[IC] The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

[psych0pomp]

^{DATE AND TIME: Handover Ceremony ~ Evening______________________LOCATION: Coven House______________________INTERACTIONS: None}

---

Eleni and Karl had long since left for the shindig. The Greek woman wasn’t there to make sparkling conversation, smile, and drink. She was there to do her due diligence and leave. She was tired and had a migraine that came from stretching her face into something that wasn’t malicious. Her long, gray hair hung around her face, her eyelids were painted a glittering emerald, and her long black dress with vibrant green flowers complimented her tall and athletic form. She held a glass of wine in one hand that was growing warm with her palm resting against the bottom. Despite the Xenakis name being linked to divination and the like, Eleni was much more talented in transmutation magics—druidic in nature but not in practice. She was the most at peace in a garden, which was why the Timeless Taverna had such immaculate landscaping.

In direct contrast to his wife, Karl was much more content in the busy setting. This might have been especially strange since he’d taken her name and moved to Tanner for her. He was just in a simple gray suit top and bottom with a white undershirt. The thing that made it stand out was the fact that was bespoke and fit his short and squat frame very well. He laughed and mingled, having already made friends with these folks ten times over. He was a warlock, and as such had power over one style of magic—enchantment. He used it in a way to inflate the value of small things, but one had to admit that the furnishing around the Taverna sparkled. If Karl handed you a piece of jewelry, it was fair to say that he found it at a consignment shop and applied a liberal dose of magic to look like royalty should be wearing it.

The Xenakis matron looped her arm around her husband’s waist and pulled him away from a small gathering he was chatting up. She couldn’t tell if they were relieved or disappointed to see him go. She also didn’t care. “Have you seen Pallas?” she asked, finally taking a sip of her room-temperature wine.

“I have not and believe me I’ve seen a lot of faces. Some of them quite unfamiliar,” he said with a wry smile. “And, you may have missed it, but there was quite the spat—ah, my love you aren’t listening.” He patted her arm, gently. “Don’t worry about him. He wouldn’t dare show us up now, show you up. You’ve extended quite the olive branch to him. You need to have faith. He’ll be here.”

“Well, when he arrives, he better be wearing pants.”

- - -

Karl had tapped gently on the door like a father, not wanting to walk in on his teenage daughter giving Pallas around fifteen minutes to get ready. The older Swedish man saw that Pallas was mostly dressed and figured it wouldn’t be an issue for the “younger” Xenakis to be downstairs soon.

When Eleni came in, she’d make a rhinoceros blush with her mannerisms. Pallas was in something entirely different, and Eleni would have dragged him out of that attic room had it not been for the fact that while he was content with the top half of him, the bottom half was standing in hot pink underwear. Eleni bit off something quick, and angry, in Greek before slamming the door. It was more or less, “You better have some pants on if you dare show your face at the gathering.” That was the polite interpretation anyway.

So, they’d left without him.

The unfortunate part of them leaving was the fact that they had one vehicle between the three of them. Pallas had never made it to the coven when he’d headed out previously. He’d hit a rock, sent the bicycle swerving, and then crashed in the ditch. A car drove by and honked at him. At that moment, the embarrassment filled him with such an urge to leave that he left the bicycle in the ditch and stomped back home. He was older than a hundred years but still had his petulant moments. Yet, that had blocked him from having any more “bicycle privileges” meaning it was walking or nothing. Of course, he couldn’t not show up.

So, he’d dusted off his Uber app and stared at it as if it was an ancient tablet written in an ancient dialect and fumbled through it. Finding someone driving in Tanner was—not easy—and the times were atrocious. But it was all better than walking.He hadn’t worn varying shades of white, just to get a stain on them.

When the pumpkin-colored Chevy Corsica rolled up, Pallas tried not to make too big a face. Though he did grab a towel and sat it on the seat as he entered. His knees crunched against the back seat and his perfectly coifed hair tickled the ceiling. To the driver’s credit, it did smell like a forest—a forest made of tree-shaped air fresheners—but nothing too egregious.

Surely there were eyes on him when he did pull up to the Coven House, but he didn’t pay them any heed as he handed the driver a tip for how wildly embarrassing this entire thing felt. “Keep the towel,” Pallas said. The driver eyed him, took the tip, and drove off. At about that time, he flashed a smile to everyone and pulled the white jacket of his ensemble tighter around his chest.

When he entered, there was the steady hum of conversation followed by a couple of glances his way before they returned to their business. Pallas felt he was far down on the list of “Interesting People” at the party. What he was able to pull out of the chatter was that there had been a bit of a showdown between some of the older—in a figurative sense—members of the Coven. He waited to hear if Eleni was mentioned, but she was not. Pallas did not doubt that Karl would never be in the same sentence as something negative unless someone was complimenting on how “no one is nicer than Mister Xenakis. No… not that one… the older one.”

Pallas made his way toward the liquor and poured four fingers worth of stout bourbon. He’d need it tonight. Quickly he downed it like an alcoholic outside an AA meeting, before pouring himself another one. As he did that, the shark-like shadow of Eleni passed by. She looked over his outfit before making a face. Karl gave him a polite wave, and Pallas could have sworn that he overheard the man say, “Look, he has pants.” Had there really been a concern?

A thought occurred to Pallas as he glanced through the mingling of older and younger members of the coven, alike. John Montgomery was probably here. There was a sudden regret that shot through his spine as he thought of that. Surely the man wouldn’t shoot him again. There was a crowd here. Still, he needed to practice ducking and weaving through the crowd to avoid a bullet.

[Sadie]

Life was strange for Violet Parker.

Over the past month, a lot of revelations had come out. Her entire world had tipped upside down. The young witch had discovered that her parents weren’t her parents, and now she needed to discover the whole truth. Her birth mother had reached out to her and offered to give her all of the answers, attached to the letter was an invitation to the handover ceremony. Packing her bags with a variety of clothes and tidbits, Violet made her way to the airport. She didn’t even have to book a hotel, her birth mother had offered to house her for as long as she needed to get to the truth.

It was a long trip from Florida to Seattle. The entire trip Violet couldn’t help but think about her birth mother. The small conversations they had on the phone were light on details regarding Tanner, and her parents confirmed the story was true, but also were pretty light on the details. What led her to be given up for adoption, and why couldn’t Violet remember any of it? Was it Violet’s fault she was put up for adoption? So many questions rattled around in the young woman’s head. Arriving in Seattle, a pre-booked Uber was waiting for her to take her out of the city and into the foothills of Tanner. Violet spent all of her time looking at all of the trees and all of the surroundings. Compared to hot and swampy Florida, Washington state was a different world. While in the back of the vehicle, Violet looked over the original letter she had received, looking at the name over and over again. She then began to wonder how Tanner differed from her coven back at home. She knew that Tanner was important, but hadn’t really bothered to dig into how important it was. Her coven back home was fairly chill. They gave you some basic and simple lessons but left you to explore magic in the safer of the grounds. She imagined given the importance of Tanner Coven, the rules might be a little stricter.

She watched as the car pulled into Tanner. She looked in awe of the small town vibe the place had, nestled all around by ranches and tall pine trees. As the car pulled away off the main street, she got her first glimpse of the Coven household. It was such an ornate building. It looked like something out of an old movie or a TV show. She also noted how busy it was, and how the poor girl had heavily underestimated how formal the event was. She was sorely underdressed for the occasion. No matter. She thanked the driver and got out of the car, heading to the trunk to pull out her suitcases as people mulled into the building. She showed her invitation at the door, which caused the person greeting everyone to simply give her a confused expression. Once inside proper, Violet placed her suitcases in a quiet corner, before pulling out the letter and looking at the name. She began to quietly walk around the party, being careful not to touch anyone or bump into them, looking for someone she thought looked trustworthy to ask about where her birth mother was. She eventually found what looked like someone who lived here as opposed to being a guest.

”Excuse me… I am looking for Amanda Aston.”

[duskshine749]

October had rolled around soon enough. The last few weeks Aurora and Daniel had grown closer. Being around him, and thinking of him gave her butterflies in her stomach. Most of her work projects were almost finished, for the time being; which gave her some free time to spend time with Daniel and focus on coven duties between their dates. Their first date had been a fun one. Daniel had taken her out bowling. At that time, it was something she hadn’t done in a long while, and it didn’t take long for either of them to get playfully competitive.

With an important coven Party, Aurora had spent days picking out her outfit. With it being a formal event, everyone needed to look their best. Even though she was attending with Daniel, as his date for the evening, her nerves had been building up. Mainly due to the fact that her family members were also attending. Trying not to think about that; Aurora finished getting dressed in her silver dress. Just as she was starting to style her hair into light curls; she heard her phone beep.

Daniel had put on his dad's old suit for the occasion, his lack of nice clothes also applied to formal wear. But his dad's suit fit well and honestly it made him happy, almost like his dad would still be there to see in the new coven leadership with him. His mom almost cried, saying he looked just like his dad. She gave him a hug and said he could take the car to pick up his date, she would get a ride with some other friends.

Daniel texted Aurora letting her know he was on his way, it would only be a couple of minutes driving. Instead of a podcast he just had his Spotify playlist going. He and Aurora had spent enough time together for her to learn his music taste was all over the place, mostly seated in the early 2000s.

He arrived at her house and parked on the street. He got out of the car and walked to her front door, knocking with his right hand and holding a small box in his left.

Picking up her phone, Aurora smiled at the text. ‘See you soon.’ she texted back. Finishing getting ready, soon her hair was styled to her liking. Not going heavy on the make-up either. Keeping it simple; her best scented perfume and some light eye-shadow and some light lip-gloss. Simple, yet appealing.

From a young age; Aurora was used to having nice clothes and formal wear. Her parents had dragged her to a few formal coven events growing up. It taught her to be prepared later in life, for events such as this. Hearing the sound of a familiar car, pull up outside of her home. Aurora made her way downstairs with her small bag. Her phone tucked safely inside with a few necessities should she need them.

As she opened the door, she was met by a cute sight. Daniel in a suit bearing a small gift. From knowing Daniel, she didn’t strike him as a suit type of guy. But it was a look that suited him rather well. “Wow, you look great.” Complimenting his attire.

Daniel knew it was silly to think, but he almost felt underdressed compared to Aurora. "Wow yourself, you look like a supermodel. And before I forget, this is for you," he opened the box to reveal a simple wrist corsage of white and red roses. He took it out and waited for her to put her hand out so he could put it on. Daniel was glad he went with a wrist corsage because he was nowhere near comfortable enough to be putting it on Aurora's chest at this point in their relationship.

Once the corsage was on Daniel would take the opportunity to kiss Aurora's hand, "if you're ready to depart our chariot awaits. Daniel offered his arm for Aurora to take, leading her down to the car, opening and closing her door for her before taking his spot in the driver's seat.

Her cheeks flushed bright pink at his compliment. “Oh, far from it.” Aurora didn’t think she looked that fancy. Still she was flattered by his comment. Looking curious as to what he got for her, she smiled seeing the wrist corsage. “Aww, how sweet. I love it, thank you.” It was beautiful. As he slid it around her wrist, it fitted perfectly around her slender wrist.

“I am all good to go, Just need to lock up.” With that, Aurora locked the door, before putting her home keys in a small purse that she had on her. Her arm linked with his, following him to the car. As he opened the car door for her, she thanked him with a soft smile, sliding into the car careful not to trap her dress in the door. Buckling up.

“I should probably warn you, my family is coming to this party.” Not wanting to make him feel nervous, but she also didn’t want him to be surprised if they’d run into her parents or grand-father. It was a Coven event after all. It’s not like she could tell them not to come; everyone was expected to turn up for the naming of the new coven leadership. Hopefully there’d be enough people mingling at the coven house, that they wouldn’t bump into her parents.

”Thanks for the heads up,” Daniel said as he started driving them to the event. His music was on quietly, current Avril Lavigne was playing. Dan hadn’t met Aurora’s family yet, she had told him about how there was some tension there. Hopefully he could make a good impression if they happened to run into each other.

The drive to the coven was relatively short, Daniel sang along to his music as they went. He was comfortable enough around Aurora at this point to reveal he was a big dork who loved to sing along to songs. ”Oh we have to do karaoke at some point, I love karaoke, as you’ve probably guessed.” As Daniel approached the coven house he saw the street was getting pretty full, luckily he found a spot not too far from the house, only a couple minutes walk. He put the car in park and said to Aurora, ”don’t open your door, allow me, I insist.” He exited the car and made his way to Aurora’s side, opening the door and offering his hand to help her out.

His calmness at the news was something she had needed. Appreciating it almost in a new way. If he had freaked out, it would have made her more nervous. “Thanks for being so calm about it.” her hand reached out, giving his a soft squeeze of gratitude. Aurora had always felt comfortable around Daniel, maybe even more so in the last few weeks; so she was always honest with him. Especially when it came to her relatives. Not wanting there to be any secrets, should he run into them.

But she tried not to worry herself. She wanted to enjoy the evening with him and their friends. Smiling to herself as Daniel sang along to a song. His cheeriness did always put her in a better mood. “I could have guessed. You have a nice voice.” Aurora smiled at his suggestion. “I don’t think I did karaoke since I was a kid.” Thinking back if she could remember the last time she did. It’s been a long while. As they arrived, Aurora saw the amount of cars parked already; Spotting a familiar car in the near distance. Her parents and grand-father were already here; must have arrived shortly before herself and Daniel. Before she could say something, he was out of the car and by her door.

“Such a gentleman.” she beamed with a warm smile. Not that he needed to open the door for her, but it was still sweet. Getting out of the car with his help. Aurora shut the car door behind her, before her arm wrapped around his. It was a slightly breezy evening. Her blonde curls swaying back and forth in the light wind.

”Well it’s a formal event, this feels like the appropriate time to crank up the charm,” Daniel said as they walked to the house. They got to the entrance and Daniel noticed Carlisle had Mary at his side, not Amanda. Though given how his mother could be it wasn’t the most surprising thing. Speaking of Amanda, she was leaned against a wall, seemingly knocked out. ”Well it looks like we missed some excitement. Carlisle, Mary, good to see you’re both doing well,” Daniel greeted the two politely. Aurora did the same before they made their way further into the house so they weren’t blocking the entrance. ”How about I get us some drinks? Then we can theorise on what exactly we missed before we got here.”

In her eyes, he didn’t need to try so hard. As his charms seemed to come naturally when he relaxed.

The sight at the front door was an interesting one. She rose a slight eyebrow at Amanda’s predicament. “Looks like the party has already kicked off in high gear.” she mused lightly. Turning her attention to Mary and Carlisle, she greeted them both with a warm smile. Miles’s mother had always been more of a kinder woman, so no wonder she was here greeting everyone. It just made more sense. No one felt welcomed by Amanda’s coldness in comparison. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the pair at the front door, she and Daniel found herself further in the coven house.

“Wine would be wonderful.” Aurora said, at the mention of drinks. “My best guess, Amanda’s bitchy mode had turned on rather quickly already.” Only guessing what they might have missed, before their arrival. Having arrived a few moments after Amanda’s outburst.

"Red or white?"

"Red."

"As you wish," Daniel went off to the refreshment table and grabbed himself and Aurora both a glass of red wine, before finding her in the room once again. "You know, some people swear by the health benefits of drinking a glass of wine everyday," Daniel said as he gave Aurora her glass. "I'm not much of a wine drinker myself, but it's interesting to think about how alcohol, which is technically a poison, can still be good for us in certain quantities."

As Daniel went to grab them their refreshments, her eyes scanned the room. For a second she had to do a double take when she spotted a familiar woman mingling in the crowd. It took Aurora a few seconds of squinting to make out the features to realise that it indeed was Claire Montgomery. How was she alive? Aurora might have not seen Liliths mother in years but she recognised her clear as day.

Finding herself a little distracted when Daniel came back with their drinks. "Oh yes, something about the tannin count in wine." She spoke once she snapped out of her shock. Thanking him for the refreshment. Taking a sip or two, trying to wash off her shock.

Aurora seemed surprised by something, Daniel glanced over to where she seemed to be looking before he got back. Daniel wasn't the most observant when it came to spotting someone in a crowd so whoever or whatever had caught Aurora's eye went unnoticed to him. "Well done on knowing your wine trivia, 10 points," Daniel said jokingly, "now back to what happened with Amanda, I wonder what it was she did that got her in that state? I'm hoping we didn't miss anything too exciting."

[Sugar and Spite]

_{A @HaleyTheRandom & @SouffleGirl123 Collab; Featuring Mary Price & Lilith Montgomery.}

Only moments after her realization Mary hurried to find Lilith, leaving Claire with a promise to return for shots. Hurrying between rooms and quickly disengaging from conversations from other ex-coven members. On most days she'd slow her pace for her old comrades and seniors but today was different. She wanted to get to Lilith before anyone else in their little group got to her… or Miles.

She opened doors to side rooms and near hidden pathways she used to find Lilith and Miles back in her time as a coven member. It was when she went to the potion room the somewhat familiar scent of blunts danced in the air, trailing from the verandah. With a sigh the woman beelines for the verandah door, opening it to see Lilith with a blunt in her hand. She pokes her head through the opening she made with the door and looks the young woman up and down. Looking up and down at the woman's outfit she couldn’t help but give a chuckle. Although Lilith resembled her mother in many ways her fashion sense was far from one of them.

"How'd ya ma feel about you not wearing a dress tonight?" she asks playfully with a chuckle, an attempt to keep the air light even if Lil could detect her inner panic. "You do look lovely, dear. Can I steal some of your time for a moment? Somewhere a bit more private?"

After her conversation with Salem, Lilith had decided to step out onto the veranda to watch the rest of the setting sun fade into the night. She was good at acting calm and diplomatic in situations such as these, but she still couldn’t help the way her hands shook as she removed the prize from her pants pocket. Leaning against the handrail, Lilith drowned out the quiet hum of voices coming from inside the house by focusing on the sound of the crickets below.

The Handover ceremony was something that Lilith had both looked forward to, and dreaded. After today - there were no more excuses. They were the real adults, and they had to handle all of the issues now. From now on, she was going to be one of the ones people had no choice but to run to. All in all - Lilith wasn’t sure if she was up for the challenge.

Turning her head as she took another drag, Lilith couldn’t help but give a small smile at Mary’s comment. ”She had some words to say, but I think she’ll survive,” the young woman joked, her eyes now meeting her godmothers. Even without Lilith using powers, it was easy to see that Mary was frazzled. ”I don’t see why not,” she responded once more with a shrug of her shoulders. ”If you can think of somewhere more private than this - lead the way.”

"You might wanna put that out," she says softly, nodding her head toward the blunt. She then gives the young woman a warm smile and squeezes her hand before leading her back into the house. "How're you holdin' up?" she asks as they walk through the many corridors of the house.

Taking another drag, Lilith complied with the older woman's request by squishing the end of the blunt under her boot before shoving it back in her pocket. She didn’t have the heart or fight to tell Mary that she had smoked many times before in the Coven house. Letting Mary lead the way, the young woman shrugged her shoulders before responding.

”’Bout as well as anyone can do when they’re about to be given the responsibilities of a secret society. Mom’s not caused a scene yet has she?”

At Lilith’s question Mary gave a light chuckle, leading her into one of the small bedrooms of the house. A suitcase sat tucked in the corner with some of its contents pulled out around it. With all the visitors she knew all the rooms were probably in use and could only hope this room’s occupant wouldn’t need to come back in. "Y’know your ma, she can’t help herself,” she says closing the door quietly, a small smile playing on her lips as she reflected on the earlier fight, "That one might be on me though,”

Mary turns back to look at Lil. How was she meant to have this conversation? She wasn’t sure but she knew Lilith would rather get the news like this than from an angry Salem. That was assuming she didn’t know. "So, anythin’ new between you and Milo?” she asks the young woman, sitting on the bed. She pats the spot next to her, willing the girl to join. She was hoping if Lilith knew she’d be willing to give that information up.

So Claire had done something - and Mary was reluctant to share. That was different. Oftentimes, Mary and Lilith had stood in a corner and narrated or made fun of the fights that Claire had gotten into. For Mary not to come right out and describe whatever was going on for Lil was a strange thing indeed.

As they walked into the room, Lilith took her seat beside Mary while doing the best that she could not to read into the other woman's emotions. The uneasiness radiating from her was hard to ignore as Lilith took her place on the edge of the bed.

”Not really,” she replied, clearing the raspiness from her throat. ”Just been tryin’ to get used to things again.” With a sigh, Lilith let the silence feel the room for just a moment before speaking again. ”Why? Did he do something? Did I do something?”

Mary attempts to give the young woman a comforting smile. "No… well yes. Not on purpose, I don’t think,” she replies meekly, stumbling over her words slightly. Mary wasn’t usually one to stumble over her words. She gave a long deep sigh, trying to recollect herself. "Look, Lil, it might sound like I’m oversteppin’ here and if the situation was different I just well might be but… I think you might be pregnant. Actually, I know, the divination don’t lie.” She looks up at Lilith awaiting her reaction before dropping anything else on her.

A small ”Oh” was all that Lilith could muster as she attempted to process what Mary was saying. After Claire had presumably passed away, Lilith had turned to godmother for help and training with her Divination; she would never doubt Mary Price. Even still -

”Surely not,” she replied, with a short laugh. ”I mean we only… you know - ” Struggling for words, the young woman made vague motions with her hands. ”Like once. Maybe twice. Okay maybe three times but -” Lilith's ramble was cut short when she met Mary's gaze of sympathy.

At that moment, all of the puzzle pieces seemed to snap right into place. Lilith couldn’t lie that she had had her own suspicions - from the tightening of her jeans, to her hormones being wack as shit - but she had just chalked it all up to stress.

”I mean - that’s that, I guess? You know I won’t believe it until I see if for myself, so of course I’ll grab a test soon but how the fuck am I supposed to tell Kane?” The more that Lilith spoke, the more the panic set in.

Mary remained silent as Lilith went through a spiral that was reminiscent of the one she had had herself when she was not much older. She could do none but just remain silent, sympathy drawn on her face. "I’d offer to do it for you but honestly dear, it should come from you,” Mary replies, her eyes remaining on Lilith. She wished she could just slowly tell her everything over a course of days, long enough to not be overwhelming but she knew with the risk of Salem at her right after the ceremony that was far from possible.

She gives her another forced smile before continuing on. Mary knew it’d do none with Lilith’s abilities being able to read into her inner turmoil but it was a natural response at this point. "I wish I could say that’s all but you need to know something else,” Mary pursed her lips as the frustrations of the situation Miles’ father had put the family in came to the surface. "Miles’ father is magi- that I knew from the beginnin’. Miles was born with a birthmark but honestly I assumed it was a heritage thing considerin’ his powers are more common in witches and warlocks but uh-. Lil, I talked to Salem and she’s very convinced his father is Aloysius Leighton. Y’know, the kid who started the magi war.” Mary rubs the bridge of her nose. "I’m so sorry Lil, if she’s right-”

Shaking her leg a hundred miles a minute, Lilith was currently going through every scenario imaginable on how to break the news to Miles. They had just gotten back together, and everything was going relatively smooth. Did Miles even want to be a dad? Did she want to be a mom? Was John going to kill him? Was Claire? Was Carlisle going to have a heart attack? Her questions and scenarios were cut short by the word magi.

Listening to the rest of what Mary had to say, Lilith shook her head in protest as she stood up from the bed. Beginning to pace the bedroom floor, the young woman pulled her shirt sleeves up to her elbows as she ran her hands through her hair. ”I think I’m gonna lose it,” she warned. ”My boyfriends a magi. Cool, cool.” As she spoke, it was easy to tell that Lilith was trying to sooth herself by sorting her thoughts aloud once more.
”The son of a war criminal,” she muttered. ”I’m carrying a war criminal's grandchild. A magi war criminal.” Throwing her hands in the air, the young woman could help the manic laughter that escaped. ”What the fuck.”

”Leighton,” Lilith pondered, still pacing back and forth as she played with the name. The - hopefully - final realization hit the young woman like a ten ton weight, stopping her dead in her tracks. She felt her face grow hot, tears pooling in her eyes as a fear filled chill ran down her spine. Looking at her godmother, Lilith sighed, clearly defeated. ”Mary… Mary, no,” she protested weakly, now fully realizing what all of this meant.

Mary sighed a heavy sigh. Seeing her goddaughter in turmoil like this hurt her. Knowing she had a hand in it, no matter if it was unknowingly, hurt her even more. "Lil,” she says gently, gripping onto the younger woman’s shoulders to hold her in place. She sends a wave of calming energy through the girl before pulling her into a tight hug. "Look, you and I both know this baby’s gonna be… controversial to put it lightly. It’s gonna work out, ok? If ya want to have it you got me and Miles, and your mamma and John- I’m sure he’d shoot at anyone who looks at that kid wrong,”

Mary pulls back and produces a tissue from her pocket. She works at wiping away the young woman’s tears. "Look, I’m not saying it’ll be easy but we can make this work,”

Returning Mary's hug and taking the tissue, Lilith shrugged her shoulders in response. ”If by making this work you mean starting world war three, sure,” she joked. ”I don’t think Salem is going to let her mortal enemy's bloodline get any further than it already has.”

"You don’t know that,” Mary mutters, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her goddaughter’s ear. Despite trying to keep the mood up, even without empathic abilities it would be obvious that she wasn’t so convinced herself. "Who knows, Salem might be more graceful than we think. It’s not that Miles was raised by his father, might be enough to hold her back? For now, though, you should probably think about more important things. Like whatcha gonna do about this baby.”

Yeet myself off of a cliff didn’t seem like the appropriate response. Maybe Lilith didn’t have the right to act like everything was as bad as she was making it out to be, but that still didn’t help the fact that she felt like the world was crashing from beneath her feet. With Mary’s help, the tears had stopped flowing, however it was still easy to tell that Lilith was pretty shaken about the whole ordeal.

”I never thought of myself as a mom,” she answered almost too quickly. ”Figured I had drank and smoke so much that my eggs were either pickled or fried, honestly.” Taking another deep breath to steady her nerves she asked ”Does Miles know about his dad?”

