Donut Look Now

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Estylwen I will try to get that out before the weekend!

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Abaddon leaves the chamber and Nero is left with the impression that this will be the last time they see her. “My memories are caught up. I remember watching her leave and then beginning my life as the demon prankster.” Present Nero scans the room for any other clues they might have missed.

“Were you able to see through that distortion? I didn’t see any of the interaction with how they got rid of Mundus…” Nero feels like they now have even more unanswered questions. “We won’t find anything else moving forward and… and I need a moment before we can go backwards.” Even with the grounding Cassi has set up, Nero is overwhelmed by the memories.

The sheer emotions were enough to create mayhem in Nero, but it’s the fact that they died that unnerves them the most. All they could think of is running to Caden and hugging him tightly just to reassure themselves that they are indeed free and safe. “Please…”

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki’s glad she had stopped her treadmill as a wave of emotions crashes into her senses. It gave her some comfort to know that she’s not the only one frustrated, but also reminds her of how far she has to go before she can school her feelings like Caden does. As she feels his thoughts seemingly flow in another direction and the sudden desire takes over, Kiki waves her arms.

“Ach! No, no thank you! You can stop.” The fox declares, not wanting to go down that path. “Is that what you’re feeling from me??” No wonder Caden had said she needed to work on blocking last night if he had gotten that same flood of emotions.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Oop, not me forgetting to reply outside of the collab 👀

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nero only realized how tightly Cassi’s hold on their hand had become when her voice enters their mind. “Gladly.” With her encouragement, Nero’s able to find the memory where they had approached Abaddon for help. They practically beg the other demon to save them and the older white-eye actually agrees. Only now is Nero realizing that Abaddon must have been planning something already when Nero sought escape.

The memory shifts back to the throne room, showing Nero poised once again in Mundus’ lap as Abaddon and another demon enter the chamber. The demon standing next to the white-eyed one had the same tall, slender figure as Mundus with the same grey skin and brilliantly white hair.

“Eulb Yui, what a pleasant surprise this is.” Mundus says, his words spoken with a silver tongue as his long fingers run through Nero’s long hair. “And you brought one of Father’s little experiments with you, how merry!” The Prince’s smile is wide but his narrowed eyes give away his suspicion and displeasure.

Somehow, the memory glitches as if it were corrupted data. One moment everyone is in the same positions before everything shifts and Eulb Yui holds Nero up by their neck beside Mundus’ throne. The imp looks panic-stricken right before their neck is snapped and their body falls to the floor in a limp thud.

Another glitch occurs, this time skipping ahead to Eulb Yui and Abaddon shaking hands with Mundus nowhere to be seen. The other child of Lucifer nods before disappearing and Abaddon approaches the limp figure of Nero.

“Rise, little one.” Abaddon commands. Nero’s neck seems to snap back in place as their eyes glow a bright white. “Her Majesty gave you a blessing from her Father. You’re more powerful now, but I would suggest laying low from now on. Mundus will no longer control you.”

Nero looks up at Abaddon with a silent question in their eyes - What now? Abaddon waves their hand dismissively. “You’re free, do what you wish with that.”

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki can’t help but glare at Caden’s smile as she slows her own treadmill to a stop. “If you think it’ll help me.” She says with a sigh. She knows it’s necessary for her to get this over with if she ever wants to have peace of mind with Avery. “I don’t quite understand what you could even be feeling from me, so maybe knowing what that’s like could help.”

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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“Of course, Your Majesty.” Nero’s voice doesn’t sound like their own, it’s despondent and lacks the usual playful tone those who have come to know Nero are familiar with. Their body is taut as the much taller being leans down and conscious Nero knows it’s in an effort to avoid flinching.

“If I’m to win this war with my sister, we will need a new army to join our ranks.” Mundus goes on to say as he straightens. “Perhaps the former fiancé of the new matron and his family?”

Nero stares blankly up at the Prince of Hell, hiding their true thoughts on the matter. They had seen how powerful the other family had been against their demons and had doubts they would even consider talking to Mundus, let alone making a deal with them. They knew saying something like this will just end with punishment inflicted onto Nero.

“Perhaps not.” Mundus muses as he turns towards his throne before beckoning Nero to follow. “Let’s review some other options, my pet.”

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

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Kiki groans at this suggestion, remembering how poorly blocking had gone last night with Avery. “I nearly lit Avery and my bed on fire trying last night.” She says with a sour tone and grumpy expression. The fact that she hadn’t been able to get it right not only the first time, but in her following attempts put her in a dour mood.

