[IC] The Sisters of the Dying Branch

[canaryrose]

For witches of the Sisters of the Dying Branch coven, each summer begins with a bang. On each year's summer solstice, the elders hold a party to usher in the new season. It's the longest day of the year and an auspicious one. And, once every three years, they hold an initiation on this day, to bond young witches to a wellspring for the very first time. It's an exciting event, a rite of passage, and one met with plenty of partying. New witches are welcomed to the coven with open arms and plenty of barbecue. In these years, the summer solstice party is even better.

This year is one of those years- a year in which witches will be initiated into the coven. It's the summer solstice- the sun is high in the sky, the air is heavy with humidity and heat. And there is a gathering going on at the coven house. It's one of the most extensive gatherings of the year. Hundreds of witches gather on the coven's sweeping swath of property in the Appalachians for a party, ready to celebrate and welcome new witches to their ranks.

The smells of barbecued meats, veggies, and fruits waft from the grills and the tables full of cooking and cooked food. A variety of pitchers full of sweet tea, lemonade, and some stranger looking concoctions rested on the tables as well, slowly gathering condensation. But the ice never seemed to melt, staying frozen after hours of sitting out in the sun. And the food too never seemed to cool off or grow old- it stays in the same state for hours upon end. Witches young and old swarm the food tables, loading their plates up with food and drink. But, beyond the food, witches wander the grounds. They sit at various picnic tables sprinkled around the grounds, chatting with friends that they haven't seen in a long time. There are groups casting spells together near the forest. Children streak across the field, too, seeming to be playing some odd version of tag that involves flying and various other castings. Games like cornhole and hopscotch are set up across the field, entertaining various witches.

But, beyond the Fourth of July-esque party, the true attraction of the gathering is the initiates. A wooden picnic table is set aside for twenty or so soon-to-be witches, and it's decorated specially- an embroidered black and gold table cloth is set out, as well as several other party favors such as goody bags and nice-looking necklaces. A few initiates that live at the house are already there, and witches crowd around them, congratulating them and even gawking a little. Elders, conspicuous in their black robes, also dot the premises. Although there are fewer of them than others- most of them seem to be inside the house, preparing for the ritual to take place later that night.

As the day goes on, more and more witches trickle in. Dozens turn into hundreds, filling the field almost to the brim. The sun reaches its peak in the sky and then dips down, casting its rays upon the coven.

Once the sun sets, witchlings turn into witches.

---

Take a sip of my secret potion / I'll make you fall in love / For a spell that can't be broken...

An older pop song blasted through the car radio as a yellow Jeep pulled to the side of the winding mountain road. Once she had gotten herself straight, the girl driving put the car in park. She needed to get out of the car, but this was such a good song. It never came on the radio anymore, which was a shame. So, she let it play until the end, bobbing her head along to the rhythm. And then... well, another banger came on the radio. So, of course, she had to listen! Before she knew it, a half-hour had passed, and she hadn't even stepped out of the car. Fuck. She tightened her hands on the wheel. Surely they didn't need her until sunset, right? She could stay in the car, keep listening to music until the sun set, and the ritual began. Yeah. That sounded okay.

"Calypso!" A voice came from outside the car, and then a knock. Calypso turned and saw her mother. She winced. Somehow, she had forgotten that her mother had been waiting for her at the party. Her mother was a woman that looked very unlike her. Straight, long red hair. Pale, freckled skin. A sharp contrast to her daughter's kinky, dark brown hair and light brown complexion. The only thing they really shared was an on the tall side of average height and brown eyes. Calypso could guess that the rest was all her dad. But, right now, her mother had her brows scrunched in the middle, and her mouth hardened in a thin line. Her arms were crossed.

Reluctantly, Calypso turned off the car, opened the door, and hopped down. She was wearing a bright yellow tank top and a pair of jean shorts, along with a pair of heeled sandals and a sky-blue headband in her hair. "Sorry Mom," she said, smoothing her shorts. "Got distracted. Good song, you know?"

Her mother huffed. "It's okay," she said. "I was wondering where you were, that's all." She took Calypso by the shoulder and guided her up the mountain path, past the variety of cars parked along the road. She squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "It's okay to be nervous. I was nervous when my time came, too- but you shouldn't miss the party. Today, it's all about you."

Calypso turned her head from her mother's eyes, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "I'm not nervous," she said hotly. "I told you, a good song came on the radio. That's it. I'm... I'm actually excited! I've been waiting for this my whole life."

Before Calypso knew it, they had come up to the field. Music was playing through the speakers- some old country song. Dixie Girls, she remembered. Immediately, people swarmed them. Mostly her mother's friends, some of their children. All congratulations and hugs and dizzying arrays of questions. Calypso put on her best smile and replied as best she could, all the meanwhile wringing her hands behind her back. She just needed to get to the table... yes, the initiate table. She peered over the heads surrounding her, glancing at the table in the center of the field. A couple witchlings were already there- probably the ones who lived at the house, she guessed. Breaking free from the circle and making her excuses, she made a beeline for the table. Those goody bags looked good. What was in them? Chocolate? Good chocolate? Maybe a pendulum? She definitely needed a new one of those, hers was cracked.

Once she got to the picnic table and the spot designated for her, she sat down, twiddling her fingers on the tabletop. There was a name card made specifically for her- Calypso Barnes, it read. There was one for everybody else, too. She grabbed it. Would make for a nice souvenir, she guessed. Her brown eyes flicked to the food table longingly. Some grilled zucchini sounded great right now... but it wouldn't do to go get food first. She should say hi to the other witchlings before she did. Not that she didn't know them already, but she hadn't seen some of them in such a long time.

[Hitman]

_{I can almost remember their funny faces
That time you told them you were going to be marrying soon
And Jet, I thought the only lonely place was the moon}

Dakota smiled, singing along loudly, as she zoomed through the forest at breakneck speeds. She soared under and over tree branches, occasionally going directly through some innocent branches, as she laced her way through the Virginia forest. A wide smile was plastered on her face as she twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding a particularly sharp branch that was jutting out of a tall oak tree, before re-stabilizing, looking forwards with determined glee.

Dakota was wearing a loose white tank top with blue stripes and a pair of cut-off jean shorts, a pair of white wired earbuds tangling from her ears loosely as it blasted music at a volume that was definitely unhealthy for her. Her bright blue, sneakered feet were planted her even brighter blue skateboard, Blue Jay, and she was currently practicing her flying skills in the forest. She loved the forest outside the Coven House- whenever she came down to the house, she always made sure to get some time in to fly. She and her dad and gotten to the House rather early, and so she had taken the opportunity to get a few laps around the forest in. A quick flight through the trees to enjoy the fresh smell of nature and get some practice in before heading back for the party. Dakota had already gone through the loop around three times now and was currently halfway through her fourth. After this, she promised herself that she would head back.

