Estylwen

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

I'm a bit delayed on my end, it'll be tomorrow ideally. Thanks for your patience!

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@The Otter 100%. Absolutely. xD

@ERode Oh yes, that's exactly what I mean. ICly input. The collab sheet is ready and waiting. :>

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@ERode I agree with your thoughts on teleportation. I'll include it in the OOC post.

I am currently working on the timeskip post, which has a few collabs in it. So @The Otter is waiting for me, and Im waiting on @Donut Look Now and @Irradiant. I'll give a timeline for it in a couple days. Besides that, there's just Sev's execution. I think I'm mainly waiting on your input for that, @ERode.

Very excited for us to arrive in Athius, and for Rhinecliff's treasure to be discovered. >:)

Iris Ascendis

Oops, lemme fix that.

Fixed!

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Iris Record, First Floor Eastern Halls -> Third Floor
@Nanaya, @ERode, @AThousandCurses

---

“Don’t bother with the entrance. Third door to your left is still open.”

Otis

“So you mean to trap me within this god forsaken tower. Is that it?” Ciara thought back bitterly, turning away from Hildegunde's pathway, her eyes falling on the third door. Quickly, she darted in, throwing down a smoke bomb to block out the diffusing light. It stung her eyes, but it was enough to manifest a hefty black fist, shattering the wall in a couple swings.

Hand pressed against the bullet wound in her abdomen, Ciara half-hobbled, half-desperately ran, the bulkhead closing behind her, snagging her robe-like jacket. She tore the fabric free, leaning against the shut bulkhead for a brief moment, feeling the lightheadedness catching up with her. A few breaths, ignoring the lethargy sinking into her muscles.

Growling, she pushed off, hobbling down the hallway, westward.

The loss of blood in her system scattered stars across her squinted vision, but she saw it. Otis had spoken truthfully. The stairs. She could see them. She couldn't teleport to them like normal; the diffused light made shadows near imperceptible.

Otis’ doing?

It didn't matter. She had no way of getting back. No way of making it to the entrance. She had to continue her ascension upward. Perhaps her salvation was upward, with Davil.

Ciara dragged herself up the stairs, one at a time, stopping briefly to catch her breath. When she reached the top, however, an unexpected sight stopped her.

Upon the second floor of the Iris Record, in front of the stairwell to the third floor, was a rat.

Ciara stared at the rat for a moment, thoroughly perplexed. The Iris Record had some of the best security, didn't it? Perhaps even more than the government buildings in the big cities.

So how did a rat end up all the way up here?

There wasn't much time to deliberate it, as Ciara could still imagine an angry Iraleth still hot on her tail.

With the camera still emitting their cursed light, Ciara was forced to hobble on her feet all the way across the floor, leaving a trail of spotted blood behind her, to the stairwell to the third floor. She still had her eyes on the rat, wholly expecting it to run from her presence. Alas, rats were a common occurance in Vaal Kastrix, and she wasn't entirely bothered by it.

No, what was more pressing was surviving the next few minutes. The next few hours.

Leaning against the edge of the upwards stairwell, Ciara tore at her loose sleeve, wholly separating it from the rest of the robe. With her teeth, she tore the fabric into stripes, and fashioned a makeshift bandage that she wrapped around her waist, covering the bullet wound on both sides.

Something that would slow down the bleeding, hopefully.

With that done, she slowly hobbled up the staircase to the third floor, eyes alert for any sign of Davil.

Any sign of escape.

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

The posts look great! I'll aim to have a post up here today or tomorrow. :)

Iris Ascendis

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

I'll have a post up Sept 21st, that will give @rabidbacon some time to write a post up. :)

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

The Illustrious Temple

_{In Collaboration with @AtomicEmperor}

The House on the Hill -> Temple Grounds

---

Oh, how fun! Delightful, even titillating… You smelled what I smelled, did you not?
Leon’s mind was full of his ancient bride’s curiosity with her rare convivial prodding into the world surrounding her prison. She saw through Leon’s eyes at all times, whether dreaming or awake, and could only ever comment about the silly things she observed. He ignored her, knowing full well that Ruby and the other Greenwood members smelled like home. The only explanation is that they had been to the Temple, and there was some kind of game here that they weren't being honest about.