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nero falls into the memory again easily, detaching themselves from the bloodshed as their past self kills Cassi’s family. As Caden’s family joins the fight, past Nero meticulously makes sure all of the sorcerers that needed to die did before they signal to the other demons. Nero doesn’t wait for them to regroup as chains seemingly appear out of nowhere and drags the imp below the ground.

“Well?” Anxiety and fear course through Nero but they squeeze Cassi’s hand in an effort to stay grounded. Before them sat Mundus on his throne.

Nero’s past self kneels before Mundus, bowing their head to avoid looking into his eyes. “The coven has been eradicated.” Their voice is hollow, as if they are a machine with pre-written lines to recite.

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki nods, understanding what Caden is implying. “I can do that.” She says, throwing another glance at the human before looking at Caden again. “I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s feeling right now…” She’s not looking for a response, but she really does feel sorry for the man.

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nero raises an eyebrow at Cassi’s hesitance. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to find answers and I know you’re essential to unlock those.” They say simply, dropping all pretense of cocky or impish behavior.

Though difficult to tell with their vessel, there was an air of exhaustion that wraps around Nero. Their shoulders are slumped and they’re not fidgeting about as usual. “I want to know with certainty that Mundus isn’t behind this and that he’s as good as gone.” Even the name left a nasty taste on their tongue.

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki’s eyes keep glancing over at Nic as Caden explains, feeling her heart pang for the human. “Making a deal with a demon would definitely be the opposite of pious.” She speaks quietly for Nic’s benefit before she watches the video loop for a few times.

“Don’t you have access to them too?” Came Kiki’s response. “But yes, I still have access.”

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nero turned their head to regard Cassi and look in her eyes. “Now when you put it like that, how can I refuse?” They say with a half-smile before reaching their hand out to the sorceress. They hadn’t put gloves on to hide their hands - it had been plenty of time for the imp to feel comfortable enough around the house. “Just… just know that whatever happened back then… I took no pleasure in it.”

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nic nods and does some slow walking with the rope as Caden looks over at him. “If you don’t mind telling her, I’d appreciate it.” He says before picking up speed with the rope. He knows there will be follow-up questions, that he’ll need to eventually have Kimiko talk to his dad, but right now he would rather focus on his workout and take his mind off of everything.

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki pats Caden’s arm. “I know, sorry. You can blame Avery for my grumpiness.” She says before she starts her warmup, decidedly not clarifying any further as she waited for Caden to explain for Nic.

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nero rolls their eyes with another sigh, leaning back in their seat and looking up at Cassi. “And I had them do things like take care of cats, drive me places if I didn’t feel like walking, or gather intel for a something like the chimera case.” They cross their arms over their chest but lower their gaze to the coffee table with the book on it.

“I know you’re looking for reasons not to trust me and while I understand it and definitely deserve it, I’m not going to let anyone hurt Caden or his family.”

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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“It’s not really my place to tell them to update cameras - especially since I shouldn’t really be reviewing them anyway.” Nic says as an excuse before turning and seeing Kimiko enter. He’s hit with the reminder of everything concerning his dad all over again.

Nic takes the rope and goes over to a space with enough room to skip. There isn’t much more he can glean from the videos at this point anyway. “Sure, bags will be good.”

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki glances between all three men, trying to process all the information thrown at her at once. She follows Avery’s instructions first and gets on the treadmill. “I don’t know if that qualifies as ‘good news’, Caden.” She says with a worried expression thrown in Nic’s direction.

“What happened?”

Chicago After Hours

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Nero

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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With a heavy sigh, Nero pinches the bridge of their nose and closes their eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” They say honestly to Cassi before opening their eyes again.

“I don’t know how I got away from Mundus - all I know is that Abaddon helped and now she’s gone.” Nero goes on to say. “And I know shit-all about Mundus’ power since the only memories I have just show him using me to exact his will… I’m going with worst-case scenario until I find more information.”

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Nicholas “Nic” Wu

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Nic can’t help but sigh when Caden says the security cameras are out of date. “Well, they’re mostly used for liability reasons so…” He shrugs - the hospital had other priorities for what they wanted to upgrade. Avery joins in watching as the video plays.

“Three times that I managed to find at our hospital, two I found footage for. Different days and times, and there’s overlap in some of the operating teams, but nobody was involved with all three patients. Plus, I’ve found a couple other patients at other trauma centers.”

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Kimiko “Kiki” Voss

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Location: Caden & Nero’s House - Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Kiki enters the gym to find Caden, Avery, and Nic closely watching the television. “What’s all this about?” She asks with her hands on her hips.

“And where are Cassi and Nero?”