Approaching a particularly large, rotting tree, she swung Blue Jay sideways, pulling a tight loop around the old piece of nature and zooming back towards the Coven House, rock music blasting into her ears. She bobbed her head absentmindedly as the song continued. This was a classic tune and one of her favorites for sure. A nice, upbeat rock song with a great vibe. Nothing not to like.

_{Was your father as bold as the sergeant major?
How come he told you that you were hardly old enough yet?
And Jet, I thought the major was a lady suffragette}

Dakota ducked swiftly to avoid a high tree branch and was flying at a comfortable but swift speed when she noticed something that caught her eye. A hawk! Dakota loved hawks. They were such a neat animal, with their sharp talons and cool beaks. The hawk gazed at Dakota (or so she thought), and Dakota looked back at the creature with admiration. It was so cool, able to fly far and wide in search of prey, at speeds Dakota could only hope to achieve, just soaring constantly over the forest, unimpeded by any sort of distraction-

As she got lost in thought, she felt a tugging sensation and looked down. Her earbud wire had gotten snagged on a tree branch. Before it all happened, she knew what was about to go down. "Oh, no...no, no, no, no, no..."

Blue Jay launched out from beneath her legs and, without her magic, began a speedy descent towards the ground as Dakota promptly toppled towards the ground, the offending branch not nearly strong enough to hold her weight. Dakota promptly began a downwards spiral towards the Earth. Luckily, this was not the first time that Dakota had fallen, and she knew exactly what to do, her instincts sharpened from many other incidents. A gust of wind picked up beneath her, which helped slow the falling teen girl. Also luckily, Dakota was positioned above a nice pile of leaves and moss, and so she plopped down directly into the pile, sending the leaves scattering everywhere.

Dakota moaned as she rolled over. Her instincts and luck had saved her from broken bones, but that didn't mean that she was OK. After lying on the mossy, forest floor for a few moments in pain, she mustered the strength to pull herself to her feet. Staggering forwards, she scooped up Blue Jay, which was lying a few yards away, tucking the board under her shoulder, and beginning to walk back. She wasn't too far away, at any rate.

---

A moment later, Dakota walked over to the field. She had hastened to try and make herself look presentable to the rest of her Coven acquaintances, and she was pretty sure she had gotten rid of all the leaves and those other burrs and the like, but she still had the look of a windswept person, her brown hair all tangly, clothes wrinkled, but her face had a bright smile as she walked over to the celebration area. It looked nice! Dakota started to feel the energy of the party as she inconspicuously slipped in, hoping to avoid some of the Elder's glances. She hadn't been early for sure, but she wasn't late yet, at least. Luckily for her. She began to move towards what appeared to be the initiate's table when she was pulled into a back hug.

"Kota!" the person said with a smile, and Kota looked up to recognize the tall figure of her father. Though Kota stood at just above average height, her father was well above that benchmark, standing at an impressive 6'4", and the term "dad bod" did not apply to him in the slightest, his figure covered in thick, defined muscles, unlike Dakota's more lithe, sturdy build. Outside of these body differences, though, and the different genders, Kai Lawson resembled Dakota in many ways. They had similar facial structure, same color hair (though Kai's hair was quite short and well-kept compared to Dakota's), same wide eyes, and similar skin tones, though Kai had a little bit more melanin visibly. Kota's father was, simply put, a looker. Dakota had never seen her mother in person, but she had always imagined that she got her own good looks from her father. At least, she would say they were good looks, at any rate.

"It's your big day today!" her father said with a wide smile. "You excited?"

"Dad, stop it, you're embarrassing me!"

"I will keep embarrassing you until you answer my question."

"I'm...I'm really excited, yeah. I've waited a while for this." She smiled flashily. "Hope the Coven is ready for me!"

Kai laughed heartily. "Now that's my little girl. You go hang out with your friends, now. I'm going to go get a quick snack."

"OK! Have fun, Dad!" Kota said as she was finally released from her dad's monster hug. She smiled and waved as her dad walked off, hands in pockets. Her dad was the best, even though he could be embarrassing sometimes, and even though his hugs were way too tight. Rubbing her ribs and checking for damage, he made her way over towards the very elaborately decorated initiates table of black and gold clothes. Noticing the goody bag first, her curious eyes wandered over to the other dark-skinned girl. Calypso, Kota recalled, as she made her way around the table, her usual happy-go-lucky smile apparent for the other girl to see. "Hey!" she chirped with a wave of her hand as she approached the darker girl. "Excited for today?"

_{Speaks to: Calypso Barnes @canaryrose
Mentions: n/a
Song: "Jet" - Paul McCartney and Wings}

---

---

[Tracyarmav]

Uaithne Cináed Fearghal Orvar

---

Uaithne sat quietly at his place, eyes closed, ears very much open as he listened to the gathering witches slowly gathering around him. Throughout the day he frequently visited the food table, eating far more than most witches twice his size. It was exquisite food, how could he not gorge himself today? As for his drink, he appropriated an entire pitcher of sweet tea for himself. And though it never ran empty... It was never full either. For now he sat savoring the mingling sounds of gathering friends and family.

His mother and great aunt Brigid had wished him well the night before. Uaithne wore a drab olive utility vest over a plain warm brown shirt. The shirt was tucked into woodland camo canvas utility pants, worn with a woven black paracord belt. The pants went down to his ankles and covered most of his shin-high hiking boots, with water-resistant leather and steel toes. His favorite pair in fact. His hair, brown and slightly wavy, was worn long and pulled back into a small tail at the base of his skull. His green piercing eyes, remained closed for the moment, but had spent most of the day darting about as if trying to see everything all at once and shining with excitement. Tonight, he would become a witch. Uaithne smiled slightly, as he thought about what was to come.

Uaithne didn't chat much, only speaking if he had too. But that is normal for him. He heard others sit at the table, but no one called his name so he guzzled some more tea, and contemplated acquiring a fifth plate... He heard Kota clearly calling out to Calypso, so those two had arrived. He imagined Kota already looked a bit worse for wear... In a good way. She usually did. Calypso probably looked nice... She was a kind soul, perhaps a bit too kind for own good. The two together were often a bundle of laughs, both being of generally good cheer.

Uaithne's fingers played with a small knife. It remained sheathed, and was of a simple yet sturdy make. It was obviously well used... He let his mind wander as his fingers turned the blade over and over in his hands. What had it been like for Dad? He hadn't thought to ask last night... Oh well. He was determined to make his family proud. He'd made lots of preparations for tonight. Part of him couldn't wait for the sun to set... He opened his eyes to check it's progress... Not far enough, just an hour past it's zenith... He sighed and rose, putting the blade back in its pocket, as he went to grab his fifth plate of the day, stacking the food high.