Mary couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped her lips at Lilith’s comment. "If it’s any help neither did your ma or I but I like to think you kids turned out just fine.” That was when Lilith asked about Miles, it made Mary tenses slightly, a reaction she attempted to hide with limited success. She didn’t want Lilith adding a worry for her onto her rapidly growing list of worries.

"That was my next job- I just figured I had to get to you before Salem did. Would rather you found out this way over whatever Salem’s plannin’. I only just found out myself,” she replies gingerly. "I should probably have that talk with him before you tell him about the baby, hey?”

Nodding her head, Lilith forced a small smile. ”Yeah, that’d be preferable,” she sighed. ”Just promise me Miles and I will walk out of this alive tonight?”

"Of course. I’ll make sure of that myself, kay?” Mary replies, running a hand through her hair. "Just brace yourself for Salem’s questions. Doesn’t sound like she’s ready to attack but be ready. You know more of what the woman’s capable of than me,”

The legends and myths of Salem de Silva was enough to wipe the smile off of anyone's face - including Lilith’s. While it was comforting to know Salem wasn’t stomping around the grounds looking for her, the fact that she had to keep the Guild Leader at bay was absolutely terrifying.

”Don’t remind me,” the brunette mumbled, mostly to herself. ”I reckon if you can take care of Miles, I can handle Salem,” she decided, squaring her shoulders. ”I would say we could all go back to the ranch and have a drink after, but -”

"Sounds like a plan,” Mary muses, reaching for the door. At Lilith’s last words she turns back to her, her hand still on the door handle. "Sounds like ya got some habits to kick. Worry about Salem for now, we’ll sort out the rest later.” A small smile spreads over the woman’s face at her reflection of the conversation. Now the heavy stuff was out of the way her mind was able to focus on the situation as more than a point for panic. "Lilith? You’ll do great, dear,” she says vaguely before turning to the door and happily uttering, "I’m gonna be a memaw,” to herself before swinging open the door.

With a huff, Lilith came to the realization that her drinking and smoking days were over - at least for now. Where Mary seemed excited about the news, it was still all taking some time to really sink in for Lilith. Hearing the older woman's joyful cry, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ”This is bullshit,” she grumbled under her breath, walking out after Mary and closing the bedroom door behind her.

[SouffleGirl123]

Starring Miles Prices and Mary Price

---

Fresh off the heels of her conversation with Lilith, Mary beelined back to the main hall for her next target. She made sure to give her best friend at the drinks table a nod of recognition before gesturing to tell her she'd be there in a bit. She then looked around the room to see Miles not too far from the drinks table, himself engaged in conversation with Kolby. She walked across the room to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Milo," she calls out, placing a hand on his shoulder. This causes the man to whip around in response, becoming face to face with his mother. "Can I steal you for a moment. Please?"

Miles goes to tell her to give him a moment to finish his conversation but meeting her eyes he could only see the panic and urgency behind them. Miles wasn't used to seeing those emotions their. His mother seemed to always be calm and collected, even in times she shouldn't be so seeing the worry behind those eyes almost scared the man. He gave a simple nod before turning to Kolby.

”The Matriarch calls. I'll see you later, man," He says, sharing a fist bump with the man before allowing his mother to take him away with a huff at his nickname for her.

Mary leads him back up the stairs and to the room she had just talked to Lilith in. With every step her stomach seemed to sink deeper as she thought about everything she needed to tell the boy. She could only hope he could forgive her for all of it. Miles, on the other hand, seemed to feel less nervous about what was about to transpire but more curious. Did he do something wrong? Did something happen to Carlisle? Was Lilith ok? All questions he pondered as his mother ushered him into an empty room and closed the door.

Miles enters far enough into the room to allow her to close the door but keeping his eyes fixated on her. Her slow movements, the wringing of hands and almost unnerving silence she commanded over the room. Was his mother scared? Mary Price was never scared. Well, in his age Miles recognised that wasn't true, that even his pillar of strength that was his mother had tasted fear itself. Likely more times than he could count but she never showed it, not as apparent as this. ”Ma?" he utters quizzically.

At her son's voice Mary was snapped back to Earth. She gave him a forced smile before taking a seat on the edge of bed. "Come sit down, Hurricane. You're gonna need a seat for this one,"

Miles raises his pierced brow but followed through with his mother's commands, sitting at her left also on the edge of the bed. ”Did I do something wrong?'

"Not you, not this time, Hurricane," Mary replies looking at her son. Since when did he get so old? She could still clearly remember the days she'd have to chase his little toddler body around the house to wrestle a nappy onto him after he pulled his off or how he'd shove all his favourite toys into a suitcase and drag it into whatever room Mary was in to announce he was going to "go back to visit LiLi" days after they returned from their trips with the Montgomerys. Since when did time go so fast? It almost brought a tear to her eyes thinking about how her little boy had become a man, possibly a father even. "No, Miles, this one's on me," she responds with a sigh.

"I, uh, learnt some things about your father today." She couldn't help but feel the temptation to lie to him, tell him she always thought his dad was a warlock, she never noticed the black dot on his back that became a full mark later in life, that she was fully was fully convinced that he did get that 'tattoo' the way she claimed but she owed her boy the truth. "But we should probably start with this things I know." She glances back up at her son, awaiting his reaction.

Miles' eyes remained on his mother's face as he struggled to shake the uneasiness she was making him feel. At her words he cocked his head in curiosity, tapping his fingers on the side of his legs.

"Miles, your father was a magi. And it turns out you probably are as well," Mary says, looking into her son's eyes.

Miles' brow furrows as he shakes his head. The magi world was something Miles knew very little of, only gleaning some information from Ty when he decided to talk about it but he knew one piece of information about them for sure. ”Don't magi have a birthmark?" he asks.

Mary took a shaky breath, this was the question she was dreading most, the only part of this conversation that may make her son mad at her. Her eyes struggled to meet his but she didn't let up her gaze. "I always expected that mole you were born with may have actually been a magi related mark but it wasn't a proper mark. I figured it may have just been an indictor of magi heritage or somethin'. When your powers started showin' they were more warlock like in nature. That was a relief, Miles. I know warlocks, I can train warlocks so I just raised you as a warlock. Woulda caused issue in the coven havin' a magi next in line for coven member, especially with Amanda at the forefront. Didn't want that woman makin' your life any harder than she was. Then you came home that day and asked about the mark on your back-"

”I got the mole tattooed over, remember? That was my first one. We had a fight about it and everything!" Miles argues, unsure what to make of his mothers words. In return she flashes him an apologetic smile.

"When you came home askin' 'bout that mark I was scared Miles, I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to train magi. We already had you down to take my spot in the coven and you and Lilith were together, Junie and Ty got enough flack when it was revealed Ty was a magi and I didn't want you kids sufferin' through somethin' like that. So I did the only thing I could think of." Mary took another shaky breath as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I convinced you it was the result of one of your drunken benders and enchanted you to believe it... I'm sorry, Miles,"

Miles didn't know what to think. Hell, he didn't know what to feel. He and his mother didn't keep secrets. He knew she told little lies for him not to worry; she wasn't struggling, she wasn't tired, he wasn't getting on her nerves; but this? This was far different. Miles didn't know whether to be mad or indifferent. Mary reaches for his hand to give it a squeeze and he withdraws it.

"Yeah, I deserve that," Mary mutters in response. She looks back at her son, recognising the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, kid. I know I hurt you but I was just trying to protect you. I was never certain myself until tonight..."

”Couldn't you have just asked your divination if I was magi? It's not that hard," he snaps, recoiling slightly a his words. He didn't mean for them to come out so harsh.

"Why would I? If the answer was yes what was I to do? Raise you know I'll never know how to properly train you for who you are or protect you from what the magi face? Live day to day knowing a diviner would pick it up? It's not like we go around asking people or our divination if they're magi and powers like Lil's are only gonna pick up on an issue if you know, or at least think, you're magi. If you're convinced you're a warlock no one's just gonna pick up on it unless they pry."

Miles looks back at his mother with a sigh. This was too much for a conversation that could have happened at home but he couldn't help but soften at the pain and worry painted on her face. He was mad that she lied to him with magic, sure, but he understood that was her trying her best. She always was when it came to him. ”Is that all?" he asks, his voice gentle.

At the gentling of his voice and the softening of his gaze Mary couldn't help but give a small smile. She knew he wasn't pleased but knowing he wasn't completely enraged was comforting. "That's all I knew but there's something more I found out today. I was talking to Salem and she's very convinced that your father may actually be Aloysius Leighton."

Miles' brow furrows once more. ”That name means nothing to me, ma," he replies, picking at a loose thread on his pants.

"Aloysius Leighton tried to head up the downfall of the guild back in the day, say 2 or 3 years before you were born? I don't know too much about it myself but I know he tried to take down the guild- and failed. I recently learnt he hid here for a while after. I also know he’s the eldest son of a great magi family.”

At her words Miles sucks in a breath. ”Well, no wonder Salem seemed uneasy around me…” he comments with a sigh. ”What do I do with this, ma?”

"Look, kid, you're big enough for this to be your responsibility. If you want to keep being a ‘warlock’ then do it, if you want to try and learn to be a magi so be it. I just thought you’d want to hear all this before Salem comes at you.” She purses her lips as she watches as Miles gives a solemn nod. "You need to know, Miles, being a descendant of the Leightons is gonna pit a lot of people against your relationship with Lilith. Two major bloodlines, especially witch and magi, shouldn’t really be mixin’.”

Miles bites his lower lip at his mother’s final statement. Him and Lilith were finally together again. It was good, very good. And here she was saying it was about to be harder, maybe damn near impossible, to keep them together? He finally had her and he didn’t want to lose her again but was it worth it for Salem to put the whole coven on the line?

”So, we just need to not have kids, right? No merging of the bloodlines if there no kids merging it,” Miles concludes, wringing his hands. He doesn’t notice as his mother tenses slightly at his words. She doesn’t say anything, it’s not her news to share.

"We should get back out there, if anyone asks I was telling you off for whatever your latest hijinx was,” she jokes with a light chuckle, making her way to the door. "Take as long as you need to process. And Miles, honey.” She turns back to her son, a small warm smile painted on her face. "I’m proud of you, kid.”

[Hedgehawk]

September had been a terrible month for Hayden. After losing Kolby, she had spent the rest of the month moping around the coven household trying to make sense of everything. She wasn't entirely sure how to rebuild her life. She came here to be with Kolby. Granted, also to get away from some nasty shit in New York, but she had relied on Kolby being her guide here and helping her settle in.

Now she just felt stuck in limbo. Carlisle had, in the various moments over the course of the month, tried to help her settle in. However, she was more than aware that he was fighting his own demons, and right now, Hayden couldn't be the priority. She had contemplated trying to contact Kolby and say something, but he was a headstrong man who never went back on his word. Before that meant he would be there for her to the end of the time. But now it worked in reverse and meant that she wouldn't even be able to speak to him.

As time moved on Hayden began to gain a slight amount of respect for Carlisle. While most would see him as the nervous, perhaps overbearing type, when it came to coven matters he was quite attentive and engaged. While he certainly preferred not to have conflict, he did at the very least want to get to an outcome that everyone was okay with. He did start, however , making comments about how Hayden couldn't live here forever. While it was a sanctuary for witches, it wasn't designed for people to live here permanently. And while Carlisle was having housing issues himself, he seemed to be alot more proactive with it. Hayden herself didn't know what to do. She had contemplated moving back to New York and quietly accepting her fate. While it would be a death sentence to return, maybe she did deserve it. Not like anyone would actually miss her right now. Still, she at least had to give Tanner more of a shot.

Carlisle had informed her about the hand over ceremony, and about how formal it was. Hayden didn't have any kind of formal clothes, only bringing with her about six changes of clothes that she could fit inside her rucksack. Not that she particularly had alot of possessions to start with before she moved away. A couple of days before the ceremony Carlisle had taped a note to her bedroom door, stating that she would need to find something to wear. To help with that he had left his credit card and his car keys for her to use. Hayden had been tempted to go on a splurge and have some real fun. Old Hayden would have certainly done that. But she did owe Carlise. He had been good to her, even when she had been a monster to him as she was working through the breakup. So she decided to behave. Taking Carlisle’s car she took a day trip to Seattle to do some dress shopping. Trying to keep within a strict budget she eventually managed to pick out some nice clothes. It took alot of strength to avoid picking something a lot more extravagant and expensive. She wanted to look as good as possible however, she wanted to impress.

The night of the ceremony, Hayden spent the beginning of the evening staying in her room, watching as everyone else entered. She was scared of going down and actually speaking to anyone. After the disastrous fight that spilled out at the opening party, Hayden was scared that either someone would start on her, or she would get frustrated and wouldn’t be able to contain her own anger. Eventually however, Hayden decided to leave, she couldn’t hide forever. As she left her room, she passed both Mary and Lilith walking further down the hallway and didn’t bother questioning it. Going down the stairs, Hayden could see the large crowds forming in the hallway and came to a halt on one of the stairs. Looking down the stairs at the crowds Hayden could feel her heart racing faster. Her mind was telling her to run back upstairs, but her feet were glued in place. It seemed her enochlophobia was in overdrive tonight. She never really told anyone about it, because she was supposed to give off a tough girl image. Kolby was the only one she really told, and while she had expected him to take the piss out of her for it, he actually acted like a gentleman about it, trying to make sure that she wasn’t exposed to any crowds, and if she was, making sure they stayed as far away from her as possible.

Tonight however she was not going to have that luxury. Taking a deep breath, Hayden finished the walk down the stairs and into the hallway crowd. She did her best to walk alongside the edge of the crowd, practically hugging the wall at times as casually as she could to avoid anyone noticing her, making a break for the verdana where it was quieter. Getting outside she let out a deep breath, sucking in that refreshing outside air. She leant against the railing, taking some time to try and calm herself down.

[Hedgehawk]

Greeting everyone had been an exhausting task. Carlisle was grateful that Mary was there to accompany him. He didn’t want to admit it, but he held Mary in a higher regard to his own mother. Sure, his mother was nothing short of a monster. But it still felt a little wrong to love someone else as your mother rather than your own. Carlisle had done his best to contain his mother within his mental prison. He had decided that she was far too dangerous to leave around the party.

As he continued to greet guests, the words that Salem spoke previously rattled through his head. Your children, however, have broken one of our most ancient laws - Magi and Witch alike - without even knowing it… If I’m right - there’s nothing anyone can do at this point…When two great bloodlines merge - seeing as the Leightons are one of our major families - one can’t beat the other. It creates a whole new species entirely - one that we’ve never seen before because we’ve always made it a point to avoid situations like these. Those statements rattled around his brain, trying to find some way to dismiss the truth that was dawning on him. Carlisle was actively trying to dismiss it. He didn’t want to face the reality of what was about to happen.

As the greeting segment of the night had drawn to a close, Mary had rushed off before Carlise could really ask her about anything else. With a soft sigh, Carlisle walked around the party, contemplating. He could go speak to Lilith and Miles, try to at least give them the heads up. He could also try to tie up Salem and stop her from getting anywhere near Miles and Lilith to do any kind of probing. He was still due to speak to her later however, and decided he would use that time to his advantage. For now, he had to trust that Lilith and Miles kept their wits about them.

Carlisle spent the next twenty minutes speaking to various leaders of the other covens around the world. It felt weird having everyone addressing him as leader. Everyone within Tanner Coven simply called him Carlisle. He didn't really have a title, well, perhaps 'pain in the ass'. His eyes once more drifted over to Willow and the dress she was wearing. It was such a jaw dropping dress. Had she picked that just to make him gawk? If so, it was working.

The ceremony was due to start soon, and Carlisle was getting angsty. He was doing a good job of controlling the mental prison his mother was trapped in. Her magic wasn't exactly doing a very good job against his own wards. If there was one thing that Carlisle was good at, it was a good ward. Carlisle had to give his welcome speech and leaders speech, and then the second part of the ceremony would begin, the actual handover. With his mother still trapped in his head, he wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen. The whole ceremony was supposed to be when the old leader hands over the coven seal to the new leader. Carlisle had made sure Amanda had given up the seal a week ago, but then he would need someone to present it. He couldn’t dwell on it for long however, as the organisers ushered Carlisle towards the stage to speak.

Carlisle stood behind the stage, taking a moment to go through his speech one last time. He had to make sure this was right. You only got one chance to make a good first impression, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite focus properly. His brain rattled with thoughts about Miles and Lilith, everything Salem said and his own mother literally rattling around in there. Carlisle walked up onto the stage, his walk wasn't exactly the most energetic or powerful. It wasn't exactly the kind of presence that a leader should be projecting. He could almost hear his mother chastising him in his head. Finally reaching the podium, he took a moment for everyone to quieten down, taking a second to check if the microphone was on. Once it was quiet enough and all those eyes focused on him, Carlisle would begin to speak.

"Thank you everyone for coming all the way to Tanner tonight" Carlisle started, his voice shaking at the edges as he couldn't quite find his stride in the first sentence. "I know that for some of you, this was a long journey, traveling from all corners of the world. Y'know, I always find it weird that the new leader's speech comes before the handover ceremony. You know. Always thought it came the other way around. But what do I know? Never actually been to one of these before" Carlisle gave off a nervous chuckle, looking down at his written speech. It was monotone. It was never going to win any awards. Maybe he should just go off the cuff.

"I want to start tonight by talking about family" Carlisle started, folding over the pages of his original speech "And why it is so important to Witches, warlocks and Magi alike."

"We have to keep our identities a secret to those around us. We can't just use the Internet to learn, or find new friends to hang around. We have to be selective. And this is isolating. Truly isolating at times. To compensate for this, we have to rely on our family more than mortals do. Sure covens and guilds can teach you your magic, but it's your family that supports you. That helps you through transition into magic, and helps you adjust to the magical world. Even after you grow up and become members yourself, that family bond persists." Carlisle gripped onto the side of the podium, trying to give himself the strength to carry on.

" Our leaderships and our histories are built on the backs of it. While the modern world transitioned into individualism, we stayed behind. And that isn't exactly a bad thing. Growing up I have seen strong parental figures guide their sons and daughters to some extraordinary heights. Even in more tragic situations where parents have passed on before their young have grown, new family units were created as a shield to protect those growing up." Carlisle gave out a soft sigh. His mind playing back memories of John and Mary, Miles and Lilith, alongside those of his own upbringing.

"And then there are those mothers and fathers who abandon their duty to their young. Those who are obsessed with power, reputation and lineage. Those that would discard you if you didn't fit the mold they had designed for you before you even conceived. While I would love to say that I came from the former type of family, sadly I came from the latter. To those of you have worked with my mother: Amanda Aston, it would come of no surprise that she would treat me how she did." Carlisle took a moment to survey the crowd, looking around and seeing how they were doing.

" I was always told that I wouldn't amount to much. That the coven would never accept a warlock as its leader, yet alone a warlock that could only do abjuration. And she may be right. I won't contest it. My soon to be fellow council members are insanely powerful, more so than I. They have a better grasp of leadership and diplomacy. Either of them, Lilith or Serena would be far better placed to take over than I. And do you know why that is?" Carlisle asked the crowd.

"It is because they had a loving and caring family. Their elders supported them. They had affection, love and support. Their families understood that. The importance of mentorship and mutual growth. For me however, it worked in reverse. I am standing here today, not because of my blood, but in spite of it. Mary was more of a mother to me than Amanda, and Tiberius was more of a father to me than my own father. At every possible turn my family did whatever they could to change me or put me down. My own mother merely a month ago tried to disown me and cut me out of the race to be leader altogether. Just because she thought that had somehow disgraced the family.”

”Now I know some of you may be looking around and say: ‘Well if Serena and Lilith are better people, why aren’t they leader?’ Well the answer to that is quite simple. To become the leader of the coven is to accept an insane amount of responsibility. That responsibility requires personal sacrifice. It is a massive undertaking for any such person to take on. Put simply, it would be a disservice to tie the pair of them to a desk when they have far more important and powerful roles to play in the community.”

”So, I know that I might not be a perfect leader. I wouldn’t be able to survive the trials that Salem may have been put through when she became Guild leader. But I do have drive. Passion. A desire to be able to protect everyone and make sure that the relationships that we have forged with our fellow Magi over the decades endures. I am not my mother. Amanda had a callous and cruel approach, running the coven more with an iron fist than diplomacy. She fired most of the coven staff, and used the coven funds to fund the expansion of her own wealth. Some of you may have even witnessed the debacle of what happened at the entrance earlier this evening. Suffice to say. My mother has been removed from any active role tonight, or any other night. As of now, Amanda Aston is not a coven member.” Carlisle took a deep breath as he finished speaking those words. He could feel his head hurt. Someone on the inside wasn’t happy with his choice of words.

”I want to restore the coven to how it was before. Where the household was a hub of activity. Where people from around the world could visit and take refuge, share knowledge and forge bonds. Move away from others viewing Tanner as some kind of castle that people fear coming to. That change won’t happen overnight. But I promise it will happen. Now I know most of you want to get back to mingling, catching up, and drinking as much of the coven alcohol stores that you can find. So I will wrap it up here. Please enjoy yourselves, and we will reconvene here in twenty minutes for the actual handover ceremony. Thank you” Carlisle would take a step back from the podium, wiping his forehead with his hand as we watched the crowd to see what kind of reaction people were having. That was terrifying

[Sadie]

A collab between @Hedgehawk & @Sailorsadie & @Soufflegirl123
Featuring Carlisle & Miles & Violet

The speech was over and it seemed that everything was okay. People didn't seem to react badly to the speech, so that was a weight off Carlisle's back. He looked out to the crowd as he walked off the stage. His eyes settled on Miles standing at the back of the crowd. He couldn't quite see from where he was standing how Miles was looking. While before he had decided to leave Miles and Lilith alone until after talking to Salem he supposed it wouldn't hurt to check in with Miles and just see how things were going in his world. Carlisle entered the crowd and grabbed a small glass of wine as he walked past a waiter. He shifted through the crowd eager not to make a scene before arriving at Miles.

"Hey buddy… How you doin???" Carlisle asked, his voice getting slightly higher pitched at the end as he didn't know what was going on.

Miles barely moved when Carlisle started his speech. It was a good speech, at least the parts he could make out in his shocked state was good. In a way the boy was stuck in his own world, still trying to process everything he had learnt. That was when Carlisle join him. At the rising of his voice Miles couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Did Carlisle have more news for him too? "I'm fine," he replies cautiously. "What'd your voice do that for?"

Caelilsie's eyes looked away as Miles questioned him. It seemed that Miles was out of the loop possibly. Carlisle certainly didn't want to make Miles problems worse. "No reason. Just you know… After speech nerves" Carlisle replied with a nervous chuckle.

Miles cocked his head, unconvinced of the man's words but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to push this more. Maybe Carlisle just knew about Miles' dad? Miles pushed his situation and gave Carlisle a nod. "Well, you did good Car," Miles responds, clapping the man on the shoulder.

"So what's the boy wonder doing over here? Shouldn’t you be mingling with the big names of magic?"

"I just wanted to check in on you" Carlisle replied. Being honest, but realising he may have stepped into it. "Like, stuff kicked off at the entrance with my mother, Salem and Mary. Amanda is in my head currently so she can't cause any more trouble. Turns out I found out about your father, and just wanted to you know check in and see how you are doing" Carlsie scratched the back of his head. He wasn't lying. He was just being slightly liberal with the definition of the truth.

"Sides, the big names tend to be boring. It's all monotone stuff. Salem comes later and that is going to be a difficult conversation with the whole…" Carlsie realised he almost spoke out again. He paused his sentence to think for a second before finishing Amanda situation"

Miles couldn't help but notice the way Carlisle was treading eggshells when it came to his words. Miles wasn't privy to what had earlier transpired at the entrance and wanted to ask Carlisle what had happened but that thought was interrupted by Carlisle mentioning Miles' dad.

Did Carlisle know about his dad before Miles? And did he know Miles knew? Were Carlisle and Miles' mother in cahoots? How much did his friend know? Miles was stuck as to whether he asked Carlisle what he knew or how he knew it as Carlise said his piece. Him pointing out the Amanda problem made him more suspicious. Why did he hesitate before that word?

"And the my father situation," he mutters under his breath before looking Carlisle up and down. "Is that what this is about?"

Carlisle realised that screwed up in revealing he knew about Miles' father's true identity. Still better to reveal that than what else he had worked out. "Yeah… That's what it was. Salem could see the resemblance in you and wanted to speak to Amanda about it. Turns out my mother was responsible for alot of what happened before we were born" It shouldn't have shocked Carlisle that his mother had acted like that. But it still hurt. "She wanted to have your father to herself. And when she found out you had been conceived, she alerted Salem who came to get him and take him back to the Guild"

Miles reeled back slightly at Carlisle’s words. How had he known more about his father than Miles. "What actually happened with this situation with Salem and our mas outside?” he asks his friend curiously. A more dangerous question played on his tongue but he held it back.

Carlisle choked slightly as he tried to figure out exactly how to word his response "Well. Salem saw you and she thought you had an uncanny resemblance to your father. She went to ask Amanda and Mary about it, and well. Things did not go well. It was revealed that Amanda had been the one to call Salem about your father purely out of spite and jealousy. Eventually Amanda got punched in the throat and everyone stormed off." There. He had told enough of the truth and simply omitted the parts about the pregnancy. " I also found out that the only reason I was conceived was to get revenge over the fact That Mary was Pregnant" Carlisle let out a soft sigh. He had suspected it for a while, but this pretty much confirmed it.

Miles stood still for a moment as he processed all the information he’d been given. It seemed Carlisle and his lives were more interconnected than he would have ever thought. A quiet "Well…” was all he could say for a good few minutes. "I need a drink.” was all he could muster as he turned back to the drinks table to grab another whiskey. His hands shook slightly as he grasped the bottle to pour the honey liquor into the cup.

It wasn’t until the bottle was safely back on the table that Miles spoke up once more. "Salem’s gonna kill me, ain’t she?”

" No… " Carlisle replied back right away. The couple of minutes of silence had been awkward, but Carlisle could see Miles shaking. He was struggling to hold it together. Has someone told him about Lilith? The fact he didn't blurt it out upon meeting Carlisle, told him otherwise. "I won't let her touch you. Magi or Witch, you are a part of this Coven and from Salem's point of view you are off limits. She will have to go through me first" Carlisle gave a slightly nervous chuckle. He didn't want it to come to that. But he was sincere in his promise.

