FernStone

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

Bepo Park

Today was particularly cold. Thursdays generally sucked for Casey in the first place, as they were one of the days he was training the newest security recruits. Young Adepts of the Temple getting their first jobs in the “family duties” that spread work across their inner sanctum. Fill an office here, put a couple people with the right degrees somewhere else; all of a sudden a small organization can very effectively control much larger operations from within their own scope.

Distribution of labor, but equal distribution of applied pressure upon young people who had the choice to leave. The goal was to keep them in the system, as guarded away from the outside as possible. Frankly, he didn’t know what the fuck was coming at this point. Not after the things that had been said a few days ago. However, time waited for no man or machination. While things had gone belly up seemingly, there was still a memo for the next meeting in Casey’s inbox that night, along with that classic Lynette non-apology.

Thus, they were in Beppo Park on the Northern edge of the city. The car was warm at least, and would stay that way while they waited for the others who would be joining them. Having not slept in the last couple of days, Casey was dealing with less and less time between meals before he experienced agitation. While the magical food did wonders at staving off sleep, the body became more and more ravenous to compensate.

So they were there early, and Casey was stuffing his face with last night’s dinner rolls.
”Look, I know just as well as any soldier that plans only make it so far… But can we at least talk about how we can present a unified front here? Like, y’know, obviously Tansy’s not gonna flirt with me in front of my Mom, right? Or, do you think she will? And even then, like, if she’s provoking you clearly, should I react?”

He was speaking through mouthfuls of bread, pre-buttered but once-more cold which just about entirely defeated the point.

Trisha sat with her legs pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. The classic anxious Trisha posture. Her head rested on her knees, turned to watch Casey with a slight smile. She was trying to enjoy just looking at him for a moment… the short period of peace. Tired as she was, even him stuffing his face was cute. While she had slept, it hadn’t been much or good sleep. Without him there to hug her it was difficult to get to and stay asleep…

“If she thinks she can get away with flirting with you in front of Lynette, she will,” Trisha said, already tense posture getting tenser. Her fingers dug into her legs, through the thick material of her dark green corduroy pants.
“I think… No, don’t react. We should try to stay calm.”

It seemed incredibly unrealistic when she’d blown up a few days ago. She hadn’t been prepared for what Lynette said then… but she was more prepared when it came to Tansy. Hopefully. It was difficult.
“I don’t know, but they’re both trying to get us to react. So I think… if you can help me stay calm? And I’ll help you. So we can be united.” Would it even work? Would she be able to not react? She’d managed it around Lynette a few times, but it would be difficult not to just sink into the normal sullen way she acted around Tansy.

“But… I don’t know if I can handle them both, Casey…”

Casey shrugged his shoulders, letting a blast of White Lux rock off into the distance to hunt for a return from Lynette. It took a while, but she sent back something that felt like a hug. Whether or not that was her way of being funny or actual genuine affection was never something Casey could discern.

”You can, and you will… Because we will do it together. And, besides, Lynette’s unpredictable. We can’t know for sure she’ll be in that kind of mood today. And I brought some alcohol for her-”
Casey reached into his coat and pulled out a flask, jiggling it around and letting the alcohol within slosh around.

”-so that she can at least turn off a bit. You want a tug?” he asked, offering it to Trisha.

It was tempting. So tempting… But for Trisha drinking was a risk. How she was varied. Normally it made things more extreme, whatever way they went.
“Thanks, but I don’t want to risk it… I might react more.” Trisha shook her head. She shuffled a bit in her seat closer to him. For a moment, she just looked at him. Then, after some consideration, she decided ‘fuck it.’

She stepped over the centre console, awkwardly clambering onto his lap. Immediately her body twisted around as she burrowed in against him.
“Being close to you is more helpful. I… I know it’ll be fine if we do it together. Tansy will definitely be difficult… but I guess there’s nothing she can say that Lynette doesn’t already know. She definitely won’t like what we want to do. We could want to do something perfectly in line with her, and she’d still pick it apart.”

”At least Mom liked the beer garden carnival aesthetic. The theme wasn’t the problem for her, so she’ll be on our side for that unless Tansy really blows her away. And there’d have to be way more pumpkins involved.” Casey sighed, shaking his head.

”We just have to stay firm on what we want. It shouldn’t be too hard, I just… I can’t believe she’s actually going to do it. Lynette… The thing.”
He’d been expressly told to not refer to the happening as anything else. He couldn’t even say Maria without Trisha breaking down into a fervor.

Trisha’s body shook a little bit, and her lips pressed together. Even it being mentioned so vaguely was enough to cause her panic, even if it was the kind she could handle without a full blown anxiety attack.
“It’ll be fine. She won’t come. She’s too busy.” It was what Trisha had been saying to comfort herself. But… wouldn’t both be bad? Either she came at the behest of someone else, or cared so little to not bother. Either way, Trisha lost.

“I just don’t understand what Lynette gains from it,” she continued quietly. She tensed up more. Just to make her suffer?
“Maybe she won’t. Maybe today it won’t be mentioned at all, and she actually won’t.”

Casey stuffed another roll into his mouth, reaching down and grabbing his diet soda to wash it down with. Regretting every second of drinking the disgusting sludge, he wished he’d at least sprung for the actual non-diet drink. What was the stress worth otherwise? Protecting Trisha was the only thing…

”I can take a guess if you actually want my input…” he offered to her, taking a deep breath. He didn’t want to say torture, but it felt like that.

Trisha furrowed her brow. Did she want that, or would she rather just not know? No, she had to know so she could deal with it a little better. Not that she wanted to deal with it at all… fuck, she’d rather just forget about it. But she couldn’t.

“I do… why would I bring it up if I didn’t?” She replied a bit shortly, before catching herself. No, no, she didn’t want to take it out on Casey. She needed him more than anything right now. Take a deep breath, calm down a bit. He hadn’t meant anything by if you actually want. He wasn’t trying to set her off.
“Sorry, I’m anxious, I didn’t mean to snap.”

Casey nodded his head in understanding.
”I appreciate you saying that… Apology accepted.”

His free hand reached out to cup Trisha’s as best he could.
”Mum’s got two speeds. Mom, and Lynette. Like two people living in the same body, they’ve got some crossover on things. For her, she’s… Gurdjieffian. She’s always looking to put people into mental grapples. She needs to see the strain.”

What was worse is that he knew why. Her parents hadn’t exactly been the greatest when it came to sheltering their own kids. Plenty of mental anguish. Plenty of not understanding. He didn’t love thinking about the grandparents he never met when the only information he had of them was through accidental transference and purposeful stories.

”Domination. To see if you break, or if you rise. The more you break, the more of a tool you are. The more you rise, the more she respects you. To a certain extent, at least.”
Not that she had a great deal longer to make herself a nuisance to them. Come next year, he wasn’t even sure what life would look like…

Casey let another ping rock across the sky, and got a near immediate response. It wasn’t long before the Limo was pulling up. He only really had enough time to stash his rolls and wipe his fingers on a stray napkin. Without thinking, he leaned over to give Trisha a kiss, then patted her on the leg.

”Just… Remember. Unified front. We’re not gonna stoop to any bait they throw for us.”
He spoke with intent, looking her directly in the eye as he did so. And then he was out of the car, moving around to open Trisha’s door.

As the two got out, the Limo driver was making the same motion to let the rear door swing open.

A well-manicured hand with nails painted in a toxic lime green emerged from the backseat of the limo. It made a ‘come here’ motion when the chauffeur didn’t immediately offer his hand out and struck like a cobra as a white glove was extended out to it. The owner of the hand emerged from the limousine like the girl from the Ring, slowly and ominously, with her other hand clawing at the frame of the car to steady herself, except instead of a drowned girl it was a middle aged woman who looked like she had been ripped directly out of an advert from the fifties. It made the trendy, oversized, rose gold water bottle look even more anachronistic as it struggled to be held in the other hand. It was like the wrong accessory had been dropped in the Barbie box.

Tansy Vanburen withdrew her hand from the chauffeur’s like it was fire without even giving him as much as a nod of appreciation. There was a slight wobble to her step as she distanced herself from the help, smoothing out the part of her orange button-up sweater that had become bunched from sitting. Then again, perhaps she was just using it to wipe off her hand, as she immediately hid the sweater behind her periwinkle princess coat as she rebuttoned it, the long wool jacket just a bit too tight around the midsection and squeezing her like an overstuffed sausage. A small fascinator decorated with lace and ribbons like one would wear to a tea party was clipped to her hair.

“Pa-tri-cia~! Darling~!”

Trisha didn't quite cover up her reactionary grimace, not even acknowledging it. In the effort of staying calm… better to be rude and ignore Tansy than immediately snap.

Not far behind her, Lynette had pulled herself out of the back and out into the cold November air. Immediately, Casey was stunned by a flash of actual color. Something more human, Lynette wore a pair of emerald wide-legged pants and a dark chocolate blazer that covered up a lighter cream blouse. As she stepped out fully, she slipped a wide-brimmed hat from the seat and let it rest atop her tightly rolled hair buns.

As she turned fully, it became more clear that the coat was sashed together around the neck like a cloak, and her arms were otherwise withdrawn fully under its warmth.

”Oh, didn’t I tell you he’d force them to be early? I think that’s a point for me, Tansy…” Lynette smiled smugly, approaching her son and Trisha with some serious energy and gusto. Two things she never seemed to lack in the face of outsiders.

“Chalk one up on the scoreboard,” said Tansy, her laugh nothing more than a bit of air moving through her teeth as she smiled broadly at Lynette. The smile faded as the Matriarch of the Richoux family moved towards her son, Tansy’s eyes narrowing as she stared down the woman. With a bat of her lashes the predatory stare switched from Lynette to Trisha as she took a long, sucking sip from her waterbottle’s straw, broadcasting a series of blinks at her young half-sister in some kind of uncrackable code.

Blink, blink, blink, blink blink: Don’t.

Lynette reached out and up to pinch Casey’s cheek slightly before getting up on her tiptoes to kiss his face.
”Hello, Sweetheart. How’s work been?”

Casey couldn’t help but play the role. At least he’d do his best.
”Oh, not much different than it was last time we talked.”

”Ahuh. Are we, uh-” good? Okay? Prepared to move on? Lynette’s face became an immediate cringe. It passed between Casey and Trisha like an apology from her lips.

”Oh, well… I’m not sure about that one Mom. We’ll talk about it later.”
And then Casey turned, eager to face the new problem far more head on.

”Tansy! Would you imagine my surprise when I heard you were in charge of bringing our vision to life… Tell me, how do you like spending time with my dear ol’ Mum?”
Casey approached with wide arms like he was going to offer a hug.

