[IC] The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

[SouffleGirl123]

A Collab between @Inertia & @Soufflegirl123
Featuring: Victor Crowe & Catherine Hierich

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Catherine was very glad she had prepared to end up in a situation not so suited to dresses. While people were catching up and waiting for Carlisle’s, very long, awaited return she wandered through the halls with her day bag to find a bathroom or bedroom or somewhere to get changed. It shouldn’t have taken long at all with the mansion brimming with bedrooms and bathroom but Catherine kept finding herself swept up by the house’s decor. She’d never been anywhere this fancy, her mother could never afford long distance travel and most attractions in Maine were more nature locations. She’d never had a reason to be at the manor despite the training yard hence never was. She found a bathroom and changed into a denim jumpsuit over a black shirt, very much glad she came prepared for this.

She had thought she had taken forever, yet Carlisle was still yet to return from the fight that had earlier taken place. Miles and Lilith seemed to be suspiciously gone from the room also. She idles by Victor, crossing her arms casually. ”So, protector of Tanner, how you feeling?” She asks, eying the scene around her. She could only imagine tumultuous situations left, right and centre. At least there were a handful of somewhat stable people in the room.

Victor stopped himself from looking around to check if Catherine was referring to him “Protector of Tanner? Here’s hoping,” he replied in jest. “I am alright, maybe a bit off due to personal reasons but hey, who isn’t?”

“How are you holding up? With being new to the coven and all?” He said and then sighed, scratching his cheek. “As much as I’d like to say that what happened earlier was rare, that would be a lie. I’ll apologize for them in advance.”

”Seems like a common theme here,” Catherine replies with a chuckle at Victor’s comment about being off for personal reasons. She remains facing the scene before, everyone seemingly relatively recovered from the drama despite some fuming faces around the room. When Victor asks about her adjustment Catherine shrugs, turning to him. ”I don’t know,” she says softly, pursing her lips, ”I think I expected coming back to feel like coming home and it’s nice to see everyone again but I guess a couple of years and a handful of Summers isn’t quite enough to be home. But it’s somewhat… comforting to see some things haven’t changed since high school though,” she gestures to the scene before them before crossing her arms once again. ”And it’s good to see you again, of course. How have you been?”

“Can’t be a witch without personal issues,” Victor joked.

“Hopefully you’ve felt welcome, I remember my time trying to fully integrate into this coven. Wasn’t entirely smooth. Eventually it felt like home,” he replied. “The same to you, it’s nice to see you again. I’ve been good. Got my bachelor’s degree and my mum stopped breathing down my neck. Er- please don’t tell her I said that.”

“Speaking of; how’s your magic been coming along. I’d be glad if any of my tips have been of any help.” Victor enquired, placing his hands into his jacket.

”Nice to hear it’s normal, Catherine muses. She didn’t really know how to feel about the group ahead of her. There were some like Aurora or Victor or Daniel who she got along with well enough but there were many she truly felt uneasy around. When Victor asked about her magic she gave a nod, ”Hm, yes, I’ve been meaning to thank you for all your help! I’ve actually come quite a long way. I’d be excited to show you sometime?” Their conversation is soon interrupted by Carlisle returning to the dining hall and instructing everyone on where to go next.

“I’ll be glad to see your progress,” Victor nodded. “Alright- are we taking the same car?” He figured that there was a more than decent chance something could happen considering that wards weakening didn’t symbolize anything good.

Catherine looked back at Victor with a small smile. She did like the idea of traveling together and gave a small nod, ”Only if you drive though, I think you’d know the way better than I,” Although Catherine spent many hours in that forest in her youth it had been quite sometime since she’d been back and she rarely went all the way to the barrier.

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Catherine exited the car at the site, unable to help but feel a foreboding uneasiness like a cold gentle chill rushing through her. She took a moment to close her eyes and ground herself, now wasn’t the time for more problems. She followed Carlisle’s lead to the clearing, a brilliant blue border that she had only seen a handful of times glistening ahead of them. Unlike the last time she had seen it, it appeared more defeated, lighter blue patches and scratch marks seemed to cover places of it. She sat through Carlisle’s… speech would you call it. Her brow furrowed. She had very little to do with the man in her couple years in Tanner’s High School but she remembered him to be a quiet man.

At Calisle’s instruction to find a partner, Catherine raised an eyebrow at Victor’s direction that asked if he wanted to join her. As they regrouped she asks ”Is Carlisle always like that now? Not that I knew him well but I remember him being more… well.. Docile? Quiet?”

“I figured it was just jitters from being handed the leadership role in the Coven.” Victor replied, “But you may be right, Carlisle has not been acting like himself. I’ll check in with him after this.”

Victor eyed the barrier- it did appear that something had been clawing away at the differently hued barrier. It was not a good sign, only a few supernatural beings can do that to a magical barrier. “What do you think made that?” He asked her, “Let’s have a closer look at the barrier.”

”They look like claw marks?” Catherine muses, nodding at Victor’s suggestion to go closer to the barrier. As she edged closer that chill seemed to return and moments later she heard a meek Help. She whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the voice. That's when she heard it once more Please! Please help me! She stopped in her tracks. Although she didn't know the voice she recognised other characteristics of its speech. The echoed words, the almost ethereal sounds, the fact it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Catherine had come a long way with her magic but she could never control the voices of the dead. She was unsure if she ever would be able to, partially because she avoided training the parts of her magic that fuelled that ability but also, despite being dead the deceased seemed to have a lot to say.

Catherine gripped her forehead with one of her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. ”Please, leave me alone," she tries to reason through gritted teeth.

Victor looked back at Catherine gripping her head. He made his way to her, “Are you alright?” From what she’s told him, her magic erred more on the uncontrollable side of the magic spectrum. The irascible and forlorn nature of deceased spirits didn’t help either. “You can control it Catherine, it’s your magic, don’t let it overwhelm you.”

Catherine gives an unconvinced nod, her hand unmoving from her head. She slowed her breathing, her eyes squeezed shut. For a moment there was silence, she was almost convinced she had won until only seconds later the voice spoke again. Please, I can help you too! Please just listen. By now this should have been under control, Catherine figured but the dead were always so persistent ”They don't listen, they don't ever listen," she murmurs.

That's when she felt it, the pull to the west accompanied by the coldness of death. Catherine took a breath to steady herself and looked up at Victor. The last thing Catherine wanted to do was pursue it but what if it could help? At least she may have the chance to show Victor a trick she'd picked up. ”Come with me," she says gently before taking off west.

“Catherine- Hey-” Victor said. He quickly followed after her in bewilderment. It seemed that the spirit was guiding her somewhere. He steeled himself mentally, whatever this was, it likely wasn’t good. He gathered his mana, frost beginning to form on his fingers and face as his eyes glowed a slight icey blue.

Catherine wordlessly followed the pull into the forest, only occasionally glancing back to make sure Victor was still in tow. Unlike him she hadn’t prepared himself for an attack, seemingly entranced by whoever was calling to her. Eventually she stopped at a shaded spot surrounded by large trees that seemed to be bent and cracked in odd directions as if a hurricane had passed through. The scene was partially illuminated by the blue border where the sun failed to shine. Only feet in front of her lay the body of a young woman with orange hair, covered head to toe in scratches similar to those on the border. However, Catherine’s eyes were set above the body, as if someone was standing over it.

Victor stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the dead body. He grit his teeth, it took everything in him to not spill his guts out. He followed Catherine's gaze, hovering above the body. He pieced together what had happened.

She remained wordless for a moment as the voice of the woman begged for her to respond. It took Catherine a moment to snap out of her stupor but she was soon reminded of her friend who’d come with her, likely unsure of what she was seeing. Time for her next trick. ”Victor, give me your arm,” she says simply, holding a hand out in his direction, her eyes unmoving from their post.

“Huh?” Victor asked, perplexed. He gave her a long look before giving her his arm. “Alright. Just don't curse me,” he joked to lessen his own unease.

Catherine gave an uneasy chuckle. He didn’t truly mean that, did he? Surely not. In a place where status meant more than it should, it's a comment she was expecting to hear more than she had so far. She shook the feeling down, she could trust Victor, she knew that. ”Good thing cleansing spells are my other specialty,” she meekly jokes before clasping her hand around his forearm.

It took a moment as Catherine closed her eyes and focused on a spell; her necromancy and illusion skills working in tandem to open the channel between her friend and the dead. Soon the image of the woman stood above her own body. It was the same orange hair and the same clothes almost torn to shreds by whatever had caused all the scratch marks all over her body. Unlike the corpse the body was translucent and surrounded with an ethereal glow, almost as if it was projected onto the scenery.

Please a voice that seemed to come from the form called out. The words seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Each word echoed, seeming to bounce around the brain. Please, listen, you want information? I have useful information

A chill ran through his spine as he could now see what Catherine could see. This was a first for Victor. Consulting with the dead wasn’t exactly on his bucket list. The girl looked to have passed in a horrible, piteous state. The spirit’s disembodied voice- he now understood Catherine’s difficulty in drowning out the voices of the deceased.

“I am listening. I am sorry for what happened to you, but can you tell us what did this to you?” Victor finally said, giving a side eye to Catherine as he waited for what she had to say.

Catherine looked over at Victor, so openly plunging into questioning. That was the way she should be, Catherine was sure but years of hearing the voices and seeing their visions had worn her down. Not to mention that so many bodies were in so many ill states. She turned back to the visage, also awaiting its answer.

At Victor’s question the figure nodded appreciatively. I… I was training. Here. In the forest and your barrier broke? Or something? I sensed something around here and came to investigate and… the woman trails off and takes a shaky breath, struggling to find her words. Werewolves. Well, a werewolf. I tried to fight back… I tried!

”You’re a witch?” Catherine asks somewhat incredulously. Sure, she didn’t know people too well but in her couple of years in Tanner and all the summer holiday visits she was sure she’d had an idea on who the witches are. She eyed the body curiously, perhaps all the scratches hid the identity too well?

Magi the voice corrects.

Victor's suspicions proved true. A werewolf attack, they appeared in many of the books he’s read. Their presence has expanded so much that even the mundane world has developed their own mythos regarding them. It would be their luck that the coven’s first problem are werewolves.

Victor respected the magi’s resolve to warn others of what had occurred here. Like Catherine, he didn’t recognize who this magic user was. A magi… He thought, one who drew their magic from the markings on their body. Magi’s were no slouches, while they couldn’t have the breadth of control of magic as witches, they tended to do exceptionally well in their niches.

“... Did the werewolf go for your markings?” Victor enquired.

The woman lifts her left forearm where a mark that resembled gusts of wind lay relatively intact. Not really? she replies quizzically.

”Do you think it targeted you directly?” Catherine asks, looking between Victor and the woman.

I don’t think so? He just seemed to be after blood. Aren’t they all? The voice sighs

“I see…” Victor replied. This werewolf seemed atypical from what he’s read. “Was there anything else you wanted to point out?”

The visage shakes her head. ”Well, thank you. And sorry for… all this,” she says, gesturing to the woman’s body laying on the ground. She turns to Victor and gives him a nod before releasing his arm, severing his connection to the dead. She could only dream she could do the same for herself. In the heat of the moment she hadn’t noticed how drained she had become at exerting her powers to a new limit. She took a prolonged exhale to muster up some energy before looking back at Victor.

”Ta-da,” she says meekly. ”We should go back to Carlisle, hey?”

[Hedgehawk]

A Collab between @Soufflegirl123 & @Hedgehawk
Featuring: Miles Price & Carlisle Aston

With Special guest: Aurora Newman

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Miles led the start of the procession of the coven’s cars, zipping down the streets, windows down, blaring heavy music. Miles screamed along at the top of his lungs as he swerved between cars and threw the car around turns. It gave Miles a moment of peace where he could at least lessen how much calming energy he had to transfer to Carlisle, also a distraction for how drained he had found himself becoming.

After exiting the car Miles followed Carlisle to where the barrier sat. He’d seen that barrier many times in his life but it had always been a consistent force. Now? It was meshed with light blue hues that looked like bandaids slapped on a bullet hole. ”Oof, that looks rough,” Miles comments half to himself, taking in the view from the forest. Man, he was tired. Although Miles was rather adept in his powers it was rare he had to keep someone calm for 10 minutes, let alone the near hour this had been. Not only that but he found it getting harder and harder by the minute, probably the curses’ doing.

As Carlisle talked half to himself Miles surveyed the scene. Many had come with them but so far the atmosphere was tame enough. He looked over at Erin and Serena Please don’t try anything he muttered under his breath. Hoping enough time had passed for Carlisle to cool off, Miles started to release his spell little by little. Like lowering a heavy weight the temptation to let go all at once was strong and eventually Miles fell victim. Almost instantly Carlisle cracked damnit. Miles quickly reinstated the spell with a whimper, not even a true moment of relief.

After Carlisle finished speaking Aurora made her way to him first to talk. Miles hung back, allowing them to have their conversation. When they finished up Miles strided up to Carlisle, putting on a goofy smile in an attempt to hide how drained he truly felt. ”We’re gonna need a new plan, bud. I can’t keep this up forever,”

Carlisle breathed slowly, trying his best to simmer things down. He could see the exhausted look on Miles's face. A dwang of regret and sadness hit his heart. He felt bad for putting the pressure on Miles. He didn't ask for this, and he just stepped up to the plate.

"It's okay. I need to fix the barrier again. So I need to focus on that. Should give you time to rest up" Carlisle then listened to Aurora. She was only trying to help. And he could empathize with her. On a normal day, this would be a moment where he could have a heart to heart with someone. However even with the diminished affects from Miles, her words were winding him up. The barrier began to flicker once more for a brief moment, but with a deep breath he would center himself and restore order.

"I appreciate the concern Aurora. And I will be fine. I just have to work through some things and figure out where I want to be in the world. Rejection hurts." Carlisle turned away, instead going to focus on his job at repairing the barrier. Then he stopped. A thought just hit him like a truck. He turned back around to Aurora. " You set curses yet? Well look, this behaviour isn't me, it's a curse that it is making me act up. But I don't know what it is. Just that it does exist. Think you can take a look and see if you can identify it?" Carlisle asked. He motioned to Miles to lower his enchantments. It wasn't fair to keep draining his friend dry.

Miles gave Carlisle a weary look, he wasn't sure how solid this plan felt especially after how the last attempt went. However, he did slowly lower the enchantment, waiting for Aurora to do her thing before dropping it completely.

Seemingly, she wasn’t the only one that decided to hang back. Seeing Miles was also there. Looking between the two Warlocks, as Miles tried to keep Carlisle calm. The elder female didn’t want to impose on things. But she was well aware that his mood was bouncing up and down like a yoyo; even with her words of empathy. “I am sure you’ll figure it out. The world is your oyster as they say.” she said encouragingly. Even if it’d take someone ages to figure things out, they’d get there eventually. As he mentioned getting rejected. Aurora sighed softly. “I am sorry about Lil.” Not sure how to help him in that instance. It’s not like she could change Lilith’s mind. The girl was stubborn, when her mind was set on something. But she did want the girl to be happy. Maybe Lil just needed some time to realize her feelings. Aurora wasn’t the best at relationship advice. And she was certain that neither of them would want it. It wasn’t her place to intervene.

At the mention of Carlisle being cursed. Aurora’s concerned look grew. “Well, that’d certainly explain a bit.” she muttered. It took her a few moments to regain her composure, from the shocking news. “I’ve worked on plenty of curses. I should be able to see what it is.” As she informed him; she waited for Miles to lower his enchantments, before she used her detection magic. Her brows furrowed in concentration and concern, after she got intel on what the curse actually was. A slight glow appeared around the younger male, as she used her magic. Allowing her to see what she needed, for a few moments. Aurora then dropped her magic.

It wasn’t good. “It’s a Lycan curse.” She spoke as she looked between the two males. “But I don’t know how long it’ll take, before it takes full control.” If she had set the curse herself. Not that she’d curse her own coven member, she’d be able to tell him more about the curse. So for the most part she was left in the dark. Meaning, she couldn’t be of much help.

Deep in thought. Aurora wondered if there was something that she might be able to do, in helping him tackle the curse. It’d certainly be a challenge. But she was willing to try. “I can look more into it, and see what I can do to take it away. But there’s no guarantee. I usually know how to remove curses that I place on targets.” It was the least she could do for him; try and help in any way she could. Just like Miles was.

"Hang on. Just hang on. I am under the effect of a Lycan curse? Who would want to do that to me. Why? What's the end game?" Carlisle asked, seemingly confused as to what was going on. This made no sense. A witches curse? Sure. A Magi curse? It's a stretch, but a Lycan curse? Nah. That was near impossible. But here we were. Carlisle let out a soft sigh. "Let's just hope I don't turn into one hey"

With that he would smile and then thank Aurora for her work. Gripping Miles by the shoulder he would pull him over to the barrier. "I am really scared dude. A Lycan curse. It explains why I am losing my temper. God I am going to start sprawling hair next!"

”Alright, alright, calm down,” Miles says coolly, attempting to cover the fact he, too, was left worried and clueless. Miles was stumped to say the least, curses weren’t his field of expertise ”I mean, no extra hair yet from what I’ve seen so you gotta be safe for a while… right?” he muses. Miles watched his friend’s every move, prepared to calm him again if he lost his temper but hoping for precious moments of recovery.

"I haven't encountered a werewolf. So how was I cursed? An object I must have touched was cursed. But I can't figure out what. Carlisle would run his hands through his hair, wondering what the heck was going on. "I don't think it could be anyone in the coven right? Why would anyone curse me?"