There were far more concerning and pressing matters he believed needed to be attended to. This Layla problem… He only hoped that Alizeè wouldn't trouble Layla any more than the others. He'd come to empathize with the young woman, her situation entirely lacking the quality required for envy. She barely retained strength, the beasts gnawed at her flesh constantly, it was a prisoner's lifestyle.

He was, at the very least, happy to imagine it ending soon. Happy to see the dynamic changing on the horizon. He just needed to get them both to a place that would be conducive for this ceremony.
Unlocking the doors, Leon popped the back open and held it for the two of them to get in. The ghost, having wound up ahead of Layla, seemed confused about the operation required to get in the car.

Layla had to go first; to demonstrate.

When they were both in and secured, he rounded the car to the driver's seat and quickly had them moving down the boulevard toward the highway that would dump them out in Temple territory.
Lelou didn't stop jabbering, mostly about the humor in an entity like Vul C'thara Mangak gathering enough lovers that he'd inspire one back from the dead.

He wasn't paying attention to her.
”Layla…-” he started, feeling the car under him vibrate as he pressed his foot to the gas. ”-You know I didn't want them to hurt Alizeé, right? That if you… If you don't want to try things out with Alizeé, nobody will shame you. But I would never do what Britney Williams did to people. We're not like that: Both of you have a choice to make here…”

Alizée was awkwardly fiddling with the seat strap holding down her half-floating form, before looking over at Layla. Layla was staring with her jaw slack slightly, before she gently shut it and moved her gaze to Leon.

Her lips pursed slightly before she spoke. “I… I was really scared. I didn't know-” Her gaze shot to Alizée. “I didn't know if they would take her away too.”

A weak chuckle left her, staring at Alizée a little more closely.“Alizée, you wouldn't know this, but it's actually thanks to you that I ever ended up with the Sycamore. We… used to be friends.”

With flashes of Britney and her sealing symbol impulsively staining her mind, Layla’s face darkened as she glanced back at Leon through the rear view mirror.

“It was this close. She was this close to not making it out of that, to being taken again, to being locked away, just like… like him.”

Her gaze dropped, and she uttered gratefully. “Thank you, Leon. I think your intervention saved her.”

A pause, before her head lifted slightly. “This is still what I want to do. No matter how much Void or the Void have shaped her, I'm willing to take that risk.”

Alizée curled a part of her floating white hair to the side, her masked face staring unfeeling at Layla. The only betrayal of emotion was in her red eyes. Longing.

“You think Vul has shaped me?”

Layla stared for a moment before nodding. “Definitely. I don't know how, but he leaves his imprint on those he bonds with. You, me. A mark that shapes the soul.

“It’ll only be a matter of time until we see how he's shaped you.”

Alizée pressed a gnarled finger to her chin in thought, breathing slow and deep. Wistfully. Before her glowing eyes slanted towards Layla.

“There's something else shaping you now.”

Layla swallowed, before carefully nodding.

Alizée's eyes narrowed into slits. “And this troubles you.”

Layla carefully nodded again. She could feel Mr. Riil staring silently from within her, fuming, his cold anger killing the will to speak in her.

Alizée saw the change in Layla’s eyes, and her own eyes tightened. A gnarled hand grasped a dainty, porcelain hand.

“...Do you want help?”

Layla trembled for a moment, staring. Then, she slowly nodded.

Alizée's gaze watched carefully, before it moved to Leon. “...I don't know where we're going, I don't know if I can fully trust you. I don't know anything about this Temple. But…”

A breath. “Without knowing the full story, I'm willing to do everything I can to protect her. I'm just… not sure how to start, or where to start.”

”The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals… It's something you were a part of when you were alive. Our family. Not by blood, but family still. We cared for you there, when Vul and Yourself still lived. It's also the resting place of your obsession, which I… I will be honest with the both of you: I have reservations about this course of action only because of him.”