"Today is a good day." he said to himself, smiling.

---

Speaks With: N/A; Mentioned: N/A

[Jumbus]

---

Rowan and her parents drove up to the summer picnic in her dads ranger wagon. Despite not being able to cast magic her dad was still able to attend these things because he is 'the first line of defense from normal humans discovering the witching world'. He still said it the same way in the same tone from when she was a kid. She also had the pleasure of riding in the back with Moxie, the family's German Shepard that was also her moms familiar. But Rowan didn't pay much attention to anyone in the car, instead her gaze was fixed on the trees going by on the forest road. She had a lot on her mind. Would she be able to live up to her Grandmother's legacy? Is she even good enough to become a witch? Despite her normal confidence about this, these doubts ate away at her in the last moments before it all began.

On arrival, she hugged her parents goodbye and watched them walk Moxie into the gathering. Rowan had something she had to do before she walked in and her parents were more than accepting of that. Before, when her powers weren't so developed she wouldn't of dreamed of being able to sense her grandmother's magical footprint in these woods. But now, brushing her hands across the many trees as she walked in the forest, as expected, they all had her grandmothers mark in some way. Rowan couldn't even remember what Elizabeth looked like and yet she was certain it was her. Could it be the entire forest was marked by her in some way? The very thought of it was daunting, how could she live up to something like that?

Rowan was deep in the forest at this point, looking back she could no longer see the car park. But she knew the way to the clearing more than well enough. But first, she stood in front of a sturdy looking tree and begun taking out ingredients, crushed rosemary and juniper berries. The tree was young and still growing, the perfect place to leave her first mark on this forest. Mixing the two ingredients in a small pestle and mortar she brought with her, she spread the result onto the bark. But one more ingredient was needed, switching the blade portion of her thumb ring up, Rowan cut her palm and pressed it onto the mixture. The blood soaked into tree, and Rowan began to cast. The process took around five minutes in total, but after releasing her hand a ghostly glow was left emitting from the tree. Ghostlight was a nifty little spell that allows a plant imbued with it to glow in the immediate presence of a witch. Rowan held pride in her accomplishment, it had taken even less time to perform than before. Even if she couldn't even come close to compare to her grandmother, this was a start.

Rowan's peaceful time in the forest was suddenly disturbed by erratic shaking in the branches above. She looked up to another young with riding on a blue board at breakneck pace above. There was only one witch that crazy, it was Kota! Rowan was glad to see another initiate coming in, and from the looks of it Kota had been practicing a lot since the last time they met. However, it wasn't long before the adrenaline junkie of a witch had all but past from Rowan's sight. 'I better catch up and head to the barbecue' Rowan thought, she gazed at her cut palm which was slowly patching up. A nice side effect from the special rosemary she used in Ghostlight.

---

The clearing was bright and sunny compared to the nice, cooling canopy of the forest. Rowan would need to take her coat of asap. As she walked toward the initiate table, she looked over to where her parents were and gave a wave to let them know she was back and all went well. They smiled back, but Rowan also noticed she was getting some looks from the other adult witches. The pressure of what she had to live up to was once again put on her shoulders. Rowan just kept on moving toward the initiates table. She also noticed the kids playing magic games, ones she was never be able to play because of her lack of quick casting. Rowan almost chuckled at how silly it all was, feeling so left out. Now she was regarded as high as any other initiate, maybe even a bit more because of her grandmother.

"I thought I saw you fly on in Kota. You got a lot better at it too." Rowan took a seat at the table, close but not directly next to any of the witches. Not out of any form a disliking to them, but because Rowan appreciates her space and is not inclined toward social situations. She turned her head toward Calypso and Uaithne."And its good to see you two again, I haven't seen you all in so long."

[Danvers]

The Mercedes e-class easily made its way down the quiet road, its sleek black finish and luxury interior seeming out of place amongst the peaceful wooded landscape. Its driver, who was dressed in a crisp suit and a plain black driving cap, drummed his fingers softly against the steering wheel as he tried to pretend that he hadn't noticed the awkward silence emitting from the back seat. The tension was palpable and almost suffocating, especially to the poor chauffeur who was new to the job and unused to such occurrences. He'd been told that the Abernathys were a very respectable family to work for but so far, Mrs. Abernathy had not spoken a single word to him aside from to point out some error in his uniform. Early on in the drive, he had briefly dared to look in the rearview mirror, only to be greeted by a contemptuous smile from the woman's daughter. It had been eery how her gaze perfectly portrayed all of her emotions in that one moment, which seemed to be a mixture of disdain, boredom and something more sinister. He'd found himself quickly looking away, spending the remainder of the journey with his focus fixed firmly on the road ahead.

A couple of hours later, during which time Dave (as the driver was known to his buddies back home) had been contemplating on whether to find a new job, the car drove up to an impressive-looking victorian house. Of course, he had no idea what the family were doing here, save for the fact that it was some sort of party. He'd had to sign all sorts of waivers and legal documents when he'd been hired by them, and he'd half-joked to himself that it was like he was joining the secret service. Just as he was about to announce their arrival, Mrs Abernathy, or Cassandra as she was also known, chose this moment to finally break the seemingly never-ending silence.

"Now Summer darling, you must be nice! I won't tolerate you making the others cry. Your sister has done so well to uphold the Abernathy reputation and I won't have you embarrassing us today of all days!" Her voice was sharp and stern as she turned to face her daughter, who begrudgingly tore her gaze away from the window. A lock of perfectly curled ginger hair fell across the girl's shoulder, only to be immediately pushed back in place as she opened her mouth to respond.

"What are you trying to say, Mother? I'm always nice." Summer aimed a well-practised and seemingly angelic smile towards the older woman as she spoke, her face not betraying the irritation that had immediately begun to rise up within her stomach. "It's not my fault if some people are just overly sensitive. But yes-.." She continued on quickly when she noticed her mothers expression faltering, not wanting to prompt yet another speech. "I promise that I will try and be on my best behaviour. I don't think I could live with myself after all, if I were to ruin your precious reputation." Rolling her eyes, she quickly opened the car door before the driver had a chance to, smoothing out the creases in her yellow & white striped dress as she stood up. Summer, after being given some unwanted advice from a certain sibling, had paired it with white heeled sandals and delicate pearls earrings. Unfortunately, she'd actually liked the overall look, something which only furthered her irritation.