“Oh, we had an absolutely marvelous time together. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone more delightful. You must be Leon. Your mother talked so highly of you,” said Tansy, the smile on the corner of her lips twitching ever so slightly as she countered the hug attempt with a full extension of her hand to offer it up for a shake instead. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Another machinegun of blinks were fired off at Trisha: Don’t Fuck? Don’t Fucking, perhaps?

Meanwhile, Lynette remained on the sideline with Trisha.

”You’re entitled to how you feel. I can’t take back the invitation, but I will say that if it’s truly a problem, I’ll back whatever decision you two make. I’m truly sorry.”
It was like she couldn’t help herself.

“I'm sure you are." Trisha looked at Lynette near emotionlessly. She couldn't muster up a fake smile, but she at least held back from reacting. Burying everything deep down to come back up when it was just her and Casey later. She was uncomfortable from the moment the two of them stepped out of the limo together, and it only got worse when Casey moved away. Then, Lynette brought it up immediately. As if she meant any bit of that apology… It was just all part of the play. It was so difficult to not immediately react. Especially when she didn't have that physical stability from him…
Unified front. Don't take the bait. Trust him.

She cast a pointed glance towards Tansy, giving her oldest sister a nod but no other greeting. Then she looked back at Lynette. Her lips twitched up towards a polite smile.
“You can prove you're truly sorry by not meddling with my family affairs in the future."

Trisha’s nod was answered by a carpet bombing of so many blinks that it would wipe a village clean off the map. The static was clearing and the transmission could now clearly be received: Don’t. Fucking. Embarrass. Me.

While she wished she didn't, Trisha understood what Tansy was trying to convey with her insane blinks. Every Vanburen had run afoul of a Tansy beration after missing a secret message she tried to pass them. It was a pain to deal with her like that. Of course, Trisha normally ignored it. Don't embarrass her? As if Tansy didn't embarrass herself most of the time. But it did give her an excuse to get away from a conversation she didn't want to have with Lynette.

“Oh my God, Tansy, are you alright? Are you having a stroke- you're eyes are twitching and your memory's clearly off!" She moved forward like a genuinely concerned younger sister, stopping just shy of Tansy and immediately beside Casey. The act couldn't quite be followed through physically. The thought of physical touch, affection even faked, was equally disdained on both sides. Normally Trisha didn't even bother pretending, letting her true feelings show like they had when Tansy and Casey first met. But today all of that sullenness was covered up.

“This is Casey, my boyfriend. Who you met three weeks ago? Don't tell me you've already forgotten?" Trisha frowned, gaze filled with concern. Her head then dropped, managing to look almost sad.
“Or maybe you just don't care? I thought you did… I guess I was mistaken that you were making an effort to be a proper Big Sister to me. At least that's what Casey suggested when we found out you were helping with this." Her head tilted up towards Casey, silently imploring him to confirm her lies.

Casey was lost in a pool of White Lux.

Was that… Morse Code?
The actual vocalized communications were always more jarring than the thought diffusion. Too bad she didn’t go for it this time.
Why do you ask questions about things you know the answers to?

Lynette laughed aloud inside of Casey’s mind.
Grampy used to think I had tourettes…
It does seem like a tick sometimes, Mom.

A shoulder shrug passed between their minds, and Casey was released from the fog. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about that point. It was dismissed rather quickly, giving Tansy’s primordial nature. Like all animals untamed from the wild, Tansy did as she pleased. Just like someone else Casey knew very well…

”Oh, Trisha… Tansy’s just playing around clearly. Just like Big Sisters do, everyone gets a little teasing. After all, you’re always trying to be a good Big Sister, right?”
Casey grinned a smile that looked like it’d been abused. The kind of smile that would hide under the bed at the first loud noise. Weak, with no chance to survive direct attack. It was only meant to give Tansy the uncomfortable feeling one gets when watching a commercial for donating to animal shelters. Some kind of vague guilt.

”I mean, ever since we met, I knew you loved Trisha deeply. So it only made sense that you’d be getting involved now because of that? Or, did you happen to join Tigo Carrera’s Pilates and Dance classes down at that new big gym they built in the South part of town? Must’ve met Mom there, didn’t you?”
Tigo was a big fitness influencer, and a Blind member of the Temple. Very popular with the kind of crowd Casey assumed Tansy frequented.

“Oh, of course, Casey. Quite the detective your son is, Lynette. Casey’s on the case. Obviously I’m here to support my baby sister. Patricia and I are just having a bit of sport. We’re a couple of pranksters–Patty especially. She truly commits to the bit. You just simply can’t trust a word that comes out of her mouth, especially if it’s about me. She’s actually quite funny. I’m sure you’ll realize that once you get to know her,” said Tansy.

Tansy was utterly immune to Casey’s tragic smile. She wouldn’t crack even if Sarah McLachlan jumped out of a bush and began singing in the arms of an angel. Tansy was the kind of woman who saw those cardboard boxes full of golden retriever puppies and asked why she should care about a bunch of little parasites that didn’t even try to pull themselves up by their own puppy-sized bootstraps? The only time she had ever felt guilt was when she broke out the Hӓagen-Dazs in her most trying times. A craving for vanilla bean overcame her at the mention of Tigo Carrera. Casey must’ve known because Trisha had told him, but how the fuck had her little sister found out about her latest failed fling?

“You should consider getting a refund if you’ve signed up for any of those Pilates classes, Lynette. While it's better than no exercise, studies have shown that the health benefits gained from it are miniscule when compared to better forms of exercise. Plus, a girl friend of mine attended the class and said she was made very uncomfortable by Mr. Carrera. I’ve been doing this thing called hot yoga and my guru is this absolutely fantastic Muslim girl. She pushes us really hard. I feel like I’m going to die sometimes by the end of the class, but the result speaks for itself. You should join me next time. I’m sure Miss Nour would absolutely love to have another pupil, or, well, ‘victim’ as she likes to call us. She’s so fun for being, um, from a more traditional family,” rambled Tansy, holding the conversation hostage.

“Anway, to answer your question, no. I met your mother over some tea and we had a lovely time, didn’t we, darling?” asked Tansy, giving Lynette a smile that had been practiced for years upon years that the uninitiated would swear to be authentic.

Trisha hadn't been able to hold back her glare over Tansy calling her Patty before heavily implying she was a liar and Casey barely knew her. But it quickly turned into a wide eyed stare when her sister mentioned Miss Nour. Surely that couldn't be the same Nour Trisha knew. There was no way Vashti was teaching a yoga class. If she was… Trisha hoped she'd eat Tansy and put them out of their misery.

“I’m sure you did, since you're both so alike," she commented snidely, looking between Lynette and Tansy with a overly sweet, fake smile.

Lynette’s mouth opened widely at Trisha’s comment, playfully pouting over it.
”Oh, Trisha! Tansy and I may share some excellent qualities, but I assure you that what we share most in common is our love for you.” Lynette smiled, shrugging her shoulders to dismiss any furthering of the topic.

She did look back at Tansy then, lifting a hand and gently batting the woman’s shoulder as if they were old chums.
”And why did you not mention this Mr. Carrera situation earlier!? Casey, please… I expect a full investigation into this on grounds of Heresy!”

Casey squirmed. He’d never met this person before, and maybe he was a Blind… But he’d had enough problems dealing with Trisha’s anxiety over his personal prejudice. He didn’t want this innocent man’s head in his hands over something that Tansy Vanburen was implying. But, he had zero tolerance for things like that. So, rather than let the moment escape his chance to leave an impression, his face turned from slightly displeased to deathly serious.

”That’s an incredibly serious accusation to level at someone. You understand there’s lawful penalties for negligent claims like that, correct?” he asked calmly, despite his furrowed brow.

Lynette giggled, turning her head and torso without her legs to Tansy.
”Listen to him… Lawful penalties... Casey?-” she paused, letting herself shift back. ”-I’m certain that Tansy wouldn’t lie to us. So, surely you’ll find something he’s guilty of. Won’t you?”

He’d not be following that subliminal suggestion.

”We’ll see what comes of it is all I can say… Now, come on; surely the both of you have better things to be doing elsewhere… Let’s get this taken care of, shall we?”
Casey’s hand swept up toward the two women and off into the wide open park space down a small hill from the car lot.

Beppo Park was one of the public spaces “adopted” by the Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals, placing them loosely in charge of maintaining and beautifying the area. In turn, they were usually never given a hard time when they applied for local ordinances to host events there. They’d even installed platforms on clever “walking” rigging that allowed them to be moved and reconfigured at the necessity of the event.

Blinds didn’t need to know it wasn’t motorized. They didn’t need to know how it worked at all, so long as it never broke. Casey stared down at the platforms with a skeptical eye knowing full well it may be his turn to goad the ancient things into actually moving.
God, please don’t let one break.

Casey’s arms swept across the park, finally pulling Trisha back to his side as close as he could tuck her. Between the cold and the insanity, he wanted to give her as much shelter as he could provide.

”So, you’ve done this before,Tansy. What do you actually need to know? Just like… What our theme is? I’ve never managed anything like this before, I’ll admit it. Surprising, I know.-” he trailed off sarcastically.

“It’s a good thing I’m here then. The last thing you would ever want your event to be is unremarkable,” said Tansy, seemingly not picking up on the sarcasm. “I cannot recall the amount of galas and events I’ve been to where everyone was absolutely bored out of their mind simply because of poor planning and bad pacing.

Tansy pulled a surprisingly thick pair of glasses out of her jacket and put them on, followed by her phone as she opened up a notes app. Her impossibly perfect posture somehow grew even more rigid as she leered over Beppo Park like a general before battle. Her lips thinned in disapproval as she scanned the area, but she didn’t strike out with the typical backhanded comment. There was a clear shift in her demeanor as if she was actually invested in making sure that the Temple’s event was a success. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t too big of a shift, as the event was now going to be a reflection of Tansy. Therefore, it had to be perfect.

“A theme is a start, yes. My basic assumption would be we start with ‘autumnal’ since it’s for Thanksgiving and then zhush is up from there, making it a uniquely Temple-themed holiday while still adhering to tradition. However, I am unfamiliar with the Temple’s doctrines. You would know the expectations of the guests better than I. We can do whatever feels appropriate,” said Tansy matter-of-factly.

“Brainstorming these ideas is the easy part. The challenge lies in the logistics. How many guests are we expecting to accommodate? More importantly, how married are we to using an outdoor venue? The weather is extremely fickle and we don’t want something we can’t control to ruin our evening. Unless there’s a large enough shelter hiding somewhere in this park, we’d need to assume the worst and come prepared with tents and space heaters.“

In the end, it was no small effort aligning the satellite dish that was the Tansy’s expectation to the orbiting possibilities that came from being involved with the Temple. Granted, most of it had to be explained away in some instance, but between Casey and Lynette’s instantaneous line of communication and their willingness to play around the edges of expectation, plans were somehow set. He’d even shown off the moving park platforms without there being any malfunctions, despite one section’s very clear and established desire to remove the head of its handlers.