Leon imagined a world where the two of them overpowered Andrade Salamente, destroying the Butcher's Prison-Blade and releasing countless unnamed horrors alongside Void Heart. There was no telling what the reaction would be, but he certainly feared the hellish army that could surge forth from an artifact like that.

”I strongly encourage you both to seek one another's comfort before making foolish decisions that you could be hurt for. Layla, please remember: Mr. Salamente is no pushover.- He may be a friendly man, and he may cook incredible food, but he's spent his whole life fighting and killing Apparitions. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the greatest Adepts on this planet, and you would both be wise to avoid him… Especially if you're adjoined.”

He was only so insistent because he wanted them desperately on the same page. After a meeting like that, especially one where he was compelled to stick his neck out in the path of the guillotine, he needed a victory. Too many losses in the last few days were mounting on his confidence. Little social boosters were so necessary for his mental game.

Layla's head hung a bit, all too aware of the thinly veiled threat Leon cast over them. Of course. They would be in the presence of the Butcher, and the Blade soon. The artifact that held Void prisoner.

Layla gritted her teeth, her fingers pulling at the fabric of her black dress. ”I… I pledged myself, Leon. To you, to your mother. Her Grace promised… I would never betray your trust.”

Alizée seemed to be more hesitant. If the Butcher was responsible for Vul's sealing, his torture, she had to release him. One way, or another.

Alizée's silence caused Layla to look over, seeing the distant look in Alizée's eyes. The plan forming in the apparition's eyes.

“Alizée?”

“...”

“You can't seriously be considering what I think you're considering… are you?”

Alizée sighed, pressing gnarled hands to her face. She remained silent.

“I know you can't forget him. Neither can I. But we gotta take it one step at a time. Today, we're focusing on you and I. One day, we will focus on Void.”

A muffled moan escaped Alizée, and her hands tightened around her masked face. Layla watched with a pained expression, before she reached out, and patted Alizée's knee.

“Alizée…?”

Alizée's voice was broken as she spoke, muffled through her hands. “He's gonna be there. He's gonna be right there, and I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.”

She curled in her seat, face hidden firmly in her hands. Mist escaped her eyes.

“I miss him! I miss him so badly. Every inch of my chains ache to see him, even if it's across the ocean. And you're telling me he's going to be there, locked away in the Butcher’s knife, and there's nothing I can do about it?!”

Layla swallowed painfully, before she spoke. “It's… it's my fault, Alizée. If I didn't let Void hurt those people, if I was stronger… Maybe Void would still be with us. But that's why I'm here. I haven't given up on seeing him. And neither should you. But the timing has to be right. And right now… the timing isn't right.”

Layla unbuckled her seat, shifting over to rebuckle in the middle seat, and reaching out her arms to Alizée. Alizée sniffled, before accepting Layla's hug, and they both sat there silently, Layla resting in Alizée's chest, arms wrapped around each other.

Alizée gently stroked Layla's hair, and she spoke softly, a pained sigh escaping her. “I gave my word too… That I wouldn't pursue him, lest I be sealed…”

Alizée's cheek rested on Layla's head, “So… I'm counting on you. Please… don't leave me in the dark here.”

Layla nestled herself deeper into Alizée's embrace. “We won't be alone forever… Trust them. Trust the Temple, Her Grace, Leon. They are friends, family.”

Eventually, Layla lifted her face and leaned back, but kept her hands wrapped around Alizée's.

“I need your strength, Alizée. Today, and forever. The demons in me… I don't want you to get hurt.”

Alizée squeezed Layla's hands lightly. “I'm here, and I'm focused, ready. Let us return to your home, my old home too, and put your demons to rest.”

Layla smiled a little. “And Void?”

Alizée's eyes closed softly. “I leave that to you and the Temple.”

Leon's mind was wracked by nerves and questions about what this would entail. It was ultimately a book full of questions that he prayed Andrade would be able to answer for him.
A morbid thought crossed his mind, and he wondered about what could happen if he followed through.

