Near Kari's HouseMentions: None. Direct Dialogue: Stormy (@Blizz), Sully (@Atrophy), Tayla (@silvermist1116), Drake (@Punished GN)
"If that were the case, why didn't you approach us openly? You could have done so sooner, or waited until we were done investigating the house. You could've even done it while we were here. I'd be lying if I didn't understand why Drake felt the need to attack you.”
Luna grimaced on the ground, feeling her heart sink deeper and deeper. Of course Stormy was on Drake's side, at the end of the day. Sympathetic to the
why while she was worse for wear than she had been in a
while.
“You were one of us, Tsukino. I'm almost positive Auri tried to reach out to you. And if she did, you had to have known stalking us would've been a bad decision, when all of us are very capable of defending ourselves. So why? Talk us through that."
She could feel Stormy's gaze on her. Even if he was patient in his words, his demeanor was watchful, attentive. It would be very hard to escape, even in her current state. She stared up at him, then shifted her gaze to the side, trying to find some kind of salvation, a release from having to answer.
“You can lie.”Luna was quiet, before she growled under her breath, crushing first and grass under her finger as she lay there, willing the pain away, willing for an answer to come.
She knew Stormy. They had fought side by side once upon a time. She knew Stormy would value the truth above all else, especially if she wanted to be welcomed back in the coven.
She bared her teeth, mumbling strings of curses.
“...My hands are tied here. I have a plan. Just play along. I… have to say what's on my mind. I might not have another chance.”She was met with only silence in her mind, and she cursed again under her breath, shakily pulling herself half-way off the ground.
She stared up at Stormy, eyes tight.
“I…”A swallow, and her gaze broke, looking away.
“I was ashamed.”She drew aching arms around herself. She could see it vividly behind her eyes. The scorn, the fights that broke out, the ridicule she went through when her secrets were discovered ten years ago. Angry and outraged faces that haunted her dreams.
She shut her eyes.
“How could I face you? You remember how I left. How could I face that again? So I did what came easy to me. I watched from a distance. I documented the triumphs and tribulations, pretending I was there with you. I watched my family, my home, become rebuilt, and I thought… Maybe it was better this way.
“It was… easier, this way.”She stood shakily, lips pursed against the pain and ache in her muscles.
“I realize now it was wrong. It was the wrong way to deal with how I was feeling, and unfair to you. Especially given the current… situation. …I'm sorry.”She just had to hold her breath, and play her cards right…
She watched as Sully, good ole’ Sully, kept in between her and Drake, acting as a mediator, similar to Stormy. Her eyes slightly widened, realizing that Sully might actually be willing to give her a second chance.
He shuffled over to her and Stormy after he tried de-escalating everyone. Lucky for Sully, Luna was in a bit too much pain to bother fighting or retaliating, at least not now, not yet.
She watched as he offered the Chalice, and her eyes tightened.
Sully is too soft. Better to keep me weak, I'll be more inclined to talk. Sully was truly the definition of a good person within the coven's ranks. Goodness she didn't know she deserved. Regardless, she took a sip from the offered Chalice, and the pain from being electrocuted to high heaven melted away.
She breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes showing a crack of warmth.
“Thank you, Sully.”“Hell, I thought you were Tayl-uhhhh, anyway, look, I’m sure this is all just some big misunderstanding that we’ll all be laughing about in minutes. So why don’t we all go back inside and carry out this conversation where there’s a nice, comfy sofa and Aislin’s bong?”
Luna picked up on the slip right away, her smoky eyes zeroing in on Sully.
Is something going on with Tayla? Her lips pursed as she thought. But with little else to go on, she let it slide. There was enough of a shitstorm to navigate without sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. She had to be re-assimilated successfully first. Then, bother with the intricacies of the coven. Intricacies that could only be seen when she could actually speak with them.
One step at a time.
But before she could accept Sully’s hand, Tayla herself spoke up.
"Or, we can not give a flying fuck about her reasonings when she's clearly here with bad intentions."
”Can you explain, exactly, how I’m here with bad intentions? For all I know, you’re the one here with bad intentions.” She said with a slight narrowing of her eyes.
”I’ve explained why I didn’t approach directly, I don't believe there’s anything sinister with that.”"Didn't I just say she's off? That she has malicious intent?
"He shocked her ass for a reason. Let's not pretend she isn't dangerous just because we can defend ourselves. We shouldn't invite trouble. We have enough going on as is. Tsukino, fuck off back to your gang and forget we ever existed."