But once everything was clearly translated between all parties, the outdoor venue was settled for. A strong layout was created based on the expectations of the people commissioning the event. In spite of many half-failed provocations from Lynette and stubborn refusals from Tansy, Casey and Trisha quietly agreed that things were at least going better than they’d hoped. Even if only partly.

With things finishing up, the early evening was beginning to crawl up around St. Portwell’s quiet North. All parties satisfied with the proceedings, there was only the short walk up the hill and back to the cars.

”Ahhh… Well, I’m just chuffed. It seems like we made the right choice changing our usual planner over to you, Tansy. Frankly? I’ve never felt more secure about our plans.” Lynette cooed, playfully curling her arms around her Son to give him a big friendly hug.

“You cannot even imagine how overjoyed I am to hear that,” said Tansy, giving a wide smile. She prided herself on making people regret it when they chose someone other than her. “Between your feedback and my capable hands this will be the greatest Temple Thanks…excuse me, Harvest Festival of all time.”

Lynette’s smile broadened as if she was in competition with the other woman for champion faker. The group had been walking toward the hill, and as the incline came, Lynette cleared her throat.
”Oh, Casey… Can we talk about something before we return to the cars? Privately?” she asked with the kind of sweetness that only a doting Mother could muster.

Casey’s eyes narrowed instinctively, teeth clicking together as his jaw locked up. What was he going to say, no? God knew it wasn’t important… Just some mental I.E.D. she wanted to put under a log that he’d flip over later.

”Is it something so important our guest can’t hear?” Casey asked, cleverly leaving out any mention of Trisha as if Lynette wasn’t specifically singling her out.

”Oh, this is immensely detailed Temple stuff. Very sophisticated, has to do with the… Y’know… Aura of the park. Like Tansy mentioned earlier, the vibes are off. I find that a typical problem, so we should handle the solution together with a private prayer. Tansy, darling, I know this must be terribly rude of me to ask, but could you escort Trisha and yourself up to the cars? Just wait there, you can feel free to get into the back of the Limo if it suits you. I’ll be right there.” Lynette’s gaze turned downward to stare at Tansy and Trisha with some kind of… Wholly different energy.

Like she was magic. She was, but even the person who couldn’t ever see or understand may have, with that look, felt deep within themselves that she was magical. Casey wasn’t fooled, but his hands were bound at that moment.

”Ma…-” he said, turning to look down at Trisha with a frown.
”-Is it necessary to do today?”

”You heard what Tansy said. If someone outside the circle can tell there’s something off, then that should be a massive red flag for you to deal with!”

Casey’s face became pained, and he looked back at Trisha again. His hand reached into his pocket, and he pulled out the keys.
”If you need them… I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

His hand let go, placing the car keys in her hand.
”Just turn and walk. I’ll be right behind you.”

Usually, he’d have turned by now… But who he was dealing with, and what he knew was happening, made it impossible for that small trigger to pass up his mind. He could never turn on her in a situation like this.

Trisha wasn't happy about Lynette dragging Casey away, no matter how quick it'd be. She was smart and paranoid enough to see why. It'd take an idiot to not see how Lynette had been targeting her… Why? Why was she trying to put Trisha in all of these situations to make her miserable? And why couldn't she just deal with it, rather than reacting? Her face scrunched up, lips pressing into a harsh line. Unhappy, looking up at Casey sullenly… but it wasn't his fault. He wasn't turning away from her.

She put the keys in her jacket pocket, but didn't walk away immediately. Instead she pushed up onto her toes to quickly kiss him. To make sure he knew she wasn't upset with him.
“Alright. Miss you already."

There was no effort to wait for Tansy as Trisha turned around and made her way back up the hill to the cars. She stopped in front of Casey's car, frowning. She wanted to just get inside and slam the door on her sister's face, but she knew it wouldn't work out like that. Tansy would claw her way in or would make her life miserable at a later date… Thanksgiving itself, probably. She'd rather deal with Tansy right now, when it was just the two of them, rather than in front of so many other people.

Trisha turned, leaning against the car and fixing Tansy with a narrow eyed stare. Now that it was just them all pretenses of forced politeness and fake smiles were dropped. Just the normal sullen frown Trisha wore around family. She didn't want to talk to Tansy, but maybe if she started the conversation she'd have the upper hand. And there was one thing she was curious about…

“How’d you convince Ezra to attend next week?" It was probably the normal ‘social pressure', but that didn't seem enough when he knew the Temple was a cult. There had to be something else… and even if there wasn't, Trisha wanted to try steer the conversation off her.

“The same way I convinced the rest of the family to join us as well–with charm and grace,” said Tansy, the smile on her face thinning as there weren’t others around warranting for her to put in as much of an effort. “Frankly, I’m surprised any of us were invited. I would say pleasantly, but I can’t shake the feeling that by the end of the evening they’ll stray from my plan and pull out a punch bowl full of Kool-aid and ask for us to drink. Who convinced you to make this a family affair? Your new toy or the one pulling his strings?”

Of course, Tansy hit an immediate sore spot. Trisha hated how under all of her disgustingly plastic layers she actually had something of a brain. It was certainly amazing at picking out the little details that would irritate Trisha. The answer was both, technically. Lynette invited her whole family in some sick attempt to break her down, then Casey convinced her it was better to spend the holiday together than apart. But there was no way she was telling Tansy that.

“He isn’t that- And I wasn’t convinced. I wasn’t happy I’d have to spend the holiday with two boring old people- sorry, you and Ezra, cause everyone else managed to escape the city. Casey suggested we combine the two and I thought, why not? It’s easier to deal with so many annoying people with him.” She folded her arms, scowling at Tansy.
“I’m surprised you wouldn’t immediately drink from the Kool-aid. You seem the type!”

“I know Patricia, I seem to be everyone’s type. It’s a burden I have to shoulder daily. But I’m not worried about myself–this isn’t the first time loonies have attempted to recruit me. That Lynette gives me the creeps,” said Tansy, stalking her way closer to the car as she lowered her voice. “I’m worried about you, Patty. You’re so…impressionable, but surely you’ve even noticed something is off about them.”

“Don’t pretend to care,” Trisha sneered, rolling her eyes. It wasn’t like Tansy actually did. It was the fake big sister act- but she’d be the happiest to have the blackmail material of Trisha joining a cult for the future.

“I’m not stupid. I know that there’s something off. I’ve been dealing with them for weeks… ‘Off’ doesn’t even begin to describe Lynette. But cult leaders tend to be creepy and manipulative. I’m fully aware of what’s going on, so save me the speech. There’s no blind following here- just because I’m dating her son doesn’t mean I’m trusting anything out of her mouth.“

“Oh, Patty,” said Tansy with a stage actress sigh, lowering her head in disappointment before flicking her eyes back up at Trisha like a switchblade knife. “I meant Casey.”

Tansy folded her arms over her chest as her stare threatened to carve at and crack through the rib bones protecting Trisha’s heart, “He really assumed the worst when I said a friend of mine was made uncomfortable by Tigo. For all Casey knows I could’ve meant that she just found the pilates class too high impact, yet instead of seeking clarification he was so quick to leap to accusations. I imagine a lot of your previous boyfriends would also jump so quickly to the defense of a supposed predator because the alternative of trusting the word of a woman was absolutely crazy. How did things work out for them? More importantly, how did things work out for you?”

Tansy was looming over Trisha now, glaring down at her dear little sister. The setting sun cast a shadow across the older woman’s face as her lip twitched into an unsettling smile, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

What? She meant Casey? A shiver ran down her spine, her scowl only deepening to cover it up. Tansy was right about her previous boyfriends, as much as Trisha hated that. But Casey wasn’t like that. He wasn’t. He just hadn’t wanted to deal out Temple style justice on someone possibly innocent. That was it. It made sense he’d jumped to that conclusion! So had Trisha! It wasn’t to defend a possible predator… it just wasn’t.

He was different, right? It had been three weeks. He’d treated her so well. None of her past boyfriends waited that long to show their true colours… He wasn’t like that. She trusted him. She loved him.

“Casey’s not like them. He just doesn’t trust your word because half of what you say is a lie, and the other half is purposefully twisted truth! Like right now… you’re just trying to get rid of the one good thing in my life. It’s not like you cared when I was with all of those previous boyfriends. You saw me after one h- hit me when we broke up, and what did you say? ‘Oh, Patricia, there’s this awful mark on your face. You should get that checked out!‘” Trisha mockingly imitated Tansy’s tone, glaring up at her.

“He’d never hurt me like them… Because he loves me!”
She wished she completely believed it. That he wouldn’t hurt her at all. That things wouldn’t work out like they always did… Badly.

“The one good thing in your life?” A sharp, shrill laugh escaped from Tansy’s throat. “Oh my gosh, Patty, you truly are the queen of the pity parties. You’re rich, you come from a powerful family, and you never once face a true struggle in your life. You could sit down now and do nothing and there would be people to take care of you until you die of old age. We’re in the same boat here. I’m more like you than you think. When everything is handed to you on a silver platter all of it becomes quite mundane after a while. We’re both dying of boredom and desperate for a cure. But while I treat it by entertaining others and giving them a taste of a life they think they want, you find yours in a more selfish way.”

“How can you say I do not care when I was clearly worried about your injury? If you had cooperated with myself or Ezra then charges would’ve been pressed immediately against that bastard, but you played coy and pushed us away because if we helped you that wouldn’t fit whatever pathetic narrative you’re trying to achieve,” said Tansy. She should’ve considered a career in Hollywood after all as her eyes began to well up.

“Stop pretending like I’m some wicked, evil, fairy tale half-sister and start accepting that I do actually care about you. I’m just afraid that I’m the only one here who actually does. Yes, I’d admit, sometimes I tease you, sometimes I tell half-truths to get a reaction, but it’s only because that’s the only kind of engagement I can ever get out of you. Trisha, I love you. I am not your enemy here,” said Tansy, her honeyed words dripping with venom as her eyes narrowed into snake slits. She reached her hand out to cup the cheek that had been struck by that awful ex, guessing at which one it had been. “You are.”

“What’s the one thing all those awful boyfriends had in common?” asked Tansy. Her eyes had dried but she didn’t not give a cruel smile either, her face remaining a hauntingly neutral guise of brutal honesty that only a family member could deliver. Tansy didn’t give Trisha the answer. She knew her little sister’s insecurities well enough that she trusted her to figure it out. “Maybe Casey’s not the worst guy in the world, but he’s still just like them.”

Trisha flinched back and away from Tansy’s hand. It wasn’t normal. Their family was the opposite of the touchy feely kind that the Richoux were. Sure, some got affection from their moms, but for most there was none of that. Especially not between them- not since Tansy stopped trying to replace Trisha’s mom.