"What if this Aloysius guy just isn’t my dad? I mean, the only proof we’re working off is feelings, right?” Miles asks. He knew it was a lost cause but he was desperately searching for some hope that maybe everyone was wrong. He wasn’t really ready for his whole life to be turned upside down. At Carlisle’s statement Miles gives the man a small smile. "Thanks, bud. But you don’t have to do that.”

" As leader it is my responsibility to protect the coven from outside threats. But I wouldn't be doing it for the coven. I would be doing it because you are my best friend" Carlisle smiled back at Miles, he could see that Miles was trying to claw at denial. Not a good sign. "Listen. I know it's alot to take in. The fact you are a Magi and your father is a terrible person. At least from Salem's point of view. I don't know enough about Magi history to be able to comment"

"My dad’s a war criminal, my ma’s been lying to me and Salem’s been looking at me as if I’m an adversary from her past. What is going on, Car?” Miles sighs, taking a large gulp of the whiskey in his cup.

"Look, you need to speak to Lilith. I ain't gunna say. It's not my place. Don't worry about your father or Salem. I will deal with it all. It's the least I can do." As if on instinct, Carlisle wrapped his arms around Miles to pull him into a hug to try and signal that it was going to be okay.

Miles couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh as his best friend pulled him into an embrace. Then he brought up Lilith. "Lilith? Why do I need to talk to Li?" he quizzes, his brow furrowing. She didn't have more bombshells to drop, did she? That was the last thing he needed tonight.

After having received no response from anyone regarding Amanda Aston, Violet had found her way to the drink table and poured herself a glass of red wine. She swirled the contents slowly in her glass as the speech had begun, her eyes traveling around everywhere to find anyone who resembled the person she was trying to find. At the mention of Amanda’s name in the man’s speech, she blinked and raised a brow before turning her attention fully to him. She looked him over and rose a brow. Her curiosity had been piqued.

Sipping slowly at her drink as she continued to listen to the speech, the young woman started to put everything together. This Carlisle was Amanda Aston’s son, and he was apparently a wizard who had been shunned from his family. Not only that, but he was to be the new Coven leader? Violet downed her wine in one gulp before setting the glass down on a passing waiter’s tray, grabbing a glass of champagne with her other hand. She waited for the man to be finished, her eyes trailing his every movement. She waited a moment as he approached another man and started a conversation with him. Her blood started to boil as she continued to study him.

She had enough of watching. Taking a small sip from her glass, she made her way over to the two men, her eyes never leaving Carlisle. Violet stepped up to his side and sneered as she looked him over. ”So. You’re the chosen one.”

Carlisle could feel Miles starting to fall apart. He was about to speak when all of the sudden an unknown woman walked upto him and suddenly started sneering at him. Carlisle wanted to sneer back, but that was something his mother would do. He was better than that. He would move to the side of Miles and look over the mysterious woman. ”Apparently so. For better or for worse. But I am sorry, I don’t know who you are?”

”Mmm. How convenient.” She rolled her eyes and looked him over once more. How could this puny little thing have her crown? Sure, she had only just known that the Aston’s were going to rule the Coven, but already she knew the title of leader should be hers. Besides, he had admitted that he was a warlock. A witch deserved to be in that spot.

Violet merely gave the other man a glimpse before returning her full attention to Carlisle. She tilted her head as she not so subtlety looked him over, her head shaking with disapproval. ”Seems as though mother dearest gave up the wrong child.” Her eyes once more landed on his face as she took another sip of her champagne. ”Name’s Violet. Unfortunately, it seems as though you’re my brother.”

Carlisle’s heart sank when he heard the words coming out of the woman's mouth. He had a sister? And where was this aggression coming from? Carlisle took a moment to clear his throat ”My sister? I have never had a sister. What the hell are you on about?”

Rolling her eyes, she looked around the room as she resumed speaking with the man. ”Twenty five years ago, Amanda Aston gave up a daughter who she thought had no magical qualities. She found no use for the seemingly mortal little girl.” She shrugged her shoulders before looking back at him. ”Unbeknownst to her, the little thing just happened to be a late bloomer. And grew to be an exceptionally talented witch.”

Violet sipped once more at her glass, finishing the champagne. ”I received an invitation to be here tonight from my birth mother, as well as all expenses paid. Now, where is she?”

”Hang on. What. Mother sent you away” Carlisle was struggling to comprehend what was going on. How was the violet girl related to him? Why? ”My mother has caused no end of trouble tonight. So I have locked her away in a mental prison until after the service”

Before Carlisle could give Miles his answer they were interrupted by a blonde woman he didn't recognise. She was quick to state her piece. It seemed Carlisle's night was shaping up to be as mind boggling as his. At her speech about Amanda giving her up Miles raises an eyebrow. "And your way of getting back at her is continuing her line in the coven?" he questions, looking the woman up and down. "I feel like if my dad who abandoned me at birth was in some position of power the last thing I'd want is to continue his line's work." It seemed an understatement with what he had learnt earlier but he was still coming to terms with his father's status.

”You did what?” Her brows furrowed in annoyance at her pathetic excuse for a brother. She was about to speak further when the other man in the group opened his mouth. Raising a brow, she glanced at him and looked him over. He looked mildly interesting. Violet rolled her eyes and placed her free hand on her hip. [color=violet]”One, who the hell are you? This is a conversation between family. And two- did you not hear me earlier? I was invited.” She looked back over to Carlisle and snarled her lip. ”Let her out. I need to have a talk with our darling mommy.”

”Yeah, I ain’t doing that. I don’t trust her not to get up to no good, and I don’t trust you to somehow get involved” Carlisle snipped back, clearly getting more annoyed. ”Don’t talk to my best friend like that either.”

"Miles Price. Displeasure to make your acquaintance," Miles answers her first question, raising his whiskey to take another swig. "As for your second question, if you paid attention to your brother's speech you'd know someone else was more of a mother to him than his own, that was my ma. Essentially makes us brothers which makes us…there you go, family," he continues, throwing an arm across Carlisle's shoulders. He so desperately wanted to pull his attention away from this conversation and ask him about why he needed to talk to Lilith but he restrained himself.

Her lip snarled farther as she looked between the two men. ”Ew.” Violet rolled her eyes before looking back at Carlisle. She huffed out a breath of annoyance as she raised a brow. ”Amanda Aston sent me a letter stating that I would find out the truth about all of..” She paused to wave her hand at the room. ”This. I’m to stay here at the Coven while finding out said truth. Which means you’re stuck with me.”

Setting her glass down on a passing waiter’s tray, she looked back at her brother. ”So until further notice, I’m now your problem. I’m not leaving until I see our mother.”

At the woman's demand Miles snorts a laugh, slipping his arm off his friend and takes another mouthful of whiskey. "Look Vi, can I call you Vi? Actually, I don't care. Y'know how they say never meet your heroes? That very much applies to your ma too. Trust me, she's a vile monster set on just ruining everyone's lives. Don't fall for her traps. She might eat you if she's hungry enough. I say you stay for the booze then leave in the morning. Trust me, you don't wanna meet her."

Her eyes moved back to the other man and she let out a small breath. Why was she even bothering with this one? He had nothing to offer her besides raising her blood pressure. Rolling her eyes, she looked back at Carlisle and folded her arms across her chest. [color=violet]”I’m staying until I meet Amanda Aston. And trust me,” she paused to eye Miles before looking back at her brother. ”It sounds as if the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. What do they say? Like mother, like daughter.”

She glanced back at Miles and rose a brow. ”Now shoo. The actual blood family needs to have a chat.”

”Listen… Violet was it? I am going to say this once, and once only. So I want you to listen very well…” Carlisle leaned his head in close to Violet ”Fuck off! I don’t care if you are my sister, this is my coven now and I have decided I don't want you here. So crawl back from whatever hole you crawled out of.”

Her eyes darkened as a wicked smirk spread across her face. She lowered her voice before tilting her head at the man. ”As far as I can see it, this Coven belongs in the hands of the first born Aston. That would be me. So, you really want me out of here?” Violet growled from her chest. ”Make me.”

Miles was taken aback slightly at the woman's words. He gave an impressed whistle, looking over at Carlisle. "Oof, good luck with that one, bud," he says, clapping the man's shoulder. He chugs the rest of his cup before continuing. "I'll leave you with it, apparently I have a girlfriend to find." He turns on his heel before quietly calling out "Oh Lilith." Considering she wasn't in his line of sight chances are she couldn't hear him. He didn't mind. The call out was for dramatic effect more than anything else. He then wanders off.

Carlisle watched as Miles seemed to excuse himself, leaving Carlisle alone with Violet. With no offensive magic, there was no way he could make Violet leave on his own. He had kind of hoped that Miles would have at least stayed and used his enchantment magics. ”I am not letting my mother out so she can ruin this party.”

Her smirk broadened as she watched Miles walk off, then returned her sights back on her brother. She let out a bored sigh and rolled her eyes, grabbing another champagne flute from a waiter. ”Well. Looks like we have plenty of time to catch up then, don’t we?” Violet kept her eyes on him as she sipped her drink.

”Well sadly, I have alot of important things to do. So i won’t be able to spend any time for you.” Carlisle said with a catty smirk. ”I am sure you can find some people to annoy”

”That’s fine.” She glanced about the room and smirked, noticing some very important looking people. ”I’m sure there are plenty of people who’d be interested to know that there was another Aston out there.” Violet sipped at her glass as she continued to look around. ”And I’m sure even your scrawny self must have a girlfriend somewhere. I’ll make sure to have a nice long chat with her as well.”

Carlisle stopped when she mentioned Willow. ”Fuck you.” Carlisle growled. ”Keep pushing it and I will send you into the fucking void like mother.”

Her smirk widened as she found the right button to push. She looked back at him and raised a brow. ”Oooh, touchy, brother.” Shrugging her shoulders, she finished her drink in one gulp. ”But that would also mean that mother dearest and I will be together. Isn’t that what you don’t want to happen?”

”I can keep you in separate voids” Carlisle growled as he looked over at her, watching the sheer amount of alcohol that she was drinking [color=00FFFFF]”Keep drinking like that and you will be out like a light in no time”[/color]

She gave a small laughing scoff and rolled her eyes. ”Oh, please. I can handle my alcohol.” Violet returned her attention back to the crowd and noticed a brunette looking their way. Looking the girl over, she scrunched her nose and let out a disapproving click of her tongue. ”Really, brother? Her? I know you’re…you, but you really can’t do any better?”

Shaking her head, she sighed and returned her attention fully back to him. ”I’ll find my own room. Once your little party is over, have mother come find me.”

"You are not staying in my coven. You can go sleep on the streets for all I care" Carlisle scoffed back as she looked away from Willow. He had become extremely defensive now, this woman. His sister it seemed, was a much more dangerous threat than his actual mother.

Violet grinned at him and tilted her head. ”But if I’m not here, how will you keep an eye on me? You’ll let me find just any place to sleep?” She looked back at Willow and shrugged. ”She looks the accommodating type. She is dating you, after all, right? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind Carlisle’s poor innocent sister spending the night. Especially after she found out that you won’t let me sleep in our coven.”

Carlisle stepped forward and growled loudly as she mentioned Willow again. "Right that is it. I have had enough of you" Carlisle focused carefully as he then performed the mental prison spell on Violet and cast hr into his mind. He wasn't able to split the spell properly however and ended up sending her to the same void as his mother. Carlisle would take a few deep breaths, clearly exhausted from having to cast the spell and now maintain it twice.

Stumbling slightly, Violet looked around at her surroundings and growled under her breath. ”Damn idiot man.” She sensed someone else’s presence and she slowly turned, noticing a brunette woman standing behind her. Looking the woman over, she let out a shaky breath as she raised her brow in question. ”Amanda Aston, I presume?”

[Hedgehawk]

_{A @Hedgehawk & @SouffleGIrl123 Collab}

On the driveway of the Coven household sat a black SUV. It was certainly out of place with its tinted windows. It certainly hadn't been here before. Sat in the driver's seat, the driver clasped the wheel with their hands. Thoughts were rushing through their heads as they couldn't decide whether or not this was the right thing to do. They had been away for so long. There was late, then there was fashionably late. And then there was… Whatever the hell this was. 25 years late? Their plan at the time, 25 years ago seemed sound. But now. Regrets had taken hold. Lives had changed, and they had finally discovered enough freedom to break from the shackles of their past and start building a life for themselves.

Tanner was where they chose to be. It wasn't even up for debate. The second they were free, they dashed across the country to get here. It was the only place they knew; that they had a connection to. But that was so long ago. How do you fix this? With a sigh, the person left the SUV, closing the door behind them and taking a moment to adjust the black and brown trench coat that they had thrown over their waistcoat and shirt.

Good to see the building hadn't really changed a bit. Walking towards the front door, with a steady, but nervous pace, they approached the front door. Did they knock? Or just barge in? Through the glass they could see some people inside. It felt awkward just standing. So the male entered. Footsteps echoed across the hallway as they did. Their feet, carrying longer down the hallways then perhaps they should have. After getting inside, they brushed their hands along the one side of their neck length hair, fixing the prudrenting fringe. Nerves eat away at them, as the male scanned the faces of the people looking back at him, seeing if one of them was one he could see some resemblance to from all those years ago.

Mary had every intention to get back to Claire for their aforementioned drinks but more important things kept happening. As much as she would have loved to just distracted herself from what this day was bringing she knew that wasn’t fair to the people involved. After her chat with Miles she reentered the main hall but she got lost in the crowd flocking to hear Carlisle’s speech, and it was a good one indeed. At the end of it her eyes scoured the room once more trying to find her friend only to meet another set of eyes. A pair she hadn’t seen in a long time, a long time being a quarter of a century. Why him? Why now? He couldn’t have chosen a worse time to reappear. Hell, why even bother reappearing.

Her eyes narrowed at the man. Although what she had learnt today lightened the anger she’d marked on him it didn’t change a lot of his wrongs. The fact he lied being one on the forefront. Mary wasn’t one for making scenes anymore, not usually. She left that behind in the recent year, attributing it to aging, but this day really seemed to bring out the rage in her it seemed and her son’s father wasn’t omitted from that rage. She stomped over to the man and delivered a sharp slap to his cheek. "Twenty-five years,” she spits through gritted teeth. She wasn’t going to call more attention to the situation than there already was. "Where the hell have you been, Johnathan Park? ‘Cept you might not remember that name ‘cus it ain’t yours, ain’t it?”

The male let out a soft grunt as he was slapped by the woman. It was so sudden. His eyes had lit up when he found her. She had aged gracefully it seemed. She looked as beautiful as she did then as she did now. Running his cheek for a second before finally speaking. "I should have seen that one coming" He replied with a deep sigh "Yes. My real name is Aloysius Leighton. I thought I had put that in my letter all those years ago. But honestly, it has been so long. I finally am free. And I came right here. I wanted to at least see you in person rather than sending letters and getting nothing back"

"What letters?” Mary asked curiously, her words still dripping with contempt. She’d never received letters. No, from the day the man just disappeared she hadn’t heard a single word from him. Not a peep. Honestly though, she wasn’t sure if she would have wanted a bar of it anyway. "Why are you here John- I mean Aloysius? Truthfully.”

Aloysius's heart sank as he heard that she had no knowledge of the letters that he had sent. "After everything kicked off and I had to leave, I couldn't bear to leave everything up in the air. So once I had settled down to my new reality I sent out a letter to you to explain what went on with Salem and Amanda, and who I was. I kept sending letters every year, asking how you were. I figured that since I got no reply you weren't interested." Aloysius's voice got softer as he continued to speak.

" I came here so that I could see you in person and see what was going on. There wasn't a single moment over the past twenty five years that I haven't stopped thinking about you"

Mary shook her head incredulously. Although part of her wanted to give the man grace that didn't change that pain of the past years. It didn't change how much she had to struggle to raise a son on her own or how much trouble he accidentally got himself into because neither of them knew his ancestry. That was probably what ticked Mary off the most. Al and her were together for 4 months or so and for 2 of them he knew she was pregnant yet he didn't dare tell a single word of his past.

At his final statement the woman scoffs. "And there was barely a day I barely thought of you but I got a feelin' those ain't the same emotions," she snaps, folding her arms. She looks the man up and down. He seemed to have hardly aged yet definitely looked more burdened. Somehow even more defeated. "Salem and Amanda filled me in on your lil… predicament shall we say. I get you had no choice, don't get me wrong, I don't forgive you quite yet. I can't. Not after the past years, but I get it. But y'know what really gets me, Jo-Aloysius?" Calling the man by that name felt so foreign on her tongue. "You lied. I don't care about the fact you lied to Tanner but you kept it from me, even after you knew we were havin' a kid,"

Hearing the word Salem, Aloysius tensed. Visibly stressed. However he could see how Mary was hurt, and his need to try and comfort Mary was overriding his flight response. " I was young and stupid. I didn't know how to tell you and still keep you in my life. I had hoped to tell you before our child was born. I just hadn't figured it all out. I am sorry. I never intended to hurt you, or our child. I… I wanted a new start. To get away from my family and all the influences that pulled me in" Aloysius let out a soft sigh, his face flinching, possibly expecting another slap.

Mary raised an entertained eyebrow at the man's flinch but didn't raise her hand. Instead, she gave the deepest of sighs. "Well, your insistence to separate yourself from your past has caused our boy to unknowingly put himself in a situation that could get the whole coven in trouble if Salem's in a bad enough mood." she snaps, looking the man in the eyes. She knew Al knew nothing about Miles, not even that she'd had a son but the formal introductions were thrown out the window now.

”Trouble? What kind of trouble is there with Salem?” Aloysius sounded panicked. Hearing the words ‘our boy’ filled him with happiness, but the mention of Salem was enough to cause him to throw all that away. He had just come back. He wasn't about to let Salem start messing things up in his life again. ”What has gone on? How worried should I be?”

Mary hesitated a moment. It didn't feel right to fill Miles' absentee father in on information Miles likely didn't know yet himself. She shook her head. "It ain't your issue, Aloysius. As far as that kid is concerned you abandoned him before birth. Things like these ain't yours to know. Not from me at least."

Aloysius let out a frustrated sigh. ”For the past twenty five years I have not been able to do anything to help and support the kid, or you, except for sending occasional letters with money in them, but it seemed as if they didn’t get here. I wonder where they went?” Aloysius rubbed the back of his head in confusion. ”I fucked up. A lot. I have had a quarter of a century to dwell on the past and get beaten up by it. I am not asking for forgiveness, just a chance to try and right some of the wrongs and the damage I left behind. Salem be damned.”

Mary went silent for a moment. She hadn't gotten letters but she had received envelopes of money. She'd always assumed they were from her parents or the Montgomerys, the lack of return address making it clear it was someone who knew she hated taking charity. At his words she sighs. "I get it, but you can't just waltz back into our lives, hell just enter Miles' for the first time and just expect everythin' to be normal. You gotta work for it, 'specially for him,"

"I don't expect to. I expect to get alot of abuse from people. I don't expect everyone to be able to understand what was going on all those years. But I just need you to know that I am not a bad person." He took the time to look into her eyes. " Your opinion of me means the most to me"

Mary returns his gaze with one of steel, scoffing at his words. "You're a war criminal, Aloysius Leighton." She shakes her head pitifully, looking at the ground for a moment as she thought through her words. The logical side of her screamed that all had been explained but her heart couldn’t just forget the pain. She then did something she should have 25 long years ago.

Has Aloysius Leighton lied? she asked her divination.

No it sang. She looked back at him, a pained look in her face. "You need to understand, Aloysius. For you it might felt like you were at war awaiting to return home but to me you were the coward who run away and left me strugglin' alone with our son,"

"And that was never my intention. I never meant to leave you struggling. And please don't listen to Salem about me being a war criminal. That's very rich coming from her. I started a rebellion. I wasn't there to kill everyone or to harm anyone. I just wanted to switch who ran the Guild. I wouldn't have killed Salem if she surrendered." Aloysius ran his head through his hair, unsure of what more he could try to do to convince her " I am having to try really hard not to cry and get emotional over seeing you again. It was soul crushing to not be able to see you all these years"

Mary couldn’t help the venomous laugh that escaped her lips. "Soul crushin', ey?" she muses, looking at the man. "Y'know what truly is soul crushin', Aloysius Leighton? Havin' your baby daddy skip town without a word. No explanation, not even a goodbye. Just, gone. Workin' yourself to the bone to live paycheck to paycheck, knowing you can't give your son the time or resources he needs. Havin' your best friend and her pa finding creative ways to force you to take money and food because it's that obvious you're strugglin'. Missin' birthdays, showcases and award ceremonies so you can support yourself and your kid. Knowin' you're not as present in his life as you should be," as she spoke hot tears started to spill down the woman's face. This was agonizing, the memories as much as the words. She had tried her very best to be a good mother but she knew there were many shortcomings she couldn't help. "And then there's the realisin' your boy's magi. That you could never train him or equip him with what he needs to develop his skills or to face what you lot do. Or even just knowin' he never had a father. I had to teach him how to tie a tie and shave his face. He had support from Claire's and my pas but he never had a father!" In that moment Mary noticed her voice getting louder and louder. She sniffled as she rubbed the hot tears from her check with the back of her hand. Black streaks from her mascara had run off into them. "THAT is soul crushin'. So you don't get to sit there and tell me missin' your girlfriend was hard because you left me here to pick up the pieces of your actions."]

As she began to laugh and then speak, Aloysius' face turned to a hurt expression. Not hurt for him, but for her. Listening to her struggles just made that pit in his stomach grow bigger and bigger. It was difficult to hear about the consequences of his actions. More so when he didn't know what to do to fix any of it. He began to tear up at the side of his own eyes. As she tried to wipe off the hot tears, Aloysius would attempt to embrace her and rest her head on his chest. "The fact that the boy is still around, tells me that you did a good job despite the circumstances. I can't fix me leaving. All I can say is that if you aksed me what my biggest regret was in life, it was leaving you and not staying and fighting for you"

As Aloysius attempts to embrace her Mary takes a step back, shoving him away. "He's a good kid, no thanks to you. He's got his issues, sure but he's got a good heart,"

Aloysius bowed his head as he was pushed away. He was expecting it, but he had foolishly hoped that he might be able to help. ”I am sure he is an amazing kid” hearing her jibe about ‘no thanks to you’ seemed to be the last straw that triggered a sharp tightening sensation in his chest. His breathing slowly got faster, even though he was doing his best to control it and disguise it. All the reminders of his failure were getting to him, and had triggered a panic attack. He avoided eye contact as he spoke once more ”Look, if you think it is better for me to just exit and pretend I wasn’t here, I will. I don’t want to cause anymore hurt or stress for people.”

Mary sighed at his words. She wished she was naive enough to not know what the man in front of her was experiencing. "I think you're workin' under the pretense I have this strong hatred for you or somethin' but to be honest with you I just don't care anymore. I'm sorry all this hurt for you but time has gone. 25 years of it. You do whatever. Just don't expect any sympathy from my son." Even if her words weren't, Mary's voice was less venomous.

Aloysius wanted to say more. He wanted to ask about them, about the chances of the duo getting back together, even if it was really slowly. But right now, given the words that Mary spoke. There was no way that was going to happen. Time had moved on, and Al was stuck 25 years in the past. All those feelings he still had for her, she seemed to no longer have. ”I naively thought that I might get a happy ending. Spending a long time wishing will do that to you. I guess in the end I have gotten what I deserve.”

"25 years is a long time to expect someone to wait even if they expected to to return. What did you think would happen? I'd just wait for your return? Put my whole life on pause just awaitin' a man who just up and left? We ain't 24 no more." She folds her arms once more, scoffing at the thought of pining for someone for so long. Although it seemed to miss Al, time had moved on for Mary.

”In my brain it did. The last 25 years have felt as if time had not moved at all. Being under Salem’s thumb wasn’t really great for trying relationships or friends. So i guess I held onto the one thing that mattered to me at the start and never let go” Aloysius’ voice was low, soft, laced with sadness. His reality was in freefall and he really didn’t know how to move forward without annoying anyone.

Mary sighed at Aloysius' words, wishing she could feel a bit more bad for him than she actually did. "Start with your son, we'll go from there," she says, nodding in the direction of Miles who stood between Carlisle and a young blonde woman Mary didn't recognise.

Aloysius looked over at the trio that Mary pointed out. He took a single step forward before looking over at Mary ”You sure he isn’t going to kill me on sight? You wanna come?” Aloysius asked

Mary gave an amused chuckle at his statement. "You'll survive, if you're lucky at least," she chuckles. "I 'spose someone's gotta stop you hooligans from causin' a ruckus. Lead the way, Aloysius,"

As Aloysius started to walk across he watched as the male that must have been Miles was walking away from the rest of the group. Aloysius would walk a little fast to cut him off before he could get too far. ”Hey…. Son”

Miles was on the lookout for Lilith to be cut off by a man he, once again, did not recognise. Miles had only just noticed his mother trailing the man when he spoke up. Son? His eyes flickered to his mother who gave an, almost solemn, small nod of the head. Miles had imagined this day many times. Often revisiting the speeches he’d say or actions he’d take from his childhood thoughts of pulling a flamethrower out of his pocket to him just walking away. There were a thousands of thoughts and ideas rushing to his head at once so her just grabbed the loudest thought.

punch it said. So punch he did, right on the older man’s left cheek. He couldn’t help but notice the rawness on the man’s other cheek. "And where the hell have you been?” he growls.

"Miles!” Mary chastises her son as his fist collides with his father’s face.

"Oh don’t act like you didn’t have a turn,” Miles snaps back, nodding at the man’s less raw cheek.

Aloysius' head snapped to the side when the punch collided, nearly bowling him over. Clearly his son must have been working out at some point. "Fuck… NoNo, I deserve that" He coughed out as he straighted himself up. "Just please no more punches. I am no longer a 20 year old man. I can't exactly take it like I used to" He gave off a sad little chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a little bit and take some of the awkwardness out of the air.

"You deserve more than that, Aloysius,” Miles spits, shaking his punching hand. "What gives you the audacity to just appear?”