Her deep brown eyes glanced around the open space as the pair made their way into the throng of the party, ignoring whatever her mother was currently squawking about. She could tell that Cassandra wanted to force her into what was likely to be awkward small talk with some very old and decrepit looking witches, but instead, she darted into the bustling crowd. Summer felt her whole body relax as she strode out of her mother's sight, a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. Finally, she could try and actually enjoy herself. Her stomach rumbled but she decided not to get any food for now - she'd be chastised for grabbing anything more than a salad anyway. Although it was no longer competition season, and she likely wouldn't have time to participate anyway, her mother still acted like it was...probably just to annoy her.

Pushing thoughts of food out of her mind as she strode past the buffet table, her expression fell when she saw her sister heading straight in her direction. Shit... The last thing Summer wanted to deal with right now was Olive. She'd rather be burnt at the stake. But she was trapped between a rock and a hard place...also known as her family. In a panic and before she could really think about what she was doing, Summer had bitten into the soft pad of her thumb, ignoring the sharp pain that came with the appearance of bright red blood. When Olives gaze passed over where she had been, she would see a young witch with sharply cropped black hair and blue eyes push through the crowd, making her way to the initiates table. She might also have noticed that said witch was wearing the exact same dress as her sister (who had somehow forgotten to change its colour), if not for the convenient distraction of several young witchlings rushing to crowd round at her feet.

Her appearance quickly reverting back to normal, Summer sighed in relief as she strode towards the group of initiates. That had been far too close. As she sat at her allocated seat, she propped her designer sunglasses atop her head before turning to greet the others. Deciding to completely blank the person who was sat beside her (which happened to be Rowan), she smiled at the other two girls who were sat opposite her. "Hi Calypso!" Her smile was polite, although she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she looked Dakota up and down. "Oh...I almost didn't recognise you with your hair like that Dakota. You look...nice." If someone knew Summer, they would recognise this as her half-hearted attempt at being nice, although anyone astute enough would easily be able to see through it. In her defence, she was trying, it just wasn't all that great of an effort.

@Canaryrose @Hitman @Jumbus

[Qia]

And she wanted me to at least wear heels, is the thought that drifts through her mind as she watches the trees around her swaying in the breeze. Alayna's pair of pink converse sneakers crunches over the dry dirt soil, her hand instinctively reaching up to swipe some dampened strands of hair from her face. She is close. The smell of barbecued meat is already in the air, causing her stomach to rumble and a red tint to appear on her already ruby cheeks. No one else is around as far as she can tell, but she still feels a little embarrassed. Especially considering her mode of transportation isn't exactly one that a sane person would choose, her feet throbbing somewhat from all the walking she's done. It is nice being around nature, however. It is nice being around something that she can understand completely today.

Her mother this morning had been beyond annoying. She'd felt this need to remind her of her family's position within the coven and how important it is that she makes a good impression today. The thing is, Alayna didn't need reminding of this. She'd already received enough reminders from others before. And as this is unbeknownst to either of her parents it is hard to hold a grudge. Still, the whole thing just makes her feel...less somehow. So much time has come and gone since her family's joining of the coven yet it seems to not matter for some people. To make matters worse, she isn't even sure what she's supposed to feel guilty for exactly. She doesn't know enough about the circumstances of her family's past wrongdoings and what it has to do with her present. Thinking of the entire situation just ends up bringing a scowl to her face, Alayna's brow crinkling in indignation. While she is privy to knowing certain things about her family, those things do not include everything she would like to know. Her curiosity is also, unfortunately, like a mouse is to a cat. Any information must be hunted down and taken in, or else how can she go on?

Dramatic? Maybe. Deniable? No.

The girl smoothes out her dress then, despite there being nothing wrong with it. Now right outside of the main house's back entrance, she wobbles the doorknob to test if it is open, quickly stepping through the door and shutting it behind her. She opens the first door she comes to once inside, knowing that it is a bathroom from having been inside the house a few times. The blonde then enters and locks the door behind her, turning to face the bathroom mirror. She heaves a sigh at the sight of her red face in the mirror. No, this won't do. Turning the cold tap, she splashes her face with water, shivering at the icy temperature. The last thing she wants right now is to be noticed immediately by those she would rather not see, including her parents who should be here by now having taken the car. She knows better than to think that she can avoid the stares all night, as she's destined to become a witch by the time the sun goes down. Maybe...Maybe she will leave her hair down. Just in case. She acts on this decision, taking her hair out of its usual messy bun and combing through it with her fingers self-consciously. Her genetics may be on her side for many things, but her lanky hair is not one of them.

Still, Alayna eventually leaves her hiding spot and walks to the main area for the party. She first notices the few familiar faces of her peers, but her eyes stray and glue themselves to the table with various foods. Food first. That's the priority, she thinks to herself, moving to the table and grabbing a paper plate from a stack.

Now, where to start....

[blackdragon]

Cassandra grunted as she walked deep into the woods, a little bit depressed at seeing all the other witchlings there with their parents. She would have liked nothing more than to have her parents with her, but fate had conspired to make that impossible long ago. Still, as she thought about it, the coven had become her family. And today, she was going to make that the truth. It was one of the extremely rare days she could get away with not being gloomy and keep her reputation. Sometimes, it did pay to be a little happy.

The witch brushed a pale hair out of her eyes and looked around at the assembled youngsters, feeling the electric crackle of raw, untapped magic cutting through the trees. This is it. The day we've all been waiting for. I never thought it would actually come. Cassandra picked out a plate stacked to the sky with barbecue- her figure wasn’t exactly high on her list of priorities right now. Heading up to Uaithne, the cursewright flashed a winning smile- or at least, what she thought was one. It probably wasn’t, but oh well.

“Hey, Uaithne. You ready for all this?” So much for small talk.

[Tracyarmav]

Uaithne Cináed Fearghal Orvar

---

Uaithne glanced up from his plate as Cassandra took a seat by him and asked about his readiness for the coming trial. He quickly swallowed and then gestured with his hands to the plate before him as he responded to a question she hadn't asked.

"Well, I am not quite done with my fifth plate; but I sincerely appreciate you troubling yourself to bring me my sixth. I should be ready for it shortly. You look good today, by the way."

An impish grin stretched his face as his green eyes danced with joy and excitement. Was he ready for tonight? As ready as he could be, as was everyone else at the table. But until then, it was time to enjoy the food and have some fun; so he added a wink for good measure. Uaithne then retuned to devouring his plate of BBQ, venison kebabs, mac & cheese, taters mashed and drowning in gravy... And the crumbs of some already consumed delights.

"Mmm, oh..." Uaithne paused to wash his food down with more tea then proceeded to question Cassandra. "Which is your favorite so far, dish I mean?" he asked, his face eager and... surprisingly earnest. He was usually more reserved, but then Cassandra was usually more... gloomy? Eh, close enough. Today was special, in more ways than one. And Uaithne intended to enjoy every second of it.

---

Speaks With: @blackdragon; Mentioned: N/A

[KaijuBaragon]

"Charlie, you're going to be late, stop messing with your hair, it'll be fine!"