Why? Why? This was Tansy. She was lying. Playing some angle to make Trisha miserable. But why go to such lengths? There wasn’t even an audience? Trisha didn’t believe that she loved her, or she really cared… But… Trisha had been the one to push her away. Again and again because she had a mom, then suddenly she didn’t have that either. Maybe some tiny part of her did care. It wasn’t like anyone could care about her fully, or without that toxicity she brought out in them…

She was right. Trisha pushed them away that time, and every time… because she wanted pity? No, it was because she didn’t trust them. Had she ever really given any family member a chance? Or did she just lump them into the same group that she’d clashed with as a sullen teenager? Resented because James never loved her. Because she was jealous.

No, no, no, this was Tansy she was thinking about. Her personal tormenter. None of that was care.

But she was right about what her boyfriends had in common, wasn’t she? It was Trisha. They all dated the awful, unloveable her. Of course they were toxic, because she was too. What sane person would want to be with her? Why would anyone actually love her if they weren’t getting something out of it? She was her own worst enemy. Was she doing it again? Blinding herself in the hope she’d finally find someone who’d stick. To not feel loneliness. To cure boredom? But she wasn’t like her. She had faced true struggle. She’d fought a world ending threat at fourteen, and almost died multiple times!

“H- He’s not just like them. It doesn’t matter if they have that in common, he’s not,” Trisha asserted again, but there was less confidence in it. A slight wavering as her breathing started to quicken. The start of panic… But she suppressed it as best she could. Suppressed the pheromones that wanted to leak out. She didn’t want to alert Lynette.

“Is it so hard to believe that someone would actually like me?! That he doesn’t want anything- that he’s not awful like the rest? That maybe I’m not the problem?” Fuck. Trisha clenched her hands into trembling fists. She was trying to convince herself as much as she was Tansy.
“You’re wrong. You hardly know Casey- you hardly know me! And you don’t love me. If you did then you’re the one who’s like all my exes. You’re using ‘feelings’ as an excuse to manipulate me. You, not Casey. He’s never been like that. He’ll never be like that. Not this time. He’s not like them…”

It was obvious to someone that had known Trisha so long that it was getting to her, no matter what she said. The panicked heaving of her chest, the way her glaring eyes flickered around rather than just focusing on Tansy. She didn’t want to believe anything she said. Was struggling not to. So few people even considered uttering the words ‘I love you’ to her. “Y- you’re just lying to isolate me. I pushed you away because you always do this… So stop pretending to care! What have you ever done to prove it?!”

“Besides this?” hissed Tansy, gesturing to the park with her cellphone loaded up with preliminary notes for the Temple’s harvest festival.

Tansy glared at Trisha, and when the young woman refused to meet her gaze it sparked a malfunction in her programming. A flash of unrighteous, apocalyptic rage fired up in Tansy’s eyes as her nostrils flared, her face breaking free of its botox seal as her teeth began to grind away at the veneers. One hand gripped her water bottle so tightly that it threatened to dent the one hundred percent recycled materials while the other wringed itself around the fabric of her already ill-fitting coat, pulling at the seams. Tansy had canceled plans to be here, and this was the thanks she got? She was coiled like a cobra now, ready to sink her fangs into Trisha and drown her over privileged and undeserving blueblood in venom.

A black SUV crept up alongside the limousine. Tansy had texted her driver while touring the grounds with the others. He would hear an earful about how he was late, but for now she held up a finger to the tinted window to signal for one moment. His presence was the only thing that saved Trisha as Tansy unwinded, an easy smile replacing the look of an avenging devil. Tansy chuckled and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Patricia. You’re right,” said Tansy with a nonconfrontational shrug. She might’ve meant that Trisha was right about how hard it was to believe that someone would like her, but that wasn’t what she said. Tansy tucked a finger under her chin and batted her lashes up towards heaven. She began to back away towards the SUV, or perhaps just maneuver herself out of striking distance. “Or rather, I hope you’re right. This time it will be different. You deserve to be happy.”

“What?" Trisha's eyes stopped darting around, staring at Tansy in shock. She was just backing down like that? What? Was… was it a threat? No, how could it be? Did she… really care? No, that didn't make sense either. Trisha didn't even truly believe she deserved to be happy, even though everything she did was to attain that.

But the sudden deescalation was worse than if Tansy kept going. The panic only clutched Trisha stronger. She didn't understand. Tansy never apologised, not unless it was one that was so clearly fake. A certain tone that all the Vanburen could read… lacking here. But there was no way she actually meant it.

“I am right, and I am happy. So stay out of my relationship." Harsh, bitter words said without much conviction. She was happy, sure, but was she right? Would things really be different when… she was always the problem…

There was enough time for Tansy to get unnervingly close to her escape… Maybe that was intentional.

”Tansy, sweetheart!? I don’t suppose that’s your car waiting?”

The looming figures draped both in raven hair crested the hill with their heads, then with massive strides both were in full view before another step could be made. Lynette almost skipped along her pathway as the ground leveled out, gracefully slipping across the pavement with only the most essential steps being taken. The impression was undeniable, that she almost glided… Almost.

But not far behind her were the very purposeful and almost violent steps of a man who was not where he wanted to be. He didn’t speak; not to his mother again. Not to Tansy. Not even to Trisha, save through physical action which spoke far louder in the end. Getting close to his beloved, the scowl turned to something like a smile. It was weak, frail, more to offer her solidarity than to express joy.

The truth was obvious to him, at least. That he’d heard, and that the Lynette special worked once again. Isolate, demotivate, reeducate. If she was hoping she could get to him through Trisha, she’d have to try a lot harder, he guessed. She hadn’t seemed particularly susceptible to those cult tactics. Not except that they turned her into a complete basket case who just wound up turning off entirely.

Trisha wasn’t a good cult member. And he knew his mother wasn’t stupid enough to believe she was. So, the only reason he presumed she was doing this was to break down his will. To make him tired, and her tired in a spiral of doom that would see him… Alone. Alone except his family again.

She had things Leon needed. There was no question in his mind that she had something all his siblings needed. But what was it for him? This job? The powers? Love? She’d not been able to avoid the information age’s vice grip over the zeitgeist of the younger generation: They knew what life was like outside of a cult. She’d long ago switched to a Moon-style celebration of her children as “chosen”, and did her best to return the freedoms she’d not believed in them having as younger people.

It was hard to remember sometimes that she legitimately saw the future. Sometimes with incredible clarity, to the point that she did change things. Or, presumably. Who was to say she didn’t just see how things were going to go anyway? All of the mental space she took up in Casey’s mind made it hard to not be pissed. More than pissed. She had been bothering him about something far more mundane than necessary, but they both knew that they were listening with equal interest just up the hill. And the fact that they could both easily hear it only made things more frustrating in the end, because she’d not only badmouthed him… She’d badmouthed Lynette.

And that wasn’t something that the Matron usually put up with. Not from outsiders. Which only made these days stranger… That she was having more and more people hurt or killed internally, but external influences seemed to be fading away. Maybe fading in.
Along with his quarter-smile, Casey’s hands reached out and wrapped around Trisha in a quick hug before shifting her in his arms. Momentum began to take them both back toward the car…

”Oh, and Casey? Don’t forget, those reports are very important to know how much extra we can allocate to this! Now, Tansy? If you were going to hypothetically follow me, we’d be meeting at the Cheradin on West Marble? Surely you kn-”

Casey slipped his hand down to the car door and nearly ripped it off swinging the thing open for Trisha to step in. He very consciously closed it softly, so as not to make her think it was her he was mad at. Frankly, he needed her to think it was Lynette, because if he went off on a rant about her sister and her family and how they treated her, he’d probably just send her into a panic spiral. He wouldn’t do that… Couldn’t.

Casey stood outside the car for a few more seconds, coming around and turning his head. Lynette’s voice was muffled, and so was Casey’s reply. But he opened the door on his side, and she grabbed an opportunity.

”Trisha!!! We’ll see you again soon, honey! Forget about all that other nonsense, it’s taken care of! Just you w-”
He slammed the door shut again, and his hand came out to point at Lynette. She seemed to be a little startled, but his voice was much louder than could be muffled through the car.

”I am not going to let you just do as you please!”

Trisha flinched slightly, already curled into a tight ball in the passenger seat. Her gaze moved past Casey and Lynette, finding her sister on her escape. Her eyes narrowed into a sullen glare- but it didn’t have the same bite it normally did. She was shaken, at the very least.

Then Casey was in the car. With lightning speed that seemed almost illusory, the vehicle was already backing up out of the spot and turning toward the exit of Beppo Park.

---

Home

The car ride home was tense.

Silence lingered and festered. Trisha was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t even think to ask Casey what had happened to upset him. It had to be Lynette. What else could it be?

At least he hadn’t heard what Tansy said. About Trisha, about her exes, about him. Because some of what Tansy said was right. Trisha was her own enemy. She was the problem. She was so wrapped up in her self pity… she pushed people away, she chose the wrong people. But she was also the one that pushed them to their limits.

So was it really their fault?

What was it they talked about a few days ago? Getting revenge? But how did that work when Tansy was right…

When Trisha was the problem in the equation.

Casey had talked about being so lonely before her. About how much he loved her and how she motivated him. It should bring her comfort, it should help her push away all these fears. But…

But how many women had he met since he came back from active duty? How many had he met that weren't from the Temple? It really didn't seem like that many... So how did he know that she was the one? That there wasn't someone better for him out there? Someone actually worthy of his love?

Wouldn't it be selfish for her to hold on, then? It would hurt so much to let him go... But did she really deserve someone like him? Did she deserve any of his love? She’d just keep hurting him and herself. He was one of the few good people she’d dated. It was fine now, but eventually it would be too much.

Then he’d leave. She wouldn’t even blame him, no matter how devastating it was.

It was the only way things could go when she was involved… because she’d never get better. She’d always be the problem. Her own enemy.

By the time they got back to the Apartment complex, Trisha had come to the decision that she’d pretend everything was fine. Withdraw, recharge, and push it down… Maybe she could be selfish. Like she always was. Cling. But should she…

Once they were inside the elevator, Trisha shuffled towards Casey, leaning against him. Like everything was normal. Pretending she was perfectly fine as if she hadn’t spent the whole car journey as a curled up ball of tension.

It inadvertently gave the illusion that she was going to open up to him, perhaps, as she spoke up finally.
“Do you have to go do those reports for… Lynette?” Trisha grimaced, trying not to feel a bit panicked at how he might react to her bringing that up. He’d seemed so angry.

But part of her hoped he did. It would make things easier for her.
“I understand if you have to… Even if you don’t want to.”

