The House on the Hill

Interactions: Todd (@Aeolian), Ruby (@Shin Ghost Note)

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"It's good to see you too, Aislin,"

Aislin grinned warmly, happy to have reunited with a friend. As Greenwood situated themselves and started talking with the gathered group, Aislin went fishing in her backpack. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a small wooden case that had the faint smell of kush on it. To any savvy toker, they'd realize it was a discreet one-hooter.

“Want some?” She asked, shaking it in her hand lightly like it was a pile of candy.

Don't mention them. Tell the coven and they kill us all. Hold your tongue. The only threats are Father Wolf, 8th Street and the Wolfpack. We can talk later.

A muscle ticked in Luna's jaw as she stared at Anya.

Wasn't planning on it.

Not that she would assume Anya could read the thought back, but she thought it anyway. A part of her would be more intrigued by the thought of Anya actually being able to transfer thoughts, if she wasn't so annoyed.

Those sons of bitches that took her Mother would get it, one way or another. They were obsessed with Sycamore more than she was, and she was love-sick. There was no doubt in her mind they had been harassing Clancy. But a photo would have made it one-hundred percent assured.

Harassing. Hah. If harassing entailed murderous intentions. That was just how Dollhouse operated.

"If not... then the Sycamore Tree Coven has some blanks I'd like filled. Tell me about ya'll. Your names. What you can do. What you have done."

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Layla stood there silently, feeling the weight of Luna's hands on her shoulders, trying to count her breaths. Ruby had told her they'd talk later. That this could wait.

All she could think of was the nonsensical-ness of a face pristine by magic, even though it was a gunshot to the brain that caused the death. How strange it was to see a face that appeared to be sleeping, but you knew, deep down, they would never be getting up off that metal table. How cruel it was to hear the brokenness of an apparition as they said their final goodbyes. An apparition that knew only hate, strength, and domination, but was broken, absolutely broken at their other half, their human counter part, taken from them.

The unfairness of it.

The lack of accountability as Greenwood pranced in here, despite being monsters. Especially Naomi. The lack of concern. The narcissism.

Did Alizée not matter?

Was everyone just going to brush her death under the rug, without pushing for justice by the ones who were truly responsible?

Layla gritted her teeth, shrugging Luna's hand off her shoulders.

"I can't believe you. All of you.”

Her eyes narrowed at Ruby.“You're harboring a member that's directly responsible for getting our Coven into a fight with the Wolfpack, and causing one of our members to die. And you're acting like that’s ‘no big deal’, like ‘we can talk about it later’, like I'll hush up like a good little bitch and let you just walk this one off!”

Luna’s eyes widened, before her face settled into a neutral mask.

Layla continued. “I may not have been there, but I've got the memories of an apparition who’s life was destroyed after what you did. I know how Naomi egged her on, how Alizée was getting ready to leave, before Naomi fired her up and served her up to Wolfpack on a silver platter!”

She jerked her chin toward Luna, and growled, “Play what you have, spy.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I don't-”

Layla stamped her foot, her face twisting to glare at Luna head on. Luna stared back for a long moment, before she shrugged, pulled out her phone, scrolled, and played an audio file. Distorted, like she had taken it from a distance. The voice playing was none other than Naomi.

"You motherfuckers think you can do all this shit, try to fuckin' kill our friend, then try to kill us for trying to stop you from killing our friend, and then just up and leave.”

Luna moved her finger on her screen, and cut a little further into the recording.

"I'm not sure if she's a part of your Coven, but you guys really need to get her on a leash because, trust, there are lots of people in St. Portwell who would have done a lot worse to her.”

Layla fumed, staring hard at Ruby while the recording played. As it finished, she waved her arm at Luna’s phone. “Naomi said it herself. Alizée was getting ready to leave. She knew Alizée was easy to anger, she knew Wolfpack was on the way. She knew everyone needed to leave, else suffer. And what did she do?!”

Layla curled her little hands into fists. “It's her fault Alizée is dead. Naomi goes, or I refuse to acknowledge this alliance.”

---

For all his gloom, Jack liked to consider himself an optimist. There was usually some silver lining to the way things went, and in this case, it was that the alliance had real potential thus far. Greenwood wasn’t asking for much in return: Vengeance when they had already been craving for it themselves. There was something to resonate over, and then Layla had to throw a wrench in it. Jack’s fave twisted up in bitter contempt for a brief moment, before falling back to dead neutral.

“I may not have been there, but I've got the memories of an apparition who’s life was destroyed after what you did. I know how Naomi egged her on, how Alizée was getting ready to leave, before Naomi fired her up and served her up to Wolfpack on a silver platter!”

What exactly did she know, when the Void Heart had its possessive hooks in her just as much as Alizeé?

“Naomi said it herself. Alizée was getting ready to leave. She knew Alizée was easy to anger, she knew Wolfpack was on the way. She knew everyone needed to leave, else suffer. And what did she do?!”

“It's her fault Alizée is dead. Naomi goes, or I refuse to acknowledge this alliance.”

”The Wolfpack is responsible for her death,” Jack corrected, with a firm tone. ”The Wolfpack opened fire on her, executed her as they had fully intended to execute everyone present during that incident. Alizeé left Auri’s shop before that incident happened, immediately after we discussed a now-deceased member’s connection to the government. She left because she felt cornered, and Alizeé’s mind went to dangerous places when she did not feel safe. ”

”I remember that conversation.” Stormy cut in. ”What you’re hearing there is Naomi Rodgers talking to me. I had to step in to keep her from attacking. That was right before the Wolfpack arrived. Britney can tell you she wasn’t up to anything great.”

”Thank you. Naomi is entirely innocent regarding the death of Alizeé, as I am certain the House of Card’s spy knows, since she was clearly present. Greenwood, pay no mind to her,” Jack said, addressing the others and disregarding Layla. ”Layla is not Sycamore. She is associated with the Temple.” It was taking considerable restraint and patience for Jack to not delve into a tangent on why she wasn’t actually one of them. So instead, he just left it largely at that.

”Now… To answer your question. Some of you already know me from our first meeting during the festival. Jack Hawthorne, red-purple Adept, I specialize in shadow-based spells and dimensional navigation. I can be virtually anywhere on this planet within a matter of seconds. I have been to the Void and back, and I personally followed the Stygian Snake through several worlds during the conflict against it.” That sounded like bragging, but Ruby was asking about who they were and what they could do, so it was the answer she got. Jack thought it would be best if they just completely avoided entertaining Layla’s bullshit anymore than that. It was opened, it was shut, it was in the past.

The adults were talking, not her.

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Linqian was still pretty fucking tense about the whole shadow creature thing, but the alluring smell of pizza and other food wafted into the room. Her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl and she pursed her lips. Fuck. She basically hadn't eaten since last night, outside of a few snacks, but really?

At least everything seemed under control for now... Her temperature raised up back to normal, and she dropped her hands into something more relaxed. Aryin dropping her guard when Greenwood walked in really helped. If her friend trusted them, then she did too. She knew exactly what that look was in her eye too… and it made her smirk.

She just nodded to Greenwood and went over to one of the pizza boxes, grabbed a slice of something covered in vegetables, and started munching. Fuck, it was nice to eat someone she hadn't cooked for once... Without being so drunk she threw it up.

Of course, Layla started shit as she made her way back over to Edict and Britney, leaning against the bar with a scowl. At least Jack shut shit down pretty quickly, just moving on… but Layla had some thing against Jack, from what Linqian had seen, so she figured she’d shut it down too. She didn’t want to deal with more of the fucking whining. Who gave a fuck about the Void?

”Layla,” Linqian said in a tired, warning tone - much like an exhausted mother would take with an unruly child. She was too fucking tired to get truly pissed about it. Really, she just wanted some pizza. And if these Greenwood guys could help them find Father Wolf and get revenge? She wanted that. ”Alizee got herself killed. From what Bea- Bianca told me she fucking kidnapped one of their members. If anything they should be pissed at us. Fuck, we all got fucking shot because of her. Thanks, by the way.”

She glanced over at Kashmira. ”A bunch more of us would be fucking dead if it wasn't for their healer. So step the fuck back.”

Linqian leaned in towards Edict, lowering her voice. ”Can you mind drug her again? She’s a real fucking pain like this. Or would that piss off Leon’s cult?”

Honestly, she was beginning to tolerate Layla, in part thanks to her getting along with Henri, but now? Absolutely not. She was going to do something fucking stupid and there was no way Linqian was letting her brother near that again.

”Fuck does he love himself,” Linqian muttered to Edict and Britney as Jack started up a thankfully slightly shorter speech. She didn’t have a problem with Jack, really, but his constant talking was really grating on her already thin nerves today. Fuck, she hadn’t slept enough for that.

”You work with the Temple? Fuck the Temple- heh, literally, that seems to be the trend,” Linqian looked over at Aryin with a smirk. ”If you've gotta alliance with them, keep the cult bullshit away from us. Sure, we've got fucking Leon over here, but we're cool with him not his fucking religious family bullshit.”

”I’m Linqian Han. She then said, after getting her complaining in. I'm not gonna go on like Jack did. Red-green adept, temperature magic primarily. I was on the frontline against the Snake, but I've spent the last ten years working outside of this shit till fucking Father Wolf killed my brother. I want him fucking dead.”

Her tone was neutral, and her emotions mostly lacking. She didn’t feel much at all today beyond a constant, gnawing irritation threatening to burst out. So close to snapping, with apathy being the only thing stopping it from happening right now.

”I’ve already introduced myself, but I suppose I should go into some more detail, to get to know each other,” Anya started with that fake smile of hers that always rubbed Linqian the wrong way.

Linqian rolled her eyes with a groan, complaining quietly to Edict and Britney, ”fuck, speaking of someone else who loves herself.”

”I’m a pink-purple-orange-gold Adept.”

”And don’t we all fucking know it,” Linqian whispered.

”I can physically enter dreams and manipulate them when I’m within them, along with observing whatever is happening. I can infuse objects so that they induce dreams and ward away nightmares. We were just discussing the possibility of our meetings being held within dreams, so we can’t be tracked or attacked. I’m hoping to develop a spell in case we decide to go that route.”

”Fuck, I don’t want her pulling my fucking dreams into other people’s- why did you suggest that shit, Greyson? I’d rather get fucking stabbed.”

”I can also summon from dreams - my own and other people’s. Creatures of all shapes and sizes, which I can command. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do this when we fought the Stygian Snake.”

”Fuckkkk, she can summon from dreams now?” Linqian was getting more irate the more Anya went on, whispered bitching to Edict and Britney getting just a little louder and more aggressive. She just really fucking wanted to get past this getting to know each other bullshit and to the important shit - beating 8th down, and killing Father Wolf. ”If she summons from mine… oh fuck, that’d be so fucked. Nobody wants to fucking see that.”

”Hopefully, we can help each other take out current threats, and maybe us Adepts can work with and learn from each other. Like Sloane, I wasn’t at the previous meeting, so I’m unsure how much you know about us as a coven. We’re recently reformed, so there’s still some teething problems.”

”Asshole member problems more like,” Linqian muttered under her breath. Fuck, she really couldn’t take this anymore. When was Anya going to shut the fuck up?

”Most of us left after fighting the Stygian Snake. Only some of us stayed in the city, working in ways we could to clean up the mess left behind. We don’t have the same companionship you do, unfortunately. Our primary accomplishment as a group was defeating the Stygian Snake. We knew each other as teenagers, but many of us lost contact. Went away. Left-”

”Oh shut the fuck up,” Linqian jumped up, temperature beginning to tick up again. She really couldn’t stand it. This bitch was just going on and on, and Linqian may be fucking stupid, but she wasn’t so stupid she couldn’t read the subtext. Everyone else abandoned the city, nobody stayed behind like their saviours Sloane and Anya who were always protecting it- fuck! ”Stop the bullshit, just fucking say it. You think we all fucking abandoned some shit cause, and we don’t have any fucking achievements like they do.”