Miles remained silent as Carlisle had his panicked moment. Man, I deserve a stiff drink tonight he couldn’t help but think to himself. What a day of being responsible, on his day off. Regardless, Miles thought about Carlisle’s predicament for a moment until a lightning bolt idea hit him. His eyes widened. ”Brooo, the book,”

It was almost like lightning to Carlisle too. He cupped his head in his hands with a deep sigh. "No… you are right. Lilith told me not to fucking touch the book. Was that her vision was about? " He lifted his head back up. "Dude she is going to tear me a new one. She was angry before, now if she finds out I am cursed from the book… I will never hear the end of it. Shit. You know what tje weird thing is about that book? I am fairly sure that it wasn't a restricted section book. I kinda remember reading it before in the normal section" Carlisle questioned his thoughts. Could it be true?

”Well I can guess why it’s restricted now. You enjoy that earful you’re about to get from Lilith,” Miles replies. He tried to remember everything he knew of werewolf curses which was, unfortunately, very little. ”So… what do we do now?” he asks.

"We don't tell Lilith. That's for sure. I need to try and see if I can fix the barrier first and foremost. Keep me company?" With that, Carlisle moved forward to the barrier proper. And once more for the second time in the same day, began to fix the barrier. His hands would glow a bright blue as he focused on pushing his energy into the barrier. For the first few minutes Carlisle was deathly silence as he kept the pressure up onto the repairing and sealing wounds on the barrier. Then as he started to feel drained he began to talk to try and distract himself from the discomfort he was feeling.
”Yeah, of course, bud. Anytime,” Miles replies. As Carlisle gets to work on the barrier Miles sets himself up a couple of metres away, against one of the large pine trees. Part of him wanted to take a nap, the morning as whole seemed to knock a lot out of him. However, the other half of him was weary that if he fell asleep the curse might overtake his friend and he’d never wake up. Instead he settled for just soaking in the scenery. He couldn’t help but be reminded of his teen years, all the parties and the training. The long afternoons he and Lilith would sit among the trees just enjoying each other's company when her grandpa John gave Miles a few too many dirty looks to stay on the ranch. Miles always reckoned her best writing happened in nature… and their best make out sessions.

"So I need to ask you for a favour Miles. And don't take this the wrong way…" With a sigh, he hung his head. He felt ashamed about asking, but Miles was far better suited to the task at hand. "Can you talk to Lil? See if you can help patch things up, maybe do that confidence trick where you hype someone up? I could really do with someone in my corner for this. Lilith is amazing. Like truly amazing. I think… I think… And this might sound cheesy, so don't laugh.. I think I love her"

Miles was snapped out of his thoughts by Carlisle speaking up. Chances were his friend was starting to get drained also. When he asked for a favour, Miles gave a shrug. ”Sure, man. Wassup?” That was when the question came, and what a loaded question it was. Miles didn’t know where to start. Part of him wanted to tell him he’d already somewhat defended Carlisle but he wouldn’t get away with it without giving deeper context which Carlisle really didn’t need. Not to mention Miles was confused about where he stood with his feelings for Lilith. It had been 6 years, he thought he was far past over her yet their meeting ignited something in him he hadn’t felt in years- and part of him was convinced it did the same for Lilith too.

At Carlisle’s mentioning about loving Lilith he forces a smile, filling it with all of his non-magical charm, ”I know, Car. You didn’t exactly keep it a secret,” he replies with a small chuckle. Miles remained silent for a moment, still trying to decide how to approach this question. ”Look, Car, I’m happy to try and talk to her but I don't know if I’m the best choice. I mean, you know we have history…” Miles gives a sigh. ”Look, I can see what I can do, I just don’t know if I can,”.

”No, No. You are right. Asking you to do it is a little over the top. I just messed up really badly. I know I am not exactly the suave, confident, good looking guy that she deserves. But I can protect her. I can look after her. I can make her life an awful lot better.” Carlisle then slid into overdrive, heavily pushing his magical energy into the barrier. He managed to finally seal it properly. As he let go of his power, Carlisle fell onto his knees as they gave way from the pressure, his lungs losing all air as he panted and gasped to try and recover from the sudden extraction of his magical energy. ”I… shouldn’t have….asked”

”Hey,” Miles says gently, getting up to join his friend’s side. ”Car, don’t be sorry. In fact, I’m glad you asked. I’m… I’m sorry I’m not much use. You know if the situation was any different, if it was anyone else I would do it no questions.” He throws an arm over his friend’s shoulders, offering his own to help him get back up. ”You’re a good guy, Carlisle. I’m sure Lilith with come to see that,” Those words hurt. They shouldn’t have. He’d already talked positively to both Lilith and Carlisle about being together. ”Besides, you 2 are good friends. And you’re… cool,” he tried to sound convinced. ”And being confident isn’t that hard,”

Carlisle got up with the help of Miles, holding onto his arm a little too much, gripping onto Miles bicep and realising just how much muscle was there. Once he was back onto his feet, he would let go and nod. ”Well, I appreciate the thought. I will just have to work up the courage to charm Lilith myself. Might go speak to Ty. Apparently he was quite the charmer in his younger years” Carlisle began to laugh as he imagined the situation of asking Ty for help, and seeing the older mans reaction. Wiping the side of mouth revealed a small amount of blood on his mouth. Nothing to worry about surely?

”Anyway. I wonder how everyone else has gotten on?” Carlisle asked s he let go of MIles proper and turned around to see if everyone had regrouped.

[duskshine749]

Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes at the scene that had unfolded before they left. He had been hoping the high school rivalries had maybe mellowed out over the years but that appeared to have been hopeful thinking. But things had settled down soon enough and once Carlisle returned they were off to the woods.

Daniel hadn’t come in a car so he caught a ride with Carlisle in Miles’ car. Something he regretted as soon as he got a taste of Miles’ driving style. He had never been more glad for a car to be put in park. Carlisle lead everyone to where the breach in the barrier had been repaired by him last night. He explained what was going on, but halfway through went in to a slightly unhinged rant about no one understanding him.

He seemed to get it under control rather quickly which was good, because the barrier certainly hadn’t liked his mood swing. The group was told to go look around, or they could stay with Carlisle while he took care of the barrier. Daniel noticed Cat and Victor heading off somewhere. That was fine with him, they were closer to each other than he was with either of them. He had planned on sticking with Carlisle but it seemed both Miles and Aurora had that covered. So it seemed Daniel should look around for anything strange, but he also wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without a partner.

Danny thought for a moment then had an idea. Looking up and around he found what he needed, a tree branch that was definitely enough to hold his weight. It was also still in eyesight of Carlisle so he wasn’t even really going anywhere. Dan put two fingers to his forehead and focused for a moment, then he found himself sitting on the branch. It gave him a better vantage point to try and spot anything. Unfortunately the woods weren’t exactly thin so it was far from a perfect plan.

He took a look around and didn’t notice anything strange. He then felt a buzz in his pocket. He took his phone out to see who had texted. There was no name, but he knew the number. Whoever this was had been in contact with Daniel for a little while now. They wanted him to keep an eye on things. Of course that sounded incredibly sketchy, but they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions so he decided to go with it.

What is the status of the barrier? No greeting or anything, straight to business. At least Daniel could respect their efficiency. Mostly fine, Carlisle is fixing it up now. Daniel had asked multiple times who they were, he hadn’t gotten an answer, so at this point he was done trying to figure that out. They were someone who knew about the town and wanted to keep people safe. Again, incredibly sketchy, but if Daniel didn’t help and someone he cared about got hurt then he’d never be able to forgive himself.

Another text, Good, keep an eye on Carlisle. Let us know when his condition changes. Something about this text rubbed Danny the wrong way. After reading it over a few times he realized it said when his condition changes, not if. As if they knew something was going to happen. When?

Yes, when. Stay focused. The final stage is about to begin. Well that wasn’t ominous at all. Dan started to wonder if he had made a mistake in helping whoever this was, even if all he was doing was keeping an eye on things. But he didn’t have much time to think about that. Looking down he saw that Carlisle seemed to be done working on the barrier. Daniel put his fingers to his forehead once more and popped to the ground in front of his tree before walking over.

”Hey Miles, Carlisle. Man you look spent, hopefully that means the barrier is all good.” Daniel kept his tone light, trying his best to keep the fact that something was going to happen to Carlisle out of his mind.

"Yeah no. I am fine. Just need rest. Hopefully the barrier is secure. So long as I stay calm"

”That’s good. Other than being tired you doing alright? You seemed a little off this morning. And getting your head slammed in to the table like that couldn’t have been fun.” Dan was worried. He knew something was going to happen to Carlisle and soon, but he couldn’t exactly just come out and say that. Then he’d have to explain how he knew and it would make the whole situation worse. For now he just had to gently feel out the situation and keep vigilant.

Normally he wasn’t one to excessively drink, but at the party he planned on getting at least a little drunk. Not so much that he lost his faculties, but enough to have a good time.

[LadyAmber]

Jazrina struggled not to be annoyed after receiving the call that she was expected to move back to Tanner suddenly. She had been planning to move home soon anyway. She had wanted to move home on her own terms. Now she was rushing to settle all her affairs before she left Seattle. She had to find someone to take her place or pay for next three months’ rent so she didn’t leave her roommates high and dry. She had to pack and arrange with her parents to move back in.

She wanted to keep her clients. Convincing them that she could take care of their needs remotely from Tanner, that was a whole different kettle of fish. She had spent the last two weeks meeting with them all, and setting up secure cloud-based drop boxes, a post office box, and secure document server for her business. She still needed to make a living while she was working with the council to help keep Tanner safe.

Jazrina believed in the work the council did. She was honored to put her skills to use to help keep Tanner safe. She just didn’t like the way the Council had treated her family. She recalled the snooty tone of the Coven Councilmember that had called her and demanded she come home. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. Remaining angry was not a great way to start her drive home. She didn’t need to encourage any mishaps along the way.

Jazrina’s best friend Ellie put the last box in the back of her SUV and closed the hatch. Leaving Ellie behind was the hardest part of moving home. Ellie had taught her so much about herself and healed some very old wounds. She sniffled as she hugged Ellie and tried not to cry. She managed to choke out the words around her tears. “I am going to miss you so much. You better text me and call me, every day. You better come for a visit like you promised too!” She squeezed Ellie tight.

Ellie’s arms wrapped around her and enfolded her into a warm comforting hug. Ellie chuckled in response as she told Jazrina “As if you could get rid of me. I already text and call you all day when I think of something I need to tell you. The only difference is that I won’t be there to talk to you in person or give you a hug. I promise to come for a visit as soon as I can.”

Jazrina held on for a few more minutes before pulling back and wiping the tears from her face. “I got to go. I will text you to let you know I made it okay.”

Ellie nodded and wiped away her own stray tears. “You better. I will drive to Tanner and tear apart the city looking for you. Now get out of here or I know you. You will never leave.” Ellie squeezed her arm before stepping back and letting her go.

Jazrina climbed into her car and drove away trying not to look back. She pulled into a Starbucks on the way to the freeway for some coffee. She took a few minutes to meditate and get her calm back before beginning the long drive towards home. Jazrina thought about all the changes she had gone through since coming to Seattle for college.

She felt the council had always looked down on her parents because they were weaker and just warlocks, even though her family line had been living in Tanner for almost as long as theirs. Her family had never manifested the strongest powers and had never been in running for the leadership position. Jazrina was stronger than both of her parents and had inherited some of her powers from each of them. She did wonder if she had learned all she could do, or if she was around other more powerful witches she might discover more abilities she had yet to unlock.

Jazrina was hopeful things would be different when she went home. She was in a weird spot as one of the older in her generation of witches in Tanner. When she was in high school, many of the other coven members where in middle school or freshmen. They simply didn’t run in the same circles as she had. She had felt ignored by them for the most part. She was recognized but not well enough to be a friend. She figured most of them might remember her but not know much about her.

Jazrina pulled into Tanner about 11:30am. Traffic out of Seattle had been brutal. It had put her behind schedule after a bad multiple car pileup had backed up traffic up for miles. It had taken her 2 hours to drive 20 miles. Jazrina scowled as she pulled up in front of the Coven House. She knew she was late but it was not something she could help. She had planned to be in Tanner by 9 am which would have given her time to unload her car and change before coming to the meeting.

Instead, she was tired and cranky. She was wearing comfortable stretch jeans, a thick cream colored sweater, and sneakers. She had wanted to be comfortable on the drive. She was nervous too though. This would be the first time she had truly spent much time with others from the coven. She had been to the Coven House before, but only on formal occasions with her parents in the past. She grabbed her chocolate brown leather boho bag and hopped out of her SUV. She activated the alarm with a beep on her fob before heading to the door to front door. She hoped she hadn’t missed everything. She was 45 minutes late for this mandatory meeting.

She entered through the front door and shivered. That feeling of power, age, and energy always sent tingles down her spine. She felt as if she was a part of history in the making and that put a smile on her face. She pulled the door shut and walked deeper into the house. Jazrina was unsure where to go in the large manor. She decided to call out since she didn’t hear any voices. The place was huge! It might take a while to find everyone. “Hello? Where is everyone?”

[Little Bird]

@LadyAmber

"Train roll on,
Aaaallll down the line,
Won't you,
Please take me far,
Ahawaayeee..."

The car radio hummed low from the front seat, barely audible from Caitlin's spot in the back seat. She watched her father in driver's seat, stoic and silent, and perfectly still beyond the occasional shifting of his head to check his mirrors. For an instant, as had happened at least a dozen times since they had started driving, her eyes met his in the reflection in the rear view. His gaze, this time, just like before, settled just a split second longer in the rear mirror than in the sides. Again, it was his eyes that broke contact first; a low grumble followed suit as the man shook his head.

Caitlin twitched and fidgited in the backseat. For the better part of the past 24 hours she had felt confined. Between the flight from LAX and the car ride back to Tanner, Cait had been forced to sit still longer than memory allowed her to recall... maybe not since middle school. For someone used to being up and moving, the small space and numbing stillness brought aches and discomfort. To assuage the settling cramps, she moved her ankle up and down and tapped her foot like a drummer on the kick. She stole a sideways glance to her mother, who hadn't so much as looked at her since they left her friend Gabby's house in Chino Hills. Cait couldn't decide whether her father's constant checking or her mother's distance was rattling her peace more.

Cait hoped that her mother break and meet her eyes, maybe even say something... that would at least settle things somewhat. But no such thing happened.

So, in near silence broken only by the radio's faint tunes, the trio crossed into the small town of Tanner. They drove on through the town, past side roads and long, wooded driveways. "You missed the turnoff pops," Caitlin started to speak. "Home is--"

"I know where home is." Her father cut her off without moving his eyes from the road. "You see, I've actually been living there for the past four years."

Cait recoiled. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off...

"We're not taking you home just yet," Cait's mother had chimed in, her voice more cutting than usual. "You're to report directly to the Coven house."

"But my stuff at home--"

"Has already been relocated," Cait's father stated. As he spoke, they were turning into the driveway that lead up to the Coven manor, it's high spires peaking just above the hill as the house in its entirety came into view. Several other cars were already there, though Mr. Cade noted that one was missing. "Looks like you missed the introductions. You're lucky; you won't have the whole Coven eyeing you." He rolled the car to stop behind a blue SUV. For the first time since the day before, he turned to look at Cait. "You're to stay here until Carlisle returns. He's the interim head of the Coven."

Cait shrugged, already unbuckled and gathering her belongings. "Better him than me," she said factually. She reached across the seat to grab her skateboard, which had been closely guarded by her mother.

Almost instinctual, Mrs. Cade pulled the board out of Cait's reach. "Not until we can be sure you won't roll off on us, dear." Her voice sounded less cutting and more wrenched this time; she could feel the piece of Cait's heart that belonged the board. "I'm sorry. It's for the best for now."

"Take what you need for the day and go along," Mr. Cade ordered. "We'll bring you everything else later."

Cait left the car, closing the door behind her as she pulled her backpack over her shoulder. The car backed down the driveway and out of sight, leaving her alone.

She stood for a stretched moment, looking up at the mansion. For most of the Coven's members a return to Tanner might have been like a homecoming. To Cait, it felt like dog being put pack on its leash after learning what felt like to run free. It had been so long, and Cait hadn't exactly kept in touch with anyone else from the Coven; not for a dislike of anyone so much as not really having anything in common outside of magical lineage. She had had a few text talks with Victor Crowe up until a year ago, but that was mostly out of them being closer in age to each other, and sharing a general fondness for chill time. Still, she was hoping to walk in to see everyone doing well.

She walked towards the front door, stopping to look at her phone. Nothing... I'm sorry Gab. She grabbed the doorknob, thinking how not composed she must have looked, still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing a week ago. Calmly, she opened the door and stepped into the foyer. Standing in front of her, calling into the house, was another person. "Uh... hey. 'Sup?"

[Sadie]

---

---

As the group began to clear out for the forest, Delaney bit back an eye roll and looked back at her best friend. ”Well. While that sounds like so much fun, I think I’m going to sit this one out,” she stated. She hopped up on her tip-toes and gave the girl a chaste kiss on her cheek. ”I need an outfit for tonight anyway. Call me when you’re done with all-” she paused to wave her fingers around them before continuing, ”this. ‘K, toots!.”

Her hand wrapped around Erin’s bicep before giving it a small squeeze. She winked at Serena while purposely ignoring Hayden. The two had yet to barely glance in each other’s direction, yet she was already not a favorite of Delaney’s. All she’s missing is a few warts. Unless she’s a warlock. Useless like the rest of us.