”Alizée… Your previous physical form… We have interred it in a beautiful mausoleum. You were given a Martyr's funeral, honored many times over by our congregation. Once things are settled, and the two of you are Adjoined, I encourage you to visit… And, tomorrow… Well, should you both be up to it, there's an event: I told Layla about it. The Adjoined Night? We originally planned to find you some help with the Riil… But, if you'll be free of them, maybe we can present you from a more positive position.”

His big brother instinct was the only one active at this point. He wasn't a Temple Scion. He wasn't the host of Lelou Faim. He wasn't even the Timberwolf. Just a concerned older brother on pins and needles about what was to come next.

Alizée listened carefully, before lifting her head from Layla's, and tilting it. “...Visiting my old body. That's such a strange concept. But… Yes, I would like to go there, once everything is done…”

Layla offered a small smile, before she leaned back a bit, and nodded towards Leon. “Both of those sound great. I uh, imagine I'll be a whole new person without my uh… well, the Riil siblings doing what they do.”

Layla glanced at Alizée, before looking back at Leon. “Of course we'll attend. It'd be rude of us to not.”

Both, of course, didn't notice the brief look of morbidity that passed across Leon's face.
”I’m certain that a great deal of your current problems will fade away in the wake of new ones. Trust me, things get complicated sometimes; But you have to believe that we’re gonna be there to help you in the best and worst of times.”
Saying that stung a little more than he liked, considering what had happened to Alizée. He hadn’t been able to stop it, and now he was faced with this… Strange new problem. All Leon could hope for was that it wouldn’t be such a problem in the end.

As he spoke, he was taking a turn off the highway into the outskirts of St. Portwell where the lands turned into the forests again. It was easy to get lost out there, go feral in those woods… Some patches were so big, you’d easily get lost in the middle and never make your way out. As they got closer to the property, Leon turned his eyes up to the rear view mirror to try and catch Alizée’s reaction.
”You recognize this roadway at all? Feel any of the magic from the property?” he asked casually. ”Even when you were coming back to us in a struggle, you always seemed to calm down the closer we got. I never knew if it was you resigning to the fate of being hugged and fawned over, or if you actually felt good being around us.”

Alizée stared out the window, watching the trees roll by. Leon would notice her eyes slowly go wide.

“There's food here, isn't there? I remember… Void was never hungry for long. I was never hungry for long.”

Flashes of white motes scattered across her vision, reminding her of a time that no longer existed. The flash of a voidly smile. A bow in sincerity, before feasting. Hands raised in gratitude. Once, they struggled. But no longer.

Alizée breathed in, as if sampling the air, before she began to visibly relax.

“I like this place. When will we arrive?”

Layla watched with an incredulous look.“You can… smell the Temple?”

Alizée closed her eyes briefly, breathing in again.“I can smell Vul mixed with other notes. Light, airy, dark, poignant like pomegranate. We're getting close. It's… relaxing.”

Layla gave a soft smile,“That's reassuring. I can't wait for everyone to see you. The original host. It'll be quite the change for them, but… for the better?”

Alizée just nodded, feeling her inhibitions slip away, one by one.

---

The turn into the Temple’s three-square miles of Paradise was marked by something absolutely amazing for the returning members’ weary hearts:

Front and center, hung from the gates of the entrance and the security house in between, was a massive banner. Reading “Welcome Home Alizée!” in big, periwinkle colored letters, the sign was flanked on all sides by bundles and bundles of white, red and purple flowers whose shapes and colors would be a deep memory. A day which Alizée spent with the magnanimous Lynette Richoux and her closest sisterhood. A picnic, a field of those flowers; it was another world, another time… Another place that they’d brought her and included her.

Or, included Void Heart? Perhaps the goals were unclear, but Lynette was banking on the spirit at hand holding fond memories with little to no context: Any jogging of the memory was a dangerous game, so it was best to only jog the good ones. Leon certainly hadn’t been expecting it, nor the response time to get a banner like this up. Not only, but the roadway leading up toward the main bulk of the property was lined with bundles and bundles of these flowers. Leon had been to the President’s funeral, and had seen the rows and rows of flowers like this.
Hell, they hadn’t even done this for the poor girl’s funeral… It was lovely, sure, but this was thick.