"Because I have just been let go. And after missing your mother for 25 years I wanted to come and make sure I explained everything. Plus, I wanted to see my child all grown up" Aloysius would speak softly and sincerely. He wanted to try and at least calm Miles down a bit.

"I’m not your child,” Miles responds, taking a step away from the man. "I might have you DNA but that’s where it stops.” He looked the man up and down. Nothing. He felt nothing. Despite all the anger and hatred part of him always hoped seeing his dad would give him clarity, a feeling he found a part of him missing but he’d felt absolutely nothing. Well, at least, nothing but that hatred and anger

Hearing Miles' words, Aloysius lowered his head, letting his hair hide his eyes, which were now starting to water at the edges as tears began to rise to the surface. Everything tonight was a tough challenge for Aloysius. He had many mistakes to atone for, but Miles was just shutting him down. "Alright, I get it. I will leave you alone to go back and do whatever it was you were doing"

"Good, ‘cus it was kinda important,” Miles replies. He starts turning on his heel when he meets his mothers steely glare. He knew exactly what those eyes were saying. He shot her a look back. What did you expect? she seemed to be able to read. The Prices had become experts in speaking through their body language and looks, it was almost a secret language.

Eventually, after some back and forth, Mary sighs and nods. The boy instantly finishes his turn and walks off.

"Poor kid’s got a lot on his mind tonight. You couldn’t have come at a worse time,”

" Maybe it is just fate giving me what I deserve" Aloysius said with a small sigh. It was a bit depressing to think like that. But he was right. Everyone he spoke to treated him like he was some sort of monster who had done terrible things."I shouldn't have come. I should have just learnt to move on rather than wishfully thinking I could do something about it."

Mary gave an exasperated sigh, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "I don’t know what to tell you, Al. 25 years is a long time.” she nods toward Miles, "He wasn’t even born when ya left and now he’s the same age I was when we found out I was pregnant. Time did anythin’ but stop for us.” She took a sip of her champagne before looking the man over. "Why didn’t you just tell me the truth when you had the time? Knowing your past you shoulda known there was a chance this would happen.”

"I honestly was scared. I didn't think it would blow up the way it did. I was running away from my past. And was scared about it catching up with me." Aloysius would look over at Mary and force a smile. "You were the best thing to happen to me. I didn't want my past to catch up with me and poison everything"

Mary returned a forced smile. "If you’re still around tomorrow stop by the unit. I have somethin’ I think you should see. It won’t be pleasant for ya, I’ll tell you that much, but I reckon it’s important,”

The fact that he wasn't being kicked out was something. Aloysius wasn't stupid. He could tell that Mary was forcing herself to be polite. "I can do that. Still the same place?" Aloysius asked before running his hand through his hair "Do you ever think the boy will accept me?" He asked, referring to Miles.

"Yeah, same place,” Mary muses, taking another sip of her drink. "As for Miles? I couldn’t tell you. It’s gonna take a lot of work, I know that much. He might come around but honestly I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. It’s hard for a boy to be without a pa, there’s a lot of hurt there.”

"If I had the ability to use Chronomancey I would use it and go and change everything. I just hope that he won't lock me out" Aloysius tried to smile through it.

"Don’t count on it,” Mary mutters, her fingers toying with the foot of her wine glass. "You need to be okay with the possibility he might not want anything to do with you.”

" I know that. I just don't know if I am emotionally ready for that. The whole world moved on and I stayed behind. If Salem had let me go earlier, maybe it would not have been so bad. Speaking of. I am surprised she hasn't sensed I am nearby. She was always quite canny about that." Aloysius let out a softer sigh, he certainly was out of his depth.

Mary gave another sigh. She toyed with mentioning the woman was busy but decided against it. She didn’t think it was right for Al to know Miles’ most recent news before he did. "Well you better get hidin’ or whatever. I have a friend to meet and she might pummel you worse than Salem if she sees you.”

" I suspect most people will pummel me regardless of where I go. So to be honest, it makes no difference to me. I am going to get a drink though. Maybe Miles will change his mind later once he has had some time to think. Plus. I never got to go to the last handover ceremony, I have always wanted to go to one" With a small smile be turned on his heels "It is nice seeing you again Mary. I know you can't say the same, and that's fine. But for me, my life feels complete again" He would then finish turning around and walk into the crowd.

[Sugar and Spite]

_{Starring: Lilith Montgomery, John Montgomery, & Salem De SIlva}

The only thing that Lilith Montgomery wanted to do right now was drink.

In the spirit of transparency - Lilith had never dreamed of living past the age of eighteen. She had all but checked out of this world by then, and the fact that she was still stuck in it pissed her off on a daily basis. Regardless of that fact, the young woman kept pushing herself every day to do what she could to build some sort of life for herself.

During those quiet moments when she envisioned her future, Lilith had seen Miles from time to time, sure. But she had never imagined herself as a wife or mother. No white dresses or hospital beds, dirty diapers or wedding bands. The Montgomery line had stopped with Lilith twenty-three years ago, and she had made as much peace with that as she could while constantly having Cordelia telling her she was destined for great things.

Lilith was pretty sure that pregnancy wasn’t a ‘great thing’. Not in her case. Not with Miles. Not now.

She had returned to the main room of the Coven house, doing the best that she could to appear calm and collected. Spotting her grandfather at the drinks table, Lilith had beelined over to him right before Carlisle’s speech had started. Slipping her hand into the older man's calloused grasp, Lilith held on for dear life. Her energy had been focused on giving Carlisle glances of encouragement during those awkward moments when their eyes met. His voice, on the other hand, was drowned out by the roar in her ears.

Lilith’s grasp tightened on her grandfathers even further, the world threatening to slip out from under her feet. A plethora of images flashed before her, showing the past, present and future simultaneously. Visions of a dark haired woman, paperwork strown out across a hospital bed. Oddly familiar blonde and dark haired figures walking into the Coven house. Salem wielding the sky in her hands. The young womans blood turned cold, a shaky breath escaping her lips as John shot her a look of concern. Before she had time to collect her thoughts, the Guild Leader's hand was on Lilith’s shoulder once more that night.

”Lilith,” Salem nearly cooed. ”I’d really like your assistance with something,” she explained, her eyes now resting on the eldest Montgomery. ”John, would you mind coming along for back up,” she asked.

With a shrug of his shoulders, John led his granddaughter along beside him as they followed Salem to the Alchemy lab. It was taking everything that Lilith had in her to put one foot in front of the other and not shout at Salem. What did she have planned? Did she know Lilith was pregnant? How would Salem react if she did know? Would it matter if Miles wasn’t related to whoever this Aloysius character was?

”Lilly,” she heard her grandfather whisper. ”What’s going on?”

Shaking her head, Lilith ignored his question, keeping her eyes glued onto the back of Salem's head.

As they entered the room, John had taken a seat beside Salem. Lilith chose to stand, looking at the glass in the other woman's hands that she hadn’t noticed earlier. She hadn’t pegged the Guild Leader for a whiskey kind of woman.

”So,” John questioned. ”What are we doing here?”

”Mr. Montgomery,” Salem began, crossing her legs at the knee as she made eye contact with the man. ”I have suspicion to believe that Miles Price is the son of Aloysius Leighton - a magi war criminal from one of our great lineages. I also believe that your granddaughter is pregnant with his child.”

As the last sentence fell from the woman's mouth, her eyes met Lilith’s. Goosebumps ran up the brunette's arms as she looked towards John.

”How in the goddamned fucking hell –” the old man shouted as he rose from his chair. Angry at and for Lilith, his eyes stayed glued onto Salem, knowing full well that she was the threat at the moment.

Eyes as sharp as daggers, Salem glared at Mr. Montgomery. ”Sit down before I kill you faster than cancer,” she grumbled, clearly not entertained.

”Thank you ma’am, but I prefer to stand,” John responded, now standing behind the chair he was sitting in as he gripped onto the back of it for support. Looking at Lilith, he sighed. ”Is it true, Lilly?”

Lilith had shoved her hands into her pockets now, balling her hands into fists as she did so.
”I don’t know,” she answered, her voice a hoarse whisper. Clearing her throat, the young woman kept her eyes glued onto her feet, careful not to look at either of the authoritative figures before her. ”Mary confided in her powers and got a clear yes in response, but I haven’t taken a test or anything, and I really had just –” Voice thick, Lilith shook her head as she blinked the tears from her eyes. ”I reckon so.”

Lips pursed, Salem studied the girl from head to toe. ”It’s more than true, Lilith,” she cut in. ”There’s so much power coming from you right now it’s almost as if you are a magi, my dear.” Taking a deep breath, Salems eyes furrowed. ”It’s hard to tell, since you’re so early on. It’s a strange thing indeed. Multiple sources of power are just radiating off of you.”

”Multiple,” John questioned incredulously.

Nodding her head, Salem's eyes never left Lilith’s figure. ”Five total. Hers, the boys, and if I had to guess… she’s having triplets.”

”Stop talking about me as if I’m not right here,” Lilith snapped.

”Watch yourself,” Salem warned.

It was now Liliths turn to glare daggers.

”Triplets,” was all that John could manage, echoing Salem once more.

Wasting no time, the Guild Leader now cut to the chase. Picking up the glass, Salem used her free hand to lift a few droplets of water from the rim. ”Now that that’s out of the way. I’ve collected one of the glasses that Miles was drinking from this evening. Both of you are necromancy users, yes? I’ve heard of a spell that allows you to track lineages as long as you have a piece of the person in question. Is that true?”

”Last time I used that spell was thirty years ago,” John grumbled.

”Can you,” Salem asked Lilith.

”Never tried it, and even if I had, I’m not sure I want to help you put a target on my back.” she quipped.

Tilting her head to the side, Salem took a deep breath before speaking. ”Ms. Montgomery. I can assure you that I’ll get my answers and handle my problems either with or without your help. Now all I need you to do is focus on the question at hand, and channel it into the water. Simple enough, right?”

Still very clearly not pleased with the situation at hand, Lilith crossed her arms. ”Fine.”

Over the next few minutes, John had located one of the world maps that The Coven kept stored in the various corners of the Alchemy lab. Don’t ask Lilith why it was here. All she knew was that they had found it, which now meant she really had to do this spell. No matter the outcome, she hoped that Miles would forgive her.

Salem continued to control the water, focusing on the small sphere floating in the air above the middle of the map.

”I can’t believe I’m playing with Miles’s spit,” Lilith grumbled.
”I think you’ve been playing with more than that,” John responded sarcastically.

Lilith was sure to glare at her grandfather for a moment before turning back to stare at her intended target. Taking a deep breath, Lilith focused all of her energy into the one question before nodding to Salem. Once the other woman had let her control of the sphere fade, the liquid fell onto the paper, showing no signs of going anywhere.

A silence filled the air as everyone kept their eyes glued onto the map.

John sighed again. Salem looked pissed. Lilith didn’t know what to feel. She was about to turn and head for the door when the water finally began to move.

It broke off into a few smaller circles, all of them headed towards North America. Four of them had settled in Garden City, New York, one of the others in Tanner - right in the center of town where the Coven house was located. The last seemed hesitant, almost as if it was trying to decide which way to go. Lilith watched the last droplet vibrate in place before darting off to go place itself right beside the other one that had landed itself in Tanner.

”Fuck,” Salem growled. Pointing at the larger collection of droplets, she began to explain. ”That’s Lola and her children.” Moving her finger to point at the others, she continued. ”That’s Miles. And that’s Aloysius.”

”How do you know?”

”The spell wouldn’t have even worked to begin with unless Aloysius and Miles were related. Additionally, Aloysius’s sister Lola lives in Garden City with her three children. Miles is in Tanner. And it appears that his father is too.”

”So Al is Miles’s father…”

”And you’re carrying Miles’s children,” John finished.

As Lilith looked back up at Salem, all she could sense from the woman was rage. The image that she was just shown minutes before flashed in her mind once again, making Lilith stand on edge.

”Thank you for your help,” the Guild Leader spoke to no one in particular. ”If you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. We’ll reconvene on your… issue, later.” As she spoke, the more and more upset Salem sounded. Her crossed arms and furrowed brow only added to that fact.

”Issue?” Lilith responded, her voice hollow.

”We’ll have to discuss specifics. Surely you don’t want to have those children?”
Glaring once again, Lilith could stop the venom dripping from her words. ”What if I do want to, Salem?”

Eyebrows raised, the older woman was already headed for the door. She couldn’t waste time arguing with a child when Aloysius was in the building. Hand now on the door knob, Salem turned to look at Lilith before responding. ”I have way bigger fish to fry, darling. Quite literally. Now. Like I said - we’ll discuss specifics later.”

As Salem turned the knob, all that Lilith could feel was rage and fear. She didn’t know what to say or do as Salem exited the room. Attacking her was a suicide mission, but she didn’t want to see anyone harmed, and Salem seemed as if she was on a war path.

Turning to John, the young woman began to break down. ”I’m sorry,” she began, the first of the tears beginning to fall. ”I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

Closing the small distance between them, John embraced his granddaughter in a tight hug. ”It’s gonna be okay, Lilly. You just need to go and find Miles right now, okay?”

Wiping her face, Lilith nodded her head as John held the door open for her.

The young Montgomery had no idea what the next few hours - or life in general - had in store for her.

All she knew was that she had better buckle up for the ride.

[Sugar and Spite]

The last few weeks in Tanner had been hectic for the Rosales family. Driving back and forth to Seattle while managing the family’s restaurant had taken up the vast majority of her time, leaving very little room for Reyna to get involved in or worry about Coven matters. In times like these, she felt like a rather horrible witch. Being torn between your blood and magical families was an indescribable feeling - one that she found leaving a bad taste in her mouth. Erin was nice enough to update her from time to time. Reyna had reached out to some of her friends to make sure that they were okay, but for the most part she had received radio silence in return. She chose to think it was because they were busy with their own issues.

With her mother returning from her business trip just a few days prior, Reyna was now free to do as she pleased around Tanner. Though she was the youngest in her family, Reyna found herself looking after her siblings in times like these. Maybe now with her mother home she wouldn’t have to worry about who had clean socks to wear. The young woman really hoped to get back into her Coven duties, and hoped even more that her friends wouldn’t judge her for ghosting them for the last few months.

She had spent days going through her closet, doing her best to find something in her closet that would be considered formal instead of slutty. It turned out that the young woman didn’t have many options to choose from. She had settled on a crop top and long skirt combo. While the sleeves fell off the shoulders, and there was a split in the skirt all the way up to her thigh - she hoped that her choice in fashion wouldn’t draw to many unwarranted comments tonight. Reyna had decided to lightly accessorise with large hoop earrings, and her makeup was just as simple. She had chosen to stick to a more nude and natural look tonight, hoping that her ‘new look’ would show how much she had matured.

The brunette had rode in the back seat of her brother's car to the Handover Ceremony. She had kept her eyes glued on the scenery outside of the window, her invitation in hand the whole way there. The young woman had always believed that she was lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful place.

Once they had arrived, Reyna climbed out of the car, made sure her outfit was properly adjusted, and waltzed into the Handover Ceremony right behind her brothers. She had exchanged a few small pleasantries with Carlisle and a woman she didn’t know.

Walking into the room, the Rosales woman kept her head held high, plucking a glass of champagne from one of the passing waiter's trays. A small, warm smile appeared on her face here and there as she waved back to the few people who recognized her. She was searching desperately for someone who she talked to at least on a semi-regular basis to no avail.

That was when she had seen the scene unfolding by the entrance. So many faces that she didn’t know, with so many fists flying around them. The thought made her down the second half of her champagne in one go. A nearby waiter gave her a some-what judging look - but Reyna didn’t mind. Reaching for another, she was trying not to stare as Amanda Aston was dragged away.

Soon after came Carlisle’s speech. She stood and listened as he bore his low self-esteem and mommy issues to the world, but all in all, there wasn’t much to complain about. Reyna had never had much to hold against the Aston boy, and only time would tell how horrible or magnificent of a leader he would be. It would be wrong to jump to conclusions so soon.

With a sigh, the young woman found a nice chair on the outskirts of the room to settle into. Soaking in the scenery, Reyna was more than sure that this was about to be an eventful night.

[SouffleGirl123]

_{A Catherine Hierich post featuring Zachery Carter
A collab between @Soufflegirl123 and @Hedgehawk}

”You look lovely, my sweet,”

Catherine, mascara wand in hand, turned her attention from the bathroom mirror before her to the figure of her mother in the doorway. ”Thanks, mum.” she replies with a small smile before turning back to the mirror. She couldn’t help but notice the shaking of her hands. She’d been a member of the coven for a month now, joining occasional outings and scouting missions, and all had been fine but this brought all the generations of coven members. This included the generation who fought against her father. She could only hope none recognised who she was descended from but considering her uncle was handing over to her she wasn’t hopeful.

”Are you sure you don’t want to come?” she asks her mother, eyes still fixated on her visage in the mirror as she dragged the mascara wand over her eyelashes. ”Your name was on the invitation too.”

Cat couldn’t help but notice the small sigh that escaped the older woman’s lips. ”It’s not my world. I think I’m better off staying as far from it as possible, especially with that Aston woman there. You and I both know my name was only on the invitation in the name of diplomacy.”

Catherine gave a somewhat solemn nod. She wished her mother would come along regardless but she had a good point. Ever since she found out about her magical heritage there seemed to be a weird distance between Catherine and her mother. Not that they had grown apart but there was that mutual understanding there was this whole world Catherine was a part of that Melanie Heirich could never truly understand. Her mother seemed to almost avoid magic all together. Cat didn’t blame her, until she started training her magic her mother’s last run in with it was escaping the destruction being caused by her ex.

After admiring the finishing touches of her make-up Catherine turns back to her mother. ”I should go but I’ll see you later tonight,” she says with a small smile before placing a kiss on her mother’s cheek. She starts heading toward the front door.

”Have fun. And say hi to your uncle for me,” her mother calls after her.

”I will! Love you,” Cat calls back.

---

Catherine made her way to the coven house, even after a month it was so impressive in her eyes. As she walked to the entrance she couldn’t help but notice Miles’ mother was at the door with Carlisle rather than his own mother. Catherine’s mum had mentioned she used to work in the diner with Mary Price back in the day, long before she knew of the magical community or that her colleague was part of it. She handed them her invitation and shared some quick pleasantries before entering the house.

She wandered through the open rooms of the house exchanging short pleasantries with her generation of coven members until Carlisle gave his speech. After the man had returned back to the crowd, Catherine turned to continue her conversation hoping to find herself face to face with Zachery Carter.

Zach had no idea why he was here in all honesty. He could have easily stayed at home. This was all some kind of pompous bullshit that he could do without. So yeah. They are going to crown a new leader. Whoop de doo. Carlisle was a spineless little shit either way. Zach had taken him down a couple of times. In fact the only reasons Miles and Zach had ever fought, was over Carlisle. He stood there with a whisky in hand as Cat turned around to see him. With a small smirk on his face he raised his glass.

"Wanna take a picture? Might last a bit longer"

Catherine didn’t know Zach all that well. She didn’t need to, his reputation preceded him and that reputation was enough to know she wanted to be as far away as possible. She scoffed at his comment, rolling her eyes slightly. ”Why? Do you need one that bad?”

”Well, It would be nice to look at myself for a bit. Be the only interesting thing in this hellscape of a party” Zach uttered with a small sigh. He really didn’t know why he was even bothering. With a small swig of his whiskey he let out a small sigh. ”I have never seen you around here. You new? Or have you been so plain that you blended into the background my whole life?”

”Bit of both,” the young woman shrugs. ”I also have better things to do with my time than jumping house party to house party.” Catherine didn’t give the man any of her information, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted him knowing who she was. Part of her called to just move on and find someone more agreeable to talk to but she pushed it away.

”Nothing wrong with house parties so long as Carlisle isn’t there to waste your time” Zach said with a grumble, bringing back memories of college and all the house parties that had been ruined. ”Sides, Tanner is a boring old place, Not exactly many parties going on, and having only a couple of bars really limits your options you know? So here I am, standing in a gaggle of pompous wasters, having some whiskey”

”What would Carlisle being there have to do with anything?” Catherine asks, cocking her head. Carlisle was another character she barely knew, the man seemed to distance himself from her somewhat, but he didn’t seem like a particularly bad person.

Zach gave off a deeper sigh ”Because Carlisle and Miles would always be together. People seem to forget that me and Miles are friends too. Miles would spend the whole party trying to get Carlisle come out of his awkward little shell and that was just boring as hell. And once Miles had finally got drunk enough to have some real fun, Carlisle would try to whisk him home like some kind overzealous mother. He was such a kiljoy” Zach had started to grip the whiskey glass in his hand a little tighter only realising when he looked down at the white skin of his fingers.

Cat became relatively still in place. The last thing she had planned was to become part of an impromptu therapy session. She seemed to be good at getting herself into those. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man acting almost like a jealous girlfriend and he hardly seemed the type to take good advice. ”Maybe Miles is just closer to Carlisle,” the woman muses gently with a sigh.

”Yeah, but who would want to be friends with that loser. Miles stands up for him as well, that is the sad thing. He can’t see what a dead weight that guy is. Still. Maybe I am just defensive because I don’t have any other guys to hang out with in Tanner. Me and Kolby don’t get along, and Rowan is always in his own little state of mind.” Zach began to fidget, he didn’t quite like the fact that he basically admitted weakness in front of someone, yet alone someone who he hardly knew.

”Right,” Cat replies, her voice trailing off. Honestly she never took Zach as a vulnerable type. It was nearly uncomfortable, not so much the vulnerability itself but that in contrast to how she perceived that man. Her eyes fixated on the glass in the man’s hands for a moment as he spoke. ”I mean, Tanner’s small but it’s not that small. I’m sure there’s someone at these house parties you’d get along with,”

”There is that. Last time I was at one of these parties I ended up getting a whiskey bottle in the side of the head. I had a concussion for three days afterwards. I have too much history with Tanner, everyone knows me and my business. It's not like college where the campus is so big, and there are so many people that you just blend in.” Leaning his head back he necked the rest of his glass in one, feeling the burning liquid light up his chest, causing Zach to cough lightly for a second. ”Thing is, many people just assume I am this hyper flirt that will sleep with anything with a pulse. And to a degree they aren’t wrong. But no one ever asks how I am, or what I am doing. It is always ‘Stay away from him’ or ‘urgh’ I do actually have complexities, but no one wants to listen or stay close enough to find out”

Catherine choked down the temptation to reply to his comment about what people think about him with an ‘aren’t you?’ but instead remained silent as he ranted. ”And how are you?” she echoes cautiously, not quite sure how those words came out of her mouth. She was quite visibly taken aback by the sudden 180 this conversation had taken, even if she was trying not to show it.

Zach was expecting some kind of brush off response. Something along the lines of ‘oh well, you are a whore aren't you? So what's the point in talking?’ But to his surprise, Catherine came up with something entirely different. Zach didn’t answer for a moment, trying to think of the right sentence to say. Normally he would deflect the question, become aggressive or hyper flirty. ”Honestly? Lonely” He muttered out, he kept his voice low, so that no one who was passing by could overhear him. ”I always knew adjusting back to Tanner would be hard, but not this hard. Living on my own, trying to work and get some money, and then trying to be sociable in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. It’s hard” Zach looked down in shame, his eyes fixated on the now empty whiskey glass.

Cat knew how it felt to have others know your business and be judging you off of it. Sure, their specific situations were vastly different but she knew the feeling of everyone in a room thinking they knew exactly who you are. ”Yeah, I get that,” she responds with a sigh. ”People just acting like you’re one thing you’re not, or at least not completely.” The young woman fidgets with her rings as she talks before looking up at the man. ”So prove them wrong. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

”It's a bit hard when most people won’t give me the time of day anymore. It wouldn’t shock me if after this conversation, someone leans in and warns you to stay away from me, because they are trying to be helpful.” Zach noticed by looking upwards that Cat seemed to be just as uncomfortable at the moment. Raising his head back up he tried to give off a weak smile. ”I suppose I ought to go get a drink and get out of here, before the dance starts.”

At his first statement Cat couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Honestly? Someone will probably say the same thing to you about me,” she replies, her eyes floating around the room. Were those weary looks real? Were they pointed and her or Zach? Or were they all figments of her imagination and insecurity. ”You like parties, this is a party. Not gonna show ‘em too great if you run away now, Especially before the actual handover.”

”I don’t really think that Dancing is my thing. Well. Not the dancing they have in mind. Side’s I don’t have anyone to dance with. I wasn’t planning on leaving, just standing on the outskirts and hiding as many drink bottles as I can find incase I bump back into Erin” He said with a slight chuckle, trying to deflect his insecurities.

”Neither do I,” the woman replies with a shrug. ”What’d you do so bad to get everyone whispering anyway?”

”Be aggressive, push people away, and try to sleep with anyone who would be near me. Worked for a while, but now my reputation is so infamous that most people who live in Tanner give me a wide berth. How about you?”

”Less of what I did and more of what I come from,” Catherine sighs, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. It seemed odd that she was finding camaraderie and empathy in Zach Carter but here she was. ”Very long story short my dad sought out Tanner for refuge then a couple of years later betrayed the coven by leading an attack against them. Obviously they didn’t succeed but judging by what people have said they were very close.”

”And by association you must be bad too. I see. Well people suck.” Zach said with a soft laugh as he rolled her shoulders. ”Well, I am going to get some more drinks. You are more than welcome to come and hang around while everyone makes fools of themselves dancing” He asked softly, running a hand through his hair to make sure his fringe was nice and messy.

”I’ll think about it,” Cat replies with a gentle smile. ”I’ll see you around, Zach,”

Zach turned around and began to walk off ”Offer is always there, Just look for the sulking guy in the corner” He laughed as he went towards the drinks table.

[Hedgehawk]

_{A collab between @Hedgehawk & @sailorsadie}

Somewhere in Carlisle’s mind…

The room was barely lit, only the moonlight coming in from the windows illuminated the room Amanda Aston found herself in. The room itself looked like a replica of the Aston households living room, even down to the placement of all the little bits of bric a brac that Amanda usually left on the various side tables and cabinets. The only difference she could see, was that every picture in the room, had the faces of herself and her husband covered over with plain paper. Even in his mind, Carlisle couldn’t help but lash out. Amanda thought it was pathetic and petty. She brought him into this world. He should have more respect for her.