Delaney hurried her way out of the building and made her way over to her car. She gave a moment’s pause to look over her shoulder at the Coven’s home. My home now too, I guess. To the outside eye, it was a magnificent building. To her, it was a prison sentence; a part of her life she wasn’t too fond of. I never asked to have this ability. Never asked for any of this. Why in the hell would I choose to be a fleshy amplifier? Why wouldn’t I have gotten something cool, like- I dunno, moving shit with my mind. That would have been awesome.

The sound of a horn honking snapped her out of her thoughts. Delaney blinked and raised her hand at the car as she recognized her neighbor. Sweet lady. Definitely off her rocker though. She opened the driver’s side door of her car and slipped in, putting her coffee mug into her cup holder. The car was old and retro; Delaney absolutely adored it. Was weird and funky, not unlike herself. If she could have a soul car, hers would definitely fit the bill.

After turning the key in the ignition, she headed off to the only real shopping hub in town: the Red Oaks Plaza. Usually Delaney ordered her risque outfits online, but today she was in a pinch for time. Had to make a statement at the welcome back party. But also something sensible for work. Will have to eventually make it to Huskers after. The drive only took roughly fifteen minutes with her lead foot. She snagged a spot closer to the front and parked.

The young woman grabbed her wallet and phone before turning the car off and heading inside. She glanced down at the latest iPhone in her hand to check for the time. Okay. I have a few hours to find the perfect outfit and maybe grab some lunch. Could really go for some Chinese. Delaney grinned to herself as she walked down the main floor, her eyes scanning each individual store for ideas.

---

---

Ten stores and a styrofoam box of noodles later, Delaney exited the mall with three different bags in her hands. She was excited to get home and try on the entire outfit. Hopefully it all comes together the way I pictured it. It should definitely earn me a sleepover at some rando’s house tonight. Hurrying to her car, she tossed her bags into the backseat and the take out in the passengers. It took her only another twenty minutes to get home.

She grabbed all her items before hurrying into the little bungalow. Grinning at the look of concern on her mother’s face, she kissed her cheek as she hurried past. ”Welcome home party at the Coven tonight. I’m gonna head straight to work after so don’t wait up!” Delaney hurried up the stairs and went straight to her room. She dropped all the items on her bed. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked over the display and let out a small breath. ”Everything is going to be just fine. We’ll party, get drunk, then I can slip out and head to work.”

Nodding to herself, she glanced at the place where her alarm clock once sat. Her nose scrunched in remembrance of that morning. ”Damn. Really should have gotten a new one.” She looked through the mess to find her phone. Clicking the screen, she noticed the time. ”Okay. I have two hours to get a shower and dressed. Should be enough time.”

The girl grabbed a towel before heading into the hallway and to the shared bathroom with her brother. Her nose scrunched at the dirty laundry practically everywhere. ”Ugh! Dude, I swear I’m going to burn everything in here if you don’t start picking up your shit!”

“You can’t. You don’t have that useful ability. You’re just a battery.”

Delaney rolled her eyes and grit her teeth. How she so badly wanted to hit him upside the head. ”I can find someone. I have friends.”

“You have Erin and she’s in New York.”

”Ha! Jokes on you, she’s back now. So is Serena.”

She could hear the shuffle from his room as her brother quickly made his way down the hall. His head poked past the door. “Erin’s home?”

Delaney rolled her eyes at her brother and placed her palm against the center of his face before effectively pushing him back. ”Ew, don’t even go there.” Closing the door and locking it, her body shuddered. ”Gross.”

After a vigorous shower consisting of exfoliating and the ridding of body hair, she wrapped the towel around her torso before heading back into her room. She sat at her vanity and applied just a small amount of makeup. Some winged liner here, some dark lips there…Perfect! Delaney grinned at her reflection. Finally turning to look back at the bags on her bed, she stood and started to rummage through them. It didn’t take her long to slip on the outfit.

Moving to her floor length mirror, she admired the leggings and smirked to herself. ”Oh, yeah. Definitely getting laid tonight.” She moved back over to the bags and pulled out the red leather jacket to finish off the look. Setting it to the side, she walked back to her vanity. Delaney grabbed the hair curler and decided on some soft waves.

The final look was complete. Glancing back at her phone, she swore as she noticed the time. ”Great, I’m going to be late for the party too. Awesome, Del. Really need a new alarm clock.” She quickly slipped on a pair of black heels, the red jacket, and grabbed a black clutch from her collection. Delaney found her keys, slipped her phone into the clutch, and rushed back downstairs.

“Honey, dinner’s re-”

”No time. Sorry, I’m already late as is.”

Her mother rose a brow at her daughter. “And you’re going in-”

”Yes, I’m going in this. All my bits are more than covered. Love you!” Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, she headed out to her car. Delaney let out a breath, got in the driver’s seat, and sped off towards the Coven.

[Sugar and Spite]

Starring: Lilith Montgomery & John Montgomery

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

After speaking to Miles, Lilith re-entered the dining room with her eyes carefully focused on the floor beneath her. As everyone around her chit chatted and caught up on the last few years of their lives, Lilith slipped into the bathroom and quickly locked herself into one of the available stalls before allowing herself to fall apart.

Sitting down on the toilet lid, the young woman began to sob.

Lilith’s life had always come with its ups and downs - just like everyone else’s. This last month, however, had been abnormally horrible. This morning just happened to be the cherry on the cake. As she sat there crying as quietly as possible, Lilith did the best that she could to regain her composure as her mind ran wild.

Was Carlisle trying to admit to her what she thought? Why did he want to do it this morning, of all mornings, with a nearly broken nose? Why did Miles choose not to ignore her? Lilith had done everything in her power for the last three years to avoid Miles - and now she had no choice but to face him. The thought nearly made her stomach flip as her right fist connected with the wall of the bathroom stall. Pain danced up her arm, only frustrating her further. Wanting to scream, Lilith controlled her urges and continued to sit there for what felt like a lifetime. Unlocking the bathroom stall, the young woman checked her reflection in the mirror. She focused on her breathing, wiping her face clean.

Once out of the bathroom, Lilith looped back around to the entrance of the dining room. Standing outside of the doorway where hopefully no one could see her, Lilith listened to see if there was any more information given on the Wards before the search party headed out. She didn’t want to face anyone in that room right now - but she did want to be in on what was happening. Hearing Carlisle announce the party, Lilith rolled her eyes, a small scoff escaping from between her lips. That was the absolute last thing that Lilith wanted right now. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice on whether she was going to attend or not - all due to her last name. Accepting defeat, Lilith exited the Coven house and quickly climbed into her car.

The trip back to the ranch was quick - Lilith had made sure of that. Speeding down the roads and straightening the curves, the young woman hadn’t even bothered to start her playlist up. Her brain was absolute mush. What she needed right now was someone to talk to. Someone like her mother. The thought sent Lilith speeding even faster down the road, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel. Pulling into the gravel drive, Lilith took another deep breath as she settled on the idea of talking to Grandpa John. He was going to ask her questions about her day anyway.

Parking her car, Lilith approached the front door to the house, her hands shaking. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she made another attempt to gain her composure before walking in to see her grandfather sitting at the mahogany dining room table - cleaning his rifle.

The scene made Lilith gulp as she walked across the room to join Grandpa John. Sitting down on his right, she couldn’t help but notice that he was already drinking - seeing as there was a bottle of whiskey and half-empty glass already on the table.

”So,” the old man inquired simply, his voice deep.

”You already know about the meating details,” Lilith began. ”Carlisle announced a party tonight, at seven.” Taking another deep breath, Lilith leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and she interlocked her fingers, placing her chin on her hands. ”And before that, I’m pretty sure he tried to say he had like…. Feelings for me or something.”

Now putting the rifle back together, John chuckled. ”That String Bean who never brushes his hair and followed you around like a lost puppy all summer?”

Nearly laughing herself, Lilith forced back a small smirk. ”Yeah, that one.”

While Lilith did want to talk to her grandfather about her problems, she also wouldn’t have a problem with just keeping the conversation light hearted. Grandpa John had always had a way of making Lilith feel better - rather it be by cooking for her, or making her laugh. He was always there, without fail.

”What about you?”

”Well,” John responded slowly, taking a drink from his glass. ”One of the damn cows decided to go into labour while you were gone, and well,” waving his hand in the air defeatedly, the older man sighed. ”Them ranch hands we hired ain’t worth a shit, and it was breach - so of course I had to go out there and handle it myself.”

There was a long silence as Lilith allowed John to settle into his frustration and pour herself a glass of whiskey. Taking a large gulp from the cup, the young woman focused on the slight burning sensation in her throat for a moment before speaking again.

”Well Gramps,” she sighed. ”I see your breach calf and I raise you… Miles.” Taking another drink from her glass, Lilith sat the whiskey down on the table with a soft thud as she watched John's brow furrow.
”You mean to tell me that the first time that bastard see’s you, he forces you into a conversation?” Lilith could have sworn she saw her grandfather's hand twitch towards his rifle as he spoke.

”It was my choice to stand there and respond,” she retorted. The defensiveness in her voice for Miles pissed her off nearly just as much as it had John.

”I can’t believe you,” he replied, staring at her in awe. Ms. Mary and I have done nothin’ but help you avoid that boy ever since he came back from college. And now you’re gallivantin’ around with the…. With that.” Obviously now frustrated, it was now John's turn to take a drink from his glass.

”I am not gallivanting,” Lilith replied, rolling her eyes. ”Things just… happen, sometimes.”

”Things just happen sometimes,” John mimicked her in a high pitched tone. ”All I have heard from you for years now is ‘I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to see him. Blah blah blah.’ I sw–”

”Do you want to hear how it went or not,” Lilith retorted, cutting the man off mid sentence.

Huffing, John took another sip of his drink, rolling his eyes as he did so. ”Well, I guess.”

”He tried to defend Carlisle. Apparently their friends now or something.” Waving her hand dismissively, Lilith took a moment to figure out how to articulate her words as it was now her turn to take a drink. She could see her grandfather growing more angry and curious by the second. ”It seemed like Miles knew more about how Carlisle felt than I did. He was trying to tell me that it was okay to let go of him, and how all he wanted was to see me happy and all of this other shit.” As she spoke, the young woman continued to drink from the glass in front of her. ”I… seeing him was weird.”

”Lot’s of old feelings and such, hm?”

”Yeah,” she sighed, finishing the last of her whiskey.

John pursed his lips in response, taking a deep breath as he focused on swirling the ice cubes around his glass. ”Well,” he began slowly ”I think you’re the only one who didn’t know Carlton -”

”Carlisle.”

”Yeah, whatever,” John grumbled, taking another drink. ”You’re the only one who didn’t know he was in love with ya. As for Miles…. Just stay the hell away from that boy.”

Hesitating for a moment, Lilith nearly laughed as a small smirk crept upon her face. ”He’s uh…” Hesitating for a moment, Lilith cut her eyes towards her grandfather. ”He’s coming for Sunday dinner.”

Watching as John’s jaw dropped to the floor in a flabbergasted expression, Lilith quickly reached across the table to snatch the rifle before John could grab it himself. Leaning it up against the side of her chair, the young woman reached for the bottle of whiskey and began drinking from the contents of the container directly as she listened to her grandfather process his thoughts and emotions.

”Like hell he is!” John shouted, standing up from the dining room chair as he threw his hands in the air, defeated. ”He has the audacity to invite himself to my home and -”

”If you’d just let me expl–”

”And expects me to just welcome him back like we never missed a beat,” he continued, ignoring Lilith. ”Has Mary even approved this? He’s just gonna walk in here like he owns the goddamn place and expect me to make his plate? Stupid goofy ass walking STD motherfucker will be lucky if he gets a glass to drink his water out of, I swear.”

”Gramps I—”

”No, Lilly, you listen to me,” John shouted, stopping in place to point a finger at his granddaughter. ”You don’t get to sit there and ask me to welcome him back and try n’ make me feel sorry for him or tell me that you love him. I am the one who had to pick you up after he left for college, so excuse me for wanting to protect you.” Taking a deep breath, John sat back down beside Lilith as he grabbed the bottle back from her and took a drink himself. Passing it back to her he quickly added: ”He’s not welcome here, do you understand me?”

”I don’t see why Mary would have a problem with it, I’ve already agreed to it, and it’s the most convenient thing for us all. No matter what happens this weekend - you and Ms. Mary won’t have to help me avoid him anymore,” the brunette responded, her tone ever so slightly pleading.

”Fine,” he sighed. ”But one wrong move, and I’ll lay him flat out on his ass.” Taking a gulp of Jack Daniel’s, John handed the bottle back to his granddaughter. “I can promise you he’d rather play checkers on a leopard's ass than mess with me.”

”I know, Pop,” Lilith responded, laughing quietly as the front door opened.

In walked a tall, worried looking young man, a rope in his hands.

”Mr. Montgomery,” he spoke, his voice frantic. ”One of the claves is caught up in the fence again, and well….”

”Spit it out, boy,” John grumbled once more, raising his voice slightly.

”Well, Sir, we can’t get her out of the barbed wire and she’s scratchin’ herself all up. It’s a mess. She keeps kicking and Billy just -”

”I swear, Cody,” John sighed, standing up as he grabbed his jacket off of the back of the chair. ”You’re about as useless as a screen door on a submarine. Come on.”

Walking out with his ranch hand - the conversation beforehand nearly all but forgotten - John left Lilith sitting there alone, a half empty bottle of whiskey still in hand.

Looking around at the silent, empty house before her, Lilith stood up from the table as she took the bottle of whiskey with her up the stairs. Taking another drink as she flopped down onto her bed, the young woman set alarms on her phone for later in the evening.

Lilith had to be at the Coven Party tonight - rather she liked it or not.

For now, however, she decided to drink in peace.

[Hedgehawk]

Time: 12:20pm
Location: Coven Household

---

---

One by one the Coven began to filter out of the household. Even Kolby came up with an excuse to leave and 'do things', which usually signaled she was in the shit with him. Before she could try and stoke an argument out of him, he was gone too. For a moment, it seemed like Hayden was the only person in the entire coven household. Well, it would be rude not to have a look around wouldn't it. The first place she discovered was a door underneath one of the stairs in the hallway, looking like it leads into a basement. The door it seemed was doubly reinforced, fitted with several locks. Attached to the door was a note.

Please do not enter the basement. The last person who went in there is still missing and I don't want to have to endanger another search party
Carlisle

How could someone possibly get lost in the basement? They weren't exactly massive? Still, she had only met Carlisle for a few moments, but if he had reasons to put a padlock on a door, she was inclined to believe him. She was a rebel. She wasn't reckless. Well. Much. Moving around the ground floor corridors, she found an Alchemy lab, with evidence of liquids being spilled over the floor recently. The Coven kitchen was next: a sprawling room with a full breakfast bar, a normal sized dining table, and an array of countertops, complete with the black and white diamond grid tile flooring. She knew that the coven spared no expense. But this was something. She found two reception rooms on the ground floor too, both somehow having fireplaces, and elegantly long sofas.

She began to climb the main staircase, eager to see what else was around. On the second floor she found mostly bedrooms. Several of them were small pokey box rooms that simply held a bed and a drawer, designed for an overnight stay and nothing more. On the otherside of the house she found some larger bedroom, these ones looked more 'normal' with double beds and some extra living space. She eventually found what she could only assume was the master bedroom, which must have technically belonged to Carlisle now. It was a sweet room, with a large king-sized poster bed and more pillows than a pillow fort. It even had it's own en-suite. Carlisle clearly was living the high life.

Going back into the hallway, she was about to climb up the third floor, hoping to find more treasures, but was disturbed by the fact that she heard the front door open. Peering over the banister to see who it was, it was new people she didn't recognise. Must be some stragglers. Walking back down the stairs, Hayden would greet them.

"Hate to break it to you loves, but ya bit late. Carlisle and his posse has already gone and start doing some snooping shit or whateves. He did say there was a party later or something, so you can let him know you are back then" Before anyone could say anything, Hayden was half way back up the stairs. "Now if you excuse me, I have way more of this house to explore"

[WolfLover]

Interactions: Briefly with Carlisle and Miles@Hedgehawk@SouffleGirl123
Location: Tanner Woods

---

As soon as she mentioned the Lycan curse; Aurora could see the cogs turning around in his head. Feeling sorry for Carlisle. It seemed like he had a rough morning already; and she hadn't made it any easier with the news she had given him. Wishing she had good news to give, but sadly there was none. Giving him an apologetic look. "I am sorry, I know it's a bit of a bombshell." At that moment, Aurora wished that she had her grimoire here with her; to look up Lycan curses. To see if there was anything that could be done to help his predicament. But the books were back at the coven house; so she was trying to rack her brain of her consumed knowledge that she had about curses.

No doubt, he was trying to put on a brave face. Not that he had to, not for her benefit. Knowing what a scary thing she had just told him, would cause anyone to have a panic attack. "Let's hope that doesn't happen. I am not sure, the coven can deal with that." God knows, how the entire coven would handle it, if he wolfed out. Aurora didn't even want to think about that. Had the coven in it's entire existence dealt with something like this before? Not to her knowledge. This seemed like a first, for them. Fingers crossed, it wouldn't get worse anytime soon. Aurora could only hope that Miles' magic would keep Carlisle's temper at bay, so the curse wouldn't rear it's ugly head anytime soon. As he thanked her, she gave him a light nod. "You're welcome. If you two need me, just give me a shout."