The fragrance of flowers, it rang something deep within Alizée. It was a day when the Void Heart had been in a good mood, fed. He would rumble something soft in her head as she was handed sweets on the picnic cloth. Clasped hands, laughter, hugs… She only remembered the lightness in her soul.

Alizée stared out the backseat window, entirely transfixed as the flowers rolled past, her eyes and her heart in the fractured and erased past.

Oh my stars beyond… Lynette is in a panic!
Who the Hell would have expected this?
Is she not The Omnipresence? The One That Watches?
I find your sarcasm to be one of your more attractive habits.

A bit of outward affection shut the ghost up. Gave Leon a second to think about what the hell was coming next. First, he was curious as to who the plant was… Not like there were a lot of options to choose from; one possible perp may have even been totally unwitting. But… Had she heard what he said? Was there the possibility that she’d go against him if she had? And what would they do otherwise, just seal Alizée up like they had Void Heart and be done with it?

He didn’t want that… Part of him felt like turning around then; but, he was going to need his family’s resources if he wanted to make this any kind of possibility. So he kept driving them forward, trying to put a smile on and sound enthused.
”Wow, Alizée… You’re really uh… You’ve got everyone here excited that you’re back! Look up ahead!”

Alizée tore her red eyes from the window, looking up.

Pointing through the front windshield, Leon directed their attention to what appeared to be a fully stacked up gathering on the front green. There were banners, balloons, all sorts of fellow Apparitions and their various hosts. Getting closer, there were plenty of familiar faces. Kind ones, friendly, who only got more excited as the car approached and they could see the wispy, pale ghost in the back seat.
Pulling up, Alizée could look up the stairs to the church in the center of it all and see a tall, dark haired woman with tears streaming down her face. She was dressed in the most incredible kind of dress, a massive neck fan highlighting her face and body like a big white halo in the light shining from within the Chapel.

The car slowed to a stop, and Leon pulled himself up to look back.
”I can… Pull us off to a quieter place if this seems overwhelming, you two…”

Alizée stared, her eyes wide. It all seemed so surreal. But so, so right.

She soaked up the happy faces, wishing she recognized more. But they knew her, and that's what mattered.

Alizée turned her masked face to Leon, and gently shook her head, white hair swishing in an anti-gravitational manner.

“I feel… strange. But not in a bad way. I've… never felt like this. I… want to meet them.”

Layla stared at the gathering outside the car windows, swallowing nervously. Too many people, powerful people, if they wanted to take Alizée away, like they took Void away.

Layla shook her head to herself, eyes pinching. She was getting ahead of herself. Her Grace looked so happy. Surely, this wouldn't be like the last time she set eyes on the Butcher. Surely, she could believe in the goodness of the Temple.

Swallowing, she reached over and placed a hand on Alizée's knee. “Then let's go and meet them.”

Never forgetting her manners, Layla glanced at Leon.“I uh, appreciate the ride, Leon. It's… good to be back.”

Layla unbuckled and got out, coming around to open Alizée's door and unbuckle her. Alizée drifted out, her feet hovering inches above the concrete as she stared at the happy faces.

Instead of being scared, however, her chains rippled around her like bubbly, cascading sheets - an expression of happiness. New connections could be formed, and that was something that made all the difference in Alizée's world. A chain, a link, a representation of trust, of friendship, of loyalty. It all started here, where she had been known once before.

Alizée's red eyes surveyed the group, before they looked up to the lady in the extravagant dress.

“...I’m honored by this welcome party, but I have to admit, my memory is not what it… well, what it used to be. You’ll have to introduce yourselves to me uhm, again?” Alizée said, her eyes curling upward.

Layla stood a little behind Alizée, reaching out a hand to grasp Alizée's long phalanges. For comfort. She stared up at the group, finding it hard not to smile in the face of such enthusiasm.

She glanced up at Alizée. “This should have been the welcome you'd gotten earlier. You truly are amazing, Alizée. You just don't know it yet.”