"Mum, I can't very well show up to initiation looking dreadful, can I? Are there even any other initiates there?"

"Well, no, but... They'll start arriving soon, just hurry up!"

"I will, I will! I'll see you there, bye!"

Charlie hung up the phone quickly and ran his fingers lightly through his fiery orange hair, prodding it a little before sighing and giving himself one last look-over in the mirror. Well, he wasn't going to get it any better than that, Charlie reasoned, and he quickly threw on a muted grey hoodie over his Watford F.C football shirt, zipping it up - he thought that the bright yellow kit would probably not be the first thing that he should show off. He was also wearing his favourite pair of black jeans. After giving himself one final final look over in the mirror, he grabbed his car keys off the counter and hurried down from his bedroom, opening the door and hopping into his Ford Fiesta - not the most exciting of cars to own, but it was his first, and it wasn't like he could buy a Mercedes, or something - and quickly began driving in the direction of the coven.

It was only a short drive, but Charlie's uncontained excitement made it feel like a very long one - he kept tapping his fingers impatiently as he studied every individual sign carefully to make sure he was definitely going in the right direction, even though he had driven this route many times, and had even passed his test by driving it. He knew by this point he wouldn't be the first one at the coven, but he was going to make damn well sure he wasn't the last - to be the last one there would definitely be rather embarassing. Soon he reached the winding forest road that lead into the house. He always loved coming up here - the forest was so pretty! As Charlie looked forward on the road, he suddenly yelled and floored the breaks as something canine ran out in the road. It was just a fox. Charlie wiped his brow as the fox stood unperturbed in the middle of the road. Charlie honked the horn, which seemed to convince the creature who scurried off. The rest of the drive up to the house was, thankfully, uninterrupted.

After parking up, Charlie speed walked around the house to reach the party. He was quickly located by his equally as fiery haired mum, who hurried over to him and gave him a big hug, thankfully obscured from view from the the initiate picnic table. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Charlie! I remember my initiation here... It's so interesting, you'll love it!" Charlie managed to wrestle himself out of his mother's vice like grip. "Okay, okay, I'm sure I will! I need to go and sit with the others..." His mother nodded and let him escape, and he filtered through the crowd to try and find where they all were. He couldn't stop his mind from falling on his father... Would he be proud of Charlie today, or would he be upset that he wasn't being initiated into the coven back in the UK. Charlie really did hope that his father would be okay with it. He had never really breached that specific discussion with this mother.

However, his thoughts were distracted as he nearly walked into the food table. His eyes scanned hungrily over the food available, grabbing a plate and placing some on it. Sausages, some chicken pieces, pulled pork... and a couple of grilled vegetables, he didn't want to come off looking too unhealthy of course. When he had finished and looked up, he saw himself opposite the table to a girl who had seemingly very serious look on her face... Aylana, he remembered her name as being. The food table was no place for a proper conversation though, so he simply smiled and said hello before taking his plate and heading over to the initiate picnic table. When he got there, he could indeed see that he was definitely not the first. 6 other people were already there, which he knew to varying degrees.

He took his empty seat, looking at his name plate, which said "Charles" instead of "Charlie" which was undoubtedly a little annoying. If he had a pen he would have changed it. He happened to be sitting next to Summer, and he pondered for a moment that it was quite funny that the two gingers had been seated next to each other. Across the table were Calypso and Dakota, and he glanced over back at the tables, spotting Cassandra and Uaithne conversing. He turned back to the table. "Oh, it's great to see you all..." He absentmindedly played with his name card. "Let's hope everyone else turns up soon... Could you imagine being late? It'd be horrible, frankly..."

@Qia @Danvers @canaryrose @Hitman @Jumbus

[Melissa]

As her family’s car rolled down the remote dirt backroad, Maggie sat in the backseat, nose buried deep in a book. She had only started it yesterday and yet somehow, she was already more than halfway done, the stack of pages in her left hand outweighing the stack in the right.

The drive from the Wilson residence in rural Maryland to the coven house was nearly complete, the winding path they were currently on beginning to look familiar. Sure, Maggie was excited about the premise of the summer solstice celebration and her initiation into the coven, but she wasn't all too thrilled about the social aspect. Yes, she had known these kids most of her life, but she still had a hard time interacting with them. They only spent time together when coven meetings came around and she doubted they even liked her. It was sure to be an interesting day and evening, so thank goodness she had at least 10 chapters left of her novel to get her through the event.

“Margaret, are you even listening to me?”

“Mhmm…” The blonde pressed her lips together, indicating she was somewhat paying attention but still not letting her focus falter from the words on the page. Her mother had been droning on for the last five minutes about her own initiation into the coven and reminding Maggie about how important of a day this was going to be for her.

It was at that moment the words on the paper became blurry as they were forcibly ripped away, the culprit being none other than her brother who was sitting next to her. “Mom’s talking to you, nerd.” He spat, a chuckle escaping his lips as he taunted her by holding her book towards the open window.

“Brent, you’re going to make me lose my spot!” Maggie screeched and snatched the book back by it’s thick spine, quickly leafing through the pages and attempting to locate where she left off. She was just getting to a good part and of course he had to ruin it for her.

“Knock it off you two. Can you both at least try to get along today?” Her father begged, pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car. They had reached their destination, evidenced by the throngs of people surrounding the coven house. Turning around to look at his two kids, he smirked. “It’s Maggie’s initiation and the summer solstice, let’s just all try to have a nice time, okay?”

With that, her father opened the door and exited the car, followed by her mother. Maggie quickly followed suit, letting her white keds hit the pavement. She held her book with a vice like grip in her left hand, almost as if it was a safety net. After smoothing out her blue gingham sundress, the blonde let her arms dangle at her sides, the fingertips of her free hand just barely grazing the hem of her skirt. Maggie had originally wanted to wear just the dress on its own, but after the complaints of her mother nearly drove her over the edge of insanity, the blonde slipped on a fitted white shirt with a lettuce hem underneath to appease her. Something about "making a good impression" and all that.

“Let’s hope they don’t throw you to the werewolves, Mags.” Brent snickered, abandoning her quickly to go and find his own friends who were circled up near the tree line. Having been initiated three years prior, he seemed to have a much better grasp on all things coven than she did.

"Not if I throw you to them first." She muttered to only herself as her brother was already long gone. Rolling her eyes, Maggie let her feet tread lightly across the grass towards the designated initiate table she spotted in the distance, glancing around for any excuse not to go over there. Maybe she'd bump into one of her mom's friends or a distant relative and they'd make her tell them how excited she was to be initiated this eve. But once she saw that a small group of witchlings had formed at the table, that was good enough excuse as any, and she immediately turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. Groups weren’t exactly her thing, and she'd much rather go and hide somewhere else than in plain sight.