Carlisle's panic attack, didn't seem to escape her ears. Not that she could blame him. If she were in his spot. She'd be having a panic attack herself. Aurora herself wondering closer towards the barrier; inspecting the damage for herself. Taking in the claw like markings against the magical barrier. Not straying too far away from anyone; in case anyone needed her help. The realisation that Carlisle wanted to host a party that evening, seemed to hit her. Then came a bunch of worries; especially with his...condition. A party sounded somewhat dangerous, especially if his curse decided to act up. Not sure, just how much amount of alcohol would fix the issue, of her not worrying.

Maybe it was the fact, that there already had been enough morning drama. Surely, they didn't need more.

As her mind was swirling with thoughts and worries. Aurora couldn't spot anything else that was out of the ordinary. Before she knew it; the barrier looked good as new. Hopefully, it'd stay that way. Maybe the others had found something interesting, whilst she had been preoccupied earlier? Hopefully, someone found some signs of what could have done this.

[LadyAmber]

Jazrina was still tired and grumpy from the long drive. She was also a little excited and a lot nervous. She was hoping that things would be better for her this time. She had hoped this would be a fresh start for her in Tanner. She was hoping the names she had been called in high school would not still follow her around. She was hoping that most of them had matured at least a little since high school. Granted most of the younger coven members were younger than her by a few years. While they had attended the same high school, most of them were not in the same year as her. Jazrina had been a wall flower who had perfected the art of blending in so she wouldn’t be noticed. She didn’t really run in any of their social circles either. Her only real contact with any of them had been the rare lessons and meetings at the Coven House.

Jazrina had called out into the house hoping to draw the attention of anyone still here. Her shoulders had tensed up in anticipation. She was startled as the door opened behind her which caused her to jump a little turning around a little. She heard the girl say "Uh... hey. 'Sup?" She swayed a little as she regained her balance. Her hand going to her chest as her heart raced in reaction. She needed to calm down and stop expecting the worst. She took a deliberate deep slow breath. She gave herself a little pep talk. She could do better than this. She would do better than this.

She smiled at the young woman standing in the entryway and was about to say something when someone called from the stairway banister from the floor above them. Hayden said: "Hate to break it to you loves, but ya bit late. Carlisle and his posse has already gone and start doing some snooping shit or whateves. He did say there was a party later or something, so you can let him know you are back then" "Now if you excuse me, I have way more of this house to explore"

Jazrina turned and looked up. It was not a voice she recognized. She didn’t recognize the young woman who was peering down at her from above. Her brain had barely registered her message before she had turned and walked away deeper into the house. Jazrina blinked and replayed the last few minutes in her head. She turned back toward the door and the sight of the other young woman reminded her that she was not alone.

Jazrina looked sheepish as she blushed a little embarrassed that she had jumped when the young woman had come through the door. She looked vaguely familiar like she had seen her around before. She couldn’t recall her name though. “Hello! Welcome back to Tanner. I apologize but I don’t remember your name. You look familiar though. I am Jazrina Heartwood. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She blushed even harder hoping that the young woman didn’t think she was rude for not knowing her name. She waved her hand towards where the young woman had disappeared upstairs. “Well it sounds like the main group left to check something out together.” Jazrina shrugged a little knowing the other girl had heard the same message she did. “At least we got invited to the party tonight.” She smiled at her and hoped she was putting her at ease. Once the greetings were done, Jazrina headed out to return home. She had unpacking to do before tonight. She would text Delaney and get the time of the party from her.

[WolfLover]

Location: Jackson's Diner ~ Coven House
Interactions: Attempted Phonecalls
Time: 12.40

---

That morning, he was up early to help open up Jackson's Diner. He had been going there since he had been a young boy; having fond memories of him and his siblings singing along to the Jukebox, whilst waiting for their orders to come through. Now that he was an adult, he worked there. A part time gig. Not wanting to rely soley on his parents and their large money funds. Being responsible was something he knew all too well from a young age; ever since his younger siblings had been born. He was the big protective brother, the one his younger brothers and sister looked up to. And the one magically gifted, that their parents wanted him to be more devoted to the Coven. Unlike his siblings; whom were lazy in the magical aspects and relied more on their parents when it came to finances. As annoying it was, Tristan was well aware he was the one that was picking up after everyone's slack in his family.

Spraying the cleaning product on the tables. Tristan was wiping each of the tables and chairs at the diner clean and setting it up. The Jukebox already going. Music making it bit of a cheerier job, than cleaning tables in silence. Humming to the familiar tune, that was currently playing.

It wasn't always, that Tristan worked such short hours; despite the job being part time. But today coven matters were more of a priority. Having everything figured out to a tee. But what he didn't expect was for time to get away from him, much quicker than expected. After going through the usual morning cleaning routine, everything was set up. Soon enough, the diner was open and costumers were coming in one by one.

With costumers slowly piling in, Tristan was bouncing between tables; grabbing orders and delivering them as they came. Until his boss stopped him. "Weren't you supposed to be heading somewhere?" Remembering that he only had him for a limited amount of time.

Tristan looked towards the clock on the wall, that was still seemingly showing it being 10am. "Yeah, I still have 30 minutes left. Have to be there for 11." Holding a tray of dirty plates and mugs; taking them behind the counter to be cleaned up. Seeing his bosses expression, he wondered what was wrong.

"11? It's noon." His boss informing him. "The battery run out in the main clock, just forgot to change it."

Tristan's eyes widening, when his boss informed him it was noon already. "F...fudge.." Catching himself, before he could swear in his presence. He was an hour late. It was unlike him. Fumbling with his apron, he almost ripped it half in a hurry. "I am so late." He grabbed his car keys, from their little hidey-hole behind the counter. "I think there should be some new batteries out in the back." With that, he almost run out of the door. Leaving his boss slightly chuckling, as Tristan was gone before he could have thanked him.

Rushing to where he parked his car; the light clicking sound of his car keys filled the air. When he finally sat down behind the wheel. Tristan dialled the familiar number of Carlisle Aston. Hoping that the meeting was still on-going, or somehow started later than expected. The phone rung, and rung. But nothing. Hoping that at least Lilith would answer, he tried her next. Instead he reached her voicemail. Mumbling to himself, he sighed. "I am so dead." Annoyed with himself, as he started the car and started the drive towards the coven house. He'd just simply have to apologise, when he'd see both of them. Hopefully, he hadn't missed anything too important. The drive towards the coven house was quiet peaceful. Taking in the beauty of nature around him, that surrounded the coven's lands, the closer he got towards the main house.

Seeing the lack of cars out front, was a bad sign. Yep, he was way too late. With a sigh, Tristan parked his car in a shady spot. His car never fairing well in the sun. As the insides always seemed to warm up hotter than the inside of an oven, on a sunny day. Upon getting out of the car; he locked it. Tossing his car keys back in his jacket pocket, making his way inside. "Hello? Anyone home?" Tristan called out. His voice echoing throughout the halls. Hoping that a familiar face might be able to fill him in on what he had missed.

[Hedgehawk]

---

_{Location: Tanner Forest}

^{Time: 12:02PM}

---

It didn't seem to take long for everyone to regroup and inform Carlisle and the rest of the group what they found. Carlisle seemed to have lost most of the colour from his face as his brain began processing everything. Something was going on. He wasn't quite sure exactly, but a lycan curse, Werewolves appearing in the neighborhood, and the ruined shield. It almost felt like an invasion. But still Carlisle couldn't quite put the final pieces of information together. It was like he was missing something.

"So we have a dead Magi? That's going to complicate things. I suppose I had better inform Ty of that. I am sure the wonderful Guild will have questions they want answering…. And more paperwork." Scratching his head he began to try and muse the rest of it. " The barrier keeps getting torn to shreds, and I don't understand how they are doing it. I didn't know that Werewolves possessed the abilities to break down barriers? Well not barriers of this strength anyway. So how are they doing it? And thanks to Serena's and Erin's handy detective work, we now know that there are multiple of them. So we are dealing with a pack. Who apparently seem to have no issue camping close to the scene of the crime."

He took a moment to scan the surroundings, just making sure that they weren't being watched in any shape or form. "And also why curse me? What's the endgame with that one? I don't understand what you gain by cursing me? Serena or Lilith. That I understand. Either way you either remove the coven's most powerful evocater or diviner. Knocking out an Abjurer? You don't gain anything from that. I can't fight back in any way." Carlisle couldn't figure it out. And there was no point in trying to force it. He would eventually settle, remembering to try and stay calm otherwise the curse would take control of him once again.

”Alright everyone. Good job. Really good job. It is nice to see everyone come together and work on this. Even if it was very last minute. For now everyone can go and get ready for tonight. After what we have discovered, we all need a stiff drink and to loosen our hair somewhat” with a nervous smile and a bit of a nod, He watched as everyone began to file back towards the cars. Looking behind to the barrier, A concerned look overcame his face. Something was going on, He just needed to get to the bottom of this, before someone else got hurt. He whipped out his phone, texting Ty and also arranging for the body to be collected from the forest. Once he was done he would walk over to the rest of the group, getting a ride back to Tanner.

[SouffleGirl123]

Location: His house
Interacting with: His mother mostly

---

---

After Miles sped his friends back to the coven manor, burnouts and all, he checked a few times that Carlisle felt comfortable toughing the afternoon alone. Miles was glad he did, he needed a break and no better place to rest than his own home. Besides, he definitely needed a change of clothes from the now grass-stained jeans he wore. Not to mention he needed a self debrief from the morning. He entered the unit to see his mother standing at the kitchen. The pair bared very little resemblance despite their round faces and button-like noses, she’d always told him he was almost the splitting image of his father.

"You're home early. I would have thought you'd be out late partying with the Coven members," his mother greets him from in front of the stove. She was stirring what seemed to be a stirfry of some form.

"Mother dearest," Miles greets her with a quick kiss on the cheek before taking a seat at one of the stools that sat at the kitchen island table. "Nope, I've decided to turn back on my party animal ways and live a quiet, humble life of sobriety and celibacy,"

"HA!" the woman snorts, turning off the stove's fire. "And I saw a pig fly this morning. Want some lunch, Hurricane?"

On the offer of food Miles was reminded that he hadn't eaten since that one pastry and flask of coffee in the morning. His stomach growled in response. "That would actually be great, thanks,"

Mary complied, pulling out 2 plates and placing a helping of stirfry on both before leading her son to the dining table. "So, how was your first day?" she asks Miles as she sets a plate before him.

Miles shrugs as he starts eating his meal. "Carlisle's acting... strange,"

"Carlisle's a strange kid,"

"No, no," Miles tries to stifle a chuckle. He didn't know how much to tell his mother. Should he tell her about the curse? He knew if he did it'd be relayed to Lilith's grandpa and Miles knew that would only end in bad things for his friend considering Mr Montgomery was on the council. "Just... It's fine. Probably just the pressure getting to him,". He watched as his mother's eyes narrowed, he knew she knew he wasn't being truthful. Curse having divination witch mother but she didn't press the issue. Chances are Lilith had told her anyway.

"He um... confessed to Lilith today,"

"I'm guessing she didn't take it too well?"

"Well, they're not an item, I can tell you that," The pair become silent for a while as they eat. Miles eventually pierced the silence, "I talked to her today,"

Clang Mary's metal fork drops onto the ceramic plate as her hands go to rub her eyes briefly. "Miles," she sighs exasperatedly. "Please tell me by that you mean you said hello and got on with your day," Miles remained silent, pursing his lips. He knew he couldn't lie to her, she probably already knew the answer before she even asked.

"Really, Miles? What were you thinking?"

"That we're both adults who have the right and autonomy to talk to who we want? Besides, she talked back! She even-" He stopped himself. With the direction this conversation was going Miles knew telling his mother that he initiated any physical affection would only end up in him being told off. He pursed his lips once again, falling silent and looking down at the table. He didn't know what to tell her or where to start. He knew about the 'secret' dinners and he knew his mother had spent the last 6 months keeping the pair separated. He wanted to tell her that, he wanted to tell her that he may not be fully over his old friend. That they hugged, that she cried in his arms, that they wanted to make dinner plans. Since when was there such a barrier between Miles and his mum? In almost every other aspect of his life his mother is his confidant and first point of contact but there was a weird block when it came to Lil. She was too involved with Lil to feel like she'd listen without correcting him.

"I know she's been avoiding me, mum. And I know you've had a hand in helping her. I just... why? I know we had that messy breakup but that was 6 years ago, surely she doesn't need hiding from me now,"

"Really, Miles Connor?" Miles couldn't help but feel a knot form in his stomach. Although his mother's tone was gentle it was serious and both his first and middle name with a serious tone was never a good thing. "I don't think you understand how much you hurt her,"

Miles' eyes dare not stray from the table, refusing to meet his mother's eyes. "Come on mum, we were teens. Teens do dumb things all the time. Besides, it was no one's fault, we just had different ideas on where the relationship should have been at,"

Mary sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Miles, you know me. I don't just get disappointed in you. When you were riding around teasing the neighbours- you were getting exercise- and honestly it was pretty funny. When you started drinking- so did I around that age and I was so glad you knew when to call me to bail you out or take you home. When you dropped out of college- you already had your life set with a job that would give you more experience and knowledge than any college could. All your 'disappointments' per se had good aspects but there is no positive justification for what you did to that girl. I know we don't really talk about the breakup but, honestly kid? What you did that led to it is probably the only time I’ve felt genuine disappointment toward you,"

The room goes so silent you could hear a pin drop and that silence was suffocating for Miles. For all his wrongs his mother was still a constant support. What if he did mess up? No, no. It was far in the past now. An old misunderstanding he had decided. He didn’t want to face all he had done, what was the point when it was so far gone? He was left reeling himself in, avoiding an internal crisis that he honestly maybe should have been having. Mary sighs, looking her son over.

"We… um… talked about doing dinner sometime. Maybe she can come over on Sunday night, or is it grandpa John’s turn?” Miles was well aware that Sunday night was ‘family dinner night’ for his mum and the Montgomerys, he pieced that together not too long after returning back to Tanner with all the times he was forced out of the house. He was expecting his mum to react as if he dropped a massive bomb on her for knowing about the dinners but she just gave him a knowing smile.

"Do you want red or black flowers at your funeral?” Mary jests, the corners of her mouth turning up as she collects the plates and takes them to the sink. Even before Lilith came to Tanner, Johnathon Montgomery was far from the boy’s biggest fan, it seemed over the years he had only made John hate him more and more. "We might be able to arrange that. I’ll get back to you. Anyway, I’m off, have a couple of errands to run before work. You make good choices tonight, I’m not leaving work to bail you out of jail,” she says, pulling Miles into a hug before grabbing her handbag off the hook that sat by the door.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, mother. I only make the best of choices,” Miles replies with a goofy smile.

"Uh-huh. Just don’t end up half dead in a ditch. Love you,”

[LadyAmber]

Collaboration between Jazrina and Caitlin

Takes place just outside of the coven house in the driveway right after Hayden let's them know that everyone is out and that there is a party tonight.

Footsteps echoed from within the house. Before Caitlin had a chance to talk to the girl in front of her, another person made their way through the foyer and excitedly scaled the staircase oblivious to both Cait and the other standing by the door… only to back track as though delayed in registering that they weren't alone.

Cait watched on, mouth slightly agape as another young woman poked her head down from the staircase.

"Hate to break it to you loves, but ya bit late. Carlisle and his posse has already gone and start doing some snooping shit or whateves. He did say there was a party later or something, so you can let him know you are back then"

Before Cait or the other could say anything, the staircase girl was at the top of the stairs and off to scope out the house.

Shrugging, Cait returned their attention to the other girl in front of her. She started to speak, but the other person spoke first.

"Hello! Welcome back to Tanner. I apologize but I don’t remember your name. You look familiar though. I am Jazrina Heartwood. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jazrina…? The gears and cogs in Caitlin's brain turned rapidly. For a second or two her face melted into a checked-out gaze into the distance… then it struck her like a bolt of lightning. How had she not recognized her former sitter? She spun around as Jazrina walked back towards her car. "Oh shit!"

Cait flung the front door back open. Like a puppy following its human, she ran along the walkway; there were a few people that lifted her heart so much. "Jaz!" She called out.

Jazrina was blushing profusely and feeling very awkward as she practically ran the poor girl over in her haste to get away. She knew she was letting the voices of her past influence her current thoughts. She shouldn’t feel awkward or weird for being a place that she was welcome in. She felt like an outsider and she knew it was her own insecurities raising their heads. She knew no one had said or done anything to make her feel unwelcome. She was feeling that being late had somehow left a bad impression with the rest of the coven. She had not even reconnected with everyone or met all the new members yet. She was almost to her car when she heard footsteps on the path behind her and a familiar voice calling out her nickname. “Jaz!”

Jazrina paused as the voice penetrated her anxiety. She turned around just as Cait tackled her with open arms and hugged her. Jazirina had failed to brace as she stumbled back just a little. Her eyes opened wide as her brain fought to process what was happening. The warm hug calmed her racing heart. Now that her panic was subsiding she thought she knew who was hugging her. “Cait? Is that really you?”

Cait might have looked crazy running down the path, but she was too relieved and happy to care. Her arms opened; she would nearly tackle Jazrina as she wrapped her in a childlike embrace.

"Yeah. It's me" Cait said, squeezing just a little harder. "It's Cait."

Jaz smiled warmly at Cait and hugged her back rocking her back and forth like she used to when she had babysat her. She had always tried to support Cait’s choices in life even if they were not what her parents would have wanted. She always followed their rules but did her best to allow Cait to be herself. “It is so good to see you!”

Cait let go from her embrace. "It's good to see you too. I didn't know you were back too. What's been up?"