Anya’s smile widened, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Linqian only got more pissed at that. ”That wasn’t what I was saying, Linqian.”

”Sure it fucking wasn’t. Fuck, why bring up that any of us left? Sorry we had fucking lives. Fuck off with you’re above us bullshit, some of us had to work to not fucking starve,” she rolled her eyes, turning to Ruby with sneer. ”Sorry, we’re not a fucking ‘companionship’ coven or whatever. Some of us can help beating up the assholes, but we’re not a fucking team - half of us hate each other.”

Before anyone could say anything, she threw up her hands. Heat, not quite high enough to burn, radiated off her along with anger and distress. Linqian blowing up wasn’t unusual - but Linqian blowing up over something that wasn’t even directed at her, a speech she’d generally just ignore, was a bit off. She felt off. A frustration had been boiling under the surface since she found Jinhai’s spellbook, an intense rage at the whole fucking world, and Anya was just the one that had opened the lid.

”Why the fuck hide our shit, they’d find out eventually. Most of you are only here to save your own fucking skins anyway, and the rest of us are here to kill that fucking bastard. That’s it. Fucking self protection or revenge.”

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After Adora tried to defuse things after Lila (intentionally or not) tried starting shit, the Adoras stood by Lila and the others as she listened to Greenwood. Sloane asked the golden questions, and Ruby was obliged to yap. For once, she listened; well, for most of it, there was a genuineness in Ruby's speech and demeanor. Adora thought Greenwood was legit; she would be all for joining them if she ever decided to get back into magic. Though, things were peaceful, until...

"I can't believe you. All of you. You're harboring a member that's directly responsible for getting our Coven into a fight with the Wolfpack, and causing one of our members to die. And you're acting like that’s ‘no big deal’, like ‘we can talk about it later’, like I'll hush up like a good little bitch and let you just walk this one off! I may not have been there, but I've got the memories of an apparition who’s life was destroyed after what you did. I know how Naomi egged her on, how Alizée was getting ready to leave, before Naomi fired her up and served her up to Wolfpack on a silver platter! Play what you have, spy. Naomi said it herself. Alizée was getting ready to leave. She knew Alizée was easy to anger, she knew Wolfpack was on the way. She knew everyone needed to leave, else suffer. And what did she do?! It's her fault Alizée is dead. Naomi goes, or I refuse to acknowledge this alliance.”

... This idiot started talking. The Adoras facepalmed, all sympathy she had for Layla evaporating instantly. Going off of the recording, Layla was leaving out a lot, but from what Adora knew Alizee and the testicle were up to no good. How could Layla say an Apparition's life was 'destroyed' when said Apparition was hurting people?

”Layla, Alizee got herself killed. From what Bea- Bianca told me she fucking kidnapped one of their members. If anything they should be pissed at us. Fuck, we all got fucking shot because of her. Thanks, by the way. A bunch more of us would be fucking dead if it wasn't for their healer. So step the fuck back.”

And there it was. On the other side of the story that Layla was leaving out, Naomi did mention that Alizee was trying to kill her friend. Greenwood didn't seem like the type of person to start shit; at least, that's what Adora gleaned from them.

”...Layla is not Sycamore. She is associated with the Temple.”

Wow. Harsh.

Adora thought to herself, noting the sharp pivot Jack took from being all 'We shouldn't get rid of even the traitors' to 'Fuck Layla.' I mean, she's far from sympathetic right now. Adora thought to herself. Adora glanced at Ruby, and the girl looked like she was ready to explode. Okay, it was time to de-escalate things before the Coven dogpiles Layla as they did to Sloane, and the situation got worse.

All three of the Adoras went over to Layla—one wrapped their arms around her shoulder, and the other two gently grabbed her hands. They all smiled at Layla (the best-forced smile Adora could force) as they attempted to maneuver her out of the room before the situation worsened.

All three of them spoke at the same time,

"Heeey! Let's go outside so we can chill out! Okay? Okay!" The Adoras turned their noses up at Luna, though. The girl knew exactly what she was doing when she showed the recording of what Naomi said: she was trying to make a scene to throw attention off herself. Either by throwing their new allies under the bus or letting Layla make an ass of herself!

”Luna, how the fuck can you be all 'Not now' then be all for it?!” The Adoras sharply hissed at Luna, pointing their fingers at her as they led Layla out of the room. "You know exactly what you are doing, you shady bitch!""

Now, they had to get Layla out of there before shit escalated.

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Things were going so well...

"I can't believe you. All of you. You're harboring a member that's directly responsible for getting our Coven into a fight with the Wolfpack, and causing one of our members to die. And you're acting like that’s ‘no big deal’, like ‘we can talk about it later’, like I'll hush up like a good little bitch and let you just walk this one off! I may not have been there, but I've got the memories of an apparition who’s life was destroyed after what you did. I know how Naomi egged her on, how Alizée was getting ready to leave, before Naomi fired her up and served her up to Wolfpack on a silver platter! Play what you have, spy. Naomi said it herself. Alizée was getting ready to leave. She knew Alizée was easy to anger, she knew Wolfpack was on the way. She knew everyone needed to leave, else suffer. And what did she do?! It's her fault Alizée is dead. Naomi goes, or I refuse to acknowledge this alliance.”

... Then this bitch had to start talking. All earlier suspicions about this girl being Alizee's sister or family member were all but confirmed - only a grieving family member could go through this level of mental gymnastics! As she spoke, Ruby clutched her staff, having to use what little restraint she had to not splatter this bitch. Ruby wanted to talk about it in a private setting, maybe come to a mutual understanding, but when this bitch went on her one-sided rant - even presenting "evidence" that only showed one half of the story - Ruby knew that this bitch was a lost cause. Also, by reading her emotions, Ruby saw the righteous fury in the gal... which meant that she fully believed herself to be the victim. Ruby stepped forward, ready to give this bitch hell...

”The Wolfpack is responsible for her death. The Wolfpack opened fire on her, executed her as they had fully intended to execute everyone present during that incident. Alizeé left Auri’s shop before that incident happened, immediately after we discussed a now-deceased member’s connection to the government. She left because she felt cornered, and Alizeé’s mind went to dangerous places when she did not feel safe.”

”I remember that conversation. What you’re hearing there is Naomi Rodgers talking to me. I had to step in to keep her from attacking. That was right before the Wolfpack arrived. Britney can tell you she wasn’t up to anything great.”

”Thank you. Naomi is entirely innocent regarding the death of Alizeé, as I am certain the House of Card’s spy knows, since she was clearly present. Greenwood, pay no mind to her. Layla is not Sycamore. She is associated with the Temple.”

Jack and Stormy immediately spoke out against Layla in Greenwood's defense... which was enough to make Ruby step back. She looked at Jack's emotions, he was livid after what Layla said, and that was enough to make Ruby refrain from giving this bitch the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. Though, she would have to talk to Lynette after this... Ruby glanced at Leon for a moment.

”Layla, Alizee got herself killed. From what Bea- Bianca told me she fucking kidnapped one of their members. If anything they should be pissed at us. Fuck, we all got fucking shot because of her. Thanks, by the way. A bunch more of us would be fucking dead if it wasn't for their healer. So step the fuck back.”

"... Thank you," Ruby rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but sigh in relief because there were people with some sense in their Coven. Though, Ruby couldn't help but be petty.

”...If anything they should be pissed at us.”

"We're not," Ruby said with a shrug. "Simply because she just wasn't one of ya'll, sorry to tell you the truth. Matter fact; she tried throwing ya'll under the bus to protect the people she actually cared about."

Ruby shrugged again before she added, "The fact that she's jumping up and down for someone that clearly doesn't fuck with them is just sad."

Ruby made sure it was loud enough for Layla to hear. She could care less if she caused the alliance to collapse because she would rather die than be allied with a group that has this bitch in them. God. Ruby needed to smoke, and not a cigarette... She broke their agreement to show up to the meeting sober and pulled out a rolled-up joint that she had shoved into her pocket. Ruby slid it into her mouth, pulled out her lighter, and lit it. Ruby took in a deep puff as she wanted to smoke this dumbass bitch away.

However, they were arguing by the time she had finished, but honestly... she could care less.

The House on the Hill

Interactions: Jack (@Blizz), Linqian (@FernStone), Adora/Ruby (@Shin Ghost Note)

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”What you’re hearing there is Naomi Rodgers talking to me. I had to step in to keep her from attacking. That was right before the Wolfpack arrived. Britney can tell you she wasn’t up to anything great.”

”Thank you. Naomi is entirely innocent regarding the death of Alizeé, as I am certain the House of Card’s spy knows, since she was clearly present.”

Luna pocketed her phone, keeping her mouth firmly shut. Layla was looking between the three of them, a bit at a loss for words.

Was she, in fact, wrong?

The doubt showed on Layla's porcelain face. Sure, she might have had mixed feelings regarding Stormy, and even more mixed emotions regarding Jack. But that was already two against one. And she knew she couldn't float on a word all by herself.

”A bunch more of us would be fucking dead if it wasn't for their healer. So step the fuck back.”

Layla's jaw dropped a little, looking directly at Linqian. “You… really mean that, Jea-jie…?”

She was looking like a child that got admonished by a parent, and her cheeks flushed slightly. The doubt coloring her face increased, her brows furrowing.

”Layla is not Sycamore. She is associated with the Temple.”

Before her doubt got erased by rage as Jack mentally slapped her across her face. Her ears were practically ringing as she stared daggers at him.

"Heeey! Let's go outside so we can chill out! Okay? Okay!

Layla flinched as she felt Adora's hands on her. She resisted, wanting to take another step towards Jack, trying to raise her hands.

“I am Sycamore, you sonofabitch.” She growled, baring her teeth.

Before she let the Adoras have their way, and cart her angry face outside.

”Luna, how the fuck can you be all 'Not now' then be all for it?! You know exactly what you are doing, you shady bitch!"

Luna stared back cooly at the Adoras, before a glimmer of a grimace crossed her features. She turned away from the four of them as they left, instead taking up her station behind the bar again. Her hands were instantly busy with glasses, making another drink for herself.

She hummed to herself, before she addressed Ruby. ”Sorry about that. The girl's had it hard. I'm Luna but uh… I think you good folks already know all about me.”

"The fact that she's jumping up and down for someone that clearly doesn't fuck with them is just sad.”

That was the last thing Layla heard before one of the Adora's shut the door, and the four of them were outside.

Layla was gritting her teeth, teetering between rage and grief, hands clenched tight. Before her eyes squeezed shut, and she tried to hide her face from the Adoras watching, feeling the heat behind her eyes turning into unbidden, bitter and emotional tears.

"You can let go of me, I'm good.” She said in a tight, wobbly voice, desperately trying to keep the tears out of her tone.

House on the Hill
@Estylwen@Shin Ghost Note

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For a little while, Clancy let Ruby run through her introduction, her agenda and the usual spiel.

She shook her head before she continued. "Lyric Brown and Felicia Harvey were murdered by the Das Sonnenrad cult and robbed of their artifacts. Lyric herself was an artificer, and we've been trying to track down her artifacts because hell if we're going to let some skinheads use her hard work to commit hate crimes."

"So, if you can help us find those, then that'd be great—but I don't want to seem like we're doing this for something in return."

Skinheads. Nazis. Clancy had no shortage of enmity for their type. Assholes through and through, and his family had a painful history with them of which he'd only teased out in snippets over time.

The name Das Sonnenrad vaguely rang a bell, but only from local stories. Weren't they all supposed to be dead?

That thought was dispelled shortly.

"... You're a kid,I don't know what they told you, but did you forget that you walked up, got capped by that Wolfpack bitch, and caused that absolute fuckin' pandemonium? You're not doing anything. Sit your ass down."

This again. He'd spent enough time being more this than putting up the facade of the harmless kid with hands-off parents, that he'd nearly forgotten how unconvincing he was.

She had a point, but only in that he had been shot. He hadn't trashed the nightclub, hadn't wanted to be seen, hadn't asked the bikers to try and murder a regular kid for all they knew.