Ultimately, Casey wasn't satisfied with the response. It wasn't like she absolutely needed to be fully transparent with him, but at this point it was starting to feel like an insult. An insult to his abilities, but more importantly, his intelligence. He wondered if she thought of him like some dumb jarhead, because he assumed it didn't take a rocket scientist to parse out angst from normal behavior. Trisha wasn't a general yapper, so there were few audio queues to indicate the lowered mood.

But her embrace, the way her arms noodled up and barely held onto him when usually they clung for dear life, gave up the illusion. He could probably forgive her for forgetting the near-perpetual extrasensory spell, that he was able to hear and isolate sounds from hundreds of feet away. That if he tried real hard, he could hear her music through the floors between them from his office in the mornings… He'd heard everything.

And now he had to play stupid too. Because he said he wouldn't do this anymore… Wouldn't listen to her like that. Wouldn't spy. The last thing he wanted was to break Trisha's trust.

”I can probably save it for later… Did you need cuddles?” he asked, almost businesslike as if he were discussing a concessions in a deal.

Trisha tilted her head back to look up at him, brow furrowing slightly. Why was he asking like that. Like it was something he had to give her. Had he realised? Had Lynette listened in and said something to him? Was this it… Her hands clenched as she tried not to react.

“I always want cuddles, but I don’t need them right now?” Half truth, half lie. She needed them, but she knew she’d break if she got them. All those fears would come spilling out. She felt safest in his arms, but she felt her most vulnerable too… it was too close to the surface. She couldn’t. She didn’t want him to find out how she was always the problem.

“It wasn’t as bad as I expected. They were too busy trying to one up each other’s lies they didn’t have a chance to pull anything…”
She wished it was true. Would pretend it was. She could pretend the talk with Tansy hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary. Shit, but not… Not digging so deep. Not so painfully true. Not dragging up so many things she didn’t want to think about, and didn’t want anyone to know. Words that reminded her how pathetic she was.

”Maybe your sister didn't.” was Casey’s only response.

After all, it wasn't like he didn't know. He knew exactly what was up, and could only hope that at some point she'd get the hint and stop bumping into him hoping she was sneaking.

”Y'know it's pretty tough sometimes, Babe…”

Casey’s arm reached around her and brought her close, rubbing her side without much tenderness. It was almost a practiced motion.

”Like, basically the whole time, she was in my head. Honestly, I don't think she likes Tansy much either.”

Maybe she'd complain… Literally anything at this point.

Trisha went stiff, breathing quickening slightly. She could feel the difference in the way he touched her. It wasn’t as gentle as normal. It’s not like that, it’s not like that, it’s not-

“What do you mean either? Like… we don’t like her?”
Please say it’s like that, please-

”We don't, do we? Like Tansy, I mean? I assumed, y'know, we were kind of collectively anti-Tansy.” Casey replied, voice straining vaguely.

Trisha’s mind slowly ticked. It was like her thoughts were going in slow motion, as the elevator reached the top floor and the doors pinged open. She couldn’t figure out what he meant.

“We- we are? Was I… Did it look like I was acting close to her? She was just pretending to be a good older sister.” She frowned, the illusion of feeling perfectly fine beginning to drop a little… As if it had been much in the first place.
“Are you implying that I’m not?”

If one listened close enough, surely they'd hear the ellipses forming over and over in Casey's skull. Dot, dot, dot. Dot, dot, dot.

”Not fucking what?” he asked, voice ringing out like a shot in the dark. He tried not to have a tone, but she was… Trying him. Testing him, it felt like.

“Not anti-Tansy.” Trisha tried her best not to react. Not to get even more tense, or to start breathing like she was one step away from a panic attack. She didn’t understand. Why was he acting like this?

“Because- because it sounded like you were implying I wasn’t.”

”All I said is that I don't think Lynette likes Tansy either. Where in that statement can you find an implication that your outlook on your sister has somehow improved?” he asked with an annoyed tone.

“Because you said ‘I assumed we’re collectively anti-Tansy’- as if I wasn’t.” Was she supposed to take it any other way? Had he meant Lynette all along? But Lynette wasn’t part of we or us.

“Why are you getting annoyed? You brought it up.”

Casey knew for a fact he wasn't crazy. Maybe he had a little attitude, but there was a difference between attitude and redirecting.
”Trisha, I didn't bring it up, Babe. You said it was good they didn't have time to pull bullshit. Ultimately, that's wrong and we both know it, and now that we have a chance to talk, you're avoiding it by starting a fucking argument with me! That's clearly why you're acting like this.”

Casey's very direct statement hung in the air as his face turned down to look at her with a mixture of expectancy and pain.

What? Sure, okay, Trisha probably should’ve asked Casey what Lynette said that upset him. Obviously she did pull something. Obviously Tansy did too- but he didn’t know that! And she didn’t want him to.

Her eyes narrowed up at him for just a moment, before her head twisted to the side to avoid looking at him.
“Acting like what? I was acting normally until you- you started poking me like there was something I had to talk about. There isn’t. I’m not avoiding anything- I was just quiet before because I’m always like that after talking to Tansy. But it wasn’t anything worse than normal.”

There really wasn’t anything to talk about. Nothing she wanted to talk about. She didn’t want him to know… because if she started talking she’d have to admit that Tansy was right. Then he’d realise that she really wasn’t worth it.
“I’m not the one starting an argument.”

Casey didn't respond. But he did let her go… Stopped moving too, like a statue in the middle of the office hallway. There were other people in the rooms, people working and doing whatever it was that they did for the Temple.

”Maybe I should just stay and do this paperwork. Clearly you don't want to talk to me at the moment, so we're making a mountain out of a molehill.”

He was going to give her the chance she seemed desperate for. The opportunity to disconnect, and to show him her back. A courtesy he did his best to refrain from. Just like now, no matter how badly he wanted to spin and cut for his office, he refused to turn on her.

“You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” Trisha shuffled a bit away, down the corridor towards their apartment, still facing him. Getting out of arm’s reach.
“Fine. Do your paperwork, since I don’t want to talk about nothing.”

”You made that real fucking clear! Thanks! Glad you can at least try and communicate that little fucking diddy!” he snarled, trying to keep his voice low.

”Go on! Go and enjoy the peace and privacy of our home while you think about how I’m the same as all your other boyfriends! Like Tansy said! What was it, huh? What do I have in common with them? That I'm some fucking schmuck who treats you like a dog?” He asked aggressively, both arms rising and violently shoving air down and to the side.

”God… I am a schmuck. I must be if I keep dealing with this.” he shook his head, disappointment toward her filling his face.

Trisha flinched back as his arms rose, her whole body tensing. Her chest heaved up and down, staring at him with wide eyed panic. He knew, he knew-

”God! You seriously think I'm stupid? Do you think that all the military training made me into some kind of fucking complacent idiot? Like I don't need to worry about you and your cunt sister being alone for five seconds before someone tries to poison your ear? Ask yourself what kind of fucking moron I would have to be to imagine that nothing happened! I don't need psychic powers to deduce, Trisha!

Casey didn't really get like this… He was closest the last time they fought, but now he seemed… Actually hurt. The look of disgusted pain on his face was worth a thousand more words.

”So now you get to tell me. Or, you get to walk away. But I swear to God, if you walk away? My consideration of you changes. I'll always love you, but you'd have to be incredibly foolish to keep holding shit in around me…”

He hated her. He’d always love her? That was a lie. How could he, with how he was looking at her. He was disgusted by her. This… this was what happened every time. When it got too much. Trisha had let herself hope. But she shouldn’t have. Because it always ended like this. With an argument, with disappointment, with them wanting rid of her.

But that didn’t mean she’d walk away. She’d never leave. He had to throw her out, like the trash she was.

What did it matter anymore? He already hated her. It couldn’t get any worse. He couldn’t hate her more. Even if he did… This was it. The end. She’d be back to that cold loneliness, just this time she’d actually felt loved. For the first time. And she was fucking it all up again.

I am not your enemy here. You are.
“Me! It’s fucking me you have in common with them! Isn’t that obvious?! Isn’t it obvious that I’m the problem?! You think so- now you know. I’m never going to get better! So- so you’re right. You shouldn’t keep dealing with this… Just get rid of the problem. Because… unlike them you actually deserve better!”

Casey's face changed immediately. The disgusting became full of pain, as if she'd peppered him with twelve gauge rock salt shots.

”Trisha… What the fuck!?” he asked, voice full of all the enthusiasm one could find in a skydiving accident victim.

”Why? Why does this have to keep happening!? I fucking love you! Why are you so fucking avoidant!? Why the fuck can’t you just talk to me when a problem comes up so we don't have to argue like this!?” he painfully groaned, hands gripping together.

He took a couple of steps forward, starting to slowly reach out toward her.

Trisha was coiled like a cornered animal, her shoulders hunched up and her body trembling. She watched Casey with eyes still filled with wild panic but she didn’t flinch away like she had earlier. Her body leaned towards him slightly.

But she was still so scared. Because he knew. He’d heard.
“Because I didn’t want you to know- because Tansy wasn’t lying. I just wallow in self pity… and I always make things worse. I- I deserve what happened and to be alone… because it’s always my fault! And I didn’t want you to know. But now you do.”

Her hands shot up to her face, desperately rubbing away tears.
“I’m always going to be like this, Casey. I only know how to avoid and protect myself- it doesn’t matter that I’m trying to do better! Because it’ll take too long- maybe forever. And eventually you’ll get sick of it. I just- I just didn’t want you to know how pathetic I am for a little bit longer…”

”Does this not spark some kind of thought in your head about this shit, Trisha!?” he asked, getting closer still.
He didn’t want to lose her. He didn’t want her gone. He wanted her to see!

”You know! You fucking know what it does to you, but rather than avoiding the feeling by just being fucking honest with me, you want to beat around the fucking bush! The whole way around, like the only part of this you’re not used to is a boyfriend who can read your fucking mind!”

He paused for just a moment, taking a breath before pointing again.
”Not that it takes a great deal of effort by the way! You’re absolutely dogshit at hiding the way you feel about something! I can see it! All I have to do is look into your eyes and hear the little pouty sourpuss you put on, and I instantly know when I’ve pissed you off! And honestly, I fucking love that, because I don’t have to guess! EXCEPT when you pull shit like this! Then I have to play hundred questions like asking you what the fuck is wrong is like murdering you!”

Trisha’s upper body recoiled, even as her legs stayed rooted in the same spot. She knew he was right- but that didn’t mean it was easy. That didn’t mean she could just ignore years and years of whatever she said being dismissed or worse, being used against her. How did she win? It didn’t matter if she said anything or not, because it always ended in an explosion.