Jaz grinned and finally let all the panic and anxiety go. She was reassured that Cait remembered her fondly and seemed excited to see her. “Well I just moved home today. I got caught in traffic on my way home from Seattle. I am moving back in with my parents for now. I want to save up money and open my own business here in Tanner. Plus I got a call from the Coven leaders asking me to come home and take my place as a protector. So here I am. What about you?”

"Yeah. Just landed this morning." Cait's excitement tempered, and her tone eased to a relaxed, valley drawl. "I was down in Cali for a while; trying to make the skater life happen. Shit got real down there." She paused, and looked up towards the spire of the Coven abode. "Guess this place doesn't let go so easily. My folks brought me home from Chino Hills. Didn't really have a choice, you know?" She looked again at Jaz, smiled, nodded, and said, "Guess I'll let you go and get settled back in. Catch you at the party later?"

Jazrina tilted her head to one side as she listened to Cait. She looked concerned as Cait explained she had not come home on her own. She smiled and hugged her one more time before letting go. “Yeah I need to get unpacked and find something to wear to the party. We can catch up more later. And Cait...” She gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “You can always talk to me. I am not your babysitter anymore. I won’t tell your mom. You know where to find me if you need anything.” She waited for Cait to say goodbye before driving off. She had unpacking to do. She needed to get ready for the party.

[Hedgehawk]

---

_{Location: Coven Household}

^{Time: 3:30PM}

---

After the trip to the forest, Carlisle had an awful lot to process. The barrier had been damaged once more, which meant that whatever had caused this had returned to the scene after Carlisle left. Part of him wanted to cancel the party and instead do a lookout mission on the barrier. Hoping to strike gold and figure out exactly what was trying to breach the barrier. Not that it required much thinking. Clearly there was a werewolf on the loose. Whether it was just one, or perhaps an entire pack, remained to be seen.

Then there was the curse. That was going to be the big problem. He could feel his body changing ever so slightly. Changing might not be the right not be the right word, but his body was at times starting to feel stiff. It felt almost like an odd sensation of joint pain. His legs would struggle to bend fully when he was walking, causing him to hobble slightly as he walked on occasion. Still, there was no point in trying to panic too much. By the time he had gotten back to the coven, Carlisle had managed to somewhat master his attempts at remaining calm. After seeing how the calming magic had drained Miles, Carlisle was more determined to protect his friend and ensure that he didn’t exhaust himself. Carlisle was a grown up after all, and a leader. He needed to stand on his own two feet to support the coven, not the other way round.

After dismissing everyone at the forest, Carlisle had a list of things he needed to do to get ready for the party. The biggest task was alcohol. He knew his fellow coven members were partial to a little of the sweet stuff every now and again. And by partial, Carlisle meant alot. It was hard for him to judge exactly how much he was going to need so he spent his afternoon using the coven's flatbed truck to go collect alcohol by the crate. It took him a good solid thirty to forty minutes to load the crates filled with various bottles or differing sizes and colours. He had been debating using the coven funds, more so when the bill came in at just under $750 dollars. The crate of the 12 whiskey bottles came in at a little under $200 alone. Still. He pulled out his own card and used it to pay for the drink. It was his idea after all. Not that anyone would find out. On the way back he also picked up an assortment of snacks. He was unsure what to get for a party. He never really stayed at the parties back at college long enough to gather what the 'snackage' options were.

After he had loaded the truck with everything he needed he began to make his way back to the Coven. By the time he had finished unloading everything, it was already 3.30pm. He then began the process of silently unpacking and arranging everything. Pushed the dining table up against the wall. Given that it was nearly 20 seats wide, it required immense effort, and constantly going backwards and forward to move either corner. He could have asked for help. He was sure that someone was in the coven household. But he wanted to do this on his own. This party was his way of saying he was sorry to the coven. Sorry for what though? He wasn't quite sure himself. The past 24 hours were such a whirlwind that Carlisle hadn't really stopped to process everything.

He started the process of unloading the drink and placing it onto the table. Everything had a place on the table. He unpacked each crate of beer and placed every can in a line to form nice and neat squares. Carlisle took the time to make sure each square was perfect and neat. The same was true of the bottles. And the mixers too. By the time he was done everything was neatly laid out and properly organised. Even when it came to the snacks, Carlisle went to somewhat extreme measures to make sure that everything was balanced. He counted each bowl to make sure there were exactly 50 chips in each one, the same with the rest of the snacks too. It was just a Carlisle thing. He preferred order. And right now his life was totally disordered. At least he could make his table organised.

That was it though? Wasn't it? The reason Carlisle was being so anal about the placement of bottles. He had no control over his life, and therefore he was trying to exert control in whatever way he could. The silence had given him time to reflect and look back on his actions. The guilt had begun to set in. Being forced to stay calm or go into a fit of rage, was a good way to force Carlisle to look in on himself for some introspective. He had drawn up several conclusions:

1. He had been a terrible friend to Lilith.
2. He had been a let down to Miles.

Both hurt. Each stung the male in a little bit of a different flavour, but he would be lying to himself if he didn't agree that the first one hurt an awful lot more. After returning to Tanner, Lilith was the lifeline that kept Carlisle afloat in the single most depressive episode he had ever faced. He owed the woman a huge debt. The two years they had hung together had been a blast, enjoying each other's company. The most recent summer however had been like a dream for Carlisle. They had grown closer as friends, surpassing the broship of Carlisle and Miles. But Carlisle had to be honest. Upon reflection, he hasn't exactly been the best person to get along with. He had on multiple occasions breached her trust and went up against her word. In Carlisle's mind he was just doing it to help her. But that wasn't exactly the point was it? It was the fact she had told him not to do things, and he broke it. Carlisle had been so laser focused on trying to be helpful, he had abused the trust of the person he adored the most.

That hurt. A small frown flickered onto the edges of Carlisle's mouth. How had he been so stupid? Well it was simple really. Carlisle had been Carlisle. And then he had the stupid idea to try and profess his love for her, while he was being admonished for once again breaking her trust. What exactly did she see in Carlisle? Because he couldn't see it, and he was Carlisle! The frown turned to a sigh. He had been an idiot. How could he expect people to like him when he was so insufferable?

And that brought him to the subject of Miles. The guy had spent all morning pumping his magical energy into trying to protect him, and for what? Cause once again Carlisle hadn't really been the bestest of friends. While Miles had tried to hide it from Carlisle, he had heard some of the shit others had put Miles through for hanging with Carlisle. Zach being usually the most vocal. Carlisle was never invited to those college parties; he was always the plus one. And Miles over the years had gotten into plenty of fights defending Carlisle from bullies or people who didn't want him there. And what did Carlisle give in return? Nothing. If anything he was worse. He berated Miles for bringing girls back to the dorm in college, and spent his waking moments of college babysitting and mothering Miles. After everything he had put Miles through, the least he could have done was sit out in the corridor and let him have his fun without bitching about it. Carlisle never even stood up for Miles. There was a queue of people demanding that Carlisle leave Miles due to who he was. His parents were the most vocal. They viewed Miles as the street urchin from around the corner. And the sole reason the Aston family built the gated community they lived in. But never once did he say anything to defend him. Sure he continued to be friends with Miles, but he never said anything good about him. And yet there he was today, using him once more to protect himself.

The sudden feelings of guilt were beginning to overwhelm Carlisle. By this point he had finished arranging the whiskey bottles in a nice set of 4 x 3. First the sniffle came, and then the whimper. Tears began to rush to the corners of his eyes as they threatened to overflow and trigger a full on wave of sadness. He was suddenly snapped out of it by a loud *crunch* coming from his side. Turning his head to investigate he saw Hayden staring back at him, slowly biting down on a crisp she had taken from one of the bowls.

"You back from orbit yet spaceman?" Hayden chimed as she finished off the chip. Carlisle meanwhile had fully snapped back, wiping his eyes quickly while moving his head away to disguise what had just been happening.

"You were out of it. You looked like you were about to lose control and go on a crying rampage.” Carlisle would recompose himself, pulling on his shirt to help straighten his neck.

”Yeah well. I am in control. Though I would appreciate it if we kept this between ourselves.” Carlisle muttered with a low breath, taking a chip from one of the bags and then placing it in the bowl that Hayden had taken it from.

”Don’t worry ‘bout it. I won’t tell anyone. I owe you one since you let me join the Coven.” Carlisle would begin the process of grabbing the chairs and stacking on the opposite side of the room. Hayden decided to help as well, grabbing a second chair.

”Well I couldn't exactly leave anyone out in the cold could i? Even if they are in tow of Kolby ” Placing the chair down, Carlisle sighed. Damn. He hadn’t even processed the return of Kolby. That was yet another part of his life he wanted to forget.

”I was going to ask before. What exactly is your issue with Kolby? I appreciate he can be a dick at times, but he means well’ Hayden asked, walking over to her second chair, keeping a close eye on Carlise’s response.

”Honestly?” Carlisle let out a softer sigh ”Look, It is silly. Honest. When we were in senior year, we got into a fight. Things got aggressive fast, and Kolby kinda wiped the floor with me. Sent me right to the ER. Stayed there for nearly a week with the damage. While everyone else would have let it go… I didn’t. I have kinda used it to fuel my hatred for him”

”Damn, so geeky can hold a grudge. I get it. I can’t complain, I have been that petty too. But dude, maybe you need to let go. You will probably find that Kolby has even forgotten about the whole thing.” Hayden tossed the next chair up against the wall.

”I know that’s true. I really should stop being so petty. Turns out actually that by having to stay calm, it's helping me see a bit more clearly.” Carlisle quoted as he walked back over to the otherside of the room. "I guess I was furious at myself for losing you know. I mean Kolby was fierce, but my parents had always pressed me into thinking I was always destined to win. And well. Kolby was the first guy to show me that wasn't the case."

"Well it sounds like you are pretty sore over it. If it bugs you that much, next time Kolby comes back, take him out into the garden and have round two. If you win that time, respect. If not, ya tried. Either way you can bury the hatchet and move on with your life" As much as Carlisle didn't want to admit it, Hayden did speak some sense. In a really twisted kind of way.

"Thanks for the advice, but after already having my nose shattered for one day, I really don't want to have it rearranged again" Carlisle could only let out a chuckle at the situation he had found himself in now. This was certainly not what he had planned for the first day officially in charge.

"Yeah that was pretty savage. What was up with that? Like you got beef with Serena too?" This was a more loaded question this time. Hayden knew she was looking for a particular answer.

"Well again. That was a mistake. I don't hate Serena. We grew up together. As part of three families we were always together at functions and training. I have nothing against her. She is a powerful witch. Stopping her takes some serious work. More so if she gets in your head. She can cause you to act against your own survival instinct, and it's horrifying in a twisted way." Well that certainly wasn't the reaction that Hayden was after. She furrowed her brow lightly as Carlisle continued. "In a way, I feel threatened by her. The coven leadership is between Me, Serena and Lilith. And Serena is certainly a dangerous threat. Plus she is extremely good at getting people to side with her. When she is in a bad mood, you wanna stay away. Her fire powers can well. Burn. Harshly" It seemed that for Hayden there wasn't an awful lot she could push. Carlisle seemed well aware of his limitations and the strengths of Serena. She had secretly hoped to hire him in a scheme to piss the girl off, but he didn't seem to be screaming 'Revenge'

"Fair. Fair. I am just used to solving my problems head on. Mano el Mano you know. Someone has a problem with me, they can come speak to me and we can settle it." While this philosophy was certainly true for Hayden, what she neglected to tell anyone was that it was that mentality that forced her to flee New York.

" Please try your best not to start fights with the Coven members. We aren't exactly the most tight night bunch in the first place. And well. I don't want to be the one in charge when the coven falls apart. We might be dysfunctional, but if anyone in this coven was threatened. Even me… I hope so. Then the rest of the Coven would rise up to protect them."

"ight, don't worry, I won't start anything. Now go be a good boy and arrange all the party flowers in the right order. I'm out" Carlisle let out a bit of a huff. Hayden sure was a bit of an enigma. He couldn't quite work out what her intentions were. Or if any of them were good. Still. She was part of the witches family, so he would look after her. With the table now set, Carlisle just had to set up the sound system and things were ready to go. Although he did have to go get changed into some more comfortable clothes.

[Hedgehawk]

---

---

_{Location: Coven Household}

^{Time: 7:20PM}

^{A Colab between Carlisle @Hedgehawk & Miles @SouffleGirl123}

---

A few hours had passed and now the Party was ready to go. People were arriving, the music was as Carlisle tried to explain to everyone 'Lit' and the drink seemed to be flowing. It felt nice to have a brief distraction from the thoughts of the barrier and the things they had discovered in the forest. Carlisle had taken to drinking out on the veranda. While he was happy to blast out music for others. He wasn't quite the fan of it himself. Out here, he could feel the evening air press against his skin, enjoy a nice refreshing drink and watch as the sun began its descent.

What he didn't tell anyone was that he wasn't drinking alcohol at the moment. While he was certainly holding a wine glass, he had poured apple and blackcurrant squash in there and used some red food colouring to give it a darker appearance. After college parties with Miles he certainly couldn't be doing with another keg incident, Death by drowning in college beer wasn't exactly how Carlisle had planned to go.

He was keeping an eye out, looking into the party crowd to see who was around. He was looking for a couple of people in particular. He needed to get some things off his chest before he really let himself down and party. His session of introspection earlier had meant that he had a set of apologies he needed to do.

Miles rocked up to the Coven house a little after 7:15 sporting a clean set of casual black clothes. He couldn't help but chuckle at the somewhat orderly squares of drinks and snacks. Knowing Carlisle, they were probably perfect squares before people started piling in. He picked up a beer and made some small talk around the room.

Once Miles had downed his first beer he poured himself an eyeballed double shot of whiskey and coke into a red solo cup. Miles was so ready for shots, maybe even a keg stand like the good old days, but he came to the conclusion he should probably check in with his friend real quick before the other temptations of the night took him.

As he meandered to the veranda he couldn't help the wave of nostalgia rushing over him. It felt just like college all over again; Miles would take Carlisle to a party he didn't really want to go to, the man would find a quiet, lonesome place after an hour or two then disappear to their dorm room. Only day one and this veranda seemed to already be forming many memories for Miles.

"Man, didn't even make an hour, you're slipping," he jokes, standing at the rails. He takes a swig of his drink. "Guessing that's juice in that glass too, then?" he asks, trying the best he can not to come across as mocking. Although Miles didn't really get why someone would go to a party and willingly not drink Carlisle could do whatever he wanted.

"I was planning on going in later. I just wanted time to myself. To think. Mostly. Trying to stay calm, having alcohol might make that a little bit too hard" While Miles might not have attempted to be mocking, the comment did sting Carlisle somewhat. Lest Miles forget that it was him who had subjugated Carlisle to those ordeals. It felt a little bit rich. Still. Maybe Carlisle deserved it. "Look while I got you here, and before you go and get more drunk, I want to say something" Oh boy. This was it. Carlisle took a deep breath before he began to get things off his chest.

"I am really sorry for being a douche over the years. Today made me realise just how much I have taken what you have done for me for granted. You were friends with me, even when others mocked you for it. And all I did was berate you for going to parties and all the girls and moaning about having to make sure you got home okay." Carlisle shook his head. Even saying it out loud made him want to scream. How had he not seen this before. "And then today. You spend most of your day spending your time following me to try and keep my calm. And then I go and say 'Hey, thanks for helping me, fancy fixing more of my problems' dude. I just suck at being a good friend"

Miles looked at his friend incredulously for a moment as he processed what Carlisle had to say. His brows furrowed as he took another swig of his drink. Sure, Carlisle was far from the perfect friend but in all honesty, who wasn't? And of course he knew about what people said to Miles about him. All the same though, Miles knew just as many people had begged Car to drop him. "Bro, it's fine, no better way to assert dominance than handing out punches to those putting down your best friend," he half jokes, taking another sip from his solo cup.

Miles stays silent for a moment, looking into the sunset. He was never really one for introspection but even Miles knew that he had done wrong to Carlisle before also. "Look, Car, you're fine. Really. I suppose I haven't been the best of friends either. I mean, who makes their friend sit out in the hallway almost weekly? You still stuck around, when I was drunk, when I brought girls into the dorm, when your family tried to separate us, you stuck around. That is already more than almost anyone else was ever willing to do for me,"

"Nah, I deserved that. I should have been looking after you instead of babying you. Thanks for understanding me. I hope that going forward I can be a somewhat better friend" Carlisle said, taking a stiff drink from his 'wine'

Miles gave a small chuckle "I think we'll be fine," he says, eyes not leaving the sunset for a while. The pair sat in silence for a while before Miles spoke up again. "Hey, I'm sorry about Lil, man. Rejection sucks,"

"Officially, I never actually asked her. So I guess I haven't been rejected yet" While the words he muttered were hopeful, his tone was not. "To be honest, I deserve it. I have been a terrible friend and why would she even want to contemplate me as a boyfriend when I can't even be a decent best friend" A deep sigh escaped his lips.

"Carlisle," Miles sighs, turning to his friend. "You can't keep pitying yourself like this, you're begging for bad outcomes this way. You messed up, that sucks but if you keep pitying yourself you're screaming to keep failing." Miles went quiet for a while more, debating what he was going to say next. He inhaled sharply, he had no claim to Lilith, she could be with whoever she wanted and if that was Carlisle, good for them. "She likes black dahlias," he says simply. Miles was never a big buyer of flowers, all the same Lilith wasn't one to really care for them a lot but he was sure that flowers was Carlisle's style. He surprised himself with how much he remembered of Lilith's preferences after all this time, as if that knowledge was just waiting for a time like this.