I didn't ask to be shot. Assholes do what they do. And I'm still around, aren't I? Quietly, he bristled with a silent irritation. If she knew what he'd managed outside of town, she might have been a little less dismissive. As it was, he kept his thoughts to himself.

At least he could respect that they seemed to have good intentions, that they wanted to deal with the assholes and the monsters out there. Depending on their interpretation of both, in different times they might've found him, or vice versa.

We'll see.

“Naomi said it herself. Alizée was getting ready to leave. She knew Alizée was easy to anger, she knew Wolfpack was on the way. She knew everyone needed to leave, else suffer. And what did she do?!”

“It's her fault Alizée is dead. Naomi goes, or I refuse to acknowledge this alliance.”

Clancy was decidedly unimpressed by the host-girl's argument for railing against the Greenwood people, all things considered. Fair, they weren't people he knew, but the reason for railing against them didn't even make sense. The bikers shot the French girl, not anyone else.

Linqian's suggestion of mind drugging her seemed like a sensible argument given the stakes they were facing. Jack, the disappearing man, also had the right of it - it wasn't the Greenwood people who tried to murder people, insofsr as he could remember. The bikers were busy enough with that job, even if they sucked at it.

He wondered what stake the white-haired girl had in things to be throwing out random recordings. Had she been following them the whole time?

Eventually, the agitation at the day's events had stacked enough that he had to speak his mind.

"Idiots," Clancy growled. "You're arguing while more than one asshole is out to here to kill some of you. And me, I guess. Good luck to them there."

He pivoted at Layla, jaw set tight as he shot her a cold glare with the singular eye.

"The French girl let that parasite try and eat their friend, from what I'm hearing. They didn't shoot her. If you want to blame anyone... shooting started because I make a good target. So maybe that's on the assholes who tried shooting me. Or maybe it's just me you gotta blame for not scaring. It's shitty, but you know what? There's a mountain of names I don't even remember anymore... it's just a drop in the bucket."

The memory of that cold, entropic embodiment of predatory contempt that had taunted him only added fuel to the fire, the more he thought about it. That it had seen him as something amusing when he wanted nothing more than to be far away from some monster'us plaything.

"You and the French girl... Alizee? You were being played, and you're getting weepy over some parasite that fed on people, no rules, no limits... I get it - it sucks, because I know what it's like to be alone and stuck that way, always cold and starving." To emphasise the point, he jabbed a finger at the as-of-yet empty eyesocket and the black void contained within. "Nobody asks for it. But at least you got away from that, you still have a life... until this wolf asshole sticks you in the back and you waste it-.."

He was about to say more, but Adora - Adoras? He hadn't noticed that before - all three of her had stepped in, and he could see she was trying to defuse things before it descended into another pissing match over stupid high school grudges. Given how fair she'd been with him earlier, he felt a need to try and give some credit where it was due, and not worsen that.

He shot her a knowing look as the door clapped behind them.

"-..be angry, but deal with the assholes first.."

That much he said to the rest of them, still left in the room.

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"We don't teleport out of it... We open a hole, we have someone keep it safe, do what we have to do, and then leave through the door we came through. The Temple would offer its services if that meant extending an olive branch to us, and I'd be happy to coordinate it. Especially if... One of the Blessed Pale Adepts says they saw me in a vision... I'm compelled to answer that call."

Britney cringed at the thought of allowing the Temple to help them. What made her cringe harder was Leon's thought that he could open a hole into the Pit. Or the fact that it was a good idea at all. All the horrors that were down there—Abyssal Hunters, Autoknights, the other multiversal threats, and Sunshine fucking Jones-that they could easily let out. Britney sighed at Leon before counting off with her fingers.

”... The Deathpile, The Great Maw, The Rampage,” Britney named three beings. ”Maybe you all don't know what they are, but those three are up there with Stiggy that are currently being contained in the Pit. I don't know about you all, but I'd rather not replace Stiggy."

However, the whole conversation about the Pit was interrupted when something charged into the room... Britney clenched the Noble Vow tightly, not recognizing it as everyone assumed defensive positions. However, she recognized scraps of the creature's face - it was Ashley's cousin. This was all the confirmation that Britney needed that "Clancy" was not what he said he was. Hell, she was somewhat suspicious that he was Father Wolf himself! Not so tough, are you? Britney cracked a wry grin.

Though there was a crystal in his chest, a few different things could come to mind, but due to the whole 'infinite possibilities' schtick magic had, Britney couldn't pin it down without further examination. Britney took a few steps forward to get a look at it like Layla said... then Luca grabbed the fucking thing. She couldn't help but tilt her head at Luca's sheer stupidity. He had no clue what the crystal was, and he wanted to touch it - it could have been a magical bomb, for God's sake! Though, if Luca couldn't rot it away, they could be in some deep shit...

The crystal decayed, and Sully healed Clancy... Britney sighed in relief and took a seat by Greyson - who had his gun drawn. Britney stuck her hand out and gently lowered it, gesturing for him to take it easy. If Britney hadn't thought any better, their timing would have been a bit suspicious, but Britney would have given them the benefit of the doubt nonetheless. However, Britney let everyone else do the talking and just placed the Noble Vow on her lap as she listened, waiting for her turn to introduce herself - which she had already done yesterday. Britney mentally noted various things that were said... and cringed her fucking eyes out at Ruby's mention of the Temple.

Britney facepalmed.

They are everywhere I fucking go.

However, things were peaceful until Layla opened her mouth... and divebombed the meeting. Layla threw out some bold accusations, blaming the Greenwood member Naomi for Alizee's death. Luna pulled out her phone, and they played two (wildly out of context) recordings to prove Naomi was to blame. Jack, Stormy, and Linqian immediately shot that down by defending Greenwood, and Layla was acting surprised when she didn't get the reaction she wanted. Britney facepalmed. What was she expecting to happen? Did she think the Coven, some of whom really wanted this alliance, would throw it all away because she said so? Was Layla SERIOUSLY that delusional? Did she honestly think the Void Heart was the victim here? Neither Greenwood nor the Wolfpack was responsible for Alizee's death; it was the testicle and her own combined stupidity.

Adora led Layla out of the room before she could make a bigger ass of herself, but the damage was already done. The meeting was tossed around despite their best efforts. Though, Britney couldn't help but turn to Luna and (cattily) say,

”... You know, this really raises the question of what else you got on that phone of yours." Britney chuckled and left it at that.

However, Linqian began flipping out on Anya, and Britney facepalmed. Jesus Christ, can we not look like a band of incompetent, dysfunctional jackasses? Britney facepalmed. Well, it was up to Britney to try and fix things. She hopped up, ran over to Linqian, threw her arm around Linqian's shoulder, and smiled at her.

”... Linqian, chill.” Britney began. ”Now is not the time.”

However, Britney raised her hands and did the timeout gesture as she said to the group - both Sycamore and Greenwood,

”Heeeeeey, everyone...” Britney started, "... How about we all take five to chill? Grab some pizza. Hell, take a drink.”

---

---

---

Damn it, damn it, damn it...

Shaquita was right on Clancy's trail as he fled. She got sloppy and let those cops get close, ruining the whole thing. However, she was quick to chase after Clancy, being able to hear his frantic movements yet some distance behind him. Yet, Shaquita came to a stop when he charged into the House on the Hill. She mouthed a silent "fuck" as she shook her head. Shaquita knew that room was probably full of Paranormals, and going in there, armed to the teeth or not, was practically a suicide mission - even for her. Shaquita sighed before returning to her SUV parked down the street.

She would have to report this to Luis later, and see what he says on what to do next.

Leon's heart was pounding as he chased a scent to a parking spot that was empty. Half a block away, no clear backup as his legs pounded against the concrete below him. There was nobody to chase; the scent wasn't even explicit: like no Lux had been involved. Only generic perfume that you bought for five dollars at a pharmacy. He tilted his head back, having blown past Greenwood in a rush to find the culprit who had attacked Clancy, and now he was almost certainly missing a commotion. He could vaguely hear the echoes of different voices he'd trained his ear for. Layla, more or less... Causing a fit. Something about poor Alizée.
Spinning on his heels, he took off in a jog back toward the bar.

Things played out around Edict as he did his best to keep the tar monster in his sights. At least until Britney gave him the okay to pull off. It was the freaky kid again, and that was enough for him to think about having blown him away before and put pieces together. The gun? Not gonna help. That was enough. Instead, things began to get hectic with Layla... And Leon hadn't come back yet. He was still outside doing God knows what, and if he'd caught the trail of the person or thing that tried to get this Clancy guy, couldn't that end in trouble?
But, of course, things had to start escalating as soon as the irreverent Greenwood showed up. Just in time to watch Sycamore embarass itself yet again. Layla wasn't helping at all with first impressions, or second impressions really, and the suggestion of wacking her with his powers was brought up.

But Linqian went on a tyrade of her own as Anya started touching nerves. As she finished laying into Anya he cleared his throat and leaned into her slightly.
"Honestly I'm about to drug you, God damn i-"

"... How about we all take five to chill? Grab some pizza. Hell, take a drink.”

Ruby had pulled out her joint, and Edict pointed at it.
"See? Relaxed. Their Boss is chillin'! So should we: Clancy aside, of course, I mean that's kinda more what I'm worried about, right? Like if our position is compromised, or if we feel like this many Adepts in a room can handle a threat?" he asked amorphously, slipping his pistol back into the holster finally and moving for a cigarette of his own.

"-..be angry, but deal with the assholes first.."

Kenshiro released a breath from his nose, making a wide arc around the room, finally standing next to Clancy. Sizing him up. He grinned.
"High sentiment for a ghost wearing a corpse."
His hand moved for a shoulder, patting him gently.
"If I remember correctly, there are assholes with my Girlfriend's notes out there. Important fucking notes. Important fucking assholes. If it makes you Greenwood people feel safe? I'll gladly lend myself to hunting for some other artifacts associated with you... Murakin Kenshiro; you call me Ken. I'm sorry for... Well, assuming you had shot our friend here." he spoke directly to Ruby and Greenwood, waving a hand to Clancy as he referenced him offhandedly.

"Kind of a safe bet with the timing." Edict said in a non-confrontational tone. "Now, I do wanna ask: If y'all already shacked up with 317 and The Temple? And you claim the kill for the nastiest Nazi on the west coast since Walt Disney? Th'fuck do you need to get wrapped up in our business for? Lynette put you up to it or something?" he asked Ruby directly, pushing the Temple button knowing full well that it could put a bit of pressure on the whole situation.
"And this ain't me sayin' we don't want your help: Lord knows I ain't the talking head here... Jack.-" he paused for dramatic effect "-but I'm certainly curious as to why you'd wanna help us out when we're just gonna crumble back to dust when everything's over."
Edict wasn't trying to unhook their cart from Greenwood so much as he was desperately fishing to find out what Greenwood really thought they were going to get.
"You'll have individuals who may tell you they're down to help you out with your artifact problem, like Kenny, but Sycamore is definitely not organized like that."

Outside, Leon was arriving around the time that Adora was escorting Layla from the building.
"God, Layla!... I left for a minute! What the fuck happened, Adora?"
He'd stopped listening at some point, unable to hear past the din of Lelou's typical behavior, so he was genuinely confused and concerned to see that Layla literally had to be removed from the building. Leon did his best to make himself a bit smaller, so as not to be so intimidating in front of Layla with all of her instabilities.

The House on the Hill

Interactions: Britney/Auri @Shin Ghost Note, Jack/Stormy @Blizz

---

---

---

---

”... You know, this really raises the question of what else you got on that phone of yours."

“Nothing that you need to worry about.” Luna said stiffly behind a mouthful of alcohol.

Things were starting to ease out after Layla was escorted from the room, poor girl, especially after Britney called for a timeout. Until a strange occurrence happened.

Glimmers of light began to appear in a slow coalescing circle in front of Jack. They grew in brightness, until chains rimmed the effervescent glow. Quickening their pace. A high-pitched ring like a bell peeling, cutting through the conversation.