As Alizée spoke, a cheer ran along the crowd. Small children, elderly folk, teens and their parents, Apparitions of all shapes and sizes accompanying them; there was a haze of familiarity that always managed to escape the pale Phantom’s grip. Only the woman in the dress, however, made any true impact. Alizée would be able to feel White Lux pouring from her, the small book in her hands at the epicenter of it all.

Raven hair, steel blue eyes, a smooth and regal expression of high-cheeked native beauty in powdered pale glory. She had small runes painted down the front of her forehead, the entire bundle of hair cascading down her front and in between the hands which clutched the book. The book which they opened, and the world around them flooded into the Pale. Colorless surroundings…
Only the words echoing.

”A Lady red — amid the Hill
Her annual secret keeps!
A Lady white — within the Field
In placid Lily sleeps!

The tidy Breezes, with their Brooms —
Sweep vale — and hill — and tree!
Prithee, My pretty Housewives!
Who may expected be?

The Neighbors do not yet suspect!
The Woods exchange a smile!
Orchard, and Buttercup, and Bird —
In such a little while!

And yet, how still the Landscape stands!
How nonchalant the Hedge!
As if the “Resurrection”
Were nothing very strange!”

And then there was no sign of that tantalizing, private and oh-so intimate magic. The book snapped shut, returning color to the world as the woman descended the stairs with arms outstretched and tears rolling from her face.
”Dearest, sweetest most Charming and Graceful girl… You… You’re just as beautiful as the day we thought we lost you~”

Arms wrapped around the Apparition as they could, unconcerned about the potential threat. There was hesitation, before long fingers wrapped back, gently. The woman held her tightly, and there was a gentle shaking that indicated some quiet weeping before she finally pulled back.
”You… Call me Auntie Lynette. You always have, and I hope you always will.”

“Auntie Lynette…” Alizée echoed back, feeling the words as they reverberated gently from her.

Taking Alizée’s free hand, she swept her own across the crowd.
”And this is your beautiful Family… The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals. We welcome you home with great enthusiasm and overwhelming love, Alizée Vul… You honor us.”
Another cheer drove the people into a frenzy as they excitedly chanted her name in three sharp syllables over and over.

The chains swirled around Alizée, betraying the surge of emotion bubbling up in her throat that her mask simply couldn't communicate. There was so much potential here, so many untapped sources of connections. The scents were sweet here, tinged with the Void, and the Void Heart.

Before her eyes fell on Layla, smiling, despite pain in her eyes. Pain they both felt.

Without wishing to dampen the high spirits, Alizée leaned in close, whispering in her aunt’s ear. “Auntie… You know what I'm going to ask… when the time is right, please, would you entertain me?”

To hear it from the source, where her Void had gone.

Lynette wasn't surprised to hear the request leave Alizée's ethereal lips. It was only natural that such an impressionistic soul would have the stench of the void still coloring it.

Leon knew, however. He saw it all coming, and wasn't sure he was going to be able to stop it… All he could do from here on was get Layla the support she needed. She was, in his perception, the weakest link in the whole chain. It only took convincing her that life was better without the Void Heart, and plans were over.

Get them Adjoined, get them into therapy, surround them with love. Don't give them the opportunity to question what if.
Standing next to Layla as Lynette spoke, Leon placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. One of comfort, and he smiled down at her gently.

Lynette took Alizée's hands herself, rubbing them gently in her own.

”In due time, my sweet girl… For now, let's get you fed. You must be starving, the both of you! Come, come, come!!”
Turning, she led Alizée up those familiar stairs and into that familiar chapel, where the pews were replaced by tables full of delicacies. For the night, all may be able to rest but the dreaded Riil, who could only look on in abject horror as the meal seemed to weaken them.

Deaden them. Make them sitting ducks for a greater predator. Time was nearing its end…

---

Please, Mr. Kidnapper

_{Collaboration with @Shin Ghost Note}

Temple Grounds

---

It was finally done.

Through the bitter fight, Layla was finally free of the Riil siblings. The meal had helped. Alizée and the Temple had done an excellent job of sealing them.