"Thanks for that. I will have to remember. I thought she liked roses. But hey. Shows how badly I actually know her." Carlisle gave a nervous chuckle before he continued "I am not pitying myself. Just being a little more honest with myself. Forcing myself to be calm has made me think a little bit about my actions. I am not saying I can change everything. But I at least have some awareness of what my actions cause. Though if I have to be honest with myself, getting cursed because you ignored your best friends advice"

Miles shrugged "She's not big on flowers anyway, there's a lot of more important things to know about her that I'm sure you do," He finishes his drink with a long gulp. "Well, I'm gonna head back in and enjoy the party but I guess I'll see you when you join us," he says. And with that he leaves Carlisle on his lonesome on the veranda.

[Little Bird]

@Hedgehawk

Caitlin Morgan Cade

Earlier…

Parting ways with Jaz, Caitlin went back into the house. She made her way up the main staircase, and down a hallway that rounded to the back side. All of the doors lining the hall were shut tight… save for one at the far end, which had been left slightly ajar. "Home sweet home I guess." She kicked off, stumbling once, having forgotten that her board wasn't underfoot. Laughing it off, she walked her way to the open room. Her hand hesitating, she pulled the door open slowly at first, flinging it fully open as she peaked inside. A light grin etched across her face.

Beyond the other side of the door sat a small room, ten feet by ten feet of floor space. Its furnishing were minimal: a twin sized bed occupied a spot against the wall halfway to the far side where a single window draped with a lavender curtain set filtered in the afternoon light. A four-drawer dresser stood against the wall opposite the bed. "Just like I left it." It was a room Cait was familiar with. She had stayed a fair share of nights in the Coven House… usually because mom and dad had seen it as a better way to keep her from sneaking off; the Coven had always had tight security.

Cait made way to the bed first, noting that a large suitcase awaited unpacking. As promised, their belongings from home were already delivered. Unpacking, though, could wait. Immediately, Cait set the suitcase aside, and flopped down onto the bed. Opening her backpack, she rummaged and rifled through the contents. "Please, please, pleass… Yeeaaah." She spoke coolly, removing from the inside of the backpack the ground, rolled herb of choice. Feeling victorious, she set the joint and a lighter from her pocket on a nearby nightstand and set about unpacking.

==========

Cait was settled in by the time the party was set to start. Not much for fancy dressing, she gravitated towards her Favorite Jersey, an unscuffed, untorn pair of gray Carhartt pants, and her Favored Vans cap, turned backwards. Dressed, and enjoying the subtle irony of her going to a party her first night back, she took up the joint and lighter from her nightstand. She lit the joint, and took a smooth inhale. Savoring the onsetting buzz, she exhaled and headed down stairs.

People were already gathering in for the festivities. A table of snacks and drinks was set up in the dining room looking out towards the veranda. Someone… Miles, if Cait recalled correctly, had just come in from the veranda. Visible on the other side, standing alone, was someone Cait recognized more readily. Carlisle. Ignoring the festivities for the time being, Cait made tracks across the room, and poked out onto the veranda. "Car… Dude… Come on in… it's a party!" She looked to the joint in her hand, and back to Carlisle. Hundredth time's a charm? She held the joint up in an offering gesture. "You uuh… Ya wanna hit this?"

[LadyAmber]

Jazrina Enters the Party

Jazrina had driven home and had no sooner parked beside the house when the front door opened. Her mother stepped out onto the wide covered front porch and walked down the steps towards her car. Jazrina’s mother was always a calm, reassuring presence in her life. She smiled as she climbed out of her car and went to greet her mother with a hug. “Hi Mom! It is so good to be home.” She closed her eyes as her arms wrapped around her shorter but athletically fit mother. Her mother’s long salt and pepper hair pulled back into a single braid. She smelled faintly of the lavender scented lotion her mother preferred. Lavendar always reminded her of her mother. Jazrina got her height from her father. Her mother returned her hug and held her for a moment before releasing her. “How was your drive in from Seattle?”

Jazrina sighed in frustration as she shared that morning’s experiences with her mother. “There was a huge multiple car pile up just outside of Seattle. It put me 2 hours behind schedule. I was late to the meeting. I drove straight there. They had already left by the time I got there. The only person left told me that there is a party tonight at the Coven House.” She shook her head and stepped to the rear of her SUV. “I need to unload my car and unpack. I need to find something to wear tonight.” She pulled her suitcases from the rear of the SUV as her mother grabbed her two suitcases and began pulling towards the house. “I will take these in so you can grab more of your things.” Jazrina smiled as she reached for the first stack of boxes. “Thanks mom.”

It took her a few trips before she got everything unloaded. She had sold all her furniture, dishes, pots and pans, and anything else she wouldn’t need while staying with her parents. She had bought used stuff from a thrift store to save money while she was in college. Some of the stuff had been shared stuff with roommates. The most important things were her clothes and computer bag. That would allow her to work remotely and still be able to take care of herself. Jaz had just finished unpacking her clothes when she heard her mother calling her to join her in the kitchen.

She went downstairs and into the kitchen off the living room. Her mother was sitting in the small round kitchen table with a beautiful German Shepard puppy at her feet. The puppy was about 4 months old and was a soft grey color with a black saddle that went up his neck and over the top of his muzzle. He had warm brown eyes and a tail wagging hard enough to power a small appliance. His small body tense with excitement. “I see you are training a new dog. What’s his name?” Her mother chuckled “What is her name. She is named Daisy.” Jazrina rolled her eyes at her mother. It was not like she could see the dogs genitals from where she was standing. “What are you training her for?” Her mother motioned that she should join her at the table. Jaz finally noticed her mother had made her some herbal tea and oatmeal cookies. They were her favorite. “Thanks mom.” She could use a pick me up. It had been a long morning so far. Her mother sipped her tea.

Jaz did her part by ignoring the puppy and not trying to greet it till her mother introduced her. She knew the drill. The puppy was in the socialization stage of its training where it was learning manners. “Daisy is being trained in scent work.” Jaz knew her mother rarely disclosed all she was training a dog to do. Discretion and confidentiality were part of what she was known for. Scent work could mean finding dead bodies, hidden explosives or drugs, or the change in scent when a person’s blood sugar was too high. “You didn’t have to make me cookies.” She grinned as she grabbed one of the thick, soft cookies full of raisins and nuts. “But I appreciate that you did!” She bit into the cookie without reservation. She knew there would be no judgement from her mother. She had a nice visit with her mother. She found out that her father was off to South America again looking for copper this time. She spent a good hour catching up with her mother. She discussed her business plans with her mother. Her mother shared more about what was going on around town with her.

She retreated to her room where she went through the clothing she had just unpacked. She went to her closet and began to flick through her dresses. She didn’t want to dress school marmish but she didn’t want to look slutty either. Well let’s face it, Jaz didn’t own anything slutty. That was simply not her. She stopped on a dress she rarely wore. The dress was made of a white stretchy fabric. It was a cold shoulder bodycon dress that hugged her curves. The dress had long sleeves and fell to mid-calf on her. She smiled it was perfect for tonight, classy, and sexy. It took her no time at all to find a set a silver sandals to wear with the dress. The shoes would pair nicely with her white and silver clutch purse. She would add a nice large silver ring set with a moonstone cabochon. Jazrina hung the dress on the back of her closet door for later. She put the shoes and purse on her desk. She had changed into some yoga pants and a t-shirt. She did some stretching and light yoga to relieve all the tension from the long drive and day. She decided to take a nap before tonight. She yawned and stretched. She had been up since 5 am. She took a shower and dried her hair before crawling into bed for a nap.

Jazrina let her mind wander as she got ready for the party. Jazrina was excited but nervous. She had hyped herself to be reunited with the coven members this morning to arrive late and miss almost everyone. She didn’t even really get to meet the new person. She didn’t introduce herself when she told her that Carlisle had already left. She assumed it was a new coven member. It was not someone she had met before who told her that Carlisle had taken most of the members out to look at something. The spells set on the coven house would only allow someone with magical potential inside. Since she was inside the house, Jaz could only assume she had been invited in. She smiled as she remembered running into Cait. At least Cait had remembered her fondly and seemed genuinely happy to see her. Jaz styled her hair in soft waves and put on tasteful makeup. She dabbed on a few drops of a homemade perfume of essential oils on her wrists and neck. She fastened the straps on her sandals. She transferred her keys, drivers license, debit card, some cash, and a lipstick to her clutch. She nodded satisfied that she looked good. She wanted to make a good impression.

As Jaz got downstairs, she spotted her mother sitting on the sofa watching something on the television. Her mother's eyes lit up with her smile. "You look lovely darling." Her mother wiggled her eyebrows at her as she told her "Maybe you will meet a nice young man that catches your fancy!" Jazrina blushed and laughed and shook her head at her mother's antics. She rolled her eyes laughing as she told her mother. [color=8882be] “I’m going to the party at the coven house. Don’t wait up okay?” Her mother just smiled and nodded. Daisy was curled up at her feet asleep. Jaz smiled at her mother with a confident wave as she moved toward the door. “Wish me luck!” She heard her mother call out “Luck!” just as she went through the front door. She smiled as she closed the front door. It was really good to be home. She had missed her mother. She used the handrail going down the steps. She could wear heels but they were still not the best of friends. She climbed in her car and off she went. She arrived a short time later at the coven house. The driveway was already filling up. Jazrina parked where she could get out later even if it meant a longer walk to the house.

Jazrina walked into the coven house. She smiled and nodded her head in polite greeting to a few members who nodded her way. She kept the smile on her face even as she wondered if she was a tad overdressed. She tried to keep a pleasant neutral expression on her face. She made her way over to the table of snacks and drinks and blinked. She shook her head a little. Nope she wasn’t imagining it. She felt like she was at a frat party with better booze and lets not forget everyone in the house was a witch or warlock. Yeah this wasn’t a recipe for disaster at all. She knew most of the younger generation of witches and warlocks were younger than her. This was probably their kind of scene. She outgrew this kind of party a while ago. She looked down the rows of beer bottles and hard liquor. She sighed and poured herself a glass of cranberry juice over ice with a splash of Sprite and vodka. She might need the hard stuff tonight. She made her way over to one of the chairs and sat down. She tucked one foot behind the other with her knees together sitting slightly sideways. She sipped her drink and began people watching.

[WolfLover]

Location: Coven Household
Aurora Newman with Catherine Heirich.
Special Appearance by the Mad Alchemist Tristan Pearson

_{Collab With@SouffleGirl123}

---

---

After Victor had dropped them both back at the coven house Catherine went back to her mother’s house to shower and change back into her dress. She’d stopped her shuttering and shaking at some point, she’d figured it was on the ride to the coven house but somehow even she was not sure. If only the dead weren’t accompanied by their own style of dread, or maybe if only Catherine was less timid. She figured she’d be more successful in quelling the voices if that were the case. She couldn’t help but sigh at her thoughts, pushing them down. She had a party to go to. Rowdy house parties were never really Catherine’s forte but it would be a good chance to get to know her fellow covenmates better at least. At worst, she was sure there’d be at least someone willing to bounce to get icecream or something.

Catherine arrived at the manor at about 6:30, she almost went to knock at the door when she remembered Carlisle’s earlier statement and let herself in. She resisted the urge to get completely swept away by the house once more as she entered the main room. It seemed to be the most orderly party she’d ever seen with little bowls of perfectly counted snacks and alphabetically placed bottles. A small chuckle escaped her, she knew this wouldn’t last.

For the rest of the day, Aurora’s mind was still swimming with the information overload. Carlisle’s curse, the attempted breach in the magical barrier, the werewolves that were responsible. It was enough to give her a headache. Knowing full well, that the more she’d worry; that nothing would solve itself. But she didn’t want Lili to accidentally tap into her thoughts and cause the girl more problems. Besides, it wasn’t up to her to tell Lilith about it all. It was Carlisle’s. Aurora was not one to break a secret, between the pair of them.Aurora never broke any secrets, she had with anyone. She wasn’t about to start now. No matter how tense it might make her feel.

After everyone got back from the woods; Aurora herself went home herself. Trying to destress. The rest of the day seemed to have gotten away from her, as she got herself ready. Wearing a simple blue party dress and some high heels. Never liking to go over the top, with her outfits. Simple was much better in her opinion. Arriving shortly before 7pm, she could hear the chatter of her coven members and music playing throughout the house. With a few waves and smiles, she headed towards the snacks table to fix herself a drink. Seeing that she wasn’t the only one there. “Hi, it’s Catherine right?” Greeting the brunette that was at the table. Recognising her from the meeting this morning. But not sure if she put the right name to the face in front of her. “I am Aurora, I don’t think we had much time for introductions earlier.” Holding her hand out towards the female.

Catherine was pouring herself a drink when the blonde woman introduced herself. Before she said her name Catherine recognised her as Aurora. Catherine took Aurora’s hand and shook it with a smile. ”That would be me, nice to meet you properly, Aurora,”. Although Catherine knew of Aurora in her limited time in Tanner the pair never really got the chance to know each other being in different places and life stages until now.

“It’s nice to officially meet you too.” As the pair shook hands, Aurora then let her hand fall back to her side. “How are you finding being back at Tanner?” Making small conversation, whilst she reached for one of the party cups. Filling it with some rum and coke. Aurora’s mind was a bit hazy when it came to Catherine, but the little she knew about the girl, is that she wasn’t entirely new to Tanner. They had always run in different circles back then, not even sure where Catherine had gone as the girls didn’t stay in touch.

”Oh, you know, it’s good to be back I guess. Have to say, I’d didn’t expect the first day to be so eventful but I suppose I need to get used to that being the new normal, hey?” Catherine replies, taking a sip of her drink before holding the cup close to her chest, a habit she had formed in college that has just stuck since. Catherine racked her brain for the little information she knew of Aurora, and it was exactly that, little. ”Did you recently return too?” she asks.

As Aurora took a sip of her drink, she fully took note of the layout and its perfection. Knowing Carlisle probably spent ages on it, just to have it this neat. Not that it’d stay like this forever, with everyone helping themselves to stuff. “That’s Serena for you.” She said with a light laugh. “She’s a bit of a handful. Don’t let that scare you off. We’re not all..so…chaotic.” Assuring her that there were more mellow times within the coven household. But all in all, it was like a big crazy family. Shaking her head at Catherine’s question. “Oh no, I’ve been here in Tanner all my life.” Never feeling adventurous to leave her home town behind; like a few of her fellow coven members. “Whereabouts did you go before returning to Tanner?” Curious of her travels. Most went to New York.

”Portland, um Portland Maine so a bit of a hike from here, I suppose. I just finished college this year," Catherine replies, taking another sip of her drink.

Portland. That was new. “Just a bit.” Laughing lightly at her joke about hiking there. “I’ve always been curious how it’s like in Portland, and a few other places. Guess, I am just a Tanner…through and through, that I never traveled anywhere.” Lightly shrugging her shoulders, as she took a swig off her drink. Grabbing a few crisps from one of the bowls. “What subject did you…” Her words getting cut off by the sound of a large boom.

Feeling the floor shaking slightly beneath their feet.

Not looking too phased, as she glanced towards the direction the sound had came from.

Catherine was obviously caught more off-guard by the explosive sound,it seemed very few people noticed or at least cared. Her eyes shot up to where the sound came from. ”Should we… uh… check that out?" she offers, placing her half-finished drink on the table, she'll start fresh with a new drink later.

Over the years, everyone had gotten used to the chaos that went on around here. By now, Aurora wasn’t even surprised when she’d hear an explosion coming from the alchemy lab. Knowing full well, whom it probably was. Seeing it had startled Catherine a little bit. “You’ll get accustomed to the chaos that goes on around here.” Assuring her, between a munch of a crisp. But nodded. “Are you sure, you want to meet our crazy alchemist?” Aurora joked, as she started to walk with Catherine towards the Alchemy lab.

Light smoke was coming from underneath the alchemy door.

Tristan Pearson, had spent the majority of the day in the Alchemy Lab. It seemed like no one had been around to fill him in on what he had missed that morning. Or if someone was around. They were certainly good at hiding. So as per usual, he took himself down to the alchemy lab. His favorite place in the coven house. Tinkering away, mixing new potions to his heart’s content. At least, till one blew up in his face, causing a bit of chaos.

Being knocked on his ass; he coughed. Waving his hand through the smoky puff of air that surrounded him. Lucky, he didn’t blow another hole in the wall…or knock down a piece of the ceiling. “Thank God, no one heard that.” He muttered to himself. Or at least, he could hope no one heard that.

”Crazy alchemist?" Catherine muses in reply, it sounded exactly like someone she knew. Catherine pushed the door open, finding her suspicions were right as Tristan Pearson sat before her, muttering to himself. ”Are you so sure of that?" she questions his mutterings with a half smile. Despite Tristan not being in Tanner in Catherine's high school days she knew the man somewhat. When she returned to Tanner for her first college Summer break her uncle, being close to Tristan's dad, had eagerly introduced them and since then they'd made a point to see each other a few times when Catherine visited.

Looking towards Catherine, she smiled. “It’s not as scary as it sounds.” Knowing Tristan was really a puppy. “But wouldn’t be a Coven party, without our very own Tristan trying to blow a hole in the wall.” She jested. Aurora made a point of not helping him on his lab missions. The one time she did; it didn’t end too well for her blonde hair. So she made a point of avoiding the alchemy lab, whenever she was here. Unless she was actually needed there for some reason, or another.