Until, within the cloudy depths, a gnarled hand reached out and grabbed Jack by the collar. The rest of the form came forward, revealing a tall, thin girl floating in the air. White hair flowed down to her knees, cold hatred in the red eyes of her skull mask.

As the portal faded away, the chains on her wrists and ankles writhed, almost examining the group surrounding them.

The girl stared hard at Jack, her grip tightening on his collar. Her voice was like distorted metal. “You reek of Void. He's all over you.”

Her hot eyes played over the crowd, pointing out Stormy, Auri, and Britney. “His scent is on you too.”

Her cold anger flexed, and the chains began snaking their way around the ankles of Jack, Stormy, Britney, and Auri. They were attempting to constrict and tighten around her suspects, where she would then squeeze them for answers.

Her attention returned to Jack. “Tell me what you did. What happened to Vul? Where. Is. The Void Heart?”

Luna's eyes widened upon seeing this, drawing a sword of light in her hands as she posed defensively behind the bar.

“Who the hell are you?” She demanded.

The girl in the mask didn't bother looking at Luna, not taking her eyes off Jack for a second as she held his collar.

She merely uttered a few words, in that distorted voice of hers.

“Alizée. Alizée Vul.”

---

It was no surprise people had gone off and broken away from the conversation. Jack could not deny that he sounded hypocritical, advocating for her in private and then being so cold in public. He wanted to give Layla a chance, but she took that notion of hope and twisted it until it snapped. Blatantly working against them when they were so close to getting their foot in the door. When she left, Jack took in a deep breath and mellowed himself out. This was fine, he thought. This wouldn't spoil everything, Greyson even had a good follow-up question: Why were they necessary. He'd let him do the talking for that.

But then everything took a sharp turn in a direction he didn't think would be possible.

A portal opened, right in front of him. Not the kind Jack recognized, and he recognized a lot of things. Chains and fog, and from out of them came a woman with white hair, taller than Jack himself. She grabbed him, and the chains wrapped around his ankles.

She spoke of the Void Heart... Her mask glared through him with eyes red as blood. There was something angry about her, and Jack was put on edge. Rather than be caught off guard, his body language gave off the impression he was one impulse away from attacking this woman. Could it be that- No...

He wouldn't.

“Tell me what you did. What happened to Vul? Where. Is. The Void Heart?”

“Who the hell are you?” She demanded.

“Alizée. Alizée Vul.”

His heart sank like a rock. Jack glared through the mask, back into those eyes. The expression he wore gave it away plainly, exactly what he felt. It made sense now, as quickly as she appeared. This was not her. Jack knew it. Death claimed all, and he was the arbiter of the gates to the Dark. The real Alizee had died that night. This was what the Hound didn't collect from her remains, given a shape by ambient rage. It was angry, a product of the Void, the very place he walked like it was home.

The Black Star weighed heavy against him, beneath his shirt, mere inches away from this spirit's grip. Jack reached up and grabbed the wrist holding him with his own inhuman hand, in a grip that threatened to snap it in two. The real Alizee was shorter than him, didn't speak with that wretched tone. In his other hand, a scythe appeared. All around them, shadows danced at the edges of everyone's vision, little shapes that stretched longer than they should have, that they could watch move if they just looked faster.

"You are not Alizee, creature of the Void." He rejected that notion on the spot. "The real Alizee knew we had both seen things worse than you. Rahk-las hreshnik yuul." "You do not scare me," in the Voidtounge. Even now, he just couldn't help but grandstand a little.

"Whatever you are, you don't want to do this." The chains wrapped around Stormy, but he was ready. His Phantombane aura had gone out, but he held it in his hand, ready to cast at a moments notice to ward off the Apparition if things got bad. In his other hand was the Stoic Shell, in case it had a ranged ability.

"Go back the way you came, princess. Right the fuck now," Amara warned, leveling a pistol at Alizee Vul's face. There were know phantoms in the room. But the Army was always watching.

---

---

Linqian gritted her teeth, trying her best to calm down. She knew now was not the time. She wasn't actually stupid, but it was hard to keep her already explosive temper under control at all. (Something about how touchy she is) But with Britney's arm slung around her shoulder, and Edict leaning into her a bit- even if it was to threaten to mind drug her- she was able to calm down just a bit. She tilted towards Britney, then Edict, then settled on leaning in against Britney as she forcefully took a deep breath.

Taking the queues from other people, Linqian also pulled out a cigarette. It felt like a bit of a dick move to actually smoke it when there were two people dying on the floor, so she just placed it in her lips as if that would do anything.

”If you try drug me, I'll shove a burning hot fist up your ass,” she muttered, though there was very little bite to it, side eyeing Edict. She was calmer, clear in her non burning skin, but she was clearly still off. She didn't fucking know what to do about it. Bring Jinhai back? At least everyone would just put it down to her normal short temper.

She closed her eyes while leaning against Britney, as if by not seeing any of the people who annoyed her she could just ignore them.

She was so, so fucking tired.

But of course, there’s was no fucking break. No fucking five like Britney suggested. Just something coming in, something metallic talking.

”What the fuck?” Linqian hissed, eyes opening. No weird magic robot like she’d expected, just a tall as fuck, chain covered woman. She would’ve considered it kinky if she wasn’t so clearly a ghost, and trying to fucking hurt them.

The instant that a chain was shot out and wrapping its way around Britney’s ankle, Linqian reacted.

She swiftly pulled off her boots, rolled up her right jeans leg (the one day she didn't wear shorts!) and shifted her weight onto her left side as her other leg raised. Her right foot began to glow until it was so hot it was practically white, and she stomped down on the chain right in front of Britney. She pressed her foot, which was near 1400 degrees Celsius - hot enough to burn through metal and more, right into it. Her whole expression was tight, body shaking slightly as she concentrated on keeping the heat increase just on her foot. It was so much fucking harder when it was just one body part, but she didn't want to burn off her clothes. She couldn't afford that again. Fuck.

Linqian's temperature lowered to boiling hot, but not quite clothes destroying, and the heat spread all across her body. As it reached her lips, the cigarette in them began to lightly smoulder. She didn't remove her foot from the chain, raising a finger to point at Alizée.

”I am so fucking sick of this shit. That fucking shadow testicle keeps causing fucking problems when we're fucking dying, and have had it up to fucking here with it. Just fuck off. The fucking testicle isn’t here.”

She knew it wasn't really Alizée - which hardly mattered to her, considering she’d had a pretty fucking poor opinion of actual Alizée too. Apparitions, assuming this even was one from her, weren't the person who died. Not entirely. Even she knew that. But why her? Why did the bitch who almost got them all fucking killed get some kind of second chance?

---

---

Sully would say everything was going well for a Coven meeting. Sure, sure, Linqian was going off on Anya and showing that Sycamore, as a whole, lacked cohesion. Sure, sure, Layla must’ve taken too big of a rip from Aislin’s bong before the meeting that had sparked some kind of panic attack, spouting out what sounded like harebrained, paranoia induced conspiracy theories. At least Sully assumed that was the case, unable to imagine that Layla was willfully deluding herself to the point where she’d just ignored Alizée’s attempted kidnapping of Jess simply to stir shit. Worst of all, the pizza place had totally stiffed them on those little yellow peppers that come on the side. Still, nobody had pointed a magical sword against anybody’s throat and the pistol had been put away instead of placed against a head so, overall, pretty good. Ruby was even busting out the weed. Maybe she’d share it for once.

Across the bar Sully heard someone quietly cough.

"Now, I do wanna ask: If y'all already shacked up with 317 and The Temple? And you claim the kill for the nastiest Nazi on the west coast since Walt Disney? Th'fuck do you need to get wrapped up in our business for? Lynette put you up to it or something?" said Greyson.

Sully heard another faint cough as Greyson lit his cigarette.

“You cut that cigarette with more than tobacco, Greyson? She doesn’t have anything to do with Greenwood, man,” said Sully after Greyson finished, confusing the Lynette that Greyson had been referencing and jerking his thumb towards Dominguez. “Anyway, Ruby already said why they’re helping us out. Greenwood’s good people. And Sycamore might be a little disorganized, and maybe some people can’t stand each other, but from what I’ve seen Sycamore’s good people too.”

Mostly, anyway. No point in highlighting that though. Sully wanted Greenwood and Sycamore to work together. He couldn’t understand why Linqian and Greyson would go out of their way to point out that Greenwood was definitely getting the short end of the stick here. If Sully took a moment to look a little bit deeper, maybe he would’ve realized that Greenwood lacked something that Sycamore had: numbers. Only a fraction of the Coven had bothered responding to Auri’s call to arm, but they still outnumbered the Greenwood Coven nearly three to one. After all, Greenwood’s greatest accomplishment—taking out Das Sonnenrad—hadn’t been achieved on their own. That was something that Sully didn’t know.

However, Sloane knew. She coughed again into her fist, annoyed that the others were smoking indoors. 8th Street also claimed to be responsible for the destruction of Das Sonnenrad, but Sloane was aware they had outside help. She just never got an answer as to who the help was until now. She wondered if it had just been an “enemy of my enemy” situation, or if Greenwood’s roots expanded further beneath 8th Street than that. She leaned over to Anya in a move that looked as if she was going to say something secretly disparaging about Linqian.

“Greenwood’s worked with 8th Street,” she whispered so that only Anya could hear.

Perhaps it meant nothing.

Perhaps they were being played.

Sloane raised her hand again, waiting her turn.

“I get why you’d be suspicious of others, Greyson, but there’s no hustle here. If people don’t want to return the favor after Greenwood helps us settle our problems that’s no problem. It’s an alliance, not a takeover. You’re free to scurry back to run whatever legitimate business whenever. It’s cool, man. Th others will help,” said Sully, turning his attention to Ruby as if he was trying to convince her this was true. “We’ve all had a rough go, but when times get tough Sycamore always pulls through. This is the best for everyone here.”

Sully mouthed “trust me”. Before he could continue his appeal, he was interrupted by Sloane. “Excuse me, I have another ques—”

Sloane coughed, this time involuntarily, as a wisp of smoke tickled her nose. Okay, fuck this tact nonsense. She had managed to keep her cool when Linqian had pointlessly gone off on Anya and she had chosen to ignore Ruby’s eye rolling, but smoking inside was an unforgivable transgression of a shared space. Her head snapped between Greyson and Ruby, unable to determine who to bury under a mountain of shame, when her vision was drawn towards Jack as Sully hollered out, “What the hell is that?”

Something thin and skeletal ripped out of a portal and grabbed Jack by the collar. It started to speak, but its words were lost to the sound of blood pumping in Sloane’s ears as she moved to defend one of her few friends. Her sometimes annoying, boundary ignoring friend, but a friend nonetheless. A growl in her throat erupted into a roar as she grabbed the Chrysalis Staff.

“Can we not have just one,” Sloane screamed, turning towards the apparition as she jumped form her seat.

Her chair clattered to the ground.

She pointed the staff at Alizée.

A swarm of spectral, blue butterflies burst from around the Chrysalis Staff, crystalizing instantaneously and crashing upon the ground where they shattered into a fine powder. The tip of the staff pulsated between a dim blue and orange light as Sloane tried to curse Alizée, wisps of orange light leaving trails of blue lux crawled around Alizée’s body like larva. As long as the staff stayed on the apparition, assuming it could even work on one, Alizée would begin to feel her body start to harden and become more and more difficult to move until she would be turned into nothing more than a colorful statue.

---

---

---

"You can let go of me, I'm good.”

As requested, the Adoras let go of Layla and stepped back. They could still hear the shouting and chaos caused by Layla's little stunt, and she was pissed. Layla had no reason to do any of that. Each of the Adora crossed their arms at Layla, rolling their eyes. Now she looked like she was ready to cry. ”... You know you brought all that on yoursel-” They all said in unison before Adora raised her hands and shook her head.

