[center] [img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5kOTFmOGIuVkdobElGUnlhVzguMA/thuast.demo.webp[/img][/center] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5mMzllZDQuUVhKNWFXNC4x/personal-use.regular.webp[/img][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5mMzllZDQuVkdodmNtNWwuMQ/personal-use.regular.webp[/img][/CENTER] [right][code]These bitches.[/code][/right] 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. [color=DA70D6]“I am Lila. Nice to meet you in the, well, flesh. I can control a massive murder of crows,”[/color] 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, [color=DA70D6]“and I have also had some physical changes. It’s what happens when an apparition is sealed in your body,”[/color] 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. [color=DA70D6]“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.”[/color] 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. [color=DA70D6]“Stop. We’re safe, we’re good,”[/color] Lila whispered to herself as she looked around the room with a smile. [color=FFE4E1]“Oh is that so? What about the woman outside,”[/color] 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. [color=FFE4E1]“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….”[/color] [color=DA70D6]“Oh is that all? Is that all you plan to do if I let you up more? Just keep us safe,”[/color] 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.. [color=916BB4][b]“I surrender. I might be bold, but surely I'm not stupid.”[/b][/color] 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 [color=FFE4E1]“how boring”[/color] as she went dormant once again. The pain returned, however, and Lila groaned as she looked towards the Greenwood coven. [color=DA70D6]“Could I borrow your healer,”[/color] 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? [color=DA70D6]“What do we know about the void heart? Was it something that made her do those evil actions,”[/color] Lila asked the group and to herself, [color=DA70D6]“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.”[/color] [hr] [color=8A2BE2]“You do not get used to it,”[/color] 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. [color=00BFFF]“I’m with Linqian on this,”[/color] Aryin paused as she pointed towards the phantom, [color=00BFFF] “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,”[/color] 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. [color=00BFFF]“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,”[/color] Aryin referenced her 317 ‘friend’ who was a fucking Pokémon master. [color=00BFFF]“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?”[/color] [hr] [color=F08080]“Oh Sloane we won’t have a normal meeting for some time,”[/color] Lynn paused as she looked over towards Ruby and flashed a warm smile, [color=F08080]“I am Lynn, this coven’s [i]false prophet[/i]. I would say you get used to the chaos”[/color] Lynn looked towards Sloane and gave her a weak smile, [color=F08080]“but no one ever does.”[/color] 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. [color=F08080]“If you are what I think you are, you must be the perfect age for that Void Heart, I heard he liked them young,”[/color] 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. [hr] [color=98FB98]“Hey, hey you’re okay,”[/color] Jasper whispered to Luca, [color=98FB98]“see? Nothing rotted,”[/color] 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. [color=98FB98]“Tensions are running high for no reason right now,”[/color] Jasper paused as he held his hands out towards the group, palms facing up, [color=98FB98]“we do have more important things to deal with right now, you’re right Linqian,”[/color] Jasper paused as he looked over to her and gave her a nod, [color=98FB98]“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,”[/color] Jasper paused as he looked towards the ghost and stared for a long moment. [color=98FB98]“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,”[/color] Jasper paused as he held up his hand before letting them drop to his side, [color=98FB98]“I'm tired of fighting ourselves when there are mother fuckers out there who deserve our collective rage more.”[/color] 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.