The sight before the two girls was rather amusing. Aurora tried not to giggle at Tristan’s very Einstein-like hair-do, from the explosion. But it was hard not to.

Not realizing, he wasn’t alone. Tristan let out a slight shriek of surprise. Jumping to his feet when he heard the sound of a female voice. A voice he recognised all too well. Turning around, his eyes slightly wide in surprise. Before shifting his weight sheepishly. “Catherine. What a surprise.” Smiling warmly, at the sight of the brunette. But seeing Aurora’s amused face was enough for him to blush, in embarrassment. “Guess you heard that huh?” Rubbing the back of his neck. His face covered in soot, from the commotion.

“I am surprised the dead didn't hear it.” Aurora teased. “Loving the Einstein hair-do.” Mocking him playfully. The two knew each other long enough, to poke fun at each other. “You two know each other?” Aurora asked, glancing between Catherine and Tristan. Seeing how his cheeks flushed a bit pink around Cat. Possibly, because of his very girly shriek a few seconds ago.

”I should've known it was you," Catherine says with a light chuckle. She looked over the man in front of her, trying to hold back a proper laugh at his soot-covered face and mad professor-esque hair. He turned red as a beet, likely out of embarrassment, Catherine figured.

At Aurora's comment on the being lucky the dead couldn't hear Catherine gave another chuckle, ”I can confirm, luckily," When she asked about knowing each other Catherine nodded. ”His dad and my uncle are close. It's good to see you again, by the way, Trist,"

Aurora was pleasantly surprised that the pair knew each other. At least, she didn’t have to introduce them. But this made for an amusing reunion for sure. “Ah, I see.” Smiling. “But I should warn you, don’t try helping him in the lab. Your hair won’t handle it very well.” Feeling it was fair, to warn her now before Tristan would try and get Catherine to help him in the future.

Looking towards Tristan, as she took in the mess around them. “You might want to clean this mess up, before Lil or Carlisle sees, and have you scrub the toilets.” Giving him a pat on the shoulder.

A slight annoyed groan left Tristan’s lips, as Aurora warned Cat not to help him down in the Alchemy labs. “Really Rora? It was one incident.” Huffing. He swore, the blonde would hold it over his head, till he was on his death-bed. In his opinion it wasn’t that bad. Or so he thought. But in Aurora’s words; she had looked something like a mixture of a walking seaweed/mermaid with the greeny-blue hair, he ended up giving her. “It’s nice seeing you too Cat.” His smile more beaming. God, he felt like Aurora was crimping his style a bit. Though most of it, being his fault with his…appearance. “I didn’t even realize you were back at Tanner.” It wasn’t exactly how he thought he’d be reunited with the girl he had a crush on, over their summer visits. If anything, it was nerve-wracking. Tristan was usually more composed than this.

“I won’t be scrubbing toilets.” Assuring Aurora. Luckily the Lab didn’t look too bad. Granted, he made bigger messes in the past; than this. So that was lucky.

Catherine couldn't help but chuckle as the pair before her bantered between themselves "I guess lucky for me, coloured hair is all the rage these days," At Tristen's statement if not knowing Catherine was back she gave him a small smile. "I only got in last night, would've swung by the diner if I had time." The brunette's eyes couldn't help but scan the soot-covered room. "Need a hand with clean up?" she asks

“The word would be unlucky.” Correcting her with a giggle. “Unless you like the idea of sporting blue-green hair for the next few months.” Who knows, it could be her style. Aurora wasn’t so sure though; they had just properly met. Shaking her head in amusement, as Tristan seemed all the more convinced that he wouldn’t get punished for making a mess down here. Granted, this was nothing compared to some past incidents. So he might get off light. “I’ll grab some cleaning stuff.” Excusing herself, as she headed back out into the hallway, to a cupboard nearby that had a stock of cleaning supplies. Just in case something messy happened here in the lab.

Rolling his eyes at Aurora. She always did like to hold things over his head. It was annoying to say the least. But he knew she meant well. “Ah, well welcome back home.” He chuckled, as he smiled at Catherine. “I am sure once my parents get word you’re back home, they’d want you over for dinner.” No doubt, even his siblings; mainly his little sister would wanna play catch up with Catherine. Always did. “Sure, will make cleaning up a bit quicker.” Not minding that she wanted to help. In case he might miss anything, he had another 2 sets of eyes helping.

Catherine couldn’t help but smile at Tristan’s half-offer for dinner. "Of course, I’d be delighted to see them again, your brothers too. And Lydia, of course. How are they all doing these days?” In Catherine’s few Summers in Tanner Lydia herself had become like a younger sister to her, she’d even spent a week with Cat in Maine some time back. It was nice to almost have a sister, likely for Lydia too. "So, what were you trying to make this time?” she asks, crossing her arms as she leans on the doorframe and observing the scene around her.

Tristan mentally slapped himself. Get it together dude. He thought to himself. It wasn’t the smoothest of offers; but it was there. “Oh you know, slacking as always.” His siblings never did take to magic, well. “Lydia’s putting in more effort, but maybe they’ll listen to someone else moaning at them, than me constantly bugging them about it.” He shrugged. His siblings did not want to hear the big brother talk. Often shutting him out. But in Tristan’s view, they were a bit too spoiled with the family funds provided by their parents. “Plus, you’ll get to meet Destiny. That’s if you don’t mind an adorable fluff ball attacking you every 5 seconds for attention.” As she asked what he was trying to achieve, he chuckled. “Oh you know, just a bunch of invisibility and strength enhancement potions.” Not all in one mixture though. But he wanted to try and tinker around, see what he could achieve. But the strength potion went a bit wonky-donkey.

It was then that Aurora came back into the lab room; with a bucket full of water. Some cleaning mops, cleaning cloths and a dust-pan and brush. Looking up towards the ceiling. There was no way, she could reach that high; even with a mop. Touching the mop; her fingers glowing almost a sparkly silver color. The object seemed to come alive under her touch. Swirling itself in the bucket of warm water, before it seemed to dance through the air. Cleaning the ceiling.

Tristan chuckled as he saw Aurora’s magic animate the mop. “Show off.” He shook his head.

At Tristan’s mention of his siblings maybe listening to an external person Catherine shrugged "I’m probably not the best choice there considering I’m a lot newer to magic than any of them,” she replies. Cat had always felt odd on her standing as a magic user but more so as a coven member. As someone who only knew of her heritage and powers 7 or so years ago let alone starting training she was sure people like Victor’s siblings were likely more suitable on the council.

At Tristan's answer to his latest potion endeavour Cat nods, unable to reply before Aurora comes in with cleaning supplies. As Aurora animates the mop to clean the ceiling Catherine grabs a rag, dips it in the water and starts wiping down the benches and beakers. "I guess you’re on floor, Trist. I’m not really dressed for floor scrubbing,”

“I think you underestimate how much Lydia looks up to you.” He told her with a soft smile. If any of his siblings would likely listen to Catherine; it was his baby sister. Knowing Catherine often thought herself less worthy, because she was new to magic. It was then that he properly noticed what the girls were wearing. Before having been a bit too surprised by Catherine’s arrival; to notice he looked the odd one out, with his outfit. “I feel like I missed something, with you girls looking so fancy.” Chuckling, as he grabbed one of the cleaning cloths. Dipped it in warm water and started cleaning up the floor, where most of the spillage was. The rest, he managed to sweep away with a dust-pan and brush. As there was a small breakage with one of the beakers.

Aurora shook her head. “If you would have turned up at the meeting this morning, you would have known there was a party tonight.” She spoke, as she sweeped the other side of the room, with the bigger brush.

“I had a plan…okay.” Tristan huffed. It wasn't entirely his fault that the clock at work got stuck.

Catherine silently worked on cleaning, listening in to Aurora and Tristan banter as she wiped down the beakers, leaving them in a little group on the side of the bench. She could have hid in this little room in the company of Aurora and Tristan for as long as the party raged for all she cared. "I mean, it’s just a coven party, I don’t think they’re gonna care what you’re wearing,” Catherine interjects before placing another cleaned beaker into the grouping.
Looking at his soot covered shirt and jeans, he wasn’t sure it was wise to rock up looking like he’d been dragged through mud. Making a mental note to clean himself up and change, once they were done cleaning up his mess. “Did I miss anything interesting this morning? Or was it just the standard?” He questioned, looking between the girls. “Thanks for helping me by the way, I owe you one.” To both of them, he was thankful. Tristan carried on scrubbing the floor in the room. With the girls helping him, it was going much quicker than anticipated.

“Don’t mention it.” Aurora was always happy to help him out. At the mention of this morning, she sighed. The stress of earlier, returning back to her memories.

"You’re fine, I’m sure your mum’s cooking will be payment enough,” Catherine half-jokes, rewetting her cloth with the mop water that was slowly becoming a more grotesque-looking shade of grey. She did always love Emma Pearson’s cooking, just thinking about it almost made her mouth water. "You missed a bit. The wards are acting up, looks like a werewolf attack or something. Also Carlisle’s cursed. I’m not exactly sure how but he’s definitely more hostile than I remember so look out for that,”

Tristan lightly chuckled at her joke about his mother’s cooking. “You’ll be happy to know, her cooking has remained the same, then.” As he scrubbed away at the floor. He could feel sweat burning up against his forehead. With the water changing colour; it’d need replacing soon enough. Looking up at the ceiling. Aurora’s animated mop had pretty much cleaned up the ceiling. It was just the floor that still needed finishing off. Listening to Catherine fill him on what he missed, he rose an eyebrow. “Werewolves? Why?...We haven’t done anything to piss them off.” Or had they? This was news to him. At the mention of Carlisle being cursed, his face changed into that one of concern. “That’s not good. Is there a way to break it?”

It certainly had been an eventful morning, that was for sure. “That’s what we can’t figure out.” She told Tristan. The Werewolves were up to something, but what caused them to seek out vengeance against the Tanner Coven, was not known to Aurora. “I don’t know, Trist. I’ll have a look into it later, when I sit down with my grimoires.” For now, Aurora needed to somewhat destress. But Carlisle’s curse was in the back of her mind. Trying to think of what could possibly break the curse. “Oh and Kolby’s girlfriend joined the coven.” Not that it was the biggest news of the day. But still. With that, Aurora grabbed the bucket of murky water and went to replace it with fresh.

Tristan’s brow furrowed in surprise. Kolby with a girlfriend? “Yay…more troublemakers.” His voice laced with sarcasm.

---

It wasn’t long before the Alchemy lab was sparkling clean. Looking like nothing had happened in the first place. All that lingered was the slight smell of smoke. But nothing like airing the room out and some air-freshener couldn’t fix.

“Thanks again.” Tristan spoke as he wiped the sweat off of his brow. “I should probably clean up myself. But I’ll catch you both in a bit. Save me a drink?” There was no way he was joining in the party, looking like this. Excusing himself. Tristan headed out of the alchemy lab and to the room that he had at the coven house. He had a habit of keeping spare clothes here, in case he was spending time here with the rest of the coven. Grabbing a towel from his wardrobe; he then headed to the bathroom. Running the water, he waited till it was decently warm before shedding his dirty clothes and stepping in. Scrubbing himself clean; he washed the sweat, soot and grime off of himself and from his hair. The water ran grimey for a while, before it was see-through again.

After about 20 minutes; he was finally clean and dry. And dressed in clean clothes. Opting for a dark shirt with a leather jacket, and some jeans. His usual get-up to parties like this. His hair was still a bit damp. But luckily it never took too long to dry off.

In the meantime, the girls had returned back to the main room where the party was taking place. Refilling their drinks when they returned.

Catherine had poured herself a fresh drink into a new solo cup, not certain if the one on the table was hers from earlier. For a time Cat chatted with Aurora and whoever else initiated conversation until Tristan finally returned, looking much more like himself than a soot covered mad professor. "Welcome back,” she greets him.

Aurora herself grabbed herself a fresh drink. Adding a bit more rum to her second cup than the first. Slightly people watched, as more people seemed to have piled in during their short absence. As the two girls got to know each other, Aurora could easily see why Tristan took such a liking to Catherine. She had a good sense of humour, and was sweet. “Hey, we got that beer saved for you.” Knowing that it’d be Tristan’s drink. Handing him the bottle, when he was close enough.

Tristan chuckled at the greeting he got from Cat. “Thanks.” Feeling more like himself, from the refreshing shower. He then grabbed the bottle of beer that Aurora gave him. Popping it open, as he noticed the layout. Chuckling to himself. “I see Carlisle’s OCD organising took a bit of a hit.” Seeing it wasn’t as neat as it probably should have been.

"That or the partygoers won,” she replied, taking a sip from her cup. Despite having limited knowledge of a lot of the coven she know there were a lot more that slanted toward chaos than order in the group, it would definitely be an interesting time working alongside everyone.

[Hedgehawk]

---

_{Location: Coven Household}

^{Time: 7:40PM}

^{A Colab between Hayden @Hedgehawk & Delaney @Sailorsadie & Erin & Serena @HaleyTheRandom}

---

Hayden was fairly certain this party sucked. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh on her part. The party didn’t suck perse. But it was certainly no party that she was used to. Normally the drinks would be alot more potent, the room darker, and you would always be at least 10 meters away from several illegal acts. This felt tame in comparison, a bit like a middle school disco or dance. Given that she was already in the Household when the party started, she had quickly nabbed one of the bottles of whiskey that Carlisle had put out earlier. She had already managed to burn a third the way through, and could feel the intoxication pulling at her mind. She had lost track of Kolby; he seemed to be avoiding her for some reason or another. Fuck him. She didn’t need him to have a good time. She surveyed out into the crowd to try and see if she could spot anyone to have a good time with.

Having gotten to the party with it fully in session, Delaney huffed out a breath and fixed her hair. There was one person she was particularly interested in seeing tonight, especially since they hadn’t been at the meeting. She pulled her leather jacket tighter around her as she looked around. Not spotting her friends, she quickly made her way to the liquor. Nourishment for the soul. The young woman filled up a solo cup with about three shots worth. She didn’t care in the slightest that she had to work later that night. Sipping at her neat whiskey, Delaney made her way back into the crowd.

Taking a hard swig of her whiskey bottle, Hayden walked into the crowd, scouting around for someone, anyone who she could possibly spend the night with, or maybe make friends with. If she was going to go after Serena and knock her ego down a peg, then she needed some kind of ally. Seeing how that Lilith girl from before ran across the table to attack Serena she was a good choice. But Hayden couldn't make her out in the crowd. That was when she ended up brushing shoulders with the blondette. Not that Hayden cared, she simply refused to budge, ignoring the woman and pushing forward as normal.

She continued to move throughout the crowd until she was brushed against. Normally she’d just ignore it and let it go, but then the brush turned into an outright shove. The whiskey in Delaney’s cup sloshed over the edge and spilled onto her brand new leather jacket. Swearing under her breath, she looked up and caught sight of the shover. It was that new girl the group had brought back from New York. With a low growl from her chest, Delaney scoffed. ”Guess Kolby’s new hag doesn’t know any manners.”

Hearing the words, Hayden turned around and looked at her. It seemed that her jacket had gotten some whiskey on it. Shame. "Hag huh? Well at least I don't come from some huck place out in the middle of nowhere, where you probably get kicks out of fucking pine trees." With a smirk, Hayden would pop the lid off her ¾ full bottle of Whiskey and simple pour the bottle over Delaney's head, letting the liquid gush and flown over her. It was a waste not to drink it. But hey, it still served a very useful purpose.

She didn’t have time to respond to that comment before she was drowning in whiskey. With a loud, shocked gasp, she screeched out and pushed her hair away from her face. Her fingers gripped her own cup as she growled and threw the contents into the opposing woman’s face. ”You fucking nasty ass bitch!”

Hayden got splashed by the drink and let out a huff as she brushed the whiskey from her eyes. Okay. That's how she wanted to do it. Hayden didn't say anything. A scowl plastered all over her face said it all as the crowd around them moved back, sensing something was about to go down. Hayden slipped her hand up the now empty whiskey bottle she was holding, now gripping it at the neck. With a long upswing, Hayden swung the side of the bottle right towards the side of Delaney's face.

Her eyes caught sight of the woman’s intent and her eyes widened before she quickly ducked away from the bottle’s path. Delaney shook her head and tossed her empty solo cup at the woman’s feet as she growled. ”Seriously? That’s the way you want to do this? Trying to fucking knock me out with a bottle? She rolled her eyes. ”Honey, I work in a bar. Going to have to try a lot harder than that.”

Before Delaney could try and speak anymore words, Hayden raised her left leg up and attempted to thrust her foot forward in a simple but usually effective kick towards the woman's stomach. The kick wasn't exactly bristling with power, there was not room to build momentum, but it was normally enough to wind her opponent and give Hayden time to do something more tangible.

She didn’t have time to react to what had come next. ”Oomph!” Doubling over from the kick, she wrapped an arm around her stomach protectively. Delaney huffed out a breath and glanced back up at the woman, her eyes narrowed and dark. ”What the hell is your problem?!” Her knees threatened to buckle under her before she straightened. She shouldn’t have had the pre-party cocktails.

With her opponent now hunched over, it was far easier for Hayden to repeat her first attack and bring the Whiskey bottle down right ontop of Delaney's head. "Little brats like you need to learn their place in the pecking order. Don't stand up to those that can flatten you bitch"

Delaney stumbled as the bottle met the side of her head and shattered. She huffed out a breath in anger and growled. She absolutely hated people thinking they were better than her. With a shake of her head, she stared back up at the woman and smirked. ”Oh, you have so fucked up. You’re in my town now, bitch.” With that, Delaney threw herself at the woman, trying to catch her around the waist to bring her down.