Okay, that wasn't the best way to go about this. Layla is still vulnerable and does not think clearly. That was the root cause of this, and bitching at her (like everyone else did) was not going to solve this problem. The Adoras sighed, ”Okay, I'm not going to jump on your ass...” The Adoras trailed off, ”... But, I'm also not going to kiss it.” The Adoras put hands on their hips.

”Okay, it's obvious us from the way that you're reacting right now that you didn't think any of that through,” The Adoras began. ”I understand you're hurt. You were betrayed and you're looking for someone to blame. But, lord, lashing out like that is not going to help.”

Layla took a steadying breath, pressing hands against her eyes. A few tears leaked out, which she hastily brushed away. She didn't need this. She didn't need to be falling apart at every second.

The whole room was against her. She had felt the hate and anger so evidently displayed in their eyes. It was enough to shake her to the core. Except, well, Clancy and Adora.

Clancy had spoken like a healing salve, icing over those smoldering spots of anger. His unique perspective gave clarity right on target. Enough to clear her head a bit.

Even if she hated him calling Void a parasite.

Adora too, wasn't riding her ass, like she said. It was better than she expected. It meant… well, she wasn't alone in her dark little corner of the world.

Layla gave her face another wipe, running a palm over her mouth before she held her chin, and gave an exasperated sigh.

“I'm not sure what I was expecting, to be honest. It all made sense in my head. Still does, in fact. But… What the hell am I suppose to do if everyone disagrees with me?”

” If everyone disagrees with you; you gotta reassess your position,” The Adoras began, before shrugging. ”Now look, I wasn’t there - I can’t say who’s fault it all was - but you shouldn’t try and make your problem with them everyone’s problem. But all you can do at this point is think about how you can avoid this next time.” The Adoras shrugged.

Layla rubbed the back of her neck, looking down. “Right… It just, it all came out wrong. I just... thought I could give her a little justice. Alizée, you know? She deserved that much. I really acted like a… well, like an ass out there. I'm sorry you had to see that…”

Baby steps. The Adoras crossed one arm over their chests, and placed the other hand on their chins. ”... Don’t apologize to me,” The Adoras shrugged. ”You need to apologize to Greenwood - or at the very least, our people for throwing things into chaos.”

Layla grimaced upon hearing that, but nodded anyway.

There were loud, thumping steps that brought the figure of Leon trundling back down the nearby parking lot. His face was full of concern.

"God, Layla!... I left for a minute! What the fuck happened, Adora?"

Layla hugged herself as Leon approached, conflicted emotions in her face before she looked up at him, and asked a question.

“Leon… you were there when Alizée died. You saw Naomi try to antagonize her. Do you agree with me? That she had a role to play in Alizée's death?”

Leon stared back down at Layla, trying to gather his thoughts. He’d been drinking at the time, and he was still a little foggy about how things had started. About how she’d been tossed out of the bar for messing with…

"We were… In the strip club, Layla. I was there, waiting to meet Ro-... Judas… Layla?-”
Leon stared into her eyes as deeply as he could. A hand reached out, resting under her arm, thumb gently brushing against her skin. He was a bit choked up trying to find the words as he recalled the sadness of it all.
"-Alizée started it, Layla… She came into the bar, started making demands: At that point, Wolfpack was deployed. Whatever Void Heart told you, whatever you think happened? It’s not how things went down. Alizée never should’ve been in that bar, and the only reason Greenwood has anything to do with it is because they had plans first.”

He pointed his free hand at the door to the bar.
"Nobody inside that bar is responsible for the death of our beloved… Only the beast. The obsession, whom we are desperately trying to help you learn how to tame. So that you don’t suffer the same fate as her.”

Layla listened, searching Leon's face for sincerity. When she found it, she nodded slowly, the last bit of resistance in her slipping away. If even Leon said it was so, then it was so, and she was in the wrong here.

Adora kept her mouth shut this time - because, just like she told Layla, she wasn’t there and wouldn’t stick her nose where it didn’t belong. Not just that, there was already that instance where Adora jumped the gun when speaking on Alizee. Leon all but confirmed that Alizee got herself killed by being somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. Though, she couldn't help but say…

”... I don't even know why ya’ll invited her back,” Adora shrugged. ”I mean, I know everyone dying but we could have avoided a lot of problems if ya’ll just told her ass to stay away.”

Layla sighed and shrugged. “She was my friend, Adora. Even if she was a little frayed, she reminded me of myself… I wish I would have been there that night, maybe I could have helped. Changed the outcome…”

Before her head shook, and she looked back at Leon. “Thank you, that uh… that settles my soul a bit. And I appreciate the efforts of the Temple.”

She gave an apologetic look to Adora. “I’m uh… ready to go back in. I should apologize to Greenwood sooner than later. I hope I haven't messed things up permanently….”

”I’m sure we can fix things,” The three Adoras said, ”She was pissed, I can tell, but an apology can go a long way.”

The Adoras put hands on their hips as she said, ”Also talk to somebody before you explode like that.”

Layla nodded her head, “Right…”

Leon smiled, patting Layla on the shoulder. He looked sad, but the smile was still warm… Until it wasn’t. There was a shift as his eyes widened and skirted toward the bar. Like lightning, he reached out to her and pulled her to slip in closer.
His nose was going insane: Like he could smell the way Alizée used to before a feed. Like he could hear her voice…

And then the energy wave rushed across him. He didn’t say a word, only rushed toward the door to burst in. The Adoras raised an eyebrow.

”... What was that about?” The Adoras asked nobody in particular. Before hearing screaming and shouting from inside. They sighed, facepalming.

”... The craziest shit always pops off when we meet.”

Layla's eyes only widened as she watched Leon rush back inside, before her gaze snapped to Adora. “We’d better get back inside-”

Before she too, flung the door open and rushed in.

---

A lot of things were going through Leon's head at the moment. Mostly about just how fucked up things had been with the Temple lately. Mostly about how he was in charge of assimilating someone to the life of an Adjoined, and how he had to deal with his Mother constantly plotting and scheming against his friends to bid for leverage on the city. People he didn't want having anything to do with how things worked. But, somewhere along the lines, just like Edict had told him about the House of Cards and their leader's obsession with Void Heart, Lynette Richoux had also taken some sort of liking to the thing.

And it's too bad, she's not his type.
She'd never give up her Lux for a Ghost. Not unless it was able to usher Eden.

Leon and Lelou's collective mind had a wonderful ability to conduct conversation without the bridge of time crossing too wide a gap. In her most docile or placated moments, they worked harmoniously with minds that had grown similar. Whether she had taken on his sensibility, or he'd assumed her brutality was often a question asked by those who took their time studying his condition among the members of the Temple qualified to do so.
Oh, but imagine the teasing, my sweet Pup... Stringing one another along with whispers of oblivion...

---

“Normal.”

“FUCKING!”

“MEETING!?”

Leon pushed into the bar. His head turned, time slowed down, and the only thing that was in the room in his eyes was the thing. She, It... Was something to behold. What had been taken and put back together was the perfect example of what could happen: A textbook case of the Apparitional process in motion. As the seals of Lelou began to unfurl in response to the challenge once more upon her doorstep, the spirit came to attention within her velvet prison. Her power didn't rush or rage- It pooled with great consistency into the main augur of the seal that kept her within Leon's body.
His flesh began to glow. What would be an instant for those around him was one Leon felt in moments beyond what could be perceived. He stared up at the Apparition in awe and sadness.

I don't want to do this.
It isn't her.
No... It isn't.

Eyes flickered. He could see Linqian and Edict both moving to protect Britney, and Kenshiro already opening a bubble of gravity to protect the weaker backline members. He saw Ruby's face, confused and shocked along with the rest of Greenwood. Sloane was already head on confronting the problem.
And in that moment, Leon chose not to hesitate. Stormy would feel Leon's hand grip into his shoulder, leaving a seared bit of flesh as the Adept's natural aura roiled with hostility toward Apparitions. It was more like a sprint to those around him, but Leon could feel every single inch of movement. Every single strand of hair burning as his mane of jet black hair spun itself into spider silk-like wisps. His left hand tried to sweep under Sloane's staff in an attempt to disarm her.

In the same forward motion, a far right haymaker was cocked back, and he'd used Stormy's sturdy frame to launch himself off the floor. That fist was now coated in a deep black shadow, and hurdled toward the face of the Apparition that was once his dear friend. There were no words left. Only a war for a dead woman's honor. Only a battle that a Demon desired to fight.

Interactions: Jack/Stormy/Amara (@Blizz), Linqian (@FernStone), Sloane (@Atrophy), Leon (@AtomicEmperor)

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"You are not Alizee, creature of the Void. The real Alizee knew we had both seen things worse than you.

Alizée's red eyes narrowed in confusion. “Of course I'm Alizée. What are you-” She felt the prick of discomfort, staring down at the man in front of her. The darkness he wielded almost seemed familiar - something she would see in her home, in the Void.

Her confusion increased, questions raising without answers. She had never seen this man before. That much was sure. But what he said… it made no sense. Unless.

“-What are you talking about?” She hissed out, doing her best to ignore the pressure in her arm as his hand gripped it like iron. Lucky for her, her mask hid any involuntary grimaces she would have had her face been, well, softer.

“Rahk-las hreshnik yuul." "You do not scare me,"

Her glowing eyes blinked, understanding him perfectly. “Hi mindoraan kruziik vun perfectly. Vir dreh hi mindok do atruk tolro held dil ko vulom, kiin tir do irkbaan ahrk suleyk? (You understand the ancient tongue perfectly. How do you know of something that's held deep in the darkness, born out of hatred and power?)”

"Whatever you are, you don't want to do this."

Alizée side-eyed him, appraising the elements in his hands. Curious. Similar to the shadow weaver, he too had magic. It was a threat. It was always a threat. But from his mannerisms, he too wasn't scared.

Voildings she had crushed in the Void exhibited one of two emotions: anger, or fear. Anger at their own weakness, or fear at getting reduced to a heap of essence that would take years to reform. Bur here? It was neither. Just a calmness. It was something she'd never encountered before.

"Go back the way you came, princess. Right the fuck now,"

Alizée glanced at the gun pointed at her. Immediately, flashes of the death she remembered tore through her mind, and her eyes narrowed in disgust.

“The trail leads me here. I need answers.” She hissed to the woman.

”I am so fucking sick of this shit. That fucking shadow testicle keeps causing fucking problems when we're fucking dying, and have had it up to fucking here with it. Just fuck off. The fucking testicle isn’t here.”

Alizée trembled with pain as white heat met the chain. She had attempted to draw energy from Britney, and the psychic backlash of that being disturbed was instant. For an instant, she hunched forward, almost appearing to lean on Jack for support.

Her eyes snapped to the woman who attacked her chain. The chain fell limp, uncurling from Britney’s ankle. It attempted to pull away from her boot, but to no avail.

The… testicle?

Alizée thought about it for a second, before she growled in disgust, her voice thick. “How dare you refer to him like that.” Another suck of air, “The trail leads here, he has to be here.”

“Can we not have just one,”

“Normal.”

“FUCKING!”

“MEETING!?”

The rush of dust and butterflies caught Alizée off-guard, and she lifted a free hand to protect her eyes from the blast.

However, it wasn't the blast that she had to worry about. She blinked, feeling a strange, sickening sensation slowly creeping over her body. She hissed a gasp, immediately trying to pull away from the woman and her staff. But the black hand kept her firm.

Until, that was, she saw a blur of motion.

The staff was lifted away, and her sensations returned to themselves. And a blur of a dark-coated fist. For a split second she saw it, a black-maned man with a conflicted look on his face.

For a split second, she pulled up a single link, free of the chain, hovering in the narrowing space between them.

For a split second, she could hear her own rageful scream.

Wham!

A bright light cracked the center of the room, sending anyone close to her careening into the farthest walls. At least, anyone who didn't move back in time.

Alizée herself used the momentum to break free of Jack's grip. The chain under Linqian's boot snapped as Alizée smashed into the far wall, putting a fine crater in the wood.