Instead, Maggie meandered over to the coven house, the maroon and gold façade shimmering in the afternoon sun. Making her way up the rickety stairs and onto the far side of the porch, she propped herself up on the railing and leaned against one of the posts, opening her book once more to continue from where she left off.

[Akayaofthemoon]

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A pair of bare feet rushed across the plush green grass, wedge sandals long ago discarded and forgotten somewhere among the crowd of people gathered. The trampling of little feet and childish laughter were not far behind as she kept to a slower running pace so the younger witchlings could keep up with her. Earlier, she had been bored out of her mind, properly sitting at their designated table by herself and watching member after member arrive for the initiation. It wasn’t like she had family to give her a pep talk or check in on her to make sure that she was handling things alright or that she made a good impression and the swarms of people gathering around to give congratulations were too close for comfort, making her claustrophobia act up. Instead, she decided to excuse herself and play a few rounds of tag with the younger children. It helped her draw her thoughts away from what was to come and the nervous excitement that clawed at her gut. Hana could only be so confident about how tonight would go but she wanted to make her mother proud even if she would never get to see this moment. It was a twinge of pain to think about and even more so when seeing the others her age with their parents. The Elders were great, she couldn’t truly complain but it just wasn’t the same.

A gasp of surprise was pulled from her as she tripped over a lifted root, her mind being so preoccupied in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice one of the younger witchlings' spells. She toppled to the ground, barely catching herself from face planting. She turned onto her back just in time to be dog piled on by a bunch of kids with smiling faces. “We got you!” one of them claimed in a sing-song voice which caused Hana to laugh happily.”That you did! I’m very impressed., she smiled, slowly pushing herself up as the kids scrambled off of her to instead circle around her. She carefully stood, brushing off the dirt and grass from the bottom of the pale pink sundress she adorned and readjusting the bow around her waist before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Now it’s your turn to get us!” A little boy stated, bouncing on his heels in excitement.”Maybe a little later. I want to grab a bite to eat first.”, she said gently, booping the young boy on the nose. He looked cross eyed at his nose for a second before a large grin lit on his face. “Alright, I’m it! Better run!!” he called before rushing after the child closest to him and causing them all to scatter and rush off once more.

She chuckled softly at their playfulness before turning away to make her way over to the table laid out with food and drinks. The smell of the grill’s flames and cooking meat filled the air much more noticeably over in this area, tempting her to eat probably far more than she should. It wasn’t everyday that she got to have some of these items since not every witch visited continuously, some only coming for special events or once a year to reconnect. Hana was determined to at least have one of everything, well, except for the things she knew she didn’t like but who would know the difference. She was sure someone else could eat her fair share of those items anyway. She filled up her plate to the brim, pouring herself some ice tea and happily taking back her seat from this morning at the corner of the table. If she was being completely honest though, she had turned the odds in her favor since no one had been there quite as early as she had and switched the name plates so she was on the end. The early bird gets the worm as they say and she had not wanted to be smack dab in the middle.

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Speaks With: N/A
Mentioned: N/A

[canaryrose]

Calypso swiveled in her seat to face Dakota, smiling brightly. "Kota! It's been forever, c'mere." Before Dakota knew it, Calypso had wrapped her in another bone-crushing hug. She let go after a few seconds, stepping back. "Of course I'm excited. I bet you are, too." Calypso, true to her words, was practically vibrating with excitement. She couldn't stop herself from fidgeting with her hands and tapping her feet, and she couldn't keep a smile off her face. It was also nice to see her friends (or kind of friends), like Dakota, again- they didn't see each other too often. Calypso, although she hadn't talked to her much, liked Dakota. She even enjoyed her little flying stunts- they were fun to watch. She was pretty nice. Unlike...

Ah, fuck. Calypso's smile faltered a little as Summer appeared, and then Charlie right after. She internally groaned. They were two of the largest dickwads their age, and Calypso had never liked talking to them. Not since they were children, at least. She half-noticed Rowan- another person she didn't mind- but instead of greeting her, she waved to Summer and Charlie. She moved towards Summer to wrap the both of them in another crushing bear hug. "Summer, Charlie, Rowan. It's great to see you guys, too! It's been way too long." She laughed a little at Charlie's comment, releasing them from the hug. "Well, some people live so far, you know. Not like the food's running out anytime soon, though," she joked. The food and drink were, in fact, not running out- it seemed that plenty of food had been bought, and there were plenty of platters out and ready.

"Speaking of, anyone wanna run over and grab some food with me? That zucchini looks amazing. Wouldn't wanna be hungry for the ceremony..." She pointed over to the tables. She was a bit peckish, that was true, but she also didn't particularly want to talk to the more bitchy initiates.

@Hitman@Jumbus@Danvers@KaijuBaragon

[Blizz]

Iris Aderast

Today was a good day.

The vibe was just right.

Perfect for a nice song to listen to, which is exactly what Iris was doing through one ear while listening to everyone else around her. Today, she’s become a true witch. A properwitch, and her place in the coven would be solidified. The air was humming with excitement, and she certainly looked forward to it. After all, she didn’t have much to be concerned over considering the fact that she already considered this coven her family, and her home. She was sitting next to another would-be witch and the table that all the elders prettied up for them. She even found a slinky on the ground. Cute. Next to Iris was Hana, who she wasn’t paying much attention to right now, because while everything was going great so far, one thing just didn’t seem right to her.

You see, Iris was drinking a little something, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. She was just staring out into the clouds while occasionally sipping down on this red solo cup of hers. Sure, she could just look down into the cup and find out whether or not she was drinking sweet tea, or iced tea. Not that she would, of course. It ultimately didn’t matter to her, just tea, isn’t it? Is it tea? Seems like tea, it’s not fizzy like soda, so it’s probably tea. Mmm. Tea.
@Akayaofthemoon

[Hitman]

As Kota had walked over to Calypso to talk to the girl, it seemed a few more people had arrived to the table (that, or, more likely, Dakota had just not noticed them on the onset.) First noticed was Uaithne, or, as Kota referred to him exclusively, "Shorty," due to his lack of size, especially for a male. It was all in good fun, of course. She hoped that he knew that. He probably knew that, right? Yeah, definitely.