Amanda Aston was not amused. Being imprisoned by her own son, being embarrassed in front of the coven like that. She was seething at Salem. Who did she think she was? Salem should have been kissing Amanda’s boot for helping her locate Aloysius. Sure Amanda had a double motive of punishing that bitch Mary, but Salem got what she wanted and Amanda got it too. It wasn’t like she had not tried to get rid of that waste of space Miles. She had tried sending Mary on dangerous missions in the early months of the pregnancy. When that didn’t work, she simply had Aloysius taken away. For if she couldn’t kill the baby, forcing Mary to raise the thing up on her own… now that was a long game torture that Amanda could get behind. She was proud of that one. Force Mary to raise a kid alone, while you have your own kid that you groom for power to oppress Mary’s little brat for their life as well.

Admittedly that part of the plan had failed. Carlisle wasn’t exactly the ideal candidate for showing off the power of the Aston bloodline. While she would begrudgingly admit that his abjuration skills were probably unmatched in the world, that fact that he could only use defensive spells made him useless to her plans. Not to mention he had befriended the enemy, making him useless in the final part of her plan too. She scored some wins however. Years of emotional abuse, neglect and fear, had turned Carlisle into a deeply flawed young man, and an easy target of ridicule. She had spent Carlisle’s young teen years making sure he had always presented himself in a bad light to his peers. She knew that even as leader he peers wouldn’t fully respect him. Hopefully that would cause everyone to question his leadership abilities and allow her to bring in the final phase of her new plan. As if on queue, she heard a small pop and saw the young woman appear in the room. Getting up from the sofa, Amanda smiled ”Ah there you are… Look at you.”

Violet rose a brow at the woman and folded her arms across her chest. She looked just like the picture that was included in the letter. Then again, she also resembled her own reflection. She saw a lot of herself in the older woman. Clearing her throat, she gave a small nod and stood her ground. If her brother were to be believed, this woman was not one to mess with. Well, neither was she. Tilting her head to the side, she rose a brow in interest as she feigned looking the woman over.

”I received your invitation. I must admit, the welcoming was a bit more hostile that I imagined. Your son is very…inadequate. And touchy.” Her brows furrowed as she shook her head. ”And a warlock? Seriously? You threw me away and kept him?

"Well… In my defense when you were born you had no magical ability. Couldn't sense a thing on you. Now though…" Amanda stood up properly walking towards the young woman "But now look at you, brimming with power, so much power. Makes Lilith and Serena look like children" Amanda took a moment to walk around Violet, examining her. Looking her up and down, "Carlisle is the epitome of disappointment and regret. That is why I have bought you here. You ready to take on the family mantle as head of the family?"

She didn’t know who those two women were, but she could tell her mother did not like them whatsoever. And finally, finally the woman could tell how strong she was. How worthy she was. Her arms tightened against her chest and she stood straighter as her birth mother surveyed her. At her statement, Violet was a bit shocked to find that her coming here held another purpose other than just meeting her biological family. A dark smirk spread across her face as her hands dropped from their defensive position. ”Yes, mother. I’m ready.”

"Good. Good. Finally us Astons can go back to being in top. No more will I have to hide my head in shame when someone mentions my child" Amanda sat back down on the sofa, motioning for Violet to sit opposite her. "Now, we need to do a couple of things to make sure that we are ready. Firstly, we need to remove Carlisle, preferably before he can start protecting others. As much as I dislike him, if he starts creating shields and barriers everywhere, getting around will be tough"

Watching as the woman took her seat, Violet hesitated a mere moment before moving to the chair opposite her. She cleared her throat and slowly sat down as she kept eyes on her birth mother. Was she really ready for all this? She had just expected to show up and learn about her family. Now she was talking of getting rid of her blood brother and heading the family name? A small part of her was screaming with fright, but the other part of her, which she assumed was the Aston blood boiling in her veins, made her want to appease her mother in any way possible. With a small nod, she brushed her hair away from her shoulders. ”I can handle the warlock, no issues there.”

Amanda smirked. This was too good to be true. She had expected to have to emotionally blackmail her secret daughter into doing her bidding, but she was lapping it all up. "I know that being suddenly sucked up into all this can be quite overwhelming. It's okay if you aren't comfortable. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. It's not like we can escape until Carlisle decides to let us free"

Her brows furrowed a bit at the woman’s last statement about not being let free. They were powerful witches, and Carlisle was a measly warlock. She was sure they wouldn’t be stuck in this hellhole until he decided. Which would probably be never, seeing as how she threatened his little Slim Jim of a girlfriend. Violet folded her arms back across her chest and shook her head. ”I’m fine. And we’re powerful witches. Well. I know I am. Surely we can do something to break out of here together?”

"Why it is very nice to see you are eager to get started. There really isn't alot we can do. As much as admonish Carlisle… He Is an Aston, and being a warlock makes him excel at the lone field he is good at." Amanda fidgeted in her seat. She didn't like how Violet seemed to imply that she was stronger than Amanda, or at least that someone Amanda wasn't. She knew that young woman was fiery. That was evident in her response back. But now Amanda was beginning to wonder if Violet was too hotheaded to control. "You just have some questions dear."

”Don’t do that.” She couldn’t help a scoff and a roll of her eyes. While Violet was more than willing to take on her new role in the family, she didn’t want to be coddled by a mother she barely knew. A mother who had given her away simply because she didn’t sense any magic within her. That kind of mother didn’t have her best interests at heart. Her eyes darkened a bit as she looked the woman over. ”Don’t call me dear, or any other term of affection. Let’s just skip over this part where you pretend to have any kind of emotion for me. I’m here, I’m ready to fulfill my role. But you don’t get to pretend like what you did to me wasn’t fucked up.”

”Look, it wasn't an easy choice. I had only been the coven leader for just over a year and a half. It was going to be embarrassing to have a baby that we couldn’t sense any magic from. I made sure you had a good family though, i knew your parents personally” Amanda swallowed hard. It was clear Violet had designs far grander than Amanda, and she was only just discovering how dangerous she was. ”But if you want to be strictly business, then fine. We can do that”

Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked the woman over and let out a breath. Her adopted parents didn’t mention that they personally knew Amanda. Why did all the people who were closest to her, kept lying to her? Keeping secrets when she was very much secure enough to handle them all. Violet rolled her eyes once more before giving a slight nod of her head. ”Strictly business, for the time being. Then we’ll go from there.”

She unfolded her arms and looked around before reaching down to touch the floor. Her hands skimmed over it, feeling the vibrations from the shield they were in. A wicked glint gleamed in her eyes before she looked back up at her birth mother. ”We’re connected to his brain, right? I can cause him enough pain that he’ll be forced to let us out.”

”Yes we are, but you won’t be able to cause enough damage to get him to let us out. He has to hold concentration. He will eventually grow tired and have to let go” Amanda would shift in her seat, rubbing her arm as she noted that Violet was clearly pissed off ”You can’t just get out and attack Carlisle, the whole coven will attack you. You need to come up with a much more finessed approach”

Scoffing, she leaned back up and sat back in her seat. ”Oh, please. That scrawny, little, beak nosed wanna be Coven leader couldn’t possibly be that powerful.” Violet ran a hand through her hair and cleared her throat. While she didn’t know how powerful her brother was, she most certainly didn’t want to face the wrath of an entire Coven. Shaking her head, she looked around their surroundings before turning back to face her birth mother. Violet raised a brow in question. ”Well? Any suggestions, mother?”

”Well, I would advise that you turn the coven against him. Carlisle is fickle and has very thin skin. Not many of his peers actually like him. Make them hate him more, you might find others that agree to remove Carlisle. Otherwise, if he is hated, he might even stand down without a fight.” Amanda crossed her legs and leaned on the back of the sofa. ”However, we do have a far more problematic threat. Ever heard of a girl named Lilith?”

Violet nodded along as Amanda spoke about making others hate her boyfriend. It definitely did make sense to turn the coven around. Yet, she knew she had already made one of the members not like her so much. Mark, Matt, something. She blew out a breath and nodded slightly. She could turn the coven around. But she would have to be nice. Her nose scrunched a bit at that thought. Her mother’s next question made her brows furrow. Tilting her head in thought, she nodded slightly. ”His boyfriend or whoever was hanging all over him mentioned that name. Who is she?”

”Miles” Amanda growled. She knew that guy too well ”He is the cause of most of my problems. Carlisle was supposed to one up him, and somehow he failed and became friends with him. Anyway” Amanda took a moment to adjust her top, making sure she was comfortable and making sure that her anger did not boil too much. She needed to stay composed afterall. ”If what Carlisle, Salem and the rest of them have said is true, Lilith is pregnant. And since Miles is the father, and his father is a powerful Magi, we are looking at a very powerful baby. More powerful than me and you baby. Get my meaning?”

As she listened to the woman, the wheels in her mind continued to spin. This Lilith being pregnant was a bad thing. And with a Magi of all people? And the babies would be a hell of a lot more powerful than her or any fellow Astons. That couldn’t happen. Violet couldn’t let that happen. Her eyes darkened as she slowly nodded her head. She did understand what her mother was saying. ”We have to get rid of Lilith.”

”No, that is too easy. We need to make her suffer. We need to kill the baby, and make sure that Lilith can’t have anymore again. That way Miles and Lilith can spend the rest of their lives alone and useless.” A dark grin spread across Amanda’s face. ”My hope is that Salem is having similar thoughts, but if she doesn’t act, we must be prepared to.”

Her face dropped a bit at the mention of killing babies. She could easily get rid of an adult person, but ababy? Was she really going to consider going through with this? Violet cleared her throat and looked away from the woman for just a moment. She didn’t know who this Salem person was, but obviously she had the same thoughts her mother had. This was going to happen whether she was a part of it or not. And, if she were the person to handle it, she would gain the respect of her birth mother. Did she want that respect? She knew she wanted to be the most powerful in the coven. She had been the most powerful at home, and she wanted that here, in her rightful place.

Clearing her throat, she nodded slightly. She looked back at her mother, her face and voice void of any emotion. ”What are your plans?”

Amanda could see the discomfort in Violet. It seemed that Amanda had found the young woman's limits, even if she was happy to press on. ”Even if we just killed Lilith, we would be killing the babies anyway. That is why I propose we do this now, while they are young” Amanda would keep her eyes locked on Violet, testing and watching her reaction. ”Sadly, Lilith is powerful, and a diviner. Plus she has practically everyone fighting for her. Carlisle will make her untouchable if he suspects someone is out to harm her. Miles will enchant you into thinking she isn’t dangerous, and her family know enough magic to keep you tortured for the rest of your days” Amanda clearly didn’t have a plan. ”You need to get her on her own. Bullying Carlisle enough might cause her to drag you to the side to give you a talking to. Might be a way in. I remember that a girl in high school, Kirstie, I think her name was, also had a vivid disliking for Lilith. The fact those two haven’t fought yet is beyond me. Maybe use that?”

Her eyes continued to narrow as her mother spoke to her. She wanted Violet to get this girl alone using any means necessary without tripping off warning bells to Carlisle or the girl’s family. Huffing out a breath, she shook her head and leaned back further in her chair. There was no way she could do this. Her magic spoke for her. Looking away from the woman, she nodded her head slightly. This was why she had reached out. Not to have some kind of relationship with the daughter she gave away, but to do her evil bidding. She growled low in her throat before looking back at the woman once more. ”Do you know what my powers are, mother? I can cause someone to feel a searing pain throughout their body. I can make them turn to stone, make them have frostbite. I am a witch who can cause pain. Mind boggling, all over pain. What you’re wanting is some high school drama to be brought out.”

She quickly rose to her feet and growled once more. ”You want me to get rid of Lilith’s baby? Fine. I’ll cause her so much pain that will bring her into early labor, and the baby will have no chance of survival. But this mean girl shit? I’m better than that.”

Amanda looked down, clearly she had hit a nerve. ”Alright, You do what you need to do. I am just suggesting what I think you should do. But please don’t underestimate anyone. You are an Aston yes, but even we can be bought down if enough people stand against us. Divide and Conquer is usually the best strategy”

Staring down at her mother, she weighed her options. She shifted her feet before finally huffing out a breath. Why should she go against the woman’s plans? She obviously knew the situation better than Violet. Amanda knew how this family, how these people responded. She would be a fool to go against that. Shifting on her feet once more, she rolled her eyes before sitting back down in her chair. She relaxed back into the seat and folded her legs at the knees. ”Fine. I’ll do it your way first. But if that goes nowhere, I’m doing it my way.”

”You do what you want. I am not going to stop you. You are the future of the family. So I will leave it to you to do whatever you feel comfortable with” Amanda would sit up, back pressed firmly against the sofa to sit up straight. ”I don’t want to press you into anything you don’t want to do”

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes and played with the ends of her hair, a nervous habit. She wasn’t nervous about any of this, per say, but she was growing slightly more aggravated. With a shake of her head, she sat up straight and looked back at her birth mother. Violet looked the woman over and her eyes narrowed. ”What’s in this for you exactly, mother? You want to be the best? Want to rule the coven? I’m just your pawn in this big ass game of yours, aren’t I?”

”I don’t really get much this time around. I am future planning. I don’t want Carlisle to be the future of this family. I can’t let our legacy become a laughing joke to the rest of witch society. I made a mistake with you. Yes. And I am willing to admit that. I am. Once you are in control of the Coven, I am sure you will have some nasty plan for me. But for now, I want to work on securing our legacy” Amanda spoke with as much authority and respect as she could muster. She was a tired woman, still powerful, but clearly struggling to maintain her old aura. Plus the night had been pretty embarrassing for her.

She chewed on the bottom of her lip as she studied the woman. Her eyes darkened and her brows narrowed in frustration. Moving to sit on the edge of the chair, she let out a breath. Violet knew what she had to do. ”I have to instill doubt in the other coven members about Carlisle. I have to show them that he is incompetent and unable to lead. Then I can deal with Lilith and her baby. We can’t have a magi procreating if we want any chance of ruling this establishment. Our family will rise to the top. We will be the family who others will come running to. The Astons will be in charge, and we’ll stay that way.”

As Violet finished speaking, Amanda smirked. ”Good girl. Together we will be unstoppable. Also. Just a request from me. If the chance pops up and you do have to kill Miles, they boyfriend of Carlisle’s you spoke of earlier…” Amanda would lean in and speak in a slightly hushed tone ”Do me a favor, make him suffer. Truly suffer. Everyone else you can do with as you please”

Violet remembered the man with her brother and how he spoke to her. She smirked to herself as she listened to her mother. So. This Miles really got to her, and she truly wanted him to be gone. But not without some pain to help him on his way. Giving her a slight nod, she tilted her head. ”He mocked me when I first met him. He’ll never know what hit him.”

”The whole price family is like that. They play the hard-done by card, and then walk around thinking they are hot shit. Just because they have enchantment magic. I am still livid with Miles for ruining my first plan. I had enchanted Carlisle to fall in love with Lilith, and was planning on merging the Aston and Montgomery lines together.” Amanda got up for a moment and walked over to the sofa that Violet was sitting on. ”But Carlisle was so useless he couldn’t get beyond the friend zone with Lilith, even when enchanted. Instead Miles had to swoop back in again. I should have tried harder to kill him when he was a kid. Stupid pathetic street urchin” Amanda took a moment to look into Violet's eyes ”But you aren’t going to fail me. You are going to be the next Aston in charge. Oh the power and wealth you will yield. It will make other people tremble before you.”

Her nose scrunched at the thought of her mother enchanting her child. Forcing her blood to do something against their will. Was this the person her mother truly was? Was this what she did to her own children? Who was she kidding? Amanda gave her up just because she couldn’t sense any magic. Of course she would do whatever she felt she had to, to make sure the Astons stayed in their current position.

When the woman approached her, she sat back as her body tensed up. She didn’t trust the woman in front of her as far as she could throw her. And she wanted to kill a child. A child. Letting out a breath, she locked eyes with her mother as she spoke her final statement. Violet’s eyes darkened and a dangerous smirk spread across her face. Power and wealth? People trembling at her feet, begging for her mercy? Her voice dripped with menace as she spoke. ”Yes, mother. I’ll do it.”

”Good girl. With Carlisle dead and Lilith’s offspring dealt with, no one will be able to stop you. Now we might as well do something useful while we wait. Let me tell everything I know about Lilith and Carlisle’s powers” Amanda mused as she went on to start detailing everything she knew.

[Sadie]

A collab between @sailorsadie & @haleytherandom
featuring Delaney & Rowan

It was finally the night of the Coven handover party, and Delaney had successfully gotten the night off work. Which was saying something, since their employees consisted of other Coven members. She knew it was going to be a big night and decided to go all out with her dress. Her eyes glanced over at the clock and she swore under her breath when she realized Rowan was going to be showing up at any time. Why hadn’t she just decided to get ready at his place? It wasn’t like she didn’t spend almost all her time over there anyway since they had become official.

Bending down to check herself out in her vanity mirror, she rubbed at a spot where her nude lipstick had smeared onto her chin. She groaned and hurried to fix the spot. Rowan had never seen her in anything this extravagant, and she knew that was the reason for the separate houses. She wanted his eyes to bug out of his head when he saw her in her dress.

She swiped at a few loose locks of her hair before walking over to her bedroom door and slipping on a pair of nude heels. Letting out a breath, she heard his truck pull up and she hurried over to her window to sneak a glance at his attire. She wasn’t at all disappointed. With a groan, she smirked. ”That is all mine. Good gods.” Shaking her head, she hurried to her door to start making her way downstairs.

Getting used to being a taken man hadn’t been as rough of an adjustment for Rowan as he imagined it was for some of his friends. Perhaps it was his old fashioned brain, but he had always wanted someone to share his life with. The way that Delaney had been so open to Rowan’s ideas of life and thinking only made him fall for her faster.

The night of the Coven Handover Ceremony, Rowan had spent literal hours contemplating what to wear. Dressing up for him was a pair of unstained blue-jeans and a decent button down - and a small part of him guessed that Delaney would have been disappointed if he arrived on her doorstep that way. Rowan wasn’t a stupid man - he knew his charm could only get him so far.

That was why he had found himself speeding into Seattle that evening to find the nearest men's department store.

He knew that he was cutting it close time wise, but there was no way he was going to show up looking like trailer trash next to the prom queen.

Rowan arrived at exactly 6:30 sharp that evening, dressed in a proper suit. He hadn’t even bothered with purchasing a tie - knowing good and well that he wouldn’t be able to stand the choking feeling around his neck all night. Hopefully Delaney wouldn’t mind that small fact.

Parking his truck, Rowan grabbed the few gifts he had bought for Delaney before stepping out of his vehicle. They had been on a few official dates over the last few weeks, but tonight felt oddly special - so he had decided to go the extra mile. Adjusting the collar of his shirt, Rowan knocked on the front door.

”Move, move, move!” As she came down the stairs, she kept shoving at her brothers who stood in her way. Her mother came over and gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. Delaney shook her head at her mother and put a hand up. ”Nope. No tears tonight. It isn’t like prom or something. Just a Coven party.”

Her mother scoffed at her and shook her head. ”More like the biggest Coven party of the year.” She rolled her eyes at her daughter as she went to the door, opening it. Eleanor beamed at the sight of the man in her doorway. “Rowan dear, you look fabulous!”

Coming up behind her mother, she stopped when she noticed Rowan. Looking him over, a giant beam spread across her face. She’d definitely be ripping that suit of his off later that night. She moved past her mother in the doorway and stepped up to her man. ”Look at you all fancy.”

With a simple nod of his head as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink, Rowan responded with a simple ”Thank you ma’am,” to Delaney’s mother before turning his full attention to the beautiful woman before him.

Hearing Delaney’s words, Rowan could only hope that the fading sun could hide how red his face was. He had never realized how much of a blusher he was until he had spent more time around Delaney and her family.

”Nothing compared to you,” he responded before gently placing a kiss on her cheek. ”You look absolutely amazing tonight. These are for you,” he complimented her before presenting the bouquet of blue poppies and white roses.

Gods, he was such a gentleman and so unlike anyone she had ever dated before. She absolutely loved it and adored the attention he gave her. Her eyes went down to the bouquet and her smile grew even more. ”My favorites. Thank you.” Delaney turned and handed the bouquet to her mother. ”Can you put these in some water for me?”

“Of course, dear.” She winked at her daughter and put a hand on her arm. “You two have a fabulous time.”

”Thanks, mom.” Quickly grabbing a tan coat, she slipped it over her torso before grabbing Rowan’s hand and leading him back to his truck. ”We need to hurry up and get out of here before the woman remembers she has a camera.”

”You mean to tell me you don’t want some cute pictures of us posing on the staircase,” he joked as he was led away from the house. Opening the truck door for her, Rowan waited until Delaney climbed in before taking his place on the driver's side. Leaning over and reaching into the glove compartment, Rowan pulled out a black rectangular box that he then held out to Delaney. ”I thought about grabbing you a corsage, but I figured it might be cheesy, so I decided on that instead.”

As she settled back against the seat, her brows furrowed at the box. He got her a present? Delaney took the box from her and opened it before gasping. ”Oh, hunky dunk..” Lifting the bracelet from the box, she looked it over before quickly clasping it around her left wrist. She grinned up at him and leaned over, brushing her lips across his. ”Thank you. I love it. Definitely much better than a corsage.”

”I’m glad you like it,” the man responded, now cranking the truck. Rowan had really wished that he had hand crafted something for her - but life had been busy. He was glad that his gift sufficed. Once he had carefully backed out of Delaney’s driveway, Rowan began driving at a comfortable speed down the road. ”So how was the time at home?”

Huffing out a breath, she leaned back against the seat and shook her head. ”I really need to get my own place.” She glanced over at him. ”Mom is absolutely thrilled about you, by the way. Thinks you’re going to whisk me away on some fairytale. Think it might be the hair.” Delaney smirked and reached over to play with a strand of his. ”How’s the chickens and Sassy?”

A fairytale? Rowan couldn’t help but smirk in the shadows at the thought as he drove down the winding road. He was far from Prince Charming, but if a fairytale was what Delaney wanted - she could gladly get it. Each time she brought up getting her own place, Rowan couldn’t help but grip whatever he was holding at the moment even tighter - in this case, his hands growing tight around the steering wheel. He really didn’t want to rush things, or to tell Delaney he had had her a key made after that first morning they had spent together - but he couldn’t help but feel the cold metal weighing even heavier in his pocket as she spoke.

”Oh you know - the usual,” he chuckled in response. ”Took Ol’ Sas for a hike the other morning up to the falls. She always really likes going up there. I think it’s because of all the squirrels she can harass.” Dimming his lights for a passing car, he asked ”So do you wanna make a bet with me? See who throws the first punch of the night at this thing?”

A hike. Her nose scrunched at the thought. She was definitely not a hike person. How would she be able to walk over gravel with her heels? Delaney blew out a breath at the thought as she shook her head to herself. Rowan was a hiker. An outdoors man. She would have to adapt. Somehow.

Looking back over at him at his question, she snorted and raised a brow at him. ”How do you know it won’t be me?” Her brow raised higher in question as she tilted her head.

Chuckling as he continued to drive, Rowan nodded his head in recognition, a small smile creeping upon his lips. ”You got a good point,” the young man responded, keeping his eyes focused on the road. As the pair carried on their journey, they continued to talk about things and make small jokes here and there. Once they had arrived, Rowan had found a relatively decent parking spot. Putting his keys in his pocket, Rowan walked to the other side of the truck, opening the door for Delaney.

”Ready for all this,” he asks, offering her a helping hand.

Her eyes fell on the Coven and all the cars lining the drive. Sure, she loved a good party. But this Handover thing? Delaney didn’t want to be a part of it. All she wanted was to have a good night with her boyfriend. Letting out a breath, she put on a grin and took Rowan’s hand before moving herself out of the truck. Her eyes moved back to look at the building and she took in an unsteady breath.

”Not really. I give it twenty minutes before someone starts a fight.” Delaney looked back at him before kissing the side of his jaw. ”I’m sorry in advance if that someone is me.”

Rowan couldn’t help but smile as he closed the truck door behind her. ”I’m sure you’d have a good reason for doing so,” he joked, the two of them now heading up to the Coven house.

He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t nervous. Sure, he had always taken care in grooming his beard and making sure that he had showered - all of those basic things - but it was rare for him to be this dressed up. It felt like his shirt collar was choking him. He was a house party sort of guy - not the private events sort.

Rowan approached the front door, greeting Carlisle and Mary as he did so. Stopping to let Delaney say her piece, Rowan continued to hold her hand as they stepped into the Coven house.

”Would you like to grab a drink first,” he asked her, his eyes taking in their surroundings.

As she looked around the massive amount of people, Delaney took in a shaky breath. This was too many. She really hoped Rowan wouldn’t want to stay the whole night. Clearing her throat, she looked up at him as he offered a drink. She wouldn’t need just one; she needed several. The woman let out a rushed breath and nodded eagerly to her boyfriend.

”They so better have rum here and not just the bubbly crap.” Squeezing his hand, she led him over to the drink table. A relieved breath released from her chest as she noticed her favorite drink. ”Well. At least Aston didn’t mess this part of the night up.”

While he wanted his attention to be focused on Delaney, Rowan couldn’t help but take note of every familiar face and exit. He truthfully wanted to bail already, but unfortunately, they both had responsibilities. The young man knew that this was a ‘classy’ event, but his heart still sank when he saw that the red solo cups had been replaced with actual rocks glasses and champagne flutes. The bourbon sitting on the table seemed to even out everything.

Promptly pouring both himself and Delaney a shot, Rowan passed Delaneys drink to her before he found his eyes being drawn to the developing scene by the doorway.

”Looks like he’s fumbling that part though,” Rowan nodded towards the group. Studying them, his brow furrowed. ”Is that Claire Montgomery? I thought she was dead.”

”Who?” Turning to look at the door, she furrowed her brows as she watched the scene. She blinked at the hit before downing her shot. ”Well. I lost that bet. And have I mentioned that I hate magic?”

She gave a small scoff as she poured herself another shot, already wanting this night to be over. ”Dead should stay dead. Magic shouldn’t be allowed to bring people back.”