In the next instant, the light was gone. In its place, a wide crater in the floor, absent of any persons.

Alizée peeled herself off the wall with a disgruntled grunt, looking down at her arm. Half was missing, the stub leaking black shadow. A shame, really.

Alizée's eyes returned to the room, falling immediately to the man who swung at her. Then, she shifted to stare at the woman who attacked her with the staff. Alizée liked to think she was good at sizing up apparitions before a fight. And all the humans she'd come across, well, they'd been mundane. She had assumed this would be no different.

But alas, now, in light of her newfound revelations, Alizée had to assume that every single person in this room was magical. Perhaps each of them were fighters. Fighters were fine, she could handle most. But the real trouble was that staff. Alizée felt what it was doing, and it scared her what it would have done had the staff finished its job. She was a young apparition after all, still struggling with picking her fights, clearly. And the way she looked at it, in this room, she was either severely outmatched, or wouldn't escape without severe harm, especially to her chains. Maybe even to her body. The broken off chain staring at her from across the room, the severed arm on the other side, were a testament to that.

So Alizée did the next best, logical thing.

She drifted a step forward, and sank to her knees, making contact with the floor, gnarled hands raised up.

“I surrender. I might be bold, but surely I'm not stupid.”

All the chains had retracted from their positions, floating aimlessly around her. Alizée eyed Jack, then Leon. Both knew a secret, but would they tell her?

Her illogical mind skipped over the fact that they might not accept her surrender, and she had to backtrack, do a double take, and remind herself these were humans, not apparitions. (Well, except for one.) She didn't know what humans would do in a situation like this, but surely there would be less blood-letting than surrendering to an apparition, which she’d witnessed only once. It was terrible.

Perhaps she could appeal to their sense of reason?

“I don't know what you mean by me not being Alizée. Of course I'm Alizée. But I… I don't remember much. I’m… well, I'm new.”

Her eyes glanced to Jack. “I'm sorry for jumping you. You're my first lead in a long time, and I… got excited. Anxious. My entire existence depends on the Void Heart. I don't remember much of who they were, I just know they're important. And that I need to find them.”

“Wouldn’t you do the same for those you love?”

She took a breath, closing her eyes briefly as she knelt there. “Please… I don't want to fight you. Just… give me a second chance. I can help you.”

---

---

As Britney hoped they would, things were chilling out a little, and she released her grasp on Linqian. She sighed as she sat next to Greyson, who was asking the wise and generous Ruby some questions. Adora and Layla were still outside - and if the latter would act like that, keep her there. Britney wasn't sure if she was just sprung off that Greyson-D, but she could see where he came from with some of these questions. Britney still wanted the alliance, though it was not up to her.

Though, nobody could have guessed what happened next when a portal opened right at Jack and a strange Apparition appeared. Britney hopped to her feet, readying the Noble Vow for combat. There was something familiar about the Apparition, but God knew Britney was tired of weird shit following them around. A chain drifted towards Britney - but Linqian quickly stepped on it. Britney knew she didn't want to destroy her clothes (even though Bean was here and willing to make her some for free).

“... Alizée. Alizée Vul.”

Britney's jaw dropped.

She almost fell on her ass.

It was Alizee... Well, her Apparition, of course. Britney was surprised as they come, though she was more surprised she didn't run into more Apparitions of their fallen Coven sisters and brothers. Why now? Why here?

And why was everyone and their grandmother so obsessed with that stupid Apparition?!

”I am so fucking sick of this shit. That fucking shadow testicle keeps causing fucking problems when we're fucking dying, and have had it up to fucking here with it. Just fuck off. The fucking testicle isn’t here.”

”Girl I should be saying that!” Britney shouted, turning towards Linqian.

The Coven, naturally, dogpiled "Alizee," and the Apparition surrendered.

If only the real Alizee had that much sense.

“I don't know what you mean by me not being Alizée. Of course I'm Alizée. But I… I don't remember much. I’m… well, I'm new.”

Britney took a few steps forward.

”... You are Alizee, but at the same time, you're not Alizee,” Britney began her explanation. ”You're not our Alizee. Alizee Alteri was shot to death by the Wolfpack, then the Hound took what he needed, and the leftover consciousness, psyche, and memories, formed an entirely new being and, well...”

Britney trailed off, shrugging.

”... Became you.”

“I'm sorry for jumping you. You're my first lead in a long time, and I… got excited. Anxious. My entire existence depends on the Void Heart. I don't remember much of who they were, I just know they're important. And that I need to find them. Wouldn’t you do the same for those you love? Please… I don't want to fight you. Just… give me a second chance. I can help you.”

Britney snorted.

”Girl! You came in here with the chain bondage off jump!” Britney started, sassily putting a hand on her hip, ”At least give us a safe word!”

Though, Britney was only trying to add some levity to the situation. Britney's face went flat as she continued, ”I'm not going to tell the group what they should or should not do: we have many problems right now, and I don't think anyone wants to add to it."

Britney nodded her head.

”But what exactly do you remember? Do you remember anyone else other than Voidy? Does the name Britney Williams ring a bell? What about... Jack Hawthorne?”

---

---

---

”Fucking get her, Leon- ” Linqian practically cheered when Leon slammed a fist into Alizee. She raised her arms to cover her eyes against the bright light, feeling the chain crack underneath her bare foot. ”Beat her till she- what the fuck?!”

Linqian, who’d been ready to sit back and enjoy the show of Leon absolutely destroying Alizee, was shocked when Alizee surrendered. Then she was very, very pissed, temperature shooting up so that the edges of her clothes started to lightly smoulder. The smell of burning denim filled the air.

”You surrender? You fucking surrender? After one fucking punch? Piss off. You can’t just come in here, try to fucking chain some of us up- which I’m normally into, but fuck, not here- then expect us to accept that?! You got fucking excited?! I don’t give a fuck. The original Alizee almost got us fucking killed, whatever’s left of her will only be worse.”

There was no sympathy from Linqian. Wouldn’t you do the same for those you love?. Love? It almost made Linqian laugh. Perhaps between Alizee and Void Heart there had been love, but that only made the whole thing more sickening. Was that why she’d returned? A strong ‘love’ for the creepy apparition? Did that mean…

She didn’t want to think about that.

But she was now at the point where it would be really fucking difficult for her to calm down. It didn't matter that Britney was questioning ‘Alizee’, perhaps considering the surrender. While it was the only thing that stopped Linqian from straight up jumping on Alizee and punching out her frustrations… but she was pretty fucking close to it. One wrong move, and that was it. From anyone.

”Fuck, you seriously considering this shit, Brit? I know exactly what we should do - fucking seal her. Be done with it. Like you said, we got too many fucking problems right now. I don’t give a fuck if she needs to find him. We need to find Father Wolf before he fucking kills more of us.”

This was all just a fucking distraction. She didn’t need this - she wasn’t taking all of this fucking time out of her day to deal with some ghosts fucking love for another predator ghost. She was only here for one thing. To kill the fucking monster that murdered Jinhai. Revenge. That was it. Revenge at any cost. Every minute wasted here was a minute she could be ripping out his throat with her burning hot hands. She’d learn a healing spell just to make him suffer longer…

Her eyes narrowed, hands clenched into red hot fists at her side, angry gaze sweeping over everyone.

”That’s why we’re here. I’ll go fucking avenge my brother myself if we keep doing this unneccesary side shit. Actually, maybe I should just fuck off. Then when Father Wolf comes to shank me I’ll fucking get him first- or I die, fucking whatever. No loss there.”

Such nonchalance about her own possible death amongst a storm of irrational rage. The fact that Alizee had returned for love. It made no sense. It made no fucking sense. Had Jinhai not… she knew it wouldn’t be him but… fuck. She felt sick, trapped, her chest constricting as her lungs burned. Why the fuck was it her. And why the fuck wasn’t it me?

”Do what you all fucking want. I’m here for the person I love - not to fucking keep existing, not to stay alive. I'm fucking done.”

---

---

Anya inclined her head towards Sloane when she whispered to her. Greenwood and 8th Street working together previously… something to investigate and be aware of. She wanted this alliance, but she wasn’t going to trust them either way.

But there wasn’t much time to think about it whenever everything went to shit - again.

Anya’s hand was raised, fountain pen glowing purple as it traced through the air. She’d begun to summon from a nightmare, concentrating fully on pulling out a grotesque creature into the waking world. Something not so big she wouldn’t summon it in time, but large and malleable enough it could get in front of Sloane. To protect her if the Apparition attacked her.

But her concentration was broken by the words ‘I surrender’, glowing purple fizzling out and the nightmare that only she could see fading out of existence.

For the best, perhaps. She was reluctant to show off her full capabilities now.

”Sloane.” Anya quickly moved towards her friend, reaching down to pick up the Chrysalis staff, holding it out to her. She then looked up towards the source of the problem, lips pressing together into a thin line. It was quite the conundrum.

To accept her surrender, and gain another body - but also another liability. Or to reject it, seal her, and not even give her a chance.

Even Luca struggled with the idea of accepting her surrender. He hadn’t been able to react quickly, even as Kashmira’s healing brought him back to as well as he could be… and the Rot too. As Stormy’s Phantombane aura dropped, Luca pushed himself away from Jasper, putting back the normal distance between them. Jasper would feel the distinctive tingling of the rotting aura before Luca got far enough away he wouldn’t get caught in it.

Did this apparition of Alizee deserve a second chance? Or perhaps a first one? They couldn’t hold her to the crimes of the original, but she’d come in here and attacked them.

She’ll do it again. But we don’t have to worry about it.

Luca grimaced.

”Why should we trust you enough to give you a second chance?” he spoke up, pushing himself onto his feet with the wall for support. ”Void Heart was a parasite. I understand better than most here what it’s like to have something like that attached to you… By helping you, we let more people get hurt. Maybe people deserve second chances, but…”

He trailed off, fixing her with an unwavering gaze. It wasn’t just him - Alizee would be able to feel the Apparition within him staring too, rotting the little humanity within Luca’s dark eyes. The reason he was biased against Apparitions. The corruptive influence eating away at his mind.

”You’re not a person.”

Anya didn’t weigh in with an opinion, yet. She would observe the crowd - those whose opinions she had any interest in, at least. Instead, she just said, ”we should allow her to answer Britney’s questions - and anyone else’s - before we decide.”

Britney @Shin Ghost Note Ken@AtomicEmperor Linqian, Luca@FernStone Spooky!Alizee@Estylwen

---

Clancy's initial instinct with Kenshiro had been to expect another verbal beating after reinserting himself into the situation - distracting him from the fact that Layla had been wholly ushered away at this stage. The man had seemed exacerbated at the stupidity of the group and their apparently failure to appreciate what they'd lost. Instead?

He caught a flash of teeth. A warning?

No, a grin.

"High sentiment for a ghost wearing a corpse."

The blunt comment was refreshing, if nothing else.

If it was functionally possible, he'd have loosed an amused snort of his own. Instead, he repaid the gesture by not immediately recoiling at the unprompted physical contact. Sully's elixir had sufficienty muted some of his worse instincts for a period, even if it hadn't done anything to accelerate the reformation of his body.

The swordsman might have felt the boy bristle at his touch, his shoulder icy-cool to the touch.

"If I remember correctly, there are assholes with my Girlfriend's notes out there. Important fucking notes. Important fucking assholes. If it makes you Greenwood people feel safe? I'll gladly lend myself to hunting for some other artifacts associated with you... Murakin Kenshiro; you call me Ken. I'm sorry for... Well, assuming you had shot our friend here."

Clancy again found himself surprised a moment later by that final comment, adding a "Definitely wasn't her."

To be called a friend had higher meaning for him than Kenshiro probably could've known

There wasn't much time to ruminate on it, however. A tear opened up before them, behind the disappearing man, and then an atrophied hand reached out to grab his collar.

Then, the rest of her emerged.