Hayden grunted as she was suddenly charged and found herself being knocked on the floor with the blonde woman ontop of her. She was shocked that she had been able to remain standing. Hayden had been in enough of these fights to know that she was not in a good place right now and needed to get away before Delaney could capitalise. With a huff, she would throw her right fist out, trying to impact the side of the woman's nose to try and convince her to back off.

With a loud gasp and a squeal, Delaney’s hand came up to find blood dripping from her nose. She growled as her eyes widened. ”You bitch! You broke my nose!” Shaking her head, she brought her own left fist down towards the woman’s face, hoping to even the odds a bit.

"That was the point you bi- Argh!" Hayden let out a groan being cut off midsentence but the sudden counter punch. Thankfully she came off it better as her own nose hadn't shattered. It seemed like this Delaney knew how to fight okay, but not to the level Hayden did. Still. Anyone could be a threat if they tried hard enough. Hayden planted her feet firmly on the ground and began raising her legs, trying to buck the woman off her and to the side, allowing Hayden to roll to the side and start getting back onto her feet.

It was successful. Delaney rolled off and hit her hip on the floor before she quickly scrambled to her feet. Her nose and under both eyes were already starting to bruise from the impact, blood still running down the front of her face. She knew she was in bad shape, but couldn’t let this thing get the upper hand. Not when the woman was the first to throw the punch. If her parents taught her anything, it was to always end the fight instead of starting it. With a breath, she brushed the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand before glaring at Hayden. ”This isn’t like where you’re from, sewer rat. You’re in Tanner now. First rule of fighting? Make sure you have people who’d back you up.”

Erin & Serena had spent the last few hours of their day discussing their findings at the barrier, resting and pre-gaming for the party at the Coven house.

Once they had arrived, the young women wasted no time walking right through the front door - seeing as how they were fashionably late as always. There was a much larger crowd gathered than either of them had expected, Erin’s jaw nearly dropping as she was reminded of the size of the Coven. As her dark haired cousin turned to her with a smirk and asked ”So what do you think we should do first?” Erin was busy scanning the room for a familiar blonde head of hair. Erin would have assumed that it was going to be an easy task - seeing as how she stood at 5’10’’ and was currently wearing four inch chunky heeled boots.

She assumed wrong.

With a disappointed expression, she looked down at Serena. ”I honestly really think that I should find Delaney. She’s been blowing up my phone and you know I’m going to need to catch up to her already wasted ass.”

Rolling her eyes, Serena sighed at the blonde's words and continued to take in the setting around her as they stood awkwardly by the entryway. Out of all of Erins friends, Delaney was the one that Serena definitely liked the most - but she still wished that she could have her cousin all to herself from time to time.

Just as Erin was about to suggest that they grab a drink, she heard a familiar sounding shriek coming from the dining room. Her head immediately snapping in that direction, she spoke a single word, her voice stern.

”Delaney.”

Both Serena and Erin began to move quickly through the crowd - Serena elbowing and stomping on the feet of people who refused to move fastly enough. Once they had made their way to the dining room, it didn’t take very long for Erin to spot her best friend - mostly thanks to the crowd that had surrounded her and Kolby’s newest human flesh-light.

Seeing Delaney bruised and battered sent a wave of anger so strong through Erin’s body that she was sure she would never be able to find the words in the English language to fully describe it.

”Oh, fuck no!” she shouted over all of the noise, unzipping her boots as she did so. Kicking them off, Erin pushed her way through the crowd as she called back to Serena ”Get D and hold my shoes!”

Speed walking right up to Hayden, Erin quickly drew back her right fist before it connected with the bridge of the other girl's nose.

”An eye for a fucking eye, you stupid cunt,” Erin shouted once more.

Watching the brunette’s reaction, Erin spat in her face. ”Come on! You really wanna fucking go,” she questioned, towering over Hayden’s smaller frame.

Hayden let out a yell of pain as Erin's fist collided into her nose, doing the one thing Delaney couldn't do and shattering it, thick streams of blood now oozing from her nostrils. Hayden took a cautious step back, eager to not stay within Erin's firing range. Now she had both Delaney and Erin to contend with, Hayden was doing her best to keep an eye on them both.

"Back off you porcelain doll. You don't want me to shatter that cute face of yours. Let me finish off the blonde bitch" She spat out as she eyed Erin.

As Erin faced Hayden, Serena circled around the back of the crowd - no stranger to how her cousin or her best friend fought. While Erin wanted Serena to get Delaney out of the way, Serena wouldn’t dare try and drag Delaney away from someone who had broken her nose. That would just be Serena begging to be hit at that point.
While she some-what ignored part of her cousin's request, she was carrying the boots with her in her left hand as she tried to stay out of Hayden or anyone else’s line of sight.

Breaking through the crowd, Serena decided to get a brief front row seat from behind Hayden - waiting to see if Erin or Delaney actually needed her to get involved in this.

Being close enough to hear them speaking, Serena fumed as Hayden dared to try and insult Erin. Heels clacking as she walked, the dark haired woman reached out to grab Hayden by the nape of her neck. Grabbing a fistful of hair, Serena yanked backwards and towards the floor, letting Hayden fall to the ground as she released her.

Now standing over Hayden, Serena leaned over, coming face to face with the stranger before her. Locking her eyes onto Hayden’s, she spoke slowly and deliberately. ”Are you one-hundred percent sure that that is what you’d like to do my love,” she questioned, her voice caught somewhere between poisonous and flirtatious.

If Hayden chose to strike right now, Serena would willfully take the blow. She knew that it was a potentially dumb move getting so close to the target - but no one disrespected Erin.

Hayden thought she had gotten control of the situation only to then suddenly be grabbed and pulled to the floor with surprising ease. This was getting bad. Hayden had fought against groups in New York, but she usually had a weapon to even the score. Here every waking second, a new person seemed to enter the fight.

Listening to her words, Hayden growled. No. She wasn't going to let these basic bitches get to her. She raised her leg and pulled it forward towards her head before kicking upwards and attempting to kick Serena in the chest. It was risky, as in order to launch it she had to essentially blind herself. There was no guarantee that Erin and Delaney would be where they were after this.

Delaney was about to throw another punch when she heard the most amazing voice ever screaming insults. Then came the punch. Even with blood dripping down her face, she smirked and kept her eyes on the raggedy ann. It was then that the insult flew out of the woman’s mouth, directed towards Delaney’s very best friend. Wrong fucking move. With another growl, she pushed past Erin only to notice Serena coming up behind Hayden. Then, the bitch was on the ground.

Seeing the girl’s leg move towards Serena, Delaney growled out and rushed forward to grab the woman’s hair. ”Wrong bitches to mess with, you twat face. Your maker really didn’t waste time to give you some sense, did he?”

Taking a kick to the chest, Serena caught herself on her hands before she could make full contact with the floor. Making brief eye contact with the wooden planks beneath her, a wild laugh escaped from her throat. While she had completely given Hayden the hit - partially out of stupidity, and partially because a crazy side of Serena liked to be hit - but that didn’t mean Serena was just going to stand there and willingly be hit any longer. Quickly standing up, Serena took the few short steps that it took to get back to Hayden before promptly bringing her foot down on the girls face. Thankfully for Hayden, only the toe part of Serena’s shoe connected with the first stomp. The second one, however, Serena aimed for the stomach and intended to cause any and all of the damage that she could. Raising her leg for the third time, Serena could feel that the crazy switch inside of her brain had been flipped. Only Erin could stop her from sending Hayden to the hospital at this point, and it didn’t seem as if the blonde vixen was making any moves to stop her cousin.

This was bad. Hayden felt her hair get pulled from Delaney, and now Serena seemed to be enjoying herself. Normally Hayden would be laughing too. She enjoyed a good old scrap. But right now, this three vs one was getting out of hand. Serena managed to lift her leg up, it was at that point that she noticed the heels she was wearing. Her eyes grew wide. This was bad. The shoe came down onto her face, breaking her nose further and smudging more blood across Hayden's lower face. She tried to raise her leg as a defence, but Serena had a superior position looming over her and Hayden let out a pained howl as the second one came down, the heel breaking her skin and digging into her stomach, a small trail of crimson blood trailing her stomach after she withdrew her heel.

On instinct, Hayden lifted her arms grabbing onto Delaney's wrists that were grabbing her hair. She needed to balance this out. Pulling forward with her arms, Hayden attempted to pull Delaney forward and have her trip over Hayden's body and hopefully right into Serena, knocking both girls down. That would allow Hayden to roll to the side and get up, and now just have Erin to deal with in a fairer one vs one situation.

Delaney barely had time to react when she was suddenly pulled forward, propelling herself into Serena. She huffed out a breath as she tried to scramble to her feet after the collision. Blood pulled onto her top lip and she quickly brushed it off with the sleeve of her jacket, cringing as the leather brushed against her swollen nose. She wobbled a bit as she regained her feet. She suddenly felt woozy from the trauma of the broken nose and broken bottle against her head. Bringing a hand up, she winced as she felt glass shards still in her hair. Delaney huffed out a breath and pushed the feelings aside before attempting to launch herself back at Hayden.

With Serena and Delaney now on the floor as well, it seemed as if it was up to Erin to do what she could to finish Hayden off. Closing the distance between her and the smaller woman, Erin came at Hayden with an uppercut from her right fist once more. There was no way she was going to allow Hayden to get any sort of upper hand on her or her girls.

Hayden just gotten up to her feet, and was right away assaulted with a nasty uppercut which smacked into her jaw and knocked her head backwards. She staggered back a step, struggling, but she was able to keep herself standing. With a small growl, Hayden charged forward, throwing a left hook of her own to try and hit Erin in the side of the face. If it worked, she would then follow up with a right punch, this time aiming for Erin's stomach. "You stupid bitches. Just back the fuck up. This ain't involving you!"

With Erin huffing as she took a hit to the stomach, Serena had now regained her footing and had her eyes locked on Hayden’s already bruised and battered head. Quickly recovering from Hayden’s blows, Erin reached out to grab either side of the other girls head, before raising a knee and having Haydens head collide with it. After Erin released Hayden, it didn’t take long for Serena to realize that they had nearly backed Hayden into a corner - and Serena did everything that she could to back Hayden further into the trap.

”Our town,” Serena retorted, her fist connecting with Haydens face once more as Erin walked up behind her.

”Our Coven,” Erin added, grabbing one of the empty glass bottles from the table as she spoke.

As Serena continued to beat on Hayden, Erin allowed the smaller women exchange a few while she let the bottle slide down into her hand. Grabbing the smaller end of the bottle, Erin raised it and swung with the force she still remembered from her softball years.

”And that’s my best friend you decided to hit.”

Hayden wasn't able to keep this up. Erin had a shocking amount of power and the knee to the face nearly knocked her out there and then. When Serena came in with her punches, Hayden couldn't mount a defence at all, Serena was just wailing on her face at this point. The damage was astronomical too. Blood would not stop dripping from her nose, barely every part of her face was bruised and swelling had already set in on her left cheek and eye.

Hayden was about to say something when her temple was impacted by a glass bottle, the glass shattered leaving shards in her head, a speckling of blood now there. At this point Hayden was spent. Her breathing was heavy, her guard lackadaisical, and her attempt punches were so off target it wasn't worth the effort. Her chest raised heavily, her breath wheezing lightly.

Delaney just stood back and watched as her friends took over the fight. Sure, the three on one wasn’t fair, but Hayden didn’t seem a fair fight type of person anyway. Staggering to her feet, she kept her eyes on the woman before grabbing at Erin’s hand. ”I think she’s learned her lesson. You’re going to beat her into a coma if we keep this up.”

She swayed as she held onto Erin’s arm and raised her free hand to her own head. Everything was catching up to her and she was starting to see stars. Not to mention the blood still free flowing from her nose. Delaney looked back at Hayden and sneered. ”The bitch isn’t worth any more of our energy.”

”Oh fuck you all.” Hayden said with slurred speech. ”This ain’t over. I will just wait until you bitches are on your own and I will pick you off like the cowards you are!” with a wheeze cough, Hayden tried to swing at Serena one more time, failing to hit the mark and overshooting it, causing her to stumble onto the ground while leaning against the wall. She was well and truly spent.

Delaney growled as her brows raised in frustration. ”Did you seriously just threaten us again, sewer rat? You haven’t learned your lesson, bitch?” She took a step towards the woman and lost her footing, slamming her shoulder into the wall opposite. Her breath came in shallow pants as her eyes darkened at the woman. Delaney moved closer to the woman to attack her once more.

Grabbing onto her friend with her free arm, Erin kept her eyes glued onto Hayden as she reached up to try and brush the hair stuck to Delaneys face out of the way. As Delaney moved closer to Hayden once more, Erin stayed close and did her best to keep the other blonde from falling.

Serena on the other hand wasn’t finished with this fight. Erin and Delaney might have been worried about killing Hayden - but Serena most certainly was not. Moving around Delaney and Erin so that she was between them and Hayden, Serena raised her fists as she recalled her training days with her father.

Striking first with her left hand at one side of Haydens head, and then doubling up for the swing with her right, she was all but ready to body slam the bitch before Erin tried to begin pulling her away.

Hayden was starting to struggle to focus, Her face was ruined, and it was hard to see any part of her face that wasn’t bloody, swollen or bruised. She waved her arms weakly to try and discourage Serena, but it was no good, Serena hit her once more and caused a heavy groan from Hayden. This was getting worse. It was time to seriously protect herself. Hayden would hold her hand out, a small ignition of embers appeared in her hand, before moments later a dagger made of pure fire formed in her hands. She swung her arm to the side, trying to catch the side of Erin’s exposed skin on her leg with it. ”Burn….bitch!”

Delaney was about to push forward to help Serena when the blade appeared. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened. ”You crazy bitch! We’re both covered in alcohol!” She took a staggering step back, nearly stumbling into Erin. ”The hell are you trying to do?!”

Erin managed to snatch her cousin out of the way just in time, the fiery blade in Hayden’s hand connecting with her calf. With a sharp inhale, Erin glanced over at her best friend as she struggled to hold back the smaller frame of Serena.

”Delaney,” Erin questioned. ”Help a sister out, would ya?” Many would have assumed that Erin would have meant for Delaney to grab Serena - but Erin was confident that her bestie would know what she meant.

Anyone looking at Serena from the crowd might have described her as ‘manic’ at that moment. Seeing Hayden use her powers gave Serena all the clearance that she needed to use her own. Palms raised, Serena laughed diabolically as she pulled energy from the sources that she could find around her. As the lights dimmed in the Coven House, the flames in Serena’s hands grew larger.

Eye’s locked on both her cousin and Hayden, Erin desperately hoped that Delaney would come through before Serena had anything to regret.

Sucking in a deeper breath, her eyes focused entirely on Serena now. Delaney shook her head and swore. ”Damnit, Ser! The bitch doused me in whiskey!” She glanced over at her best friend and gave a small nod of her head. Her hand grasped Erin’s elbow and she momentarily closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her body seemed to vibrate as her eyes brightened. She looked back over at Erin. ”End the bitch.”

Doing her best to ignore the pain in her leg, Erin focused on the boost of energy now coursing through her veins. Taking a deep breath, the young woman re-centered herself as she did her best to think about the pain that she wished to inflict upon Hayden - and well, now Serena too.

In her mind, Erin heard the sound of bones snapping. Images of people contorting inwardly on themselves filled her psyche as she imagined what it would feel like to have all of your bones breaking simultaneously. She could hear the faint screams of her imaginary victims in the back of her mind, now directing her energy and thoughts towards Hayden and Serena both. Once she could feel that she was inside of both the girls' heads, Erin quickly dumped her hell-ish thoughts and ran for metaphorical cover.

Watching as the flames disappeared from Serena’s hands, Erin almost felt bad as her cousin fell to the floor. Serena’s arms and legs moved at weird angles as her mind played tricks on her, howling in pain at her fake reality.

Hayden knew no different, in her mind, what she saw was Serena grabbing her and breaking her bones one by one, deliberately, carefully and most importantly carefully. The party continued around her in her mind as she screamed out, as one by one her body was broken beyond any kind of proportion. What she didn’t realize was that she was actually screaming in the real world too. As her mind played tricks on her, she ended up twisting her one arm harshly, breaking her own arm, shattering her left humerus. As the illusion ended, and her vision came back, the realization that it was an illusion hit, but that didn’t stop the tears falling from her eyes, the pain from her now damaged arm pulsating at full power, as the illusion had stopped her body from producing adrenaline to compensate. With a soft whimper, Hayden reached her pain threshold and passed out against the wall, her body, twisted in strange shapes.

At the sound of the screams, Delaney couldn’t help a little smirk. She couldn’t see the visions herself, but the sight of Hayden turning in on herself was the best thing that happened to her that day. As she kept a hold of her best friend, she felt her energy begin to wane. Her chest started to heave and her grip tightened on Erin’s arm. She wasn’t at full energy thanks to the fight. ”Stop, E…I need- you to- stop..”

Breaking eye contact with Hayden, Erin grabbed on to Delaney to keep her friend from falling over. After she had steadied the other young woman, she glanced back over to Serena lying on the floor and simply shook her head. Erin couldn’t help but think of how weirdly proud, but oddly disappointed her uncle Tiberius would be at her and her cousin's actions this evening.

Wrapping an arm around Delaney’s waist, Erin sighed and brushed some of the loose hair out of her besties face. ”Come on, love. Let’s go and get you cleaned up.”