Knocking back his shot, Rowan shook his head. ”I agree. I don’t think Lilith would be the sort of person to break those laws - but somethings definitely going on there. Don’t wanna worry myself with it or anything, but I think someone should still care about the Covens moral code.”

Seeing her frustrated expression, Rowan planted a kiss on the top of Delaneys head. ”That was a pretty good throat punch, but I’m sure there’s plenty of time for you to get yours in. I’m sure you’re ready to go find Miles, and I should probably make sure Kolby isn’t starting trouble anywhere - unless you just want me to stay with you, of course.”

She snorted a bit and rolled her eyes. ”Only person dumb enough to do that would be Carlisle. But I’ll be thoroughly surprised if he’s capable of that kind of magic.”

Delaney threw back another shot before grinning up at her boyfriend. She reached over and squeezed his hand. ”You’re pretty much perfect, you know that?” Leaning up, she kissed the side of his jaw. ”Even if you have bad taste in friends.”

She winked at him as she made herself another shot. ”Go. I’ll have you all to myself later.”

[Hedgehawk]

Getting ready for events was always an interesting event for Lucas. Especially formal ones. Given that formal clothing was normally tighter than the looser fitting clothes he used, he had to request help from his mother to be able to get his trousers on. It didn't help that his golden retriever Blu had decided that watching Lucas struggle to put clothes on was some kind of game. Eventually clothes were put on, admittedly covered in dog hair. So an extra 15 minutes was taken using a lint roller to get rid of the hairs.

Lucas was excited to be able to go and meet everyone again. He had September getting used to Tanner once more, remembering the sounds and then sensations that helped him navigate around. Carlisle had been a little afraid to invite Lucas to the ceremony. Not because he wasn’t welcome, but for the fact that there was going to be an awful lot of people around. It was agreed that Lucas would arrive later on in the evening once the main entrance was clear. Lucas’s final step was to get his mother to put a dog waistcoat onto Blu. It was a formal occasion afterall.

Finally arriving at the ceremony, His mother helped Lucas and Blu out of the car. She had elected not to come to the ceremony and instead was going to stay in the people carrier in the parking lot and catch up on some netflix on the TV inside. Kissing Lucas on the forehead as goodbye, Blu guided Lucas towards the Coven entrance. Once inside, Lucas felt suddenly overwhelmed. Noise was everywhere. Normally he would use sounds to help ordinate and guide himself as he moved, however there were so many people talking and moving around that his hearing was overwhelmed and his brain was struggling to isolate the sounds and figure out where everyone was.

”Blu, Find food” Lucas commanded to his friend. With a soft acknowledging bark, Blu began to guide Lucas around the household, weaving and turning around various groups of people talking. He kept doing so until he eventually found a table with food on it, sitting down, signaling to Lucas they had arrived. Lucas placed his hand forward, feeling the edge of the table. Then there was a deep sigh as Lucas realized that he couldn’t actually work out what food was on the table without touching it, which was faux pas at a party. Casting true vision on himself, he looked around, seeing the outlines of everything on the table. He was able to make out some of the foods based purely on shape. Settling on what looked like party sausages, Lucas took an empty plate and took some sausages and put them on. He also took one and made sure to feed it to Blu for his good work.

He had arrived just in time to hear the start of Carlisle’s speech. Arriving at the back of the crowd, Lucas listened to the speech. He could tell that Carlisle was nervous, his speech pattern gave it away. However, Lucas would be lying if he didn’t enjoy the quiet that had come across the household as everyone listened. Once the speech was over, Lucas gave a little clap, as he found himself a chair out on the veranda and sat himself down, making sure that Blu had enough space to lie down himself. With them safely in a chair, Lucas deactivated his true seeing and took a deep breath. He would never be able to get over just how exhausting it was to maintain concentration on the spell while navigating. He did note however, that Carlisle seemed to have some sort of strange energy coming off him, and it also seemed to be linked to someone else at the party who Lucas couldn’t make out. He put a pin in his mind to ask Carlisle about it later on. For now he wanted to listen to the party vibe.

[SouffleGirl123]

_{A post by @Soufflegirl123, @HaleyTheRandom & @Hedgehawk
Featuring Mary Price, Claire Montgomery, Aloysius Leighton and Salem De Silva}

After her discussion with Al Mary stormed back toward the drinks table. She didn’t have to look to see if Claire was there, she knew she was. She didn’t understand why her ex had to come back. Why now? Why ever? She had gotten on perfectly fine raising their son. Well, maybe not perfectly but their family of 2 was more than enough, the last thing they needed was someone else encroaching on their space as if they belonged the whole time.

Mary didn’t bother fixing herself up, or more accurately she forgot that she probably should. Mascara stained tears looked more heavy on the skin than they felt. Instead she beelined for her friend and took whatever drink she was holding out of her hands. She instantly raises it to her lips, bottoming it with one mouthful before slamming the glass on the table. "I made it,” she croaks, throat still burning from whatever Claire Montgomery’s most recent drink of choice was.

The events with Mary, Carlisle, Salem and Amanda had left Claire a little shaken - even if she didn’t show it. It probably wasn’t a good idea to get totally smashed so early into the night, but it seemed as if people would have more important things to dwell on in the morning. All in all, was trying to not focus too hard on the fact that Lilith might be pregnant. She had already missed out on so much of her child's life, and potentially being thrown right back in to it at one of the most important times —

Downing another shot, Claire did her best to focus on Carlisle’s speech. She unfortunately knew all too well what he was talking about at every moment. Using Carlisle as a way back through the Astral Plane came with an unfortunate side effect of having all of his memories - right down to the things he mentioned about Amanda being a bitch and Mary being an angel. Then again, what else was new?

Ready to storm off to find her best friend, Claire was taken aback as Mary walked up and snatched her glass from her. Mary had never been the heaviest drinker, so seeing her down it all in one go had definitely earned her a wide eyed, curious expression. Claire Montgomery may have been stuck in the Astral Plane for the last ten years - but she wasn’t stupid, or out of the loop when it came to reading the body language of those closest to her. Grabbing a spare napkin off of the table, Claire began fussing over Mary while gently wiping the other woman's face clean.

”What the hell happened to you,” she asked, her voice stern.

"I’m fine,” Mary grunts, extremely unconvincingly, letting her best friend fix her up. She couldn’t help but notice the irony of her seeming like the grumpy teen in the pair of them for once. She wasn’t quite sure how to approach the issue of her baby daddy with Claire. Less of fear she might pummel the man, she’d likely do that regardless if she wanted to, but there were secrets she kept even from Claire there. Most notably both his and Miles’ magi status. She was never sure why she never said anything. She supposed it just didn’t seem relevant to be blurting out to people when she found out the man she thought was Johnathan Park was a magi. At that time Claire was back in North Carolina, leaving their communication to be in regularly scheduled phone calls and frequent visits. Even when Mary finally put together enough for a computer there was only so much that could be done over AOL messenger, even though their late night messages as they both tried to soothe their awoken babies kept her sane.

"I’m sorry Claire. I didn’t-” The woman choked on her words. Even if she knew that Miles’ father was Aloysius Leighton she wouldn’t have put 2 and 2 together on what that would mean for magickind when her son and best friend’s daughter got together. She gave a shaky sigh, hesitating slightly on whether or not she should tell her friend of the man’s arrival but she knew Claire would recognise his face, she’d met him before when she visited Tanner around Christmastime ‘98. She swiped a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, downing that one in one go as well. She let the liquid courage fill her before looking back up at her friend. "He’s back,” she says simply.

Continuing to dry Mary's face, Claire gave her friend the time that she needed to collect her thoughts. Unfortunately, Claire didn’t have too many thoughts of her own to dwell on, and instead focused on removing all of the mascara from Mary’s face. Once she had finished, Claire turned to make herself another drink. Brows furrowing as she pressed the glass to her lips, all she could manage to respond was ”Who?”

Mary hitches a breath, withholding the temptation to let out a delirious laugh. "Johnathon, Aloysius,” she lets out a frustrated sigh at correcting herself. Knowing a name she’d cursed many times was the wrong one was a hard pill to swallow, not even to mention how she knew so little of his life, from the man himself at least. She threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Miles’ father, whatever the hell his name is.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the reception room, Aloysius was busy trying to pour himself another drink from another drinks bottle. His previous engagement had not exactly gone according to plan, but at least Mary didn’t entirely kick him out. He just had to hold on and wait and see what happened next. After pouring his drink, he kept his eyes peeled looking for Salem.

Listening as Mary spoke her peace, Claire couldn’t help but sigh. She had grown up hearing stories and myths of the magi war. Aloysius Leighton was a name mentioned right along that of Salem de Silva for what seemed like the longest time. The fact that Mary was admitting that he was Miles’s father shook Claire to her core.

As soon as Mary spoke the words, Claire downed the rest of her drink before placing her glass back on the table - perhaps a bit too forcefully. ”Well,” she remarked, straightening her shoulders. ”It’s that just fuckin’ peachy.” Looking around the room for either of their children, Claire’s gaze focused on the features of a man she had kept her eyes peeled for for nearly three decades. Pursing her lips, the woman marched right up to the near stranger before swinging a punch aimed at his nose.
Aloysius had just finished pouring himself a drink: A small shot of whiskey, when he suddenly turned back around and was met with a flying fist. Letting out a soft grunt, Aloysius's head turned to the side and he proceeded to drop the glass, the sound of glass shattering echoing a little in the reception hall. Bringing his hand up to nurse his now red cheek, Aloysius groaned "Does anyone in Tanner know how to say Hello? Or is punching how you greet people here now?" He raised his eyes to look at the one who assaulted him, they didn't exactly look familiar to Aloysius at all.

”Oh cut the fucking charmin’ act, city boy,” Claire spat. ”I don’t know who the hell you think you are, or even what name you go by - but I don’t give a good goddamn. You don’t deserve to be breathing, much less a ‘hello’.”

"Names Aloysius Leighton. I am guessing you must be one of Mary's friends after that kind of greeting" Aloysius adjusted himself and stood back up straight once more.

Before Mary could protest, Claire was halfway across the room, preparing her arm for a swing. Mary did try calling after her but it was little use. All she could do was watch as Claire planted a punch on her ex-lover’s face. She cringed slightly at the sound of broken glass shattering on the ground. “Alright,” she intervenes, placing a hand on Claire’s shoulder. In all honesty, part of her didn’t mind the thought of seeing Al pummeled to the ground but this was not the time or place. “The man’s face is painted red enough.” She then turns to Aloysius, her eyes narrowing at the man. Even if she was defending him at this moment it was far from no longer feeling the bitterness and anger his face brought.

Crossing her arms, Claire glared daggers at Aloysius before sighing in defeat. ”He deserves way more than what I gave, and if I wasn’t herded in here like some sort of pony at the rodeo, he’d be begging for mercy.”

Aloysius straightened his coat, a little taken aback by the fact that Mary actually stepped in. "Look, I ain't exactly proud of how everything happened, alright. Just like everything else in my life, the situation was extremely complicated and I made a bad judgment call." He knew this was going to fall on deaf ears, but he wouldn't feel right if he didn't say his piece.

“Oh, so that’s what that was? Just a bad judgement call?” Mary snaps, looking the man over. She should have known following Claire over was a bad idea. She was done with the serious talks. With the anger and the bitterness but being in his presence just resparked it all. Even she knew there was likely none the man could say that wouldn’t dig a deeper hole.

"Not in the sense you are thinking about Mary. It was bad judgment not to tell you sooner. In all honesty it was a bad judgment to ever speak to Amanda. If she hadn't started getting all jealous over me and you, things would have been different" Aloysius let out a sigh. He couldn't help but feel that he was going in circles. He was being judged for actions that weren't entirely of his making.

If there were three things in this world that Claire Montgomery couldn’t stand, it was liars, shitty whiskey, and people who didn’t know how to accept responsibility for their own actions. Aloysius checked two of those boxes. In a perfect world, the man would have been allowed to collect his third strike - but a perfect world wasn’t one that included Claire, or her odd sense of twisted justice. Taking a quick step forward, Claire punched Aloysius in his gut before grabbing him by the hair at the nape of his neck, forcing him to look at Mary. ”You’re goin’ to make up for the lack of respect from the last twenty-five years, like it or not,” she growled. ”Now apologize to her.”

Aloysius let out a pained and exasperated groan as he was punched in the gut, folding over like a piece of paper as Claire expertly grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look at Mary. "I have already told Mary I am sorry. We had a whole conversation about this while you weren't around" Aloysius coughed, he wasn't about to start groveling because someone demanded it. He had said his piece to Mary.

Mary watched as Claire made a move against the man, she wasn’t particularly caught off-guard, part of her was surprised Claire didn’t go for something more violent the first time. As Aloysius claimed to apologise, Mary muttered “I mean you didn’t really apologise, just kinda justified yourself,” to herself more than anything else.

In all honesty, Claire hadn’t planned to come out tonight and make a scene. One of the things that she remembered most from her time before her not-actual-death was the fact that trouble seemed to follow her everywhere she went. She had hoped that that would change, but it seemed as if the universe still wasn’t quite on her side. While she had no problem taking up for her friend, Claire also didn’t want to push things any further than she already had.

She slapped him in the face anyway.

”You ain’t gotta make things harder than they have to be,” she quipped. ”Apologize to the lady, or I’m draggin’ you out back with the rest of the garbage.”

Aloysius was getting a little self conscious. He took the slap and didn't complain, just adding a little extra new shade of darker red to his already reddened face. But he was conscious about making a scene. If Salem was around then he needed to blend in, having this kind of attention drawn to yourself was not a good idea. "Look, I am sorry alright. Really sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. I just wanted to have a happy life with you Mary. It's all I wanted. And I know I fucked up. I know that everything went wrong. And it hurts me, and it fucking kills me…" Aloysius struggled slightly in Claire's grip, trying to stand up right again as he pleaded with Mary, his voice shaking slightly as he tried to hold back his emotions "... fucking kills me knowing that I never got to watch my son grow up. That I missed so much of his life. That I put you through so much pain and suffering. I tried to correct everything, even after getting captured. But even that was in vain"

Mary gives a shaky sigh at the image of the man. This wasn’t quite how she wanted their next confrontation to go but with Claire she should have expected it. The woman gives a shaky breath before turning to her friend and nodding her head. “Let ‘im go, Claire. Boy’s done enough sufferin’ for one night,” she says monotonously, barely offering Al a glance.

Still not entirely satisfied, Claire let go of Aloysius with a slight shove to the back of his head. ”Not nearly as much as you,” she remarked, walking back over to her friend. Turning to face the man, she crossed her arms once again. ”I can let the situation with Mary rest for the moment. What you’ve done to my godson - what you’ve done to my daughter —” Cutting herself short as she realized she was nearly yelling, she took a deep breath before continuing on. ”If there’s a place worse than Hell, well buddy I sure look forward to meeting you there.”

Being released, Aloysius stood back up straight, fixing his coat and wiping his finger along his eye. Listening to Claire talk, Aloysius let out a soft sigh "I am sorry, I don't even know who your daughter is… So how can I have done something to her?" Aloysius said in a confused tone. However in the back of his mind, parts of the conversation with Mary from before were starting to replay, gears were turning.

At Aloysius’ words Mary gave a frustrated sigh. She wanted so hard to keep Miles’ business private from his father, none was her story to tell but he seemed to not have any way of understanding how much his lies had impacted the family. “Jo-Aloysius, I would’ve thought you might remember my best friend Claire Montgomery. Her daughter is currently carryin’ our grandchild,” Mary replies. She hoped Al knew enough about coven council families and was smart enough to put 2 and 2 together.

"What…" Aloysius remarked. At first it didn't click, and he stood there looking confused. Then it hit him like a truck. Montgomery. Aloysius froze. Saying nothing for a minute as he looked pensive. "Has Salem figured it out? I for one am quite happy for them. They love each other yes?"

”Happy for them?” Claire hissed. ”Yes Salem knows - she’s the one who figured it out. They’ve barely been back together for a month or so now. Lilly doesn’t even know yet. Neither does Miles. And of course they love each other,” she continued, flying off the handle and answering all of his questions. ”They’re quite literally each others fate, but none of that matters now because you had to fuck everything up.”

Aloysius let out a small growl at Claire's final words. He wasn't going to be the groups punching bag forever "If it was fated then I couldn't have fucked it up, as it was fate." Al then recomposed himself before continuing "I hope that Salem will be okay with it all. She might sympathise I guess. In our past, me and Salem went through a similar thing but it was stopped by the powers that be, mixing family bloods was too risky in creating a super strong bloodline. I can see her using this as an excuse for the Guild to start taking control of Coven matter however"

At Claire’s statements of Lilith not knowing Mary could feel her face grow hot, she didn’t think about the fact it might have been news Lil’s own mother may have wanted to share. She leaned into her friend’s ear and covered the side of their mouth with her hand. “She knows,” Mary whispers, light enough so Al wouldn’t be able to hear. She then turns to the man. She gives a deep, pitying sigh at the bruised man. Why was he just incapable of seeing all the issues this causes? “The problem ain’t the them havin’ kids,, it’s that they weren’t aware of the consequences, none of us were. Don’t act like Salem won’t level Tanner in a second over somethin’ like this. If we knew we coulda worked around things or at least been prepared. This ain’t some bloodline strengthenin’ that’s happenin’ here but magi and witch blood. You might not be attached to this place or to those kids, Aloysius, but this is our home and our kids. Salem’s bein’ here risks their very lives, a risk we coulda been at least ready for.”

"No, I know. I am trying not to trivialise it. Look, if needs be I can throw myself at Salem. She probably still hates my guts enough that between me and babies, she might pick me" Aloysius shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't really see how he could be much help here but be a diversion. He did want to help. Afterall, everyone here had gone through hell to get here, and Mary was right, everyone was blindsided by all this. But Aloysius wondered if Miles and Lilith would have been allowed to be together if everyone knew the truth beforehand.

“From what I’ve been hearin’, Salem could easily take you out then have Lilith and the bubs for dessert,” Mary responds with a sigh. She pinches the bridge of her nose before continuing. “We can’t be dwellin’ no more. What’s done is done,” she then huffs.

”Fated for them to be together, you shit for brains. Not start a war by doing so.” Claire stood there listening to the short exchange between Mary and Aloysius with her arms crossed. It was taking nearly every ounce of will in her body not to kill the man right where he stood. How could he walk right back into their lives, acting as if he belonged there? It may have been selfish, but Claire was the most focused on Lilith being in danger. Miles was a very close second. Salem's temper was on the list, but that fact was definitely being shoved to the back of her mind at the moment. It was comforting to know that Lilith already knew what was going on. The blonde gave a simple nod at her friend's words.

”I agree,” she began, her eyes flashing to Mary for a brief moment. ”The thing about problems is that you can always count on them to still be around tomorrow.” As her gaze fell once more on Aloysius frame, her eyes hardened. ”First off - let me make something clear. From where I stand, that is not your grandchild. If a single hair goes missing off either Miles or Lilith head, I’ll make the shit that Salem’s done to you look like childs play.”

"I get that. I have to earn that trust. And trust me, I don't want anything to happen to Lilith and Miles either. And if I have to put myself in the way to do so, then I will" At the end of Aloysius's sentence his voice was shaking slightly as his eyes gave away a small flicker of fear he was trying to suppress. "I know that you have no reason to want to include me. But I want to try and fix some parts of life I fucked up in"

Suddenly becoming conscious of the open space filled with people around them, Mary did a quick sweep of the room. Luckily they had somehow managed to not draw any attention, or at least not captivate any of it. “I reckon we got some ground rules to set,” Mary drawls, running a hand through her hair. “Claire’s right, as it stands that ain’t your grandbaby but that ain’t our decision to make, it’s the kids’. They gotta bring it to you though, you can’t go talkin’ ‘bout this whole… situation to ‘em until they tell you. An’ if Miles doesn’t want you in the kid’s life you’re gonna be okay with that.”

Listening to Mary's words, Aloysius nodded. Naturally it wasn't what he wanted to hear. But given everything that has gone on today, it was probably the best outcome he could ask for. "I get it. I get it. Suppose I better go into hiding and make sure Salem doesn't find me and things get worse" Aloysius ran his hand through his hair, looking a little dejected.

As if on cue, an angry looking Salem marched across the room. She did the best that she could to keep her emotions manageable, knowing full well that if she got too angry she’d accidentally fry the state's power grid. It didn’t take long for her to find her intended target. Walking right past Claire and Mary, Salem slapped Aloysius right across his face with an electrical charge. Unlike the one she had used with Amanda earlier, this one left a perfect mark in the shape of her handprint on the man's face.

”Twenty-five years,” she growled. ”You had twenty-five years and you said nothing?!”

Aloysius let out a sharp gasp, his breath cutting for a moment as the electric charge shocked him. He had gotten way too used to that over the years. He took a step back, mostly so he could see Salem's hands. "Hello to you too" He replied as he rubbed his face, still feeling the shock in his face "Of course I wasn't going to tell you. You made it perfectly clear you wanted to see the bloodline end with me. So I wasn't exactly going to admit that I had someone pregnant. I didn't want to put Mary or Tanner in danger"

”Get bent, you piece of fucking dog shit,” she replied to his greeting, her voice dripping with malice. ”It’s different once the child has already been conceived. I would have tried to talk her into an abortion, and if that didn’t work, well dammit, I’d have brought her to New York with me. Mary seems like a great catch, truly. If I wasn’t sure of your stupidity before, I am now. It takes an absolute fucking idiot to lose a woman like that.”

In her head, Salem kept counting over and over to ten, but it did nothing to help her boiling anger. Instead, she turned to pour herself a shot. ”Now - instead - we have a great magi with no training, who’s run off and procreated with a Montgomery, of all things.” Downing the shot, Salem returned to glaring at Al. ”I can’t believe that I am seriously the only person in this place that has the ability to think ahead.”

As Salem talked Mary couldn’t help the wave of anger that came across her. She was sick of this, sick of her son being talked about as if he was some commodity rather than a person. The day had been emotional, almost too emotional. She was glad Lilith wasn’t there to read her thoughts. As a burning fire seemed to form behind her eyes Mary’s mind resorted back to an almost default state where she nearly readied herself to attack the magi woman in front of her. At this point the Prices, if not all of Tanner were already in bad standing anyway so what was one more reason for Salem to hate them really going to do? Before she could make a move though her eyes met those of Claire Montgomery, it gave a very clear message. Back down.

With a frustrated sigh the woman complied, making herself smaller. That anger still burned but she knew Claire had a much better idea of what Salem De Silva was capable of than Mary would ever know… hopefully. The woman wasn’t that stupid. Instead she distracted herself by honing into the conversation. Honestly if things really went the options Salem described Mary wasn’t sure if things would outcome much better. She knew moving to New York wouldn’t have sat well with her and she wouldn’t have been so easily convinced to abort her son. She didn’t even know if her following Salem would end with her alive. Instead she grasped onto the least dangerous response for her. “So what you’re tellin’ me is he really didn’t have to go no contact?” she growls.

"Don't listen to her Mary" Aloysius said with a soft groan. "Salem will say whatever she wants to make me look like an idiot. She made it very clear all these years ago that she didn't want me to have kids" Aloysius knew that the people of Tanner didn't seem that keen on Salem, maybe he could use that to his advantage "Look Salem, do you really wanna cause a scene here? In the middle of the handover ceremony of the Coven. Cause that will do a real good for relations between Magi and Witches"

”I will do what I please, with whom I please, where I please. I don’t have to make you look like an idiot. You do that just fine on your own. This may be witch land - but this is magi business. I don’t see why me turning you to a pile of ashes would offend anyone here, honestly.” The Guild leader shrugged her shoulders. ”It’s honestly about time that I remind them what I’m capable of.”

With a sigh, Salem brushed some loose hair behind her ear. ”Killing you here would be too easy. Scene or no scene - you know me better than that.” Tilting her head slightly to the right, she seemed to study the man further. ”But make no mistake. Your time will come. Maybe on a street corner, perhaps at the hands of someone you trust. Perhaps I’ll just have you choke on a spoonful of peanut butter,” she quipped.

Aloysius let out a soft sigh, posting himself between Mary and Salem, in an oddly protective stance. "Listen. No one here knew anything. And at the risk of striking your ire, it isn't Magi business. It's Magi and Witch business. So you are going to have to work with whoever is in charge around here to come up with a solution. But I won't let you touch a hand in anyone here" Aloysius raised his arms defensively ready to cast at a moment's notice.

"What happened to you Salem? When we were in high school together you weren't like this at all. I get that we didn't work out, and I didn't handle the Guild interfering well. And yes. The war. But even then. You weren't this bad."

As her brow furrowed, Salems eyes began to spark with energy once more. ”I’m not talking about that girl's womb, you imbecile. I’m referring to killing you. That is magi business. There’s not a single cell in my body that wants to harm anyone except for you. You are to blame for all of this, Aloysius, and you damned well know it. Don’t you dare try to call my character into question because you think you’re going to make yourself look better.”

Closing the small distance between the two of them, Salem looked into Al’s eyes as she spoke again. ”I’ve always made it very clear that I intend to make your life as drawn out and as painful as possible. There’s no reason to stand here and play stupid. Why am I this bad?” she mocked him. Reaching out to grab his chin, Salem forced him to look at her. ”I should have convinced you to kill yourself years ago. You stupid, pathetic, piece of shit boy” the brunette spat. ”You aren’t worth the air I breathe - but you will feel the repercussions of your actions.”

Letting her hand fall back to her side, Salem gave a quick once over to the small group in front of her. ”I have no intentions of harming you or your children,” she spoke in Claire and Marys direction. ”All that I ask is that you leave this between him and I.”

Hearing that everyone else was going to be okay, Aloysius seemed to visibly relax. Even if Salem was forcing him to look into her eyes. Hearing her words hurt him in a strange kind of way. The pair had a bizarre relationship at times and Aloysius had differing opinions of her throughout time. Yes, he had declared war on the Guild to take control for his own family. But that wasn't new. The De Silivas did that back in the early 1900s to depose the Leightons. But this just seemed different. Lowering his arms, and his guard, Aloysius looked back down, somewhat defeated.