The girl was in chains, spectral, fractured. She wasn't whole much as in the same way he understood he wasn't whole. But what more, he recognised her within a matter of seconds, and realised he wasn't the only ghost in the room anymore.

There was no mistaking it.

When he'd last seen her, in the flesh with the parasite, the presence had stood out to him apart from the rest. After all, predators usually could recognise one another when skulking in the same woods.

Except there was no parasite this time.

Just the French Girl.

And this time, she'd became a monster herself, or something close to it. The chains, which seemed to act as extensions of her as they snaked out towards the others, all but confirmed it to him.

No. It was not a fate he'd have chosen, to come back like this with all that he'd known now.

The others hadn't recognised it, or refused to. But it was definitely her, reeked just the same they had the night outside the strip club.

Things moved fast.

The blinding light erupting from some of the others wasn't much incentive to throw in, but he took a step forward, positioning himself somewhere between Kenshiro, Luca and the new Alizee, but not making a move further. His singular eye - the other barely yet to reform - remained fixed on the chains, wary they might close on the others.

Thanks to Sloane and Linquian, that never happened, and she surrendered of all things, withdrawing her appendages to her person.

If he had a heart, it would've quickly sunk. She explained herself to Jack - in a language he couldn't follow - and then he realised that it was the parasite she was looking for. That her sense of identity had been so fractured that she had the name, the face, but not much else.

Shades of everything else.

”... You are Alizee, but at the same time, you're not Alizee. You're not our Alizee. Alizee Alteri was shot to death by the Wolfpack, then the Hound took what he needed, and the leftover consciousness, psyche, and memories, formed an entirely new being and, well... became you.”

Britney's rationalisation had perhaps made the most sense to him, in a way that cut almost as much as the hitwoman's shells had taken chunks out of him.

He vaguely remember waking up to this. But unlike her, he remembered almost everything. A childhood. Friends, family. Barbecues with Dad and Uncle Gerry. Nearly falling into a ditch when Frank took them racing down the trail on his Indian Scout. Judy and her bird feathers.

And the absence of it all, which hurt in a way that couldn't be described in words.

”You’re not a person.”

Luca's comment had caught him the most off-guard, although he understood it. The skinny boy had been more victim than predator in the relationship with his parasite,

Clancy wondered if that description could've been ascribed to him. He wasn't human anymore, that much was clear.

At this point, was he Clancy anymore?

Or was he just the memories he retained, wrapped up in the facade of the boy that had been.

Like the hitwoman had said, he was functionally a corpse in either case, and regardless he had no intention of letting her follow the same path he'd been dragged down. Maybe there was some sense.

"Trust me. You don't want this, whatever you're looking for in that parasite isn't worth it." If he'd had a chance to get her alone, before she died, he'd have told her as much then. Now? "You'll never stop wanting and you'll hate every moment you continue existing. You want purpose? Don't make this harder. Put the chains away. You don't have time for this."

Well, this was an interesting turn of events. Deflection was not what Lila expected out of Greenwood but it made sense in the end. She would need to keep a thousand eyes on their new ‘friends’ to see what else they said behind closed doors. Or, rather, out in the open in sight of her murder. Still, there was something about this group that did not sit right with Lila. Something that did not sit right with the maiden. And if Lila knew anything it was that she would get to the bottom of it. Even if it involved a little feigned pleasantry.

“I am Lila. Nice to meet you in the, well, flesh. I can control a massive murder of crows,” Lila paused as her eyes went back and the entire murder cawed from the outside. Then she raised her hands up revealing the claws that had replaced them, “and I have also had some physical changes. It’s what happens when an apparition is sealed in your body,” Lila chuckled at the words. How different her life had become. Her eyes flickered for a moment, back to normal and back to black. How different the world might be if she had a little more control over this chaos. A smile spread across her face as she looked towards Britney. Oh, how fun. Her eyes drifted back towards Greenwood. “I didn't mean to listen in, I like to keep an eye on the area in case Emily gets upset that I keep ruining her day by simply existing.”

Lila smiled as she leaned back into the wall. She could still feel the maiden trying to push her way out again but she was able to keep her bottled up. The maiden was restless, however, and Lila could feel movement underneath her jacket on her back as the wings began to form internally once again.

“Stop. We’re safe, we’re good,” Lila whispered to herself as she looked around the room with a smile.

“Oh is that so? What about the woman outside,” Lila's eyes flashed black and her mind was pulled to one of the crows who watched as a woman drove off down the street. Even from here, she could see the weapons she had on her. “You are not using your power well, making it clear that I need to be more present. More active. More on the surface. To protect us, to keep us safe, and to ensure that things….”

“Oh is that all? Is that all you plan to do if I let you up more? Just keep us safe,” Lila whispered again, checking to see if anyone was listening to her.

She turned away from the group and further backed away as she did. This was not the time for her to be having this conversation, and she knew the maiden would be relentless with her goal to be more free. And Lila knew she would need to be ready to keep her contained. All it would take was one single….

In an instant, a ghost from their coven's past had appeared in the room. A high-pitched ringing accompanied her arrival, and this high-pitched ringing hit Lila especially hard. All she could hear was the ringing, and the ringing from the ears of thousands of crows. Lila pressed her hands to her ears but it offered little comfort and she dropped to her knees. She could not contain the maiden much longer. She wanted to act, attack, and brutalize the threat in ways that Lila could not even fathom. And she wanted her wings back out and on display. Lila quickly removed her hands from her ears and quickly threw off her jacket and threw it to the side. An instant later her back once again exploded outwards and her wings once again took flight. Flapping twice in quick succession to get the blood and viscera off of their pristine form. Lila doubled over in pain once again as she stabbed her claws into the floor. The pain was too intense to even think. However, it quickly began to soften and fall away. All sensations began to soften and fall away. She felt herself falling into herself once more, falling further away from the light and from control.

Lila looked up and smiled, only it wasn't entirely Lila anymore. The smile was sinister and spread across her face. It widened at the chaos that was unfolding as Linqian defended Britney, Leon embraced the call to war, and at that ghost, as she tried to defend herself. As Leon and the ghost collided the maiden cast her wings in front of herself to protect, and withstand the force of the collision. An order was sent to the murderer in that moment and soon even more crows began to spill into the room and caw at the excitement that was brewing. The maiden would join the fight and claim her first victim. Her wings began to flicker green in the enclosed sleeve threatening all who looked at them. The maiden would finally have the freedom to..

“I surrender. I might be bold, but surely I'm not stupid.”

Lila crooked her head at the words and she felt herself rising and rushing back into control of her body. All Lila could hear from the maiden was a “how boring” as she went dormant once again. The pain returned, however, and Lila groaned as she looked towards the Greenwood coven. “Could I borrow your healer,” Lila groaned as she pulled her claws out of the floor. Fuck. All it took was a little sensory overload and the maiden was able to push through and take control. But that begged the question, why did she relinquish it once she had it?

“What do we know about the void heart? Was it something that made her do those evil actions,” Lila asked the group and to herself, “or were those actions truly her own? I also understand what it’s like, which is why I’ll at least humor…. Whatever this is.”

---

“You do not get used to it,” Aaron said as he waved at the Greenwood crowd. His eyes rested on James for a moment. Aaron wanted nothing more in this moment than a rematch against Greenwood’s best fighter. He was strong, and fast, and actually beat him fairly. Not many could claim to have that feat under their belt. Maybe he could convince Greenwood to spar again this time against this coven. Aaron shifted his eyes towards the bitch Lynn and looked over to Linqian and tried to gauge what she was feeling. No doubt the sight of a formerly deceased coven member returning to the flesh, even if it was not alive, was a trigger for his friend. He needed to be here for Linqian, but not coddle her. She would need to take the lead with her feelings first. That did not mean Aaron would stay on the sideline. Aaron would be ready, able, and willing to help wherever he could. He swapped forms and stood beside her friend, ready to step in if she was ever needed.

And a moment later she was needed. A fucking kinky ghost appeared almost on command and began to try kinky stuff with the coven without consent. Normally Aryin would be down for the sudden turn to kinky but nobody consented to it, nobody gave the ghost their safe word, and nobody was in the mood for this kind of stuff. Linqian was fast to protect Britney, and before Aryin could even make her first step towards the ghost Leon was already on the warpath looking fine as ever as he attacked.

A moment later the ghost surrendered. What the fuck? Since when do they fucking surrender? And why did the ghost bitch rob her of watching the man in action? It was a blessing to experience it firsthand the night prior, but there was just something about watching him fight that Aryin found hard to look away from. Aryin watched as Britney talked to the ghost of their friend. And Britney took a different path than she expected. Talking to the ghost? That just attacked them? What the fuck? Aryin looked to Linqian and mouthed the same, hoping Linqian would know more or at least be able to give insight into what the fuck Britney was thinking.

Nope.

Linqian exploded. Rightfully so, and her anger was directed well. They had more important problems than finding the fucking void heart, and they needed to all start focusing on the real problems.

“I’m with Linqian on this,” Aryin paused as she pointed towards the phantom, “this situation. We don’t have time to waste on some petty fucking vendetta or some fucking search for a ghost's one true love,” Aryin paused as she rubbed her temple. It was worth coming back to the coven because of Linqian, but it was situations like this that made it difficult. “You could fuck off for all I care, and if you don’t I know someone who could turn you into the most perfect fucking pet,” Aryin referenced her 317 ‘friend’ who was a fucking Pokémon master. “But if it’s just Linqian and me fucking going after father wolf that’s fine. I know that we’d be able to take them on because, unlike the rest of this group, we are a surprisingly good team. Now, can we fucking get back on fucking track before I fucking learn how to explode?”

---

“Oh Sloane we won’t have a normal meeting for some time,” Lynn paused as she looked over towards Ruby and flashed a warm smile, “I am Lynn, this coven’s false prophet. I would say you get used to the chaos” Lynn looked towards Sloane and gave her a weak smile, “but no one ever does.” Lynn walked from her position as she shifted her eyes to the ghost of their recent past. This creature was an interesting enigma for Lynn. Out of everyone in the room, she never quite got the best read on its future role. Lynn would need to consult more possibilities to break the lock that the possible future had on the truth.

“If you are what I think you are, you must be the perfect age for that Void Heart, I heard he liked them young,” Lynn quipped as she looked across the coven. Locking eyes with the bitch Linqian for just a brief moment. What a cunt. She’s gotten more powerful, and Lynn hated that. Out of everyone in Coven Linqian getting control over power made the least amount of sense. What reason would she, of all people, have to actually put in the effort? Bitch. Lynn knew she could not dwell on the wicked witch of the west and instead, she shifted her gaze back towards Alizée and stepped away from her. She looked at Jack, then Leon, and tried to remember which one would be the one to break the news. Things had already diverted from the most likely path through this meeting, and thus Lynn was starting to feel that all too known feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next. Would Alizée take the news of the Void’s death well, and accept the role it had in her death? Or would it react like all monsters do and lash out at the ones who caused the Void’s death? Would this break apart this fragile alliance before it truly started? Lynn sighed as she returned to the wall and leaned against it. Her eyes flashed a pale green as he returned to the future to find out.

---

“Hey, hey you’re okay,” Jasper whispered to Luca, “see? Nothing rotted,” Jasper paused as he smiled towards Luca.

Jasper turned away and stood up, letting his eyes linger for a second on his friend. He turned away and faced the group at large. “Tensions are running high for no reason right now,” Jasper paused as he held his hands out towards the group, palms facing up, “we do have more important things to deal with right now, you’re right Linqian,” Jasper paused as he looked over to her and gave her a nod, “at the same time, when the ramifications of our past come knocking, we should at least listen to what they have to say. It’s not like they can do much to us. We would quickly defeat her, seal her away, and not have to worry about her coming back in a moment's notice if she tried anything,” Jasper paused as he looked towards the ghost and stared for a long moment. “And she knows this. And I think we all know, at least deep down, that her being here like this is a result of our coven's actions, or inaction, in the years since the snake. There were so many signs tht they were going down that dark path and what did we do?. We have failed more than we have found success, we may have defeated the snake but what else have we done to do good in this town? I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t gone down a darker path since our childhood. We weren’t there for her before, when she truly needed us to be, why not give her a moment now while we can,” Jasper paused as he held up his hand before letting them drop to his side, “I'm tired of fighting ourselves when there are mother fuckers out there who deserve our collective rage more.”