Not before, of course, Mr. Riil landed a hit directly on Layla. A vial of poison. Pain had laced her body. She collapsed instantly.

They had to postpone the Adjoining ceremony until she got better, or Sully had time to drop by. So now, a few hours after, Layla sat in her bed under three blankets, staring up at the ceiling and counting her breaths. The pain was a dull ache now. In a few more hours, she was hopeful it would vanish entirely.

Layla had to at least count her lucky stars. With the Riil siblings trapped in two pendants that hung around her neck, Layla was now free. She couldn't be hurt anymore.

Alizée, of course, was being fawned over by members of the Temple, and was out on Temple grounds with them. Layla was all alone in her Temple suite, the lights dimmed, door locked and curtains drawn over the window.

All she needed now was peace…

… Which she wasn’t getting tonight.

A portal opened in the ground, surrounded by chains, and Ezekiel rose from the portal… holding a burlap sack in one hand and a pistol in the other. He pointed the gun at Layla, then shouted,

“... GET IN THE BAG!”

“What the fuck?!” Layla's voice hitched, shooting up in her bed. Followed by an immediate groan, as her head pulsed.

With one hand pressed to her temple, Layla stared up at the gun level at her, then at the man holding it. Bright, curled hair. For the life of her, she didn't recognize him.

The color drained from her face as she hobbled from her bed, making her movements slow and deliberate. “You're not Father Wolf, are you? Please, please tell me you're not…”

She edged closer, hands raised in surrender as she stepped one foot, then the other in the bag. Holding her breath, her eyes wary on that gun.

Would the Temple notice if she disappeared…?

Whispering prayers under her breath, Layla sank to a squat in the bag, her small stature easily fitting inside. All the while, her blue eyes were fixed on the unknown man and his gun. Just who was he? What was going to happen to her?

With Layla in the sack, Ezekiel sunk back into the portal.

---

The Funhouse.

---

La Mala Ordina - clipping

---

Layla was floated through the halls of the Funhouse… up until the sack was thrown into an empty room, and Layla was dumped out. The first thing she saw was down the barrel of a KS-23, held by Shaquita Walker, who didn’t say a word. She was in a large, barely illuminated dark room, with several members of Dollhouse around the room. Shaquita Walker, Adaobi, Ezekiel, Stephany, and a titan of a creature that stood over eight feet tall and waited by the door wearing a black leather trench coat.

“... Hello there!” Luis shouted, “Layla Hyacinthus?”

“That's a weird ass last name,” Natalie snorted,

“Come now, she never asked for it,” Luis laughed, steepling his fingers before he turned to Layla, “It is great to meet you, Layla! I’m sorry for the circumstances of it all, but… We need those Apparitions you’re adjoined to.”

“Play nice,” Natalie said, “And don’t try to run away.”

“... Not like there’s anywhere to run away to,” Shaquita said with a roll of her eyes.

“Or hide,” Ezekiel deviously grinned.

The rough and tumble of being dumped out had Layla coughing, before her eyes widened at yet another gun leveled at her. She looked about her, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the perpetual darkness. She could just barely make out faces of these… boogeymen. It was the only words that described them accurately.

Shivering in her pajamas, Layla slowly rose to her feet, eyes flicking to the monster of a creature standing guard at the door. The way out was blocked, regardless of a gun being leveled at her.

They hadn't killed her yet. On the contrary, they wanted the Riil siblings. Her remaining two. Father Wolf never took an interest in such things. So… perhaps it was her lucky day after all, given the circumstances.

Lucky being entirely relative, as she couldn't shake the fear gripping her.

Still very aware of the shotgun leveled at her, Layla slowly moved to undo the latch of her necklace. “Y-you know me, but… I uh, am afraid I don't know you… Feels impolite to call you Mr. Kidnapper.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Natalie rolled her eyes.

Layla held the necklace out to Luis, a weak smile on her face despite her terrible circumstances. “I'm… uh, I'm happy to be rid of them. Mr. Riil is in the wolf-shaped pendant. Bahlok is in the eagle. I was unadjoined from Mr. Riil earlier today…”

Her lips pursed. “There is a third, but… I don't know where she is.”

