from his being. When Aislin approached, he stood. [b]“Well I'll be damned, you guys finally showed up!”[/b] Aislin said. When she put out her hand for a shake, Todd took it with his hand, but then pulled her in for a soft, gentle hug. He was a hugger after all and this felt more in kind to how things used to be. No need for formalities. Aislin was like a cute younger sister, head in the clouds, but always good natured from what he remembered. It was nice to see she kept her spirit all these years. He grabbed her by the sides of her arms, releasing her from his embrace, [color=fff200]"It's good to see you too, Aislin,"[/color] Todd said in a calm, almost paternal tone. Aislin continued, [b]“Come closer to the crowd, we don't bite. At least, we don't bite much.” She joked. “We're expecting another magical faction to be joining us soon, so you'll be able to make a lot of new friends today.”[/b] Bé watched how they interacted with a tempered sort of interests. He remembered Aislin. Spunky, friendly thing. But she was never grounded in reality and frustrated him endlessly. Still, unlike some of the others, she was one of the more tolerable ones, even he had to admit to himself. That wasn't enough to coax him into dropping his cold gaze, so he simply shook his head. [color=00a99d]"I'm fine here."[/color] he said bluntly. Todd looked at Bé with a peculiar gaze, [i]not the friendly sort[/i], he thought, turning back to Aislin, [color=fff200]"A magical faction...friends, you say? Hmmm...Okay...Sure, no biting though."[/color] he said with a cheeky grin. Gisèle was a bit of a wallflower, despite her beauty, so she clung Bé's side against the back wall. He was the only familiar prescence to her there. Todd looked back at her, ignoring Bé, who seemed preoccupied with some kind of revelry, [color=fff200]"Will you be okay?"[/color] Todd asked her in a sweet tone. Gisèle nodded, showing a ghost of a smile, [b]"Mhmm, I'll be okay here with my cousin for now."[/b] Todd nodded, [color=fff200]"Okay,"[/color] and set off behind Aislin to move closer to the group. Left to his own devices, Bé just remained where he was. There was too much going on, too many voices and smells in this small, splintered room. He just wanted to leave to a place of quiet and solitude. Bé let out a deep sigh, crossing his arms when he noticed Leon approaching with outstretched arms. [b]"Mon Dieu, Bé!? Bé!?"[/b] Leon said. Bé staggered, not out of disgust, but rather vexation. [color=00a99d]"Bonjour, Leon..."[/color] Bé said cooly, running his hand through his curly locks, not showing any particular interest or spirit in his very formal greeting. Bé hadn't even thought that Leon would be here. A silly assumption. He immediately remembered their night of passion, but in his mind, he was emotionally vulnerable during that time. He had just committed a terrible act; letting a coven member die to the Stygian Snake and in his rage for the lies wrought against him, had transformed the corpose into a charm bracelet. He fidgted with the gilded accessory on his wrist, remembering how not long after, he had slept with Leon in the spur of the moment when the opportunity presented itself. Hell, he had been the one to initiate it. Very out of character for him, having given little thought to the consequences of said action. Bé just needed something to distract his mind from everything that had transpired, and Leon just happened to be in the right place at the right time. That was, at least, how he justified it to himself. His first foray into fornication. And his last. Bé continued looking at him blankly, not planning to reciporcate the hugging, as Todd probably would have. Frankly, he didn't know how to react to the only man, the only person, he had ever lied with. It was, unfamiliar territory all over again. It made it uncomfortable. But just then, Bé perked up as a strange, child-shaped shadowy creature burst into the room and fell onto the floor withering in pain. It could speak, that much was clear, so obviously it was human. Bé looked at the thing curiously, beside him, Gisèle covered her mouth in horror, murmuring some French epithet in shock. From his vantage point, from his immediate analysis of everyone's reaction, they must of have known this creature, because some of them rushed to aid the small abomination. Bé took note of the crystal protruding from it. He felt, a strange energy emanating from the boy. Strange indeed. Before he had too much time to react, however, Leon grabbed him by the shoulders, manuerving him out of harms way. How chilvarous. Bé's attention turned back to Leon after this, watching him charge out the room, sword in hand. Greenwood? Who was Greenwood? Bé was unfamiliar with this party, but braced himself beside Gisèle in case something even more sinister popped off. See? This is why he wanted to stay away from these people. Only a few minutes here and already he could feel himself being dragged into the trenches. These people were magnates for chaos. As everything unfolded, Bé remained still, watching everything unfold; Luca withering the crystal down to dust and then passing out on the boy they called, Clancy. Stormy and Sully going over to assist with her own unique capabilities. [i]Here we go again[/i], Bé ruminated. Todd had kept a close eye on everything transpiring too. He had moved to go help the shadow boy, but when they resolved the matter, he sighed, glad things hadn't escalated further. Well, they had escalated further when Luca passed out and the threat of Greenwood betrayal was floated. He moved closer to Luca's unconscious form. The poor lad. One had awoken and the other had fallen in its place. Todd kneeled next to Jasper, rustling through the satchel hung across his firm, atheltic body, before pulling out something organic and leafy, shaped like a small amorphous sphere of jelly. It had a unique scent, like moonflower and mint and was soft to the touch. [color=fff200]"Jasper, give him this when he wakes. It's an anodyne. Have him eat it to help with any lingering pain that may persist."[/color] After passing off the medicinal object and patting Jasper on the shoulder as reassurance, Todd righted himself just as Greenwood walked in. He looked at them with cautious anticipation, but his posture relaxed slightly once they brought out pizza and seemed to be here under positive pretenses. This was the Greenwood he had overheard everyone speaking of. The Greenwood Aislin had mentioned to him earlier. Okay okay, so they're here to help. Good. His natural instinct was to lead and to greet them, but for now, he'd remain alert and supportive. He had just returned to the coven. He'd see how the new dynamics unfolded before fully integrating his own ideas into the fold. [center] [hider=NPCs] Gisèle, Bé's Cousin [img]https://i.imgur.com/txSNzt9.png[/img] Marceau, Bé's Bodyguard (Currently off somewhere taking a piss, not fulfilling his duties.) [img]https://i.imgur.com/E3YCUO0.png[/img] [/hider] [/center] [/color][/quote][/cell][/row][/table]