Jasper turned his back on the rest of the coven and walked over to Luca’s side. He stopped just short of where he knew the rot’s aura was, and he looked over to Luca with a smile. One thing was certain. Jasper did very much enjoy the reprieve that Stormy was able to bring, even if it only lasted for a moment. Deep in his mind, he knew that he wanted nothing more than to be able to hold Luca like that more and to do that on a daily basis. Maybe Jasper would ask Luca to dinner one night and surprise him with something to take the edge off for a wonderful night like that. And for that, he would need help from Stormy.

Interactions: Britney (@Shin Ghost Note), Linqian/Luca/Anya (@FernStone), Clancy (@Zombiedude101), Lila/Lynn/Jasper (@NoriWasHere)

---

”You're not our Alizee. Alizee Alteri was shot to death by the Wolfpack, then the Hound took what he needed, and the leftover consciousness, psyche, and memories, formed an entirely new being and, well... Became you.”

Alizée stared at the woman speaking, and just like that, little drops began to fill her well of knowledge. What the woman was saying lined up fairly well with what she remembered, though she had no knowledge of this Hound being, or what they did.

Her gaze dropped, examining her hand briefly, opening and closing the elongated phalanges. She… she had been someone else before this? They knew who she was? Who she had been?

How much of the old self had survived, if what they said was true?

”But what exactly do you remember? Do you remember anyone else other than Voidy? Does the name Britney Williams ring a bell? What about... Jack Hawthorne?”

Alizée returned her hands to their surrendering position, looking up at Britney, a pensive look in her eyes.

“Those names…” She shook her head. “I'm sorry, they don't ring a bell.”

”Fuck, you seriously considering this shit, Brit? I know exactly what we should do - fucking seal her. Be done with it. Like you said, we got too many fucking problems right now. I don’t give a fuck if she needs to find him. We need to find Father Wolf before he fucking kills more of us.”

Alizée, if her eyes could go saucer-like wide, like an innocent puppy, they would have in that moment. She had learned from the whispers of voidlings older than her of the ways a voidling suffers, and ‘dies.’ One of those ways was through sealing. Just mentioning the word made Alizée feel uncomfortable, and she shifted a bit as she kneeled.

But who's this Father Wolf?

Alizée's eyes returned to ‘Brit’, alarm in the redness, the threat of sealing very much over her head.

”Why should we trust you enough to give you a second chance? Void Heart was a parasite. I understand better than most here what it’s like to have something like that attached to you… By helping you, we let more people get hurt. Maybe people deserve second chances, but…

”You’re not a person.”

Alizée gave a closer look to this person. Immediately, she could smell it coming off him. The scent of another within him, a voidling with a peculiar scent of rotting meat.

She blinked at his accusation. Of course she was a person. Well, a voidling. An apparition. A ghost. Perhaps not technically a person, those were left to describe humans, after all. But she could feel. She could think. That made her at least worthy of the title of ‘person’, did it not?

“I don't know about Void Heart being a parasite. He was kind to me, from what I remember.”

Alizée's gaze dropped, seriously thinking hard about Luca's question. Sealing scared her. It seemed to be a preferred method of this group. What would happen to her if they decided to do what they would with her…?

“I… I don't have any way for you to trust me except for my word. But it's a part of my power, my core: connections. I'll do almost anything to form a new connection, and earn a way into a person's secret world.

“You have to trust me that it's a completely self-serving interest that I cooperate with you.” Alizée said softly.

"We should allow her to answer Britney’s questions - and anyone else’s - before we decide.”

Alizée couldn't help but feel a bit of discomfort at this woman's sentence. The calm before passing judgment. It felt like she was being sized up, scrutinized. It reminded her of battles where the opposite voidling would stare hard for a long time, before striking.

She hoped this wasn't the same thing…

Alizée thought a bit more, returning back to ‘Brit's question, before she spoke again. “I remember how I died. It was by a gunshot. I remember I was trying to save Void. I remember who shot me, the little group; Leather-wearers, with roaring motorbikes. I remember waking up in darkness. It took… a long time before I learned how to move. A longer time before I learned how to fight.”

Before a boy, no- an apparition, a voidling like her, spoke up.

"Trust me. You don't want this, whatever you're looking for in that parasite isn't worth it. You'll never stop wanting and you'll hate every moment you continue existing. You want purpose? Don't make this harder. Put the chains away. You don't have time for this."

Alizée watched with pained eyes, before her chains receded further, and sank to the floor, unmoving.

“Brother, he is my source, my strength. I have to maintain my good word. Surely he isn't the villain you make him out to be?” She said, hopeful.

But her head perked up as he mentioned purpose.“I will admit I've been… blindly following this. I don't have another purpose besides seeking out the Void Heart. What other purpose could there be, for someone like me?”

“What do we know about the void heart? Was it something that made her do those evil actions, or were those actions truly her own? I also understand what it’s like, which is why I’ll at least humor…. Whatever this is.”

Alizée's red eyes blinked a couple times as the woman with the glorious wings spoke. She could smell a sweet scent off her; she too had a voidling, an apparition.

But her confusion only compounded. Since when has the Void Heart done evil? And I was a part of it?

Alizée felt the concern in her chest growing, but remained quiet. The question wasn't directed at her, after all.

“You could fuck off for all I care, and if you don’t I know someone who could turn you into the most perfect fucking pet.”

Alizée's eyes became wide like saucers again, but not in shock or horror. No, this time was in sadness. She couldn't bring herself to speak.

“If you are what I think you are, you must be the perfect age for that Void Heart, I heard he liked them young,”

Alizée's red eyes bugged out for what was the third time. “It's not like that! At least, I don't think so. It's entirely different!”

If a voidling could become flustered, this was her, right at that moment.

”We weren’t there for her before, when she truly needed us to be, why not give her a moment now while we can. I'm tired of fighting ourselves when there are mother fuckers out there who deserve our collective rage more.”

Immediately, Alizée felt a bit of kinship with Jasper. The words came out on their own, “Who torments you? You knew me before, when I don't know myself. Tell me who torments you, and I will fight them.”

---

---

---

Right before Ruby could answer Edict with the closest thing to a "vocal" shrug she could, all hell broke loose. A portal opened, and Ruby immediately aimed her staff at the Apparition, which looked eerily familiar. However, the Apparition ignored her and the rest of Greenwood. While everyone was handling that, Ruby performed an aeromancy-boosted leap across the room to the rest of Greenwood - dropping her blunt in the process - who was ready. James had his axe crackling with electricity as he aimed it at the Apparition, the temperature around them lowered as Pearl performed a chant in Korean, Autumn still had the Apparition of Al Slaughter at the ready, Amelia had summoned several dozen razor-sharp leaves, Kashmira, Naomi, and Jess were simply at the ready...

After a bit of chattering, the Apparition revealed itself to be Alizee.

Which was shocking.

Ruby would have to report this to Lynette (Richoux).

"Everyone, bunch up on Naomi in case she comes after her," Ruby commanded, and all of Greenwood surrounded Naomi and acted as concealment.

"... If shit goes south, teleport us out," Ruby said lowly to Amelia, who gave an affirmative nod as Greenwood bunched up. Though, Ruby knew shit wasn't going to escalate that far when Leon came in and clocked the ghost. Ruby almost cheered him on.

"... Ooooooooooh shit!" Jessica shouted, laughing her ass off.

"Wolfman comin' in with the right hook!" James also laughed, cheering him on.

Then the Apparition surrendered, and they started grilling Alizee... It became apparent that some of them were partial to the Apparition. Ruby wasn't a supernatural expert when she knew that an Apparition is a whole new being when "reborn" (best way to put it). At least, that's what she learned from her time in the Temple. Though, there was a curiosity in Ruby...

"... I'll be back," Ruby said as she walked towards the big group around Alizee.

"What are you doing?" Pearl asked.

Ruby planted her staff firmly on the ground before saying.

"... Just trust me on this one, okay?" Ruby said before she continued marching towards Alizee.

---

---

Linqian began flipping out, and there wasn't anything Britney could say... Indeed, she was considering this out of more profound guilt that she failed Alizee and let the Void Heart lead her to her death. If she had just sealed Voidy ten years ago, none of this would have happened, and Alizee would have had a choice for once. There wasn't anything that Brit could say or do to console Linqian or get her to calm down. She'll stop her tantrum on her own. Though Aaron also joined in, and Britney rolled her eyes, muttering to herself.

^{”... Half of ya'll don't even know how to seal: sit down.”}

“Those names… I'm sorry, they don't ring a bell.”

Britney grimaced.

... Of course, we get the part of Alizee that is fully devoted to the Void Heart. She might be beyond help. Britney briefly thought to herself.

“Brother, he is my source, my strength. I have to maintain my good word. Surely he isn't the villain you make him out to be?”

Britney sighed.

”... The Void Heart is not a good person - ghost - whatever,” Britney answered. ”He is an Apparition from the Void, but he requires an anchor to remain in this realm. He latched onto your... predacessor when she was only a child. And, well, groom- molded her in his image. He was going around draining people of their life force while brainwashing her into thinking that it was all okay.”

Britney nodded her head.

”However, he was cocky, and his recklessness caused us a lot of problems,” Britney began. ”Which is why I understand a few of us are... hesitant.”

“I will admit I've been… blindly following this. I don't have another purpose besides seeking out the Void Heart. What other purpose could there be, for someone like me?”

”... Hear me out!” Britney said to the entire Coven, raising her hands. Before she turned to Alizee and said, ”There are some people who would pay big-money for some freaky-deeky chain bondage. We pimp you out to them and make bank.”

Britney couldn't help but laugh before giving Alizee a warm smile.

”... Okay, okay, I'm sorry. In all seriousness, you can make your own purpose. No one controls you, but you,” Britney answered with a warm smile. ”The Void Heart is bad news, girl. Trust me. I don't know where he went, but if you find him... then what?”

Britney paused before she continued.

”The Void Heart needs an anchor to remain in this realm; that anchor has to be a human being,” Britney sighed before briefly glancing at Layla. ”And... I don't mean to be an asshole, but you're just not a human being anymore, so you can't be that anchor. So I doubt he'll want anything to do with you ^{unless Lynn is right}. I'll literally eat my shoe if you're the first host this has happened to.”

"I'll hold you to that, Big-Butt," Lynette cattily said as she walked up, taking Britney's side.

”Yup, I'll season it, boil it in a lil' pot, and eat it with a fork and knife!” Britney joked.

Ruby walked up, clutching the staff, before she sighed.

"... It's not my place to decide for you all," Ruby began, addressing the Coven at large. "But, there isn't a malicious bone - ^{you know what I mean} - in her body. She is scared and in disbelief... yet grateful and hopeful simultaneously. Hopefully, that will help you all make up your damn mind on this matter so we can get a move on."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at Alizee before aiming the staff at her.

"Your, uh, predecessor, caused my group a lot of problems, you know!" Ruby shouted, "... You won't be doing that again, will you?"

Britney sighed; she wanted to give this Alizee another chance... she knew it could end badly, but the whole Coven was entire of liabilities and fuckups on two legs; what's one more? Britney sighed before saying.

”... I think we should give her a chance, but if you all don't want to, I'm not going to hold it against ya'll,” Britney began, addressing the entire Coven, but giving an apologetic glance to Linqian and Aaron. ”If she becomes a problem, we'll just seal her. Didn't seem like a problem before, but...”

Britney looked up at Alizee.

”...One of my terms and conditions is that you stop looking for the Void Heart. I'll seal you myself if you don't. The Void Heart has caused us serious trouble, and we don't want him around.”

Britney nodded her head.

”Do we have a deal?”