Luis took them before throwing them to Stephany, and the rotund woman stared at them for a few moments before saying,

“Yup! They’re in here!” Stephany said.

“Don’t worry about the third one; we… have her accounted for,” Luis said before nodding to Shaquita, who hoisted the shotgun and said, ”Thank you for your cooperation; we need something else from you.”

He smiled sinisterly as one of Dollhouse’s medics walked in, hoisting a metal cart with a Phlebotomy Kit—several vials with Layla’s name on them.

“... Stick your arm out,” Luis said.

The realization that these people might know about Balaas’ whereabouts was quickly washed out as Layla stared at the vials and nicely packaged needles.

Her lips parted in fear, as if to protest. Her gaze was torn between Shaquita and Luis, a sweaty pallor coloring her face. It was only now she was seriously considering running, despite the shotgun leveled at her.

Her fear stemmed from one place. It was thanks to Mr. Riil that she had such a fear of needles.

Alas, Layla's head hung a bit. She was dead if she didn't comply.

Swallowing dryly, she unbuttoned the cuff and rolled up one of the sleeves of her pajamas, knowing exactly what was expected of her. She surrendered her arm to the medic, teeth clenched to hide her fear. The veins the medic would need were easy enough to see.

”Just… be gentle. Please.” Layla said in a tight-gripped voice, her words barely carrying. As requested, the nurse dove the needle into Layla’s veins on her arms… and in a quick and painless process, filled up three vials. After the deed was done, she left and disappeared into the halls of the Funhouse.

Luis steepled his fingers.

“Now comes the matter of what to do with you…” Luis grinned.

“Ivan hasn’t had his exercise in awhile!” Natalie laughed, “Let him chase her around for a little bit!”

“No, no, no, we’re not sadists…” Luis said as he walked over to Layla and pulled her in close and asked. “Can you keep a secret?”

Luis could feel the slightest tremble from Layla as she looked up at him, feeling her stomach twist.

“On my life, I swear I won't tell anyone about you, about this.” She blurted out, eyes searching his. Luis laughed, as he dug into his jacket pocket….

… And pulled out a wad of hundreds, which he shoved into Layla’s hand.

“That’s the spirit, don’t tell anyone,” Luis said, “Not Lynette, not Luna, not the Coven.”

“God no, not the Coven!” Natalie laughed.

“Nobody! Think of it less as a kidnapping and more as a donation… One that you were handsomely rewarded by.” Luis said… as one of Ezekial's portals began swirling behind her. “We won’t bother you anymore, love.”

“Unless you do this,” Natalie said, as she snapped her fingers and thumbs together to make the talking gesture.

“... Have a great day!” Luis said before he shoved Layla through the portal, and she ended up back in her suite in the Temple. The portal closed before she could even realize what happened.

Layla could only stare at the empty space that the portal left behind, before her knees gave out, and she fell limply. Blinking, before her gaze dropped numbly to the cash in her hand.

Don't tell nobody.

She squeezed the wad of cash into her fist, and remained there on the floor, numb to the world.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Crusader Lord I love the concept! There's just a few points I wanted to discuss.

1. It would make more sense that the elvish lady who found the core/homunculus would adapot him, thereby imparting all her titles and wealth to him upon her passing. This would make his nobility and knowledge on how to teleport more feasible. As the duchess of Athera is already claimed, he could have inherited the title of Count. Would that work?

2. I would like him to have done work for King Ludwig II, of an alchemical/arcane nature. It would have been top secret at the time, and would impact the story generously. If you are interested, we can discussion more in PMs.

3. I take it he is more of a resercher? You will need to give me examples of his exact nature of work. Depending on his specialities, thr Wizard Queen will want to speak to him sooner rather than later. I have a plan in place for this character concept to include you, if you roll with it. I think it'll be fairly entertaining. :)

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I am working on the time skip post. It has a number of collabs in it so it will be a little bit before it is ready. I will keep you updated!