"If you were so adamant you were going to make me suffer so much, why did you let me go? You could have just kept me under house arrest and keep sending me around to do dangerous jobs." Aloysius drew a long sigh of resignation, his voice lowered as he continued on. " I have a chance to build something here. And it's going to take alot of work. I have alot of damage to try and fix. But sure. Take it away from me, do what you want. You always do"

The Guild Leader couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ”Freedom is a very subjective thing. ‘Means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Who’s to say you’re not on an assignment right now, hm?” Letting her words settle into the air, Salem sighed. ”I’ve said what I needed to say. Try not to fuck anything else up tonight.”

"How the heck am I on assignment?" Aloysius asked out of curiosity. He was always afraid that Salem had let him go, only to pull the rug from under his feet. Not that he would get an answer as Salem had already walked off away from him. Typical. " Well that went just about as well I could have hoped for it to go" Aloysius said with a sigh. "I should probably leave you to it" Aloysius smiled and looked over to Mary.

Mary huffs, looking over the man in front of her. She didn't know what to make of the past little chunk of time but she knew that, somehow, her respect for the man dropped. “1pm, the same house, don't expect pleasantries." The woman huffs, turning away. “I can not handle any more of you tonight." With that, Mary angrily stomps off to the balcony. Leaving Al and Claire alone.

[Hedgehawk]

Carlisle was starting to get tired. Maintaining that level of concentration against Amanda and now Violet was a tough affair. He had been tempted to let them go, but he wanted to have other coven members around if he was doing that. He didn't dare risk letting them out alone, not since Violet seemed to have a violent streak in her.

For the past half an hour, Carlisle had been mingling with several important leaders from other covens, all being here to represent each areas interests to the main coven. Carlisle listened, smiled and nodded. He knew that Lilith and Serena were tough witches, but maybe that was why Carlisle was chosen? He couldn't see the duo being able to maintain any kind of conversation like this without losing it. He wasn't saying they couldn't, but he could see Lilith getting really annoyed at having to smile and play nice to people who might have ulterior motives. After getting through pleasantries, he made his way back out onto the floor proper. He was looking around, scanning for Mary. Eventually he found her and with a small smile walked over to her.

"Hey, I want to say thanks for earlier. Also, are you alright? You don't look the best?" Carlisle asked, looking a little concerned. Not that he could talk, his skin had started to go paler than normal, and some of that exhaustion from last month was setting back in again.

Wanting to distance herself from the mess with Claire, Al and Salem, Mary had taken a step onto the balcony. With a fed up sigh she rests her elbow on its barricades. This evening had been too much already, just all the new information alone was overwhelming but the fact she’d had to spend the night chasing after people and passing on all that information did none to help. Instead she found herself worn out and tired. While Claire was still a little pocket rocket Mary hadn’t missed the extra decade of aging and had nowhere near the energy of her younger years.

Before Mary could elicit another sigh her time alone was interrupted by Carlisle. She turned to face him. At his words she forced a warm smile toward him. "Don’t worry about me kid, that ain’t your job,” she replies. She couldn’t help but notice the paleness of Carlisle’s skin in contrast to his tired eyes. "And how are you holdin’ up?”

" Well in bout 10 minutes time it will be my duty to care. The entire weight of Witches across the world will be on my back. But that's not the thing that is bothering me. Turns out. I have a sister. An older sister. And for some reason, she is just as bad, if not worse than mother. She tried starting on me and Miles. So I had to lock her in my mind too." Carlisle said with a soft sigh. It was not going to get any better was it?

At his first statement a small chuckle escaped Mary’s lips. "In 10 minutes time it’ll be your job to look after the coven, not nurse my generation’s mental state,” Mary points out. One of her hands grips onto the railing behind her as Carlisle finishes what he has to say. Mary bobs her head to show she was listening as he talked. It wasn’t until after he had said his piece was a certain piece of information brought to the forefront of the woman’s mind.
"How old is she?” she asks simply.

" She didn't say. In all honesty. I never asked. She alluded to mother giving her away, discarding her. I would say she looked a couple of years older than me at a guess" Carlisle replied, holding onto the railing himself. "Maintaining double concentration is hard. Really hard."

Mary’s grip on the railing tightened as Carlisle spoke. Memories danced in her head, memories of leaving baked goods on the doorstep of the Aston home because even if Mary and Amanda were very much at odds 27 years ago it didn’t make what Amanda went through stop being one of the last things Mary would wish on anyone. Or at least when she thought Amanda had gone through. Mary still remembered showing up to coven meetings while pregnant with Miles to be met by Amanda glares and cries of attack. Almost 3 decades ago Amanda Aston had claimed to lose her daughter in childbirth, turns out that was a lie. "I’m gonna kill her,” Mary growls to herself.

Carlisle’s next statement snapped Mary back into the real world. "I can’t imagine,” she muses, glancing around the room for an idea. "Is there somewhere we could just put them for now? Can’t have your mind actin’ up before you give your grand speech,””

Carlisle gave a small smile as she showed concern for him. " As nice as it sounds, I already have Salem walking around possibly hunting for Lilith, and the last thing I want is mother walking around. She invited my sister here. Clearly she was planning something. So I am just going to have to man up and take it. Besides I already did the big speech. Now it's the actual formal bit" Carlisle would sigh softly. He had asked alot of Mary these past few hours, and leaning in her again seemed to unsettle Carlisle somewhat.

"So the actual ceremony is supposed to be Amanda, John and Ty. But given that Amanda is currently out of the question. And I see you more of a leader than she is. I hate to ask again. But could you step in. No worries if you can't. I have another plan if not" Carlisie quickly added.

"I think Lilly's safe from Salem, at least for now," the older woman muses, loosening her grip on the railing. Her mind was still much more on Amanda than she wanted but she couldn't shake the uneasiness and anger she held. At Carlisle's next request Mary presses a smile. "Y'know I'm happy to do it kid but I ain't an Aston, or from some powerful bloodline. Doesn't that defeat the whole point?"]

"Neither is Ty technically. Does it matter? Plus who would step in? My father? Fat chance" Carlisle snorted as he pushed off the railing. Hearing Mary's news at least put him a little at ease. "I will confirm it in our meeting together later. I want to be double sure. The fact that Amanda has been double crossing everyone makes me think Salem might try and double cross me out of my perceived naivety"

Mary gave a knowing nod at Carlisle’s words. This evening seemed to be unending, she hoped that this would be the last eventful thing to happen that night, she wasn’t sure how much more excitement she could take. "Sure Carlisle, I ‘spose I can do that for you,” she responds softly.

Carlisle softly nodded and smiled at Mary. " Thanks Mary. You are more of a mother to me than my own mother. Though admittedly the bar wasn't exactly set high. After the ceremony I will let Violet and Amanda out. And hopefully they will scuttle somewhere away from here. Be at the main stage in ten minutes." With that Carlisle gave a small nod once more and proceeded to rush off to get everything else ready.

There wasn’t an awful lot to get ready. The various helpers and stagehands were getting the small bits together. Behind the back of the stage, Carlisle was gathered behind the stage with Mary, Ty, John, Lilith and Serena. Carlisle handed over a small seal that he pulled from his pocket to Mary with a soft smile, turning to everyone else.

”I am not letting my mother out of this prison. She would ruin this. So I have asked Mary to step in. Since she has been a massive helping hand to me.” Carlisle spoke softly. ”Also, with this whole Violet business as well… ” Carlisle then realised he hadn’t explained to Lilith about Violet. "I will explain later on. It's complicated" He sighed. He probably was going to need Lilith's help with it, possibly even Miles and Serena. But after the cool relationship they shared in the past month, Carlisle was hesitant to ask.

The stagehands would usher the three pairs forward and onto the stage as everyone else stopped what they were doing and watched. Carlisle and Mary took center stage, Lilith and John to the right, with Ty and Serena taking up the left. Carlisle took a moment, taking a deep breath and spoke once more.

"Good Evening once more. It is now time for the main part of our evening - The official handover ceremony itself. Now, those of you who are more astute may notice that my mother is not standing next to me. Those of you who are even more tuned in, may have noticed that my speech was essentially a slam down of my own mother. I don't want my mother here for this. So I invited someone I trust to be here in her stead. It does mean however, that I will do the full reading. Not just the last part."

Carlisle rolled his shoulders, getting ready. He then thrust his chest forward, trying to strike a confident pose. "Tonight, marks the end of another cycle. One of many where leadership is passed down, generation from generation. We place our faith and trust in the council families, to lead and guide us. And this generation has been… Fruitful." Carlisle struggled to get out that last word. In all honesty the rule of his mother, Amanda Aston, was hardly fruitful at all. If anything it was more like living under an iron fist. Still. Tradition stated that you never said anything bad about the current generation. Though the fact that the new upcoming leader was giving this part of the speech and not the actual leader, spoke volumes.

"However, every generation eventually comes to an end, and so we must pass in that burden of responsibility down to our children. We pass the responsibility downward, knowing that they are ready to collectively hold the burden that comes with such a role." With a slightly weary turn, Carlisle faced Ty and John. Exhaustion was really starting to set in, and his skin tone had really become white. "So now, we pass on the seals of our families to our children and once more continue the cycle."

With his words spoken, Carlisle nodded to John and Ty, who in turn both produced a round belt buckle sized seal from their pockets. They both performed a simple spell on it, releasing the magical Energy inside that they sealed away many years ago. The seals now being empty, it was the turn of Serena and Lilith to perform a spell on it, transferring a tiny fragment of their own magic onto it, to transfer the seal to them. Once performed, they both took their respective seals and held onto them, the seals both glowing brightly in the respective colours of their magical auras. Carlisle tugged at his collar slightly, knowing what part comes next. He span back around to the crowd ready to continue.

"However, the coven cannot be ruled by a council alone. To bring order in chaos, the council must choose one of them to become leader. To be the one that must bear the burden of responsibility and leadership that is required to maintain witch-kind. The former council has chosen… Well… me to take on that responsibility" It felt awkward speaking about himself in the third person, and he couldn't quite do it. So instead he had to make it slightly awkward. Carlisle motioned for Mary to come forward with the seal. Without Amanda here Carlisle had to release the seal using his own abjuration magics. After that, he took the seal from her with a small smile before facing the crowd and repeating the same technique that both Lilith and Serena had done previously.

"I, Carlisle Aston, Do swear to protect the coven from any and all threats…" At that moment he couldn't help but look over at Salem as he spoke. It wasn't a threat, but he wanted to keep an eye on her. While Mary had said everything is fine, he wanted to make sure himself. Plus he needed to show that he had a back bone. "... To take on the burdens of my fellow Coven members and make them my own. To uphold the laws of witch-kind and to enforce them in a fair and just manner" At that moment, he would hold the glowing seal up, with the crowd giving some applause. Carlisle would give a soft smile before lowering her arm and looking to everyone on stage for a little reassurance. Thank you everyone. That was a tense moment. I had rehearsed it a million times and was never sure it would go right. Later on we will have the dance, so please do feel free to stick around for it and find yourself a dance partner." With that everyone would leave the stage. Carlisle would come down last, leaning against the stage when he was out of the view of the crowd, exhaustion really kicking in.

"Thanks for everyone for doing that. It was fantastic. I am really proud."

[SouffleGirl123]

_{A Collab between @Soufflegirl123 & @HaleyTheRandom
Featuring: Miles Price& Lilith Montgomery}

---

---

Miles could only hope the things Lilith had to say to him right now was something along the lines of You’re hot, I’m stressed, let’s find an empty room and hide away from everyone else for a little while but he had a very strong suspicion that was far from the case. Tonight seemed to be bombshell after bombshell, not to mention his father reappearing from nowhere as if he had just gone out to get milk. After pushing away from that whole mess he scanned the room around him. Where was Lilith? She seemed to have disappeared, hidden herself away somewhere. Eventually he spotted the back of her head.

Miles wandered over to her and leant down toward her so his face was closer to his much shorter girlfriend’s ear. "You won’t believe what I’m learning about myself today,” he muses, his voice a hushed whisper to avoid being overheard by those around them. "Not to mention who decided to show up.”

After the Handover Ceremony, Lilith had done her best to make herself as small as she could. Plenty of people were walking up to congratulate the woman on her ascension to the Coven Council. With each passing moment she grew more and more tense, expecting Salem to grab her from somewhere out of the crowd at any moment. Feeling someone's breath brushing against her ear, the brunette woman stopped dead in her tracks. Thankfully it had only taken her a brief moment to identify Miles’s voice.

”I could say the same.” His words made the brunette chuckle, a small smile appearing on her face. Miles’s tone alone was enough to tell her that he was tense, and her divination powers only solidified that suspicion. Turning on her heel, she met the young man face to face before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. ”Let’s find somewhere a little more private and you can tell me all about it.”

"Please,” the man groans, slipping his hand into Lilith’s and giving it a small squeeze. "Imma need a drink for the road. Want anything?”

”I’m okay,” she responded almost too quickly. ”The last thing I want people talking about tomorrow morning is how wasted I was.”

At Lilith’s response Miles cocked his head slightly. Any Montgomery turning down liquor was an odd occurrence but at her explanation he chalked it down to her nerves. He gives a shrug, giving her hand another squeeze before making his way to the drinks table with his girlfriend in tow. He pours himself another whiskey. He was unsure what number this was for the night but by far it wasn’t enough for everything this evening had brought. Now with the comfort of a drink in his hand he returns to Lilith’s side, forcing a smile. "Got any ideas on where to?”

Walking alongside Miles, Lilith focused on keeping her head held high as they walked through the crowd. If Salem, Amanda, or any one else was watching, Lilith wasn’t about to show them any signs of weakness. She had no idea how she was about to break the news to Miles, and she most definitely wasn’t sure of what was about to come after. The young woman watched as Miles poured himself a drink, silently cursing at the gods for taking away her ability to drink as she did so.

Forcing a smile of her own, Lilith did a quick once over of their surroundings before shrugging her shoulders. ”Maybe down by the garden? I don’t think to many people would be down there right now.”

Miles took a sip of his drink, as he brought the cup to his mouth he realised his hands were shaking quite a bit. He wasn’t sure if it was the new wounds of the day hitting, nerves of telling Lilith all these things about his heritage that could affect her or the heavy feeling that hung in the air of the coven house. "Sounds good,” he replies softly. He once again squeezes Lilith’s hand, this time for stability more than anything else. He brings his eyes to hers and forces yet another smile before starting the journey to the garden.

The further out the pair walked the more the crowds began to thin. Miles couldn’t help but feel the weight of curious pairs of eyes on his back. Did they all know too? Or were their eyes settling on Lilith in her new position? As the collection of people grew further and further away, Miles felt a slight weight on his shoulders lift. He still felt jumpy but at least they didn’t have the crowd to watch. He nods toward a seat in the distance a good stretch away from anyone else. "Over there?”

As they walked, Lilith kept her fingers intertwined with Miles’s. The knot in her throat seemed to grow minute by minute, her anxiety right along with it. Lilith focused on putting one foot in front of the other, each step weighing her down more and more. She wanted to turn around and go back into the Coven House - back to where everything was still relatively safe and all of their secrets were stored away. The fact that her whole world was about to change was a hard one for the young woman to wrap her head around.

Rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb, Lilith took a deep breath in through her nose. ”Perfect,” she replied, unable to muster much more. Once they had finished their walk, Lilith took her seat beside Miles on the bench. ”So how’s the start of the night treating you?” she questioned, somewhat beating around the bush. Lilith didn’t want to push him into talking or dealing with anything that he didn’t want to.

Miles couldn’t help but feel the heaviness of the air around the pair of them. Was that his anxiety getting in the way? Or was it possible his emotions were impacting Lilith’s? It would be far from the first time they had. As the duo took their seats Miles couldn’t stop his leg bouncing in place, not an uncommon occurrence but he was sure it never moved so violently. Fear and anxiety was simply something Miles didn’t do, Lilith had enough of that for the both of them, but currently he was suffocated by these unfamiliar emotions.

As Lilith spoke, Miles gave the meekest of smiles. He didn’t know where to start, or how to say them. He took another sip of his whiskey with his free hand before replying. "I- uh- I don’t really know what to make of the night honestly,” he replies meekly. The urge to stand up and pace around the seat washed over him but he remained in place, leg bouncing rhythmically. "My pa decided to show up today, acted as if he always belonged.” The male grits his teeth a moment as he thought through his next words. Somehow the appearance of his estranged father was the least dangerous news. He downed the last of his whiskey, his eyes fixating on the garden in front of them. In the distance he could make out the figures of people going about their day, likely completely oblivious to the turmoil he was going through.

Miles takes a shaky breath before continuing on. "Turns out he’s Aloysius Leighton. And that ‘drunken first tattoo’ on my back? Not a tat.” He hoped Lilith would pick up what he was putting down, unaware she had been handed just as much of the story as him earlier that night. His eyes refused to meet hers, nervous of her response.

Miles’s anxiety accompanied with her own was starting to make her feel nauseous, and his words were doing nothing to help that fact. Her time with Salem and John in the Alchemy Lab had left her shaken. Hearing Miles reinforce the fact that Aloysius was his father made her want to march right down to the Underworld and square up with the Fates themselves. Lilith kept her eyes focused on the various plants before her, careful not to make eye contact with Miles. She knew that the second she looked at him her whole act would come crumbling down.

Lilith nodded her head in recognition. ”I assume you know what all of this means,” she asked gently.

Miles was slightly taken back by her words, it was almost as if she already knew all this, but how? He gives a sigh "Someone already told you, didn’t they?” he asks softly, looking at her. He let silence fall between the two of them for a moment, thinking through her question before responding.

"I mean- they just don’t want us merging the bloodlines, right? You never wanted kids and made it clear the Montgomerys’ end now anyway. I was always indifferent and the only person who really cares ‘bout the Price line is my ma so we just not have kids, right? I’ll get the snip or something. We’ve done this before without a pregnancy, I’m sure we can do it again,” he says softly, eyes turning to his shoes.

At his first question, Lilith had nodded her head once again, silently. Her gaze stayed glued on one of the rose bushes, but she couldn’t help as her face grew hot. She had always had a weird sixth sense for knowing when Miles was looking at her, and that seemed to be one more thing that time couldn’t change. The lump in her throat was now becoming unbearable as she fought back tears.

Listening to him speak, the young woman was dragged through an emotional roller coaster. The fact that his first thought wasn’t for them to split up was comforting, but his mention of children only made her tense up even more. She had made her peace years ago with being the last of the Montgomerys. Sure, the thought of a somewhat lonely future made her sad from time to time, but it was something that she just had to accept. He seemed so sure of himself - of them. How was she supposed to explain everything to him?

Taking a deep breath, Lilith crossed her legs on the bench. She did the only thing she knew that she could do, and that was to start with the beginning.

”Salem pulled gramps and I aside and had me cast a spell to see if Aloysius was your father.” She paused for a moment, expecting him to be upset. ”I didn’t want to, but it was either that, or watch her go on a warpath - which I’m not sure we’ve avoided quite yet. I saw her in one of my visions, and let’s just say she wasn’t exactly the happiest person. I wanted to avoid that at all costs, so I did as she asked.”

Hands knotted together in her lap, Lilith took a deep breath before continuing. ”Miles…” she began, now looking over at him. Not quite sure how to force the next words out, it seemed as if they fell from her mouth before she even had time to think them through. ”Salem seems to think I’m pregnant, and she seems just as sure about it as she was about Aloysius being your father.”

A sigh elicited itself from Miles as Lilith mentioned the spell she cast but before he could process any questions to ask she continued on with her reasoning. Miles knew very little of Salem, Magi 101 wasn’t really relevant to him growing up. Well, at least he thought it wasn’t. A small part of Miles was hoping that everyone was just wrong, it was all one happy coincidence. His father truly was some random magi from across the world and his heritage would have no effect on his and Lil’s future but he couldn’t deny Lilith’s divination magic. A lump formed in the man’s throat, his mind in overdrive. Suddenly, it all felt truly real.

That was when Lilith called his name, calling him back into the real world. It would have been a much welcomed interruption if it weren’t for all the nervousness in those words. He watched her, studying her face as he awaited her next line. His eyes widen in shock as the man leans back into the chair slightly. A strained "Pregnant?” was all he could draw from his mouth. It took moments for him to collect his thoughts. Sure, the man had envisioned a future with Lil, moreso since their reunion but with Lil making it clear she didn’t want kids from even their early teen years they weren’t even a consideration for the man. He’d visioned traveling the world, quiet Sunday mornings intertwined together in bed and late night banters. Far from the bedtimes and early morning school dropoffs. "But… how? We only- Are you sure-,” Miles struggles to pick a coherent sentence from the many swarming in that head of his. "Is there a chance she could be wrong? I mean, she’s not a divination magi if I remember right.”

Her heart only continued to sink as Miles tried to piece everything together. ”I’m not sure,” she replied, doing her best to keep her voice steady. ”But Salem is. I still need to take a test. The De Silvas are one of the most ancient bloodlines there is - witch or warlock. All magi’s have this thing where they can sort of… feel other magi’s. The De Silvas are known for kind of having a sixth sense for feeling them in utero.”
With another sigh, Lilith gave up her last piece of information. ”Not only does she think I’m pregnant - she thinks I’m having triplets.”

"Triplets,” was all Miles could echo back. His leg seemed to bounce more furiously as he tried to form some form of substantial thought. Did he want to be a dad? Even if Lil wanted to be a mum would she want to go through all the pregnancy and childbirth for 3 kids? He expels a breath before muttering "Okay, okay, okay, okay,” to himself, a way to refocus. "Well, I guess firstly- do you want to have these kids?”

Now staring at her feet, Lilith wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. She took another second to collect her thoughts. ”I don’t think I have much of a choice,” she sighed. ”I’ve always had actual dreams of being a mom, even a couple of visions about it here and there - but I didn’t really think they were true for some reason. I honestly really thought that I was infertile up until this point. ‘Think it’d be a little stupid to continue trying to fight Fate and all that.”

Pursing her lips, the young woman's brow furrowed in concentration as she spoke once more. ”Just because it’s my fate doesn’t mean it has to be yours though,” she nearly whispered.

Miles looks his girlfriend up and down, a gentle expression on his face. "Lil, I watched both our mas struggle to raise us alone, I’m not leaving you to do that,” he replies, his voice shaky. He was truly unsure if kids was something he wanted out of life, he never thought it through knowing it wasn’t what Lilith wanted, but he couldn’t bring himself to watch her struggle like either of their parents did.

Lilith’s whole body was practically shaking at this point. She was glad that he wanted to be there, but she wasn’t sure he knew exactly what he was signing up for. ”I can’t ask you to do that though, all because of some images in my head and a bunch of other shit I can’t find words for. You have a whole career, and a life. Friends you care about and things you want to do. Places you want to go see. I can’t ask you to give that all up, Kane,” she tried to explain, her voice breaking. ”And we’re potentially talking about starting a magical World War on top of it all.”

"Hey,” Miles muses softly. He willed as much of the fear and anxiety in his body to dissipate as possible and tried to hide what remained. Sure, Lilith would still feel it but maybe less overwhelmingly. He swivels himself around to kneel in front of her, prying one of her hands out of the others’ grasp and taking it in his. He places his other hand on her thigh and brings his eyes to meet hers. "And now I have a family. Besides, my ma will kill me if I left you alone with this,” he jokes, forcing a chuckle in a lame attempt to lighten the mood.

"Seriously though, Li. My career will still be there, turns out businesses like family men. Those places and things ain’t moving, we got time and those friends will be just fine. If my kid’s starting a war they’re gonna need all the help they can get.” With another sigh the man stands up. He was always good with flowery language but he never thought he’d one day use it to talk his girlfriend into not pushing him away from fathering their kids. Honestly, Miles didn’t know what was going on in his life anymore. He wraps his arms around Lilith, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You’re the biggest thing in my life, LiLi. You know that, right? I want to be here for all of it. Sure, this may not have been the future we planned or pictured together but we’ll make it work. Besides, if them kids are anything like I was, you're gonna need all the help you can get.”

Holding on to Miles’ hand as he spoke, it didn’t take much for Lilith to realize how sincere he was being. She wasn’t trying to push him away, but she really did want to make sure that they both understood the whole picture. A small laugh escaped the young woman's lips as memories of a teenage Miles danced through her mind. The potential of having a little Miles running barefoot in the yard was a comforting thought, but a miniature version of herself? That was something that nearly made her blood run cold.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Lilith buried her face in Miles' chest as she returned his embrace. It was a dumb thing to wish, but if Lilith had had the ability to freeze time, she would have done so right then and there. Unfortunately, she’d still had to face her problems one way or another. ”Well, I do now,” she sighed. ”I definitely don’t trust the combination of my brains, your magnetism for trouble, and our generational alcoholism, but hopefully we’ll survive.”

Miles chuckles, slipping himself back onto the bench. "You never know," he muses, pulling Lilith closer by the shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head. He slides his hand across her waist, unable to stop it from lingering on her abdomen a short while as if his body was trying to make sense of what his mind was trying to understand. His mind was a mess of emotions, some of which he couldn’t identify. From fear to anxiety to maybe even a little bit of joy. Eventually he manages to grab the other side of her waist and pull her in closer. "Maybe they’ll have your loyalty and my… uh… charm?”

Miles gives a soft sigh, burying his face in her hair a moment, her familiar scent of vanilla and weed dancing in his nose. That was something Miles’ hadn’t thought about yet, Lilith having to give up alcohol and marijuana was going to prove interesting. "I guess we have some habits to kick,” he mumbles, closing his eyes. "Can’t really have you smoking dope in this state, can we?”

It seemed that the heavier parts of this conversation were over. Miles wasn’t trying to run away, or blame her for not being more careful. In fact, Lilith could only recall a few other times where Miles had ever been as level headed as he seemed now. She’d nearly forgotten how easy he was to rely on. ”Hopefully we’ll get lucky,” she replied with a laugh of her own.
Pulling her legs up on the bench, Lilith resituated herself to get as close to Miles as she could. Resting her head on his shoulder, all of her worries seemed to melt away. Lost in some sort of trance, Miles’s words pulled her back into reality. The young woman sighed. ”Your mom kinda beat you to that whole speech,” she attempted to joke.