Up next over to the group was Rowan, a girl only slightly older than her. The girl was sweet; a bit introverted, a bit nerdy, which were certainly fair game for Dakota's teasing, but sweet nonetheless. Dakota grinned as she walked over, flinching as she mentioned her forest flight. "Oh, yeah, yeah, thanks, I have improved a bit. Thankfully I didn't fall or anything," Kota emphasized with a wide smile as she grinned at Rowan. "It has been a while," Kota agreed as her eyes slowly moved towards the newcomers at the table. She did not like what she saw. Summer Abernathy. As Summer walked over, lobbing a very clearly half-hearted compliment her way, Dakota held herself back from releasing a nice burst of wind to see how Summer enjoyed falling from heights. She decided not to say this, instead sufficing with a grin. "Err...thanks," she forced out, looking over at Charlie, who was...fiddling with his nametag? She didn't care much for the boy herself, but at least he wasn't mean. An ass sometimes, yes, but not mean.

She felt her arms get crushed to her sides as Calypso sweeped her into a bear hug, giving a weak grin. "Missed you too, Callie. If you could maybe lighten up on the hugs?" She sighed as Calypso finally let go and instead turned to give Summer and Charlie a hug. Watching with a grin, Kota subconsciously ran her hand through her hair as she looked around. A few other people had arrived (or at least, she had noticed them). Talking with Shorty was Cassandra, or as Dakota had nicknamed her, Moody Blues, and elsewhere over the party was Hana, the Korean girl (her Oriental features made her easy to remember) and another lonely girl with a cute face and brown curly hair. Dakota scratched her head as she tried to remember her. Had she ever spoken to her before? She probably had...Dakota just went with "Curly" for the time being. She could ask later. Her eyes wandered back to Calypso as the girl suggested getting some food. "Ooh, good idea, Callie! I am starving from the flight, y'know. We should go get something to eat real quick! We'll be right back." Dakota caught onto Calypso's cue very quickly, giving her elbow a gentle yank as she made her way over to the food table. She looked over at the large selection of barbecued foods (there were many, most of which Dakota had never seen grilled before) as she grabbed a plastic cup, pouring a glass.

"Funny, the only thing that could ruin summer...is Summer," Dakota quipped as she topped off her lemonade, peaking over her shoulder to make sure the girl wasn't too close by. "Also, you're right. This zucchini looks fantastic. I didn't even know you could grill zucchini in the first place. Guess cooking is an art, after all...no wonder I'm so bad at it." Dakota grinned at her joke before turning to look at Calypso, warmth filling her smile. "Seriously, it has been a while, though. What've you been up to?"

_{Speaks to: Calypso Barnes @canaryrose, Rowan Moore @Jumbus, Summer Abernathy @Danvers
Mentions: Uaithne "Shorty" Orvar @Tracyarmav, Charlie Hamlyn @KaijuBaragon, Hana Song @Akayaofthemoon, Iris Aderast @Blizz}

---

---

[Qia]

She lifts her head, staring at him with curious eyes. Charlie. That is the name appearing in her mind. The boy with the reddest hair she's ever seen, Summer's seeming not as bright to her. The boy who likes to spout random useless things at times in an accent that suggests he bathes in English tea every day. The boy she cannot help but remember. Why? It is probably the hair. And when she is further caught in her musing of him, she forces her expression into a neutral one. Why? She doesn't know. Perhaps it's because she does not know what to expect, so it's best to prepare herself for the worst.

So when he simply smiles and says hi, Alayna is caught off guard. She has every reason not to be surprised, as Charlie has never uttered a mean word to her before. But it is a habitual reaction to niceness that is hard to break. She opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water, unable to respond but managing to offer a weak smile before he walks away. She watches as he walks over to the initiate table, her eyes moving to the other initiates there briefly before turning her attention back to her food. After only eating an apple, the last thing she wants is fruit. So, she's piled her plate with mostly creamy mashed potato, two barbecued chicken legs, and an assortment of veggies on the side. She dips the tip of her finger in the mashed potato, bringing it to her lips and smiling to herself at the taste. If she had to choose to eat only one thing for the rest of her life, it would be this. When she realizes how strange she must look, however, she clears her throat and quickly walks to the section where the drinks are.

After grabbing herself a cup of lemonade, Alayna looks to the initiate table once again. By now, a good bit of people is seated, engaged in conversation. She looks back at the main house then, pondering whether she would be allowed to eat inside before catching sight of her mother and father seated at one of the nearby tables. Right away, she speed walks to the initiate table, not yet ready to face her parents, and keeps her head done while side glancing at the names on the table. Once she finds hers, which happens to be next to a person named Maggie, she takes a seat and digs into her mashed potato with her spoon this time. The name Maggie doesn't ring any bells but she's thankful that the two people beside her are yet to appear.

Mentions:@Melissa@KaijuBaragon@Danvers

[sassy1085]

---

Even though Kate should be excited for tonight party like their parents are, but in Kate's heart however, their heart just feels nervous....And they don't know why. Kate is sitting in the backseat of their parents car, watching the trees passing by, Kate could have wear their causal outfit along with their green camo jacket, but their parents really want them to wear something formal, something that could let every witch know that Kate means business. With no time arguing with their parents, Kate gives up and wears a light blue bottom up shirt with a black jacket, black pants, black shoes and a black tie with their hair tie up in a bun, Kate really doesn't want to stand out too much, but at least they look good in the suit.

"Kate? Sweetie?" Kate snap out of their daydreaming when they hear their mother voice "Uh? Wha-Oh, Yeah?" "We are here..." Kate looks around in their surrounding, they see hundreds of cars sitting right next to the steps of the party "...Oh, Right, We are here...Yay." Kate try to sounds excited as best as they could, but their heart still wasn't feeling it.

When Kate and their parents finally made it to the party, Kate was surprise to see how many people are here, everyone was eating, little kids playing games and people are just talking and talking. When Kate spot the elders in the crowd, wearing black robes like the sith lord from Star Wars, Kate would totally make a joke about but they can't to feel uneasy by looking at them, feeling like the elders are looking at Kate, judging them, so Kate kept that sith lord joke to themself. Beside feeling nervousness and uneasiness, At least Kate aunt Mei is not here "Ahhh! Kate, you are finally here!" Kate turn their head to see their aunt walking them and their parents, Kate sigh, they just have to jinx it.

"I was so relieved, I thought you weren't going to be in this important event of your life." Mei say, Kate roll their eyes when she says "important event of their life", so far this "important event" just looks Fourth of July party. Kate was about to say something but then, their mom start talking to her "Of course not! we couldn't miss for the world!" she say happily. It seems that their aunt and their parents are done talking to Kate, Kate slowing walk away from them and just grab a drink and leap against the tree, just watching the party.

While everyone is out here, socializing, Kate is just standing here, under a tree, holding their drink and just feeling like they don't belong here. Everyone seems like their life are already set for them perfectly while Kate life is just unprepared and not perfect, they look their aunt, wearing her red dress, she seems like her witch life is just perfect then Kate life. Kate sighs, they should stand at home, relaxing, watching tv, making potions and what-not, but instead doing all that, Kate is stuck here.