“Because it is- because what’s wrong always makes me look worse. Do you think I want to be like this?! But everytime I’m honest it always makes things worse. It’s better to pretend- and nobody ever cared enough to push before! I really- I really don’t know how to do it, Casey. I really don’t. Because I think about telling you and then I realise how worthless I am. And I know that’ll I’ll fuck it up and hurt you. I don’t want to- I don’t-”

She sucked in a sharp breath, struggling to stay on any point. She knew it was all contradictory.
“I know that I’m the problem, I know that I should be honest, but it’s not that simple. I can’t just stop panicking. And you- you don’t deserve to deal with this. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. You deserve someone who can…”

”-Can you shut up?”
The harshness of his words split the air like a shearing wind to wrap around Trisha’s face. He waited for just a moment, only to make sure he had her absolute attention.

”Stop talking about what I deserve like you’re anyone to judge that… Talk about what I deserve in a year from now, or five years, or a decade. Talk about it when I’m on my deathbed and we’ve had a long fucking life together! Do you hear what the fuck I’m saying Trisha Vanburen? My voice is the only voice you should ever hear in your life, and I will stomp every single other voice to death if it means bringing you some fucking peace. Your sister, your mother, your fucking friends. If they can’t see how much I love you and how willing I am to be here with you, and they try to break us?”

He was close now… Probably a bit too close. Like he wasn’t really thinking about the physical imposition of his stature combined with the cramped nature of the hallway as he backed her into a corner. But he loomed, and got in even closer until he didn’t have to speak up anymore. Casey’s face was so close… His voice got so low, it was hard to hear over the rushing of her elevated heart rate.

”You didn’t hesitate… You saved our lives on Misty Island. You killed that man for us. Which means that you love me. Stop fighting yourself… Just be my fucking everything, Trisha. Please!”

Trisha’s hands reached out to grasp at him, even as she trembled. Even though she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, it didn’t stop that deep seated fear from flaring up. But she fought through it as her hands held onto him like she’d fall if she let go.

“I didn’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you. I’m scared because I love you so much. I don’t think I can live without you, Casey. I can’t. And that terrifies me.” Without her hands to stop them, the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She forced herself to look at him- had no choice but to.

“I- I want to be your everything. Do you… do you promise it’ll really be until we’re old?! You won’t- die before then?!”

Casey looked a little hesitant at that question, but he wasn’t going to deny her what she wanted. He took both her hands, wrapping her little fingers in between his, and pressed their foreheads together with a relieved sigh.

”You know I can’t promise that fully. Anything could happen… But I swear to you that I’ll never do anything to jeopardize coming home to you. Every single day and night for the rest of our ungodly lives. And I’m sorry I snapped at you; I told you the last time that I knew this would happen again. I should’ve been more patient…” he admitted, thinking about how the whole situation had gone down.

“N-No, I’m sorry. It was my fault.” Trisha managed to say, around little choked up breaths. She closed her eyes, grasping onto his hands tightly.
“I’ll try again next time. I don’t mind if you snap when I mess up, just don’t stop caring. Please? I’d rather you get angry. Because I know you care.”

Even though things seemed to be calming down, she was still struggling. She’d barely hit the peak of an anxiety attack, taking harsh breaths in and out. She was trying her best to breathe through it.
“I only get like this because of how much I love you.”

He looked down at her with love. That same expression as the last argument, where he’d become so warm…
”Love’s a crazy thing, isn’t it Baby? I promise… I’m here with you. Just you. I’m not interested in looking around when I know you love me, and I certainly don’t think that you’re some fucking curse. Loving you comes with some interesting scenarios, but anyone in your position would get the same from me and mine… Honestly? I like that you’re kind of distant. From them, I mean. Like you’re not trying to dive into the lives of the people around me.”

Casey’s hands pulled away, quickly wrapping around her waist and pulling her tight.

Trisha’s arms snaked under his in response, hugging him with her hands grasping his back. She pressed her face into his chest, hiding away for a moment. Casey would be able to feel her taking deep breaths in and out. Calming down a little bit. Enough that when she finally responded, it wasn’t such a struggle.

“Well… you’re the one I’m interested in. I’ll get closer to anyone you care about naturally but… because of you. I want to learn about people from you, not the other way around.” She tilted her head up, managing a watery smile. Then, a muffled giggle as she thought back to something.

“Y’know… that kinda sounded like a proposal. ‘Be my everything.’ Just… not really the normal timing,” she managed to joke, blinking away the remaining tears.

Casey didn’t even hesitate for a second.
”As soon as you want a ring, it's yours… That was a proposal.” he said, his voice hanging out in the air between them. Slowly, he started to match her height, and before she could say anything else, he was looking up at her from one knee.

“O- Oh,” Trisha stammered out, eyes going wide. Her cheeks heated up, turning a soft red that matched the rim of her eyes. He was serious… he’d really meant it like that… It wasn’t how she’d ever imagined it going, but she didn’t care.

“W- Well, I already said yes, didn’t I? I want to be with you forever.” She reached out for his hand, smile turning less watery and more warm. Gentle, loving. Then, slightly teasing.
“You’re meant to have the ring before... do you think we could get one before Thanksgiving?”

Casey’s hand slipped into hers again, and she’d feel his fingers pinching against her ring finger.
Don’t ask questions…
”Of course… What’s this finger here, size five? Maybe?-”

He looked down at her hand and held it squarely within his, the difference never more clear than these moments.
”-You’ve got little fingers, my Girl…” he smiled up at her, still kneeling.

”And I’m sorry… Usually people propose when they’re planning on it. Not, y’know… During an argument a few weeks after you’ve met someone.”
Casey’s face turned a bit red in turn, embarrassed that he was being like this.

“It’s fine, I don’t care- well I do care, just not the how. That doesn’t matter, does it? Because we love each other. If anything it’s more romantic you’d still want to propose when we’re arguing.” She giggled softly, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. Then she leaned down further to gently kiss his lips.

As she pulled away, she wriggled her fingers against his.
“It’s five point five… Pretty close. I’m impressed.” Her lips curved up into a full smile, still teary eyes creasing slightly.
“But since this was so unplanned… we can just make sure to plan our wedding really well.”

As she seemed to ease back into things, Casey’s whole body relaxed until he felt like he could take a full breath again. Now she was talking about a fucking wedding…
Don’t act like it’s not exactly what you’ve always wanted, Big Man…
Still staring at her, he smiled and pulled himself back up to both feet.

”Now, come on… Let's just head upstairs, and we’ll calmly talk about what happened. You can be honest with me; you know I’m not gonna leave you. I promise, we can just talk. C’mon.-”
Casey shifted his torso slightly, holding his hand out for her to grab.
”-Little bit by little bit.”

---

Things quietened down a little. They both still had to work the next day- responsibilities didn’t disappear, and bees didn’t stop producing honey- but they both managed to make it back home in the early evening. Back to that safe space on that big couch together. Just enjoying each other’s company in a comfortable silence.

Trisha was curled up in Casey’s lap, phone resting against her legs as she responded to all the messages she’d been ignoring the past few days. Reyna checking that she was alright, Diyah sending her outfits to judge, and Cass somehow sending a shit ton of memes around whatever insanity she was up to with Leon. Then there were the group chats… the smaller group that had visited her, then the one for their extended friend group. She mostly just scrolled these without much care.

Nothing important. She did it all openly in front of Casey, not really caring if he read over her shoulder or not. Her scrolling paused on a picture Diyah had sent- a bouquet of flowers the girl she was seeing had gotten her. Soft purples, blues, pinks and whites… It was pretty.

She tilted her head back, looking away from the phone and up at Casey.
“I think I’d quite like a spring wedding. It’ll be nicer when all the flowers are in bloom.”

Casey knew things weren’t going to be one hundred percent until months after the holidays were done. His biggest hope was that things changed by the next set, so that they could start to build habits and rituals of their own around those times. He wanted a clean slate; it was the easiest way to start dealing with those problems that would crop up again and again.
He found it important to remember to stay calm. Whatever was wrong was far more than the little moments, and there were going to be a lot of little moments in the future. He’d kind of proposed… He was wondering now how right that decision was in the grand scheme.

So without much to lose, taking advantage of what he’d learned the previous argument, he figured he’d let it slide.

”I think that’ll be nice. We can have so many bees around, anyone who comes will have to wear full tyvek suits.-” Casey started, pursing his lips slightly.
”-Do you… Think this spring coming? Or…” he let the question hang in the air to prompt her response.

“The next spring, or the spring after,” Trisha clarified pretty easily. She locked her phone, putting it to the side so she was paying full attention to him.
“It could be organised that quickly with enough money, but I don’t want that. I want it to be right… You only get one wedding.”

Of course, that wasn’t technically true. She’d watched her Father have multiple in her first fourteen years, and there’d been many more before then. But she didn’t want that. She wanted to marry Casey and for that to be forever. Which meant… she didn’t want to rush into it. She was happy to be engaged. Engagement meant security. A ring she could use to remind herself he wasn’t going to leave. Marriage was legally binding.

And she didn’t want a rushed wedding… like the kind her Mother had, which had quickly crumbled.

Not that she thought that would happen. There was just a bit of hesitation there.
“I’d like to take our time so we can plan something… Special. Unless you don’t want a long engagement?”

Casey was quick to tell her the contrary.
”Oh, Babe… As long as you want, right? Like, I’m happy to get you a ring and whatever, but… I don’t know, I don’t want to make you nervous. ‘Cuz it ain’t like how you’re gonna think it is. But I want you to be sure, y’know? Not just say yes because we were in the middle of something. I know you said you would anyway, but…-”

There were a lot of buts in front of someone he knew to be as insecure as that. There was no way it was going to work the way he wanted it to, and he knew it. So all he could do was be as transparent as he could possibly be.

”-I just like your plan. Taking our time, getting it right. All that. It's the good shit.” he giggled, half to himself and half to her.

“I am sure. I don’t feel any different today, and I won’t tomorrow, or the day after…” Trisha managed to sound calm, even though she reactively tensed. But he was agreeing with her about taking their time. He wasn’t questioning her answer, or regretting asking. He was just making sure…

“I’d like a ring so I can… know. When my family or Lynette says shit, I know they can’t separate us. I can look at it and remember how you really love me. I know it’s silly, because it hasn’t changed how you feel.” She tried to explain as best as she could. Because while he agreed about taking their time, she didn’t want him thinking she’d rushed into saying yes without anything behind it. And it wasn’t just her anxieties…

“It’s like… it’s a promise to spend the rest of our life together, even if we wait to actually get married. And I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else.”
Nodding along, Casey took a little lock of Trisha’s hair in between his fingers to play with. He batted his finger into it over and over, making the hair wiggle around in place. There was a sense that maybe he was just being overly cautious about the situation; that maybe whatever he was feeling was mostly due to ingrained expectation. From whom, he had no clue… Nobody in his life was like that.

”That’s really all we can ask of one another, Trisha. I feel the exact same. So, we’ll make it happen together just like we both know we can. We just need to keep uh… Well, we need to keep in mind that we are on the same page. And if we find out we’re not, we have to really try harder to get there in one piece.” he explained with all the calmness he could muster.