How could I ever forget?“You need to play her differently. She’ll never accept you like this.” The White Suit’s voice encircled her in her mind.
Luna’s own mental voice was painted with frustration.
“I’m trying. It’s hard enough to try and remain emotionless. She’s picking up on every emotion, it’s a powerful tell I have no control over.”“Don’t focus on that right now. Focus on what you know of her. The ‘squishy spot’.”“...Fine.”Luna dragged a palm over her mouth, cupping it there before looking at Tayla.
”Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I know why you’re against me. Why you’re against… this. You’ve been burned before, badly, so you’re expecting only bad can come from someone like…. Me.
“I’d like to state clearly for everyone present that my intentions have always been for the goodness and benefit of the individual. I’ve always tried to help. Just ask the late Alizée. She didn’t have anywhere to go when the coven split up. I gave her a place to go.
“I’m not asking anything from you. I’m only looking to work alongside you. You don’t want me at meetings? Fine. But it’s up to the group as a whole, not individuals. Or should I say, it’s up to leadership.
“But I would also say that you’re not in a position to refuse help.””Look, Luna, we don't want your help. You weren't trustworthy ten years ago, and you're even less trustworthy now. Fedboy was one thing, but I'm not going to stand by here and let you worm your way back in here.”
Luna felt the crush in her heart again, but she kept it off her face, simply staring at Drake as he handed over the little death sentence and shut the door in her face.
”So... Turn your wings on, fly away, and never come back. Because if I catch you again, it's-”
But before she could speak, or do anything to respond back, she was swept away in another Recollection.
Her mind’s eye filtered through all the terible fluff - like the 8th Street girls trying on Kari’s underwear - until she was left with the highlights. Highlights that might prove to be a turning point. From what she had picked up, Sycamore was ransacking Kari’s house to get a clue on Father Wolf. That is all they cared about nowadays, anyway. All she should care about, too.
“8th Street weren’t there on their own accord. Someone paid them.”“Yes. Someone wanted to either get Kari’s secrets for their own, or cover their tracks. But who would know about Kari’s secret notes? She even tried to destroy them…”“Someone who has yet to make their appearance.”“So it means I’ll get to strangle out a few 8th Street after all.”“The mind of a capo never sleeps, yes.”Luna rolled her eyes.
“How else are we going to get 8th Street to talk?”“Don’t tell your Sycamore friends your plans. They won’t understand.”“Wasn’t planning on it.””Is it possible that Kari could be doing that to us? Showing us that recollection? Maybe a spell that transferred information when someone went investigating?”
Luna listened. But as for her opinion on the matter, she kept it to herself. She was the small fish. Sycamore had bigger fish to fry, if only they would drop old pretenses and see the overwhelming benefits she could give them.
Having been interrupted by the Recollection, Luna took a breath and finally turned her eyes toward Drake.
“You have every right not to trust me. Heck, I wouldn’t even trust myself. If you want me to leave, I will. But I want it to be put up to a vote.”That's when Jack came with the news.
8th Street was coming."Seems you have bigger problems than little me, anyway.
Kipnu Riil
Something was off. Something was
wrong.
Kipnu knew the Coven. He knew Drake, and Stormy. When they ran off to address a disturbance beyond the trespassed home, Kipnu thought nothing of it, observing through Layla’s eyes and content to wait. But now?
Now, there might be a risk.
Drake still hadn’t returned. No one had gone to check on Tayla and the party. They were all mindlessly obsessed with the recollections and pointless baubles.
Well. It kept Layla occupied. That was good.
But if there was impending danger,
he had to be the first to know. He was protecting his livelihood, the reason for his existence. If he didn’t have access to Layla, to her
sweetness, there was no point. If anyone besides him hurt Layla… Well, it drove a lot of his actions, like how he found himself appearing in a smoky haze behind the brush and foliage, eyes looking on the scene unfolding near Kari’s house.
From his hiding spot, he saw Drake, Sully, Tayla, and…
The lenses of his mask glimmered darkly.
“What is my asset doing here?” he thought to himself. A pause, before it clicked.
“She was spying, wasn’t she.”He held his position, wondering just how compromised Luna was. From what he could see, she stood on a figurative tightrope between acceptance and rejection, and he was unsure exactly how hostile Sycamore was or would be towards her.
He crouched a little further back into the cover of the foliage, watching patiently.
He may have to protect this asset as well.
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