Kate thought since they don't know long they been stuck, they guess they can just look to around, see if Kate recognize everyone here, and to their not-so-surprise, they don't recognize everyone here....Well, except one person, Kate recognize her all too well, Rowan Moore, the girl that Kate totally beat at potion studies. Kate remembers the first time they met, Rowan acting like she was better then Kate and like a pro that Kate is, they kick her ass in potions and for the first time after, Kate had fun with Rowan, their friendly rival.

While Rowan was sitting at the tablet with other witches, Kate is just warmly smirking at her and raise their drink at her as a sign of greetings.

@Jumbus

[blackdragon]

“Gotta say, I love the ribs. Great stuff- wonder if they enchanted the sauce.” Cassandra looked up as a sparrow started singing. It was the perfect addition to the scenery. The witch smiled as she took another big bite. She simply had to find out who was manning the grill and get some lessons. But there would be time for that after the ceremony.

“By the spirits, look at the two of us. The quiet boy and little miss Goth, having a nice warm conversation like old friends. What’s this going to do to our reputations?” She giggled. “Let me tell you a secret- it’s all bullshit. I mean, my magic’s not exactly the happy sort, so that’s what people expect. And that’s what I give them. But if you don’t let your hair down, you’ll go nuts.” Cassandra grunted as she forced through a tough bit of meat. “It is what it is, I guess. But don’t tell anyone!”

[Tracyarmav]

Uaithne Cináed Fearghal Orvar

---

Uaithne glanced around, noting the other witches arrivals and one particulary reclusive witch deciding to hide in or around the coven house. He didn't see witch, but understood the crowd could be daunting. It was certainly annoying for someone of his stature, but he was more or less used to it by now. He smiled as Cassandra continued the conversation.

"I had guessed as much. You hide it well but I noticed you have a kind heart, and those don't like to stay sad. I'm glad it is an act. Today is too special to waste on pretense. Speaking of acts, do you think anyone else is putting on a show?"

Uaithne nodded towards the others, some seated a little farther down the table and others standing by the food. Uaithne was largely on good terms with the other witches. He was even okay with Summer and Charlie, most days. But he was also really good at just vanishing into the woods on bad days... And he was aware that not everyone was as laid-back as he was.

He personally thought Cassandra was pretty cool. Her hex magic in particular was facinating. He kept his own proficiency with poisons and venoms a lightly guarded secret. He didn't show it off, but he didn't deny it either. Most saw only his healing an enchantments, which played into the supportive role he preferred. But Cassandra... Well, her hexs were the magical equivalent of an artillery battery in Uaithne's mind. It took time to set up, but when done right.... It was terrifyingly inspiring in its effectiveness.

---

Speaks With: @blackdragon; Mentioned: All present.

[Infinite Cosmos]

Song for the time

"Yes mother! I've got everything I need!" Arken called out, running down the granite spiral staircase that led to the main double doors of their ancestral home. In a wooded area in upstate New York, there was no way the Stones can afford such an estate in their current economical situation. Luckily for them, the home was built in the early 1920s, made to be palatial, even by the gaudy standards of the Roaring Twenties.

The Stones, leveraging their latent talent to manipulate things of the earth, made a name for themselves as the premier stonemasons of the age. Crafting buildings of awe and splendor for those who could afford them. The skills of which were made to be on display within the Stone Estate, as it is known. The solid granite staircase with inlaid gold trim. The intricate patterns in which the stones were hewn into the floor. The grand columns that lined the halls. All of which seemed like a marvel of craftsmanship for the time. Of course, there have been updates to both the internal and external structure of the building, to keep up with the ever evolving technology of the times. The fact remains, the estate was fit for a family of their standing.

With the door slamming shut behind him, Arken tossed his plain sand-colored backpack onto the front his of his open-air Jeep Wrangler, hopping through the open front door, or lack thereof. Clipping on the seat belt, the key turned and sent the oversized engine into a frenzied roar. Two dull clicks, as Arken set the car in gear and took off for the event du jour.

On the radio, soft melodic voices swirled, singing of whiskey and morphine.The wind in his hair, the sun on his skin, everything felt right. Of course, this was his initiation. Through previous meetings and family events, he had met most, if not all, of the initiates this year. Should be a decent social event, he thought to himself.

Absentmindedly reaching into his backpack, he took out a bottle and drank from it. The water flowed freely, and the cooling sensations quickly filled his mind. Within some moments, Arken made it to the previously disclosed location. Haphazardly parking his car, he hopped out and slung his pack over his shoulders. As he approached the gathering crowd, he surveyed the groups present, to see if anyone he'd care to interact with are present.

"Ah. Good. I see Charles, Dak, SumSum, Rowan, Calypso and the usual gang. Should be fine..." Ark thought to himself as he approached the group. Tugging on the tail of his grey t-shirt, he made somewhat of an attempt to fix up however he was looking at the time before giving up all too quickly. Overall, his hair flowed freely, his shirt was free of wrinkles and his jeans sat a little too low on his waist for the time being. His shoes though, were clean and neat enough.

"Gang, fret not. For Arken Stone has arrived and the party can now officially start. " He proclaimed in a matter of fact way. "Kidding. How is everyone?" Noticing the random bits of food and smells everywhere. "It seems like they actually cared enough about the event to cater some food. Seems nice." He made a small quizzical scowl, analyzing the food. Of course, before proceeding any further, as it was customary, "Charles." Arken said, to the red head in the group.

His attention fluttered to and fro, lazily scanning the surroundings. Someone caught his eyes. "Who. Is that? There?" He motioned with his chin in Hana's general direction. "She new? Or...do I just not remember her name?"

@canaryrose@Jumbus@Danvers@KaijuBaragon@Akayaofthemoon

[blackdragon]

Rebecca was at the party early, as always. She wasn’t the kind of girl to waste a second of her day- she’d learned that time was precious from her magic. The medium looked at a seemingly empty space, a few of her pals from the world beyond were here for her. Jennifer gave her a little nod. The other girl was dressed in the robes she’d hoped to wear for her binding, all those years ago. “It’ll be fine, Beck. If it was supposed to be harmful, they wouldn’t do it.”

“I know, I know, but I’m still a little nervous. What if my powers aren’t strong enough?”

“You’re one of the most talented witches I’ve ever met. Trust your magic, and you’ll succeed.”

The redhead motioned her agreement to the spirit, then went to join the living. She shivered a little bit, heat be damned- she always felt uncomfortable when she returned to her flesh and blood body after projecting for a little while. She’d hoped it would be gone by now, but it seemed today’s situation was worse than normal. Alas.

She got herself a small plate of vegetables and found her spot, next to Alayna. Not a bad choice of partner for the day. “Hey there, Layna. Hope you’re ready for the big show.”