Trisha nodded. It was reasonable… She knew he was right. She’d had enough time to calm down since the day before to accept it. Even though it was still difficult for her to accept that she wasn’t going to just ruin everything. That he’d actually be able to suffer through the slow process of her getting better…

“I know. I know we are and should be… But I’ll try harder to talk when we’re not. I really will. Even if we have to argue sometimes to get there. Just give me time to do better…” She said softly, hands twisting together in her lap. She gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment.

“Like… Yesterday you said your voice is the only one I should hear. I know that Ezra and Tansy won’t react well if they find out at Thanksgiving. But I’m not going to let myself care or try to hide it. Because like you said, I shouldn’t listen to them. What we think matters most… that’s being on the same page, right?”

Casey nodded emphatically, his hands gripping together against her in a gentle pattern.
”That’s it Babe. We take whatever gets said on the chin, and we deal with it as it comes! And, uh… I know that it’s gonna be hard for you. I know I can’t ask you to change overnight, or try to convince you of how to do it. That’s why I need you to know I’m here for the long run.”

Granted, he still wasn’t looking forward to what was coming next, but there were some serious indicators that the Great Game was afoot. Things Casey didn’t want to waste energy paying attention to when he had her. But they were both going to suffer more before things ultimately ended. Hopefully for the better. In the meantime, it was a question of whether or not he’d be able to sustain himself.

The old days, the ones after the war when things were at their worst, most unresolved state… Those times were gone, he hoped. And things had seemed to go mostly his way. Was he lucky? Blessed? In the end, could he really promise anything that he was saying to Trisha? Life was something like a hazy fog now: He had sonar and radar to catch objects in the water ahead, but Trisha was the only thing he could actually see with his eyes. Comforting, but not always stable.

How could he expect her to go along with what he was saying? But she would… How tightly was the only concern. Some time, he’d need her to be strong. Was she going to be? He imagined her standing on both feet and hoisting the weight of the world, as if she were some heroic figure in his mind. He wanted her to occupy that place, and be that person. Same as he wanted to be for her.

”I really do love you, Trisha Bee. I know things are weird and whatever, but in the end we’re all we’ve really got. Right?” he asked, knowing what he believed the answer was.

Trisha nodded, her hands moving up to gently hold his face. She smiled at him like it wasn’t difficult to agree with. It wasn’t, really.

“Right.” It wasn’t like she came from a place of loads of support, and was having to abandon it to be with him. Beyond the financial, she always felt she’d have very little. And it wasn’t like she’d ever let herself depend on the few supportive friends she had. Not really.

“I, uh, well I struggle more with relying on someone else over myself. So… I know it doesn’t matter if we just have each other. Because we both survived alone before, right? We’ll only be stronger together.”
At least that was what she hoped. It had seemed the case so far… It wouldn’t be obvious to Casey, but her panic over the last few days had been a lot more muted than it would’ve been without him. Still bad, just not as bad.

But with how things had been recently, it felt like she was just taking without giving. Constantly needing comfort and calming, then pulling away yesterday when it got too much. But it wasn’t always like that… It wasn’t so much of a problem when her various issues weren’t triggered…
“And you know you can depend on me too, right? Like with the assassin.”

He giggled aloud as a reply.
”Oh, Baby, don’t I know it?-” he asked, both hands coming up to playfully pinch her cheeks. ”-You fuckin’ nailed that guy.” he laughed.

His hands moved to intwine with hers, fingers wrapping together with soft playfulness.
”We’re gonna be great. And, later today, you’ll have a nice ring… Now, I’ll ask since I have the luxury: What are you actually looking for in a ring? Something big? You want people to ask questions about what I do?” he asked, grinning and giggling as he remembered those two women from the other day gawking at him at the restaurant.

Trisha giggled in return, shaking her head. She didn’t actually want something big- it would be gaudy and impractical. She enjoyed wearing jewellery and rings, but she always tended to go towards more delicate styles.
“On these tiny fingers? Do you want half my finger to be some massive stone?” She wriggled her fingers in between his.

“Y’know, actually expensive jewellery tends not to be as flashy. Get something with high quality gold and real diamonds and other rich people will know anyway… Though I guess they wouldn’t be asking that question.” She shrugged one shoulder, smiling at him.
“I want something more delicate. I suit that more… Something with a nice gem, but not too big. Maybe a few smaller ones or a nice design on the band. I’ve been thinking about it, obviously, but I’m still not sure if I’d like the normal clear gem, or something with colour- like an Emerald. Not that it needs to be an expensive stone.”

She looked up at him, head tilting slightly.
“What do you think?”

”I… Think I wish we could wait until Thanksgiving…” he said, having gone from thoughtful to somewhat remorseful in his facial expression.

”It’s just, uh… Well, you’ve already got the ancestral ring from the coronation. I think it’d be romantic to give you a stone from my family’s collection. Something custom made to your desires, rather than something we just go and buy y’know? It’s not me being cheap, either; my Nanna doesn’t work for free!” he laughed aloud, leaving the idea half-proposed.

Trisha didn’t respond immediately as she thought about it. There were a few reasons she’d wanted it before Thanksgiving… She wanted it because it might help quell her anxieties during the event if her and Casey were separated. She could prove that she really didn’t care what her siblings or others said by wearing it openly… And more pettily, to show Tansy that she hadn’t gotten to Trisha. But was that worth throwing away a more romantic gesture, and a likely nicer ring?

“We can do that… It would be nice to have something tailor made to me, and a stone like that would mean a lot.” She said eventually, making sure to look directly at him so he knew she meant it. But then her gaze drifted to the side, her fingers idly rubbing against the back of his hand.

“I honestly… wanted to show off. To Ezra and Tansy, and then to prove that I don’t care what they think. But not having a ring then doesn’t make us not engaged. I’d rather it was a ring that really meant something than rushing to get one, even if it might make me a little more… confident. Being with you will be more than enough.”

Casey grinned a sly grin.
”We’ll have it before we see them that day. I promise, before any sort of ceremonies or anything else, you’ll be walking around in your perfect ring.”

He pushed up on one leg, sliding his hand behind himself and pulling out his Channeler. Sliding it onto his hand, he then extended the limb to Trisha.
”Here. Take my hand. I’m going to take an imprint of it from your mind through Telepathy. It’s… Kind of like AI generation, except you’re the intelligence, so it’s not really artificial. “ he giggled and smiled.

”So, I guess it’s really not. Never mind, ignore me.” he blushed.

“It’s really not, Babe,” Trisha laughed, eyes crinkling as she smiled warmly at him. It was cute. She found him really cute when he was like this.
“Human generation, but magical.”

Still giggling, she took the hand wearing the Channeler with her own.
“Go ahead and take it.”

”Well you’ve gotta think of it first… Go on, try!”
As she tried, his White Lux began to form a mist around her Emotional Field, filling it until an entrance was made and he was allowed to pass into her thoughts. Ring was front and center, and he managed to catch a glimpse of her putting it together in her mind before extracting it entirely.

As he did so, Trisha would find the image completely gone from her mind. Totally pulled away, Casey grinned despite a vaguely apologetic look beneath it.
”And now it’ll be a surprise for you. I’ve got it with me…”

His channeler-bound hand was clasped shut, and from it curled a little bit of white mist.
”If I open my hand without taking precautions, the memory is totally gone! Neat, huh?” he asked her, waving his clasped hand back and forth.

“Not neat if you lose it,” Trisha laughed, reaching out to grab his hand with both of hers. She tried to hold it in place, encompassing it as best she could. But she was smiling. She knew it was a joke.

Even if she would’ve appreciated being told the memory was being completely removed from her mind… But she could let that go. Starting to move forward by not dwelling on the little things…
“Then you’ll have to figure out the ring design, and that doesn’t seem like something you’d enjoy much. And it’d be a surprise for both of us whether I like it or not! So don’t lose my memory, alright? I worked very hard on it.”

Casey giggled, holding onto Trisha with both arms before sliding out from the couch a little bit.
”Dude, you’re gonna like it. You just imagined it. Now, I’ll be back in a few minutes - I’ve gotta mold the memory into something and get it to France as soon as possible.”

“Wait…” Trisha held onto him, a bit worried that if he disappeared now he might get dragged into work-related things- or they might go back to how they were before, just silently cuddling. Which was fine… but there was something else on her mind.

“Before you go… I wanted to ask something…” She stared up at him earnestly. He could hold onto the memory for another few minutes, surely?
“Do you think you can clear a day? Like, over the weekend or early next week…”

He was standing in the doorway, but didn’t hesitate to answer Trisha with a smile.
”Any day you need, Sweetheart. Why, something else coming up?” he asked in a non-accusatory fashion.

“I suppose you could say that…” Trisha smiled back, thinking about it for a moment. If they did it tomorrow she’d have less time to plan so… Sunday would make sense. It’d work with the vague plans she had.
“I’m taking you out on a date.”

The Symphony: Modern Magic

---

13 Mourningdove Lane

It was difficult for Cailean to calm down as the old elf kept acting like he was so much better than them. Like being a hundred or whatever made you smarter… Ugh.

But he did answer their questions about why he needed them, and why they needed him.

Their pointed ears twitched at the mention of Witch Hunters. They shuddered. Tales of witch trials had been passed down from mother to child in the Elvish clan their mum came from, along with the myths of magic itself existing.

But the witch trials had always been presented as something done to the undeserving. Elves who’s differing culture was viewed as demonic, women who stood out or were ostracised, or just unlucky enough to be named by other ‘witches’… But not people who actually had magic. Sìne had always made it clear that the ‘magic’ the executed witches had wasn’t real… It wasn’t like the oral folklore about magic passed down from elf to elf for centuries.

No, they were a more recent horror.

"Oy, don’t downplay witch hunters- y’know how many were killed just a few hundred years ago?! They was torturing people all over Europe- they weren’t even actual witches! I do not want pricked with a sharp needle till I confess!" Cailean waved a hand at the sorta elvish look teenager. Though, after talking about witch hunters maybe not being that scary… he did bring up an actually decent point. The guy’s future vision. "But you’ve gotta point! What kinda shit do you see in the future for us? Like, do y’see us as trained mages?"

The thought of that- and of monsters being real (they fucking knew it) was enough to bring back their energy. They glanced around, spotting their fellow pie bringer still tragically sticky handed with no answer to a bathroom's direction. Cailean couldn’t let their pie comrade down… Not when they had a solution!

"Hey!" They bounced over to Pom, swinging their backpack round to the front of their chest and pulling out a packet of hand wipes. They opened it up and pulled the first one out a bit before holding it towards her with a grin. "This should get alla that off- it ain’t as a good as water, but better than nothing, ay?"