Miles stays silent for a moment as his mother came up. He should have figured she would have known too. "Sounds like her,” he mumbles, readjusting himself in his seat. How many people knew long before him? Is this the reason Carlisle wanted him to find her? A small sigh elicits itself from his lips. "How many people know, LiLi?” he asks, his voice low.

As Miles spoke, Lilith’s heart dropped again. Was that disappointment she was picking up on? ”As far as I know… Mary, Salem, gramps and now you. I didn’t tell any of them, tonight’s just been a weird one. I promise I tried to find you as soon as I could, but then Salem pulled me aside and —” With a deep sigh, Lilith fought back tears for the second time tonight. ”It’s just one big ol’ mess. I’m sorry, Miles. You should have known first, but it was literally impossible.”

"I should’ve,” Miles huffs in response, letting his words hang in the air for a while before giving a sigh. "But I guess you couldn’t help it. There’s too many damn diviners in this place. Doesn’t help the two people who are gonna hate me the most for it know.” He toyed with telling Lilith his suspicions that Carlisle also knew but chose against it. Lilith’s friendship with him was rocky enough and there were only so many more times that poor boy’s nose could be broken. Instead he played with a lock of Lilith’s hair, twirling it around his fingers. "Did Salem say anything? About the babies I mean. She can’t be too impressed by all this I guess.”

At his response, Lilith’s brow furrowed. There was nothing that either of them could do to change the situation, but that did nothing to change the fact that this wasn’t how any of this was supposed to go. If by some miracle she had ever found herself pregnant, Lilith had always planned to tell the child's father in some sort of cheesy way - not have him find out after the rest of the town. She hated that saying sorry was all that she could do.

”She honestly seemed more preoccupied with the fact that Aloysius was in town, but she definitely wasn’t pleased. Told me that we’d talk specifics and deal with my ‘issue’ later.” Pursing her lips, she sighed again. ”An issue. What an odd thing to call a pregnancy.”

At the mention of his father's name Miles couldn't help the tensing of his shoulders, his hands stopped, his fingers remaining suspended in chocolate locks of Lilith's hair. Miles honestly couldn’t care less what Salem wanted to do with his father, Aloysius was his father in blood alone anyway, but that unfortunately didn’t seal him away from the consequences of his great magi ancestry. At her words he let out a simple "Hmm,” in agreement. Whilst he didn’t care what Salem did to Aloysius he did care about what she did to Lilith. He could only hope her rage only went so far.

"Well,” he announces, piercing the silence he created, "When you and Salem have your little talk I’m going with you. Worst comes, I show her what a real issue is.”

The anxiety and fear that had lifted from Lilith’s shoulders seemed to be resettling there as she took in the sincerity of Miles’ words. Why was everyone around her convinced that their only way out of this was by force? Her body tensed, wrestling with the thoughts of it all.

”Miles no,” she forced out as sternly as she could. ”That woman will turn you to ash right where you sit, and I’ll have no choice but to follow the same Fate, because she’ll have hell to pay before I go.” Her words sounded more like a plea than anything now. ”I wish I would have known all this before tonight - before the seal was broken. I’d just find a way to create a parallel universe and run away, I swear.”

"And what am I meant to do?” Miles snaps back, removing his fingers from her hair. "Just stand by idly as she threatens your life? Threatens the life of our-” Miles found himself unable to finish his sentence. After years of being so sure that both the Price and Montgomery bloodlines stopped with Lilith and him, the concept of having children felt so foreign on his tongue. He wasn’t quite sure if his mind had quite caught up. "I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he finished, his voice lowering as he turns his face to the bench.

Knowing full well that the moment was ruined, Lilith sat up straight so that she was no longer laying on Miles' chest. It seemed that everyone was mad at her for one reason or another. Carlisle because she apparently broke his heart, John because she was having Miles’s children, Salem because of the same. ”Miles please,” she began, her face hot. ”I can’t handle you being mad at me too.”

"I’m not mad, I’m just-” as he notices how sharp his tone has become Miles stops himself for a moment. He sighs, leaning forward on the bench. He wrings his hands together nervously, as much as having all this new information out in the open was good it didn’t seem to ease his anxiety. "I’m just concerned. Look, I don’t know much about Salem or how she works or whatever. All I know is she seems to want me and everyone around me dead. I can’t just let her have that.”

”I get that,” she replied, her voice still small. Lilith knew that Miles was concerned for her, but couldn’t he see that she shared the same feeling for him? With a deep sigh she blinked the tears from her eyes. ”I wasn’t trying to say that you couldn’t be there… just that maybe violence isn’t the best course of action. I don’t want to see anything happen to you or our families either - but I really don’t know what to do about all of this.”

Miles sighs, his eyes moving to Lilith and taking her in. In truth he had no clue what to do either but what a pathetic answer I don’t know would be. Yet he had little else to offer so he remained silent instead. He could very much understand Lil’s desire to run away into another plane of existence. A baby should be good news, even if Miles and Lilith never expected to have children there should have been some upside that made them feel better but this just seemed to mark a turning point in their lives, a full 180 from the contented life Miles wished he could live.

His eyes couldn’t help but become fixated on the woman’s stomach, his mind still unable to fathom the fact she had triplets growing inside of her. His triplets. He was over all the Salem talk, all it led to was doom and gloom. So Miles did what he did best and changed the subject. "Did you suspect anything? Before whoever told you told you?” He could only hope it was a distracting enough question to drag the conversation away from Salem, or any magi in that regard.

With her attention once again focused on the rose bushes, Lilith took another moment to collect her thoughts before speaking. ”Not really. I mean… some of my pants haven’t been fitting right, but I thought that was just bloating or something. My period’s late, but honestly it’s never been on a regular schedule anyway.” Leaning back against the bench, she sighed again while crossing her arms across her chest. ”I think I kind of knew,” she admitted. ”Like deep down, in a way. But I didn’t know for sure, and I wanted a confirmation before I said anything and —” Lilith shook her head. ”It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

"I know,” Miles sighs, patting her leg. "Then again, it’s us. Since when did anything go the way it’s supposed to? I guess it’s more… us for it to go like this,” he muses, forcing a smile. "We’ll make it through, we always do.” If Miles was being honest, he wasn’t sure how much faith he had in that line but he knew he didn’t really have any other option than to try and have hope it would all work out. "Just promise me you’ll try and talk your paw paw out of killing me for this.”

Grabbing Miles’ hand, she chuckled. ”I don’t think you have to worry about guns anymore, but I’d invest in a nice pair of boots if I was you.”

"I’ll get the kind with the spurs, and a good ole cowboy hat. If you’re not careful I might climb my way up to John’s favourite,” he jokes, squeezing Lilith’s hand.

”Very doubtful,” she laughed. ”Just because you’ll be helping bale hay and herd cattle doesn’t mean he’s gonna forget that you got me pregnant.” Looking back up towards the Coven house, the young woman was unfortunately reminded of her responsibilities once more. ”As much as I hate it, I reckon we better head back in there before people think we’ve made a run for it or something.”

"Hey now, it takes two to tango, you're just as guilty here as I am," Miles jokeningly scoffs, a jovial smirk spreading across his face.

As Lilith suggested going back to the house Miles couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. "Making a run for it," he muses. "Probably predictable of us. I guess you have council things to do." With another sigh he stands up before offering Lilith both his hands and helping her off the bench. Running away sounded all the more tempting now. Away from Salem and all the responsibilities of being a coven member. Instead he slipped an arm over Lilith’s shoulder, using it to pull her in. "Let's go,"

[SouffleGirl123]

_{A Collab between @Soufflegirl123 & @Sadie
Featuring: Miles Price& Delaney Barlowe}

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With a gentle kiss on the forehead, Miles parted ways with Lil, allowing her to do whatever bureaucratic undertakings her role as a council leader called for. Instead he made his way to the drinks table once again. The further away from Lil he got, the more Miles seemed to disassociate. He couldn’t pinpoint if it was the alcohol, the end of all the new info being told or no longer feeling he had to put on a brave face for Lil's sake but something had allowed him to hold his head up high and it was dissipating fast. By the time he got back to the drinks table Miles seemed to almost look like a deer in headlights, his thoughts racing so fast that it was becoming white noise. He silently and robotically reaches for a glass and the whiskey, his arms in autopilot mode.

As Rowan and her parted ways for the party, Delaney went off in search of her friends. Not finding Erin, as she was typically late to these things, she tried to find Miles through the swarm of people. After several moments she gave up and decided on another drink instead. Seeing Miles, she grinned to herself and shook her head. Of course. She should have just stayed at the drink table. Moving up beside him, she grabbed the rum and poured herself another glass. A bright smile was on her face before she turned to her friend and noticed his expression. Her grin immediately faltered and she put her free hand on the man’s shoulder. ”Miles? You okay?” She quickly looked him over before shaking her head. ”Dude. You need to breathe. Talk to me.”

As Delaney’s hand touches the man’s shoulder Miles seems to be transported back to Earth with a snap. He blinks a few times before placing the bottle of whiskey back on the table. He then turns to his friend, attempting to shoot her one of his signature mischievous smiles but he seemed to barely have the energy to do that, resulting in a pathetic attempt at best. At her first question Miles gave a deep sigh. "It’s just… it’s been a long night,” he forces out, taking a sip of his whiskey. That was when she prompted him to open up to her. Miles’ voice seemed to drop to barely a whisper as he muttered "Not here, not near so many people.” A lot of the colour seemed to have drained from the young man’s skin but it was slowly being replaced by pink as he started drinking again.

Oh, now she was doubly interested. With a slight nod of her head, she brought her glass to her lips and quickly downed the rum she had poured herself. This was going to be a doozy. Setting the glass on the table, her hand slid down his arm and she grabbed onto his hand. Delaney looked around the room before leading him to the alchemy room. The room in which seemed to bring out both of their emotional vulnerabilities. She closed the door behind them and nodded to the man. ”Alright. Spill.”

Before he knew it Delaney was leading Miles away from the crowds, back into what was quickly becoming their spot. Miles couldn’t help but notice that his body seemed to be overtaken by the shaking once more. With a sigh, the man placed his cup on one of the many workbenches and sat next to it. Where did he even start? He wrings his hands as another nervous breath escapes him. Before he could review what he wanted to say the words seemed to just release themselves. "Li’s pregnant,” he says quietly, his voice still barely above a whisper despite being locked away from the rest of the coven. His eyes remained fixated on the floor, although he was curious how his friend would respond he barely had the energy right now.

Delaney didn’t understand why the man was so nervous, he hardly ever took anything as serious as he was taking this moment right now. Then, she heard his confession. It was so mumbled and quiet that she felt like she didn’t hear him correctly, but his body language spoke volumes. Her eyes widened a bit and her face turned ashen. She didn’t exactly know how to respond. At their age, some people were starting families. Then again, she knew her best friend. Knew he wasn’t at all ready for that stage in his life. Clearing her throat, she nodded slightly and folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t know what to do, what to say.

Letting out a huffed breath, she shook her head. No matter the fact that she didn’t know what to say, she immediately knew what her friend needed. Delaney rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. ”It’ll be okay.”

Miles seemed to not respond to her embrace, not physically at least. It was a welcome comfort but everything seemed to take up too much energy right now. Now all the adrenaline, rage and confusion of the past hour or so had faded Miles was finally realizing how run down it was all making him. He couldn’t help but wonder how this talk would have gone if anything was different. If he wasn’t a descendant of the Leighton family or even if he knew he was. If the thought of having kids was something him and Lil ever at least entertained rather than writing it off altogether. There was so much more to tell her, more that seemed to make the situation more and more complex. Instead he decided to stay on the current train of thought.

"Triplets,” he mutters simply under his breath. "She’s pregnant with triplets. How are we meant to keep 3 babies alive?”

She felt nauseous herself at his comment. Delaney blinked once before taking a step back, keeping the man at arms’ length. She tilted her head and just studied his face. He was completely serious. Letting out a breath, she shook her head. ”What the fuck, man.”

Letting out another breath, she shook her head and moved away from him. She turned and grabbed the glass he had set down earlier and realized it was still halfway full. Delaney turned back to him and handed him the glass. ”Dude. Drink. Just- we need more alcohol. Stay here.” Grabbing onto the bottom of her dress to keep it free of her heels, she hurried back out to the party, keeping her eyes open to anyone looking her way. She pushed past a couple of older partygoers and hurried to the drink table. Grabbing the rum and whiskey, she made her way back to the alchemy room.

Delaney closed the door back behind her and set the bottles on the table. She huffed out a breath. ”We are going to drink, okay? Forget everything else. Everyone else. We are going to drink, and then we’re going to deal with this.”

At her initial response Miles attempts to force another smile, the left corner of his lips upturning for only a second before dropping back down. "Guess we’re just hyperfertile or something,” he attempts at a joke, his voice coming off low and monotonous still. As Delaney placed the cup in his hand she didn’t have to tell him twice to drink. The man downs the rest of the glass, giving a small coughing spell at the end of what had to be at least 3 good shots worth of whiskey. Before he could object to Delaney’s departure she was already out the door. Not that he was against more alcohol but there was so much more, more that he was unsure if he could get out with much more liquor in his system. Yet he followed her instructions and stayed, tapping his fingers against the glass.

"That’s not really the last of it,” he says gently as he reaches straight for the whiskey bottle. With the alcohol starting to rise to his head, Miles swayed slightly but it seemed to do none for his anxiety or the fact he was pale as a ghost. Although there was more at hand, Lilith's pregnancy took up the most of his mind right now. "We only- y’know- like-” Miles counts on his hands for a moment before continuing, "Three times. That’s like a baby for everytime LiLi woke up in my bed,” he muses, more trying to come to terms with the situation himself but Delaney was a welcomed listener regardless.

As she listened to Miles, she realized she had forgotten a glass for herself back at the table. She shrugged and brought the rum bottle to her lips, taking in a large shot. Delaney coughed a bit as she listened to her best friend speak. She couldn’t help a roll of her eyes before she shook her head. ”Miles. Dude. It literally only takes one time.” As she spoke, she thought about her and Rowan and tried to think about if she remembered to take her birth control on time. She definitely was not ready for an unexpected little bundle.

Taking another swig from the bottle, she cleared her throat. She studied her friend and noticed he was holding back. Delaney tilted her head at him. ”What else is there? You’re not telling me everything, I can tell.”

"And I’ve had hundreds of ‘one times’. Hell, Li and I have had a handful of ‘one times’ and it never-” Miles takes a shaky breath, forgoing his cup for the whiskey bottle and taking a swig out of it. As Delaney prodded for more the last of the colour seemed to drain from MIles’ face. "Honestly, the kids are whatever, I guess. Terrifying, sure. Completely against the plans we’d made almost 10 years ago, true. We weren’t even gonna have any-”, He takes another sip out of the bottle in an attempt to calm himself.

"Turns out I’m magi but not just any magi. Turns out my pa’s Aloysius Leighton, the guy who ran the rebellion against Salem in the 90s. That makes me part of a great magi family and there’s nothing the magical community would hate more than “Merging the bloodlines” as they call it. He also turned up today, my pa,” At the end of dumping pretty much all the important parts of the conversation he takes another swig of whiskey.

Her brows furrowed in question when he brought up the fact that he was a magi. Delaney really didn’t know much about the different types of wizards and warlocks out there; she really should have paid more attention in her studies. Though, she did know that magi were of the highest of their kind out there. And Miles was part of that? She huffed out a breath and tilted her head as she took another swig from her bottle. Delaney remembered something about the Salem rebellion but it was all kinds of foggy.

She did however know that Miles’ father showing up was a big deal. Her face dropped a bit as she nodded her head in thought. Delaney cleared her throat and raised a brow at her best friend, her body immediately getting into offense mode. ”He still here?” She gripped tightly to the bottle in her hands, her violent streak coming to the surface.

"Dunno, don't care," Miles replies brashly, taking another swig of alcohol. Part of him called to slow down, knowing at some point he'd be facing Salem at Lil's side in the near future but bringing a Whiskey bottle to his mouth was almost an automatic action at this point. "Ma's already had a swing at him. I think I saw Claire have one too." Miles hiccups before placing the bottle back on the bench.

Delaney nodded shortly. If Mary and Claire took a swing at Miles’ dad, did that mean that she shouldn’t? No, absolutely not. Miles was her best friend and she couldn’t just let this information slide over her. Was she willing to go up against a grown ass man just because he walked out on his son? Yes. Indefinitely yes. Huffing out a breath, she took another large drink from her bottle. ”Well. Guess it’s my turn now.”

At Delaney's response Miles leveled his eyes to her. "Yeah? What's new with you?" he asks. "You better not tell me you're pregnant too,"

She eyed the man before rolling her eyes. ”No. Gods, no. One of us knows how to use protection.” Delaney shook her head before taking another large drink. The information she was going to give him wasn’t as big as his, but it felt huge to her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked at the ground. She didn’t know if she could say it out loud, but she needed to get it off her chest. Letting out a slow breath, she nodded slightly before looking back up at Miles. ”You know me. I don’t get incredibly close to people. You and Erin are my exceptions.” With another shrug of her shoulders, she sighed. ”I think I’m in love with Rowan.”

A small smile spread across the young man’s face as he took another sip of whiskey. This conversation felt almost reminiscent of the one they had a month ago in the same place. "I know," he replies softly. "I guess we both got what we wanted."

”Did we, though?” She shook her head and looked away from him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Delaney took a large gulp of her drink. ”You have three babies on the way. You’re going to be a father in about eight months.” She took another drink. ”And I’m in love with the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and yet I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.” Shaking her head, she looked back over at her best friend. ”This shit is terrifying, man.”

You’re going to be a father those were words Miles never expected to hear about himself. Even as Lilith and him talked about their situation the titles of mother and father never really came up. It almost seemed to make the situation more real. Miles gave a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, maybe not what we expected but-" he gives a shrug, sipping his drink once more.

"I don't really hate the idea of being a father. I guess it's just all kinda left field, y'know?" he takes another swig of his drink before turning his attention back to Delaney's concerns. "And what are you waiting to go wrong exactly?"

She scoffed as she held up the rum bottle before taking a drink. ”This, for starters. Rowan is going to realize that he doesn’t want to be with an alcoholic who picks fights all the time.” Delaney shook her head and lowered the bottle. She scrunched her nose as she looked down at it, her fingers running over the label. ”He’s going to see that I don’t deserve someone as great as him. He’s going to realize that I’m too much to handle.”

"I'd think if he thought that he woulda dipped by now," Miles replies with a shrug, taking another sip of whiskey. "Maybe, and just hear me out, maybe he wants someone just like you," he reasons, pointing the neck of the bottle his friend's way before taking another sip.

Snorting, her free hand quickly went to her mouth as she laughed. The drink was definitely starting to get to her. Delaney shook her head. ”Then there’s definitely something wrong with him if he wants a short ass, loud mouth, alcoholic blonde who goes toe to toe with grown ass men.” She snorted again and laughed more. ”And you’re going to be a father to three babies. All at once! And Lil- oh, Gods…Lilith is going to be a mother.” With another snort, she shook her head and downed another gulp of rum. ”We’re all a little bit fucked.”

"Rowan likes a challenge," Miles half jokes, swirling the bottle around, his eyes becoming fixated on the whirling vortex of the remaining liquor. At Delaney's processing he couldn’t help but chuckle himself. "Speak for yourself, 3 Lilith-Me hybrids sounds like a breeze," he responds sarcastically, taking another swig. "Let's be honest, though, we'll make some good-looking kids. I wonder if Salem will take that as an excuse to not attack."

Delaney rolled her eyes at the mention of the children, but immediately hardened at the thought of Salem. She let out a snort, this one of a challenge, before taking another shot of rum. ”She better fucking not. Those are my nieces and or nephews in that belly. I won’t hesitate to hit an old lady.”

"Ha! Not til I get one in. Those are my babies in there," Miles replies without skipping a beat. With a sigh he leans back, using his hands behind him to hold himself up. "Li seemed pretty set on me not fighting Salem. She probably has a point but if she threatens those kids' lives. Hell, if she threatens Lil's life… I don't know what I would do," Miles' voice softens at the end of his sentence, another deep sigh escaping him.

If he was being honest, Miles felt relatively powerless at this moment. His family seemed to weigh in the hands of Lilith and Salem more than anyone else. He didn't want to think about that. Instead he gave his best friend a mischievous smile. "At when will you be carrying my nieces or nephews?" he jokes.

Delaney shook her head at his earlier statement. ”Of course you know what to do, Mi. You’re a magi, dude. And I’m your amplifier. We’re going to obliterate that woman if she even thinks about laying a hand on Lil or the babies.” She nodded her head in resolute. In all fairness, she didn’t know if she could help him take on the woman. But she damn sure was going to try. Nobody hurt her family. That family also now included three babies and their mama.

At his question, her nose scrunched up and she quickly shook her head. She put her free hand on her belly and scoffed. ”I just admitted I’m in love with the guy. Let’s not put that juju on me, you ass.” She let out a breath before a small grin tugged at the corners of her lips. ”Though a mini Rowan would be absolutely adorable.”

At Delaney’s first comment about Miles being Magi the boy scoffs, "I sure don’t feel like a magi,” he mutters under his breath. Honestly, it was the piece of information that seemed to be the most unbelievable when all was said and done. "I don’t really know what being magi means honestly. Despite my parents both being liars.”

When Delaney mentioned a mini Rowan Miles chuckles, rolling his eyes. "You just wait. Lil will have those babies, Rowan will go absolutely clucky and beg you to be next,” he teases. "If it doesn’t accidentally happen to you first, I bet you’re no better than me.”

She groaned inwardly and closed her eyes. Delaney could totally see Rowan going crazy over some newborn babies. Shaking her head, she huffed out a breath and opened her eyes before pointing her index finger at her friend. ”Like I said- I am seriously using protection. There’s going to be nothing accidental about me getting pregnant.” She played with a loose strand of hair before scrunching her nose. ”Let’s just work on me getting up the nerve to tell him how I feel first, okay?” Taking another gulp of her drink, she huffed. ”And I have no idea what being a magi means either. But, I wasn’t always attending lessons or actually awake during them. So.”

"Oh and so was I,” Miles retorts, a small smile playing on his lips at his friend’s responses. "You could just, I don’t know, say the words? It’s really not that hard. Or are you scared of it too or something?” he asks, taking another sip of whiskey. Another small smile played on his lips as he thought about Lilith’s way of working around her words to avoid saying what she called ‘the L word’. He couldn't help but wonder how that was going to fly with the kids.

”Oh, like you and Lil are so perfect and can easily say those words to each other,” she scoffed. Delaney grumbled before taking another large swig of her drink, but found that the bottle was now empty. She scrunched her nose and groaned as she tried to look into the bottle. ”Damnit. I’m all out.” Shaking her head, she looked up at him. ”I’m not scared of anything, you prat.”

"Ha!” the man scoffs, "Pigs will fly the day Lilith says those exact words to me.” Miles never truly understood why so many were scared of using what was essentially a string of words. He didn’t find himself taking that string of words all that seriously at all. Sure, there was more sincerity and emotion by times he said to Lilith but the words had seemed to fall out of his mouth so easily with so many women in his past. At Delaney complaining about her empty bottle he holds the last of his whiskey out to her, only a couple of mouthfuls at best but that was better than nothing.

"Prove it. Tonight. There’s dancing at some point, you can make things all romantic if you want,”

Scrunching her nose at the idea of drinking whiskey, she rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle from him. She downed a gulp and coughed before handing it back. No way in hell was she drinking more of that piss. Once she recovered, she huffed out a breath and eyed the man for a moment. She soon gave in and rolled her eyes. ”Fine. I’ll say it tonight. But I get to be at the hospital or whatever when Lil has your babies.”

"How about I pass you for a next day visit. Lil will kill me herself if I start inviting people the day of,” Miles responds, taking back his bottle back and draining the rest of its contents in one sip.

She could work with that. ”Deal. But I get to be the cool aunt. And I get to spoil the hell out of them and take them on wild adventures whenever I want.” Delaney grinned at him before reaching over and pushing him lightly on the shoulder. ”Congratulations, Mi. Truly. You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

"I don’t know about amazing but, y’know… As long as I can keep them alive right?” Miles responds, giving his friend a small smile. "Thanks though, D. Just- uh- if you're taking them on wild adventures no drinking,” Miles chuckles slightly, the hypocrisy of that statement not escaping him with the cleared Whiskey bottle in his hand. "And if we have little girls, no boys. I don’t know how Lilith and I could handle 3 kids of our blood who’ve discovered alcohol and kissing.”

Delaney eyed the man for a moment before giving in and rolling her eyes. ”Fine, fine. No alcohol, no boys. Just take all the fun out of things.” She gave him a playful grin before looking him over. A small hiccup escaped her and she laughed. ”Feeling any better?”

Miles bobbed his head a few times, the smile on his face growing. He felt lucky to have a friend to process things with. As much as processing with Lilith was necessary and comforting it was good to have someone without such an intense personal stake in his going ons. "Yeah. Thanks D.” he responds. His eyes float to the door of the alchemy room as he gives a sigh. Normally Miles was the most extroverted of extroverts but this evening, possibly for the first time in his life, there’s nothing Miles wanted more than some time distanced from the crowds, alone to process the evening he’d had. Yet there was a party before him, and a conversation with Salem to be had. "We should go before people start thinking we’re making mischief.”

”What’s wrong with a little mischief?” Delaney smirked at him before pushing herself up off the seat, her arms going out to steady herself. She gave a hiccuped laugh before shaking her head. ”Okay. I have to sober up some if I’m going to tell Rowan the ‘L’ word.” Once she was steady on her feet, she reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. ”I’m always here for you. No matter what. Got that?”

"Haven’t you heard, I’m going to be a dad. I’m not allowed mischief anymore,” Miles jokes with a wink, pushing himself forward on the bench before sliding back to solid ground. He found himself needing to stumble a few steps before finding his footing. "And I got you,” Miles responds to Delaney’s final statement, squeezing her hand in return

”Good.” Nodding her head shortly, she looked at the door and blew out a breath. ”Alright. Back to partying. If you need me for anything, come get me. Especially if there’s going to be a fight.” She smirked and winked at him before leaning over to kiss his cheek. ”Love you, typhoon.”