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

Cubain > The Temple

After Casey and Trisha officially accepted stewardship of the Temple’s annual Harvest Feast, plans began to materialize from the fog of war like brushfires. Once the memo about it hit people’s desks, however, is when things got really hectic. As Trisha wasn’t technically in any position to finalize decisions, none of the real correspondence could be done without Casey’s presence…
To him, it was a small price to pay to maintain her rather privileged position as a “Fearless Outsider”. Someone who had to be trusted, despite avoiding any sort of oath or pledge.

Because it was supposed to be his job to kill her if she ever decided to go spilling secrets.

Nobody would kill Trisha.

So everything was fine about it. He’d do what he had to do, because he knew in that outer extreme where there was nothing he could do, they’d simply die together. Which is what he was hoping for at that moment. A car accident. Another assassination attempt. Anything to prevent them from rounding the massive bend through the forest toward that distant but inevitable left hand turn.
Thankfully, they were stuck in traffic downtown about three hundred feet from their first destination. Downtown wasn’t somewhere you wanted to own a car. You parked outside, in one of the twenty garages that surrounded the outer rim of St. Portwell’s interior districts, then took the subway or taxi’d into the center.

It only even partially worked now because Casey had guaranteed parking where they were going. It just took a long ass time actually getting there. But this was, again, a thankful situation. No matter how much time it took, it’d never be enough time to avoid his newfangled responsibilities. Never enough to avoid Lynette. So, he relished the short amount of time he and Trisha spent together in the car. He’d let Trisha have control of the music the whole ride, enjoying what they matched on, and trying to appreciate what they didn’t. Not really talking about it, just listening and enjoying.

It made him far more happy to see her happy. Or, at least trying to be happy. Getting her mind off things. Neither of them were particularly pleased with the current meeting of the day, but it had to be done. They both had to actually see her instead of just dealing with it over the phone. Because there were actual documents to go over: Casey had to schedule the entire event from top to bottom and present everything that had to do with the scant religious aspects.

There was a morning service, and that had to be scheduled and scripted for whoever was hosting. More than likely, it’d be Leon. He’d not ask someone like his Grandmother to sermonize what he’d written down…

That’s gonna be a tough sell.

The traffic ahead let up enough that Casey could take the turn and roll his car into the rear of the Château sur la Baie. Andrade’s flagship Cuban-French restaurant “Cubain” served to soak up most of the large coastal hotel’s first floor with dining space for the hungry elite. At the back of the hotel was an entrance for all the produce and other shipments that the facility took in each day, as well as a service entrance for all employees.

It was also another of the Temple’s secure facilities. Much like the Cannery or the Winston Apartments, the Castle by the Bay had been purchased during the Sonnenrad War a few years ago. Only this place got the full treatment: Top to bottom magical security second only to a place like the Temple itself. Dozens of rooms that didn’t actually exist on any sort of plan meant for people like Lynette or their family to stay in during times of crisis. A barrack full of highly trained Adepts who had studied under Maxwell Richoux and Andrade himself.

Casey was comfortable here. Comfortable enough that he didn’t mind just rummaging around for something like his mom’s dinner delivery. Each day of the week, a different one of Andrade’s restaurants around the city took turns providing the Matron’s meals. Sizeable ordeals, they often looked more like party orders. Often they were, as she rarely ate alone… But this time it did seem small, even by Richoux standards. Even though there were other plates ordered specifically for this meeting, Casey referred to it with the word “Anaemic”.

So he’d directed Trisha upstairs to the actual first floor of the restaurant while he went to the kitchen to sort everything out and get the car loaded. He told her he’d be back out front to pick her up cab-style, and they could be on their way. This left Trisha all alone with a waiter told to guide her upstairs from there. He really did the bare minimum, dropping her at the swinging door and leaving her to the din of the restaurant.
It was a rather warm place, like many of Andrade’s places seemed to be. Chocolate woods and deep red carpeting, minimalistic lighting with very shallow yellow bulbs casting ambient light through a brown beer bottle style cap over them gave the impression of vague sunlight outside a bar in a seaside town.

It still had that life to it. At least someone at the bar offered Trisha a drink, having been told who she was over the radio.

Trisha took the offer of a drink, quickly getting the requested lemonade and sipping on it. She wasn’t particularly happy to be left alone, but understood why. It was easier for Casey to sort everything out by himself. After their talk about her hangups with thanksgiving, she’d swapped from distantly tense to clingy tense. Still not happy about the whole thing overall, but right back to sticking to Casey like a limpet.

But it was fine. Just a short while alone then-

”Oh my gosh, Trisha? Trisha Vanburen?!”

Trisha’s head twisted her head around from where she’d been staring out the distant window to the voice she vaguely recognised. A person she definitely recognised… No, two.

”It’s really you! It’s been too long!” The first woman, Vivienne, was all smiles as she came up to Trisha. Blond hair was perfectly styled into neat curls falling down to her shoulders, fair skin covered in makeup. Her voice was sickly sweet.

”It really has- and imagine, seeing you here!” The second, Amanda, added. Her dark skin was less covered than Vivienne’s, with much subtler makeup, and her hair was pulled back into neat braids tied up at her crown.
”You aren’t, like, a waitress here, are you?!”

It was all too easy for Trisha to let a fake smile cover her lips, hiding her discomfort. Two people she hadn’t seen in six years. Highschool friends who dropped contact the moment she wasn’t around to pay for everything for them. While both of their parents were well enough on their own, it wasn’t to the level of a Vanburen… or the level both girls wanted to live at. With her father dead, Trisha had much more direct access to funds. There were very few restrictions.

Trisha always knew they liked her for her family name more than herself, but it hadn’t mattered then.

It didn’t really matter now, either…

“No, I’m not,” Trisha picked back up the glass she’d place on the bar, raising it.
“I’m just waiting for my boyfriend.”

”Oh, your boyfriend works here? It’s so cute that you don’t care about things like that, Trisha!” Vivienne exclaimed.

”Come on, Viv, didn’t you date that bartender last year?” Amanda snickered.

”He was a bar owner. And just a fling, nothing serious! Is that what it’s like for you, Trisha? A bit of fun before you settle down?”

“Of course not, it’s very serious- and he doesn’t work here, he works with them,” Trisha was quick to correct the misunderstanding, rather than telling them that it didn’t matter in the first place. It didn’t to Trisha, but it had to when around these two. How quickly she fell back into who she’d pretended to be then - the pretentious, bitch rich girl. It felt uncomfortable, but safe at the same time. A protective shell.
“He’s the head of security for a… large organisation.”

”Oh, how wonderful! Well, since you’re waiting for him, you might as well sit with us! I’m sure it’ll be easy enough to make room! We can catch up!”
Before Trisha had a chance to politely decline, Vivienne hooked her arm through hers and practically dragged her away from the bar. Trisha didn’t put up a struggle- the other woman had a fair few inches on her, and she didn’t want to look like she didn’t want to talk to them.

Which she didn’t. But not to the point of telling them to fuck off. She couldn’t do that. Not if they lived in the city. Because what if they saw each other again? And they’d been her friends. It wasn’t like she had many. She just had to get back into the headspace she’d been in then.

Fortunately for the girls, and unfortunately for Trisha, they had a booth table with plenty of room for three- or four. Trisha was not so subtly pushed into the seat against the wall with Vivienne beside her and Amanda opposite her.

”I didn’t realise you were back in St Portwell, Trisha,” Amanda immediately started, smiling.
”We didn’t see you at Rose and Samantha’s ten year memorial service this summer. I can’t believe it’s been that long…”

”What a tragedy… I imagine you just couldn’t take the event, could you? I understand, it must be difficult for you.” Vivienne reached out to take Trisha’s hands, as if truly sympathy.

Trisha managed to suppress her desire to pull them away. Of course she hadn’t gone. How could she? When she’d seen her two friends, people who’d liked her more genuinely than these two, torn apart in front of her? When she’d only escaped thanks to the magical bees she’d obtained a year prior? Why had she deserved to survive where they didn’t?

She’d been too much of a coward to save them, too.

“I did something by myself,” Trisha replied evenly. She hadn’t done anything, because she couldn’t get out of bed that day. The day her summer nightmare started. But it was so easy to hide all her true feelings. Like she always had. All the masks she’d worn until people started to make them crack. Sal, Reyna, Cass… Casey. No matter how much she screamed inside, she wouldn’t let it show.

She could be rude, she could be a bitch, but she couldn’t show the cracks.
“It’s easier that way. I’m glad others remembered… I’m sure they appreciate it.”

Amanda and Vivienne both nodded, before moving on as if it was an unimportant topic.

”How long have you been back in the city, Trisha? I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
”Yes! You changed your number when you went to Chicago, didn’t you?”

It never changed! You were the ones that stopped contacting me!
“I’ve just been so busy… helping with the family business, you know how it is.”

”But not so busy you couldn’t find a boyfriend?” Vivienne teased, nudging Trisha with a playful smirk.
”I suppose you never did stay single for long! All the boys were falling at your feet back then. He must be really impressive if he’s managed to tie you down.”

“He’s great… treats me like I’m the most precious person in the world,” Trisha said honestly, though it wasn’t with the normal warmth she had when talking about Casey. That was too real, and would risk everything cracking. Instead she kept that perfectly fake smile, eyes creasing slightly. Real enough that anyone who hadn’t seen her truly smile wouldn’t know. She was quick to redirect away from herself.
“But what about you both? What are you doing now?”

”Oh, just learning the ropes to take over daddy’s business one day, you know how it is,” Vivienne waved a hand dismissively. As she did, a waitress came over and the other two quickly ordered some drinks. Her hand waved dismissively once again once that was done, hurrying the waitress away.
”It’s rather boring.”

”I’m an artist,” Amanda smiled. Trisha wasn’t surprised by that answer. Amanda had always been into painting… she just wasn’t good enough, in Trisha’s opinion, to make a career out of it without her parent’s backing.
”I actually have an exhibition coming up next month. You should come along, Trisha! That is, if you’re not too busy.”

“I’ll try find the time.” Trisha half meant it. Maybe she would. Maybe she should reconnect, even though she found that she was hating pretending like this. It hadn’t felt so bad before. What had changed? Her? She wasn’t sure she was happy about that.

”Of course, I understand if you can’t make it, but here.” Amanda slid a small card over to Trisha, detailing the details of the exhibition.
”Feel free to bring along any family members that might be interested!”

And there it was. The want for her family money rather than her. Just having a Vanburen, any Vanburen, attend the exhibition would boost its reputation. It wasn’t really about her but… it still meant they needed her in a way. The only Vanburen they had access to.
“Sure, I’ll spread the word at the next family gathering.” Which would be never, since they didn’t have those.

”Really?! You really are the best, Trisha!” Amanda grinned widely. Genuinely. Because of course. Trisha wouldn’t be surprised if they ‘subtly’ suggested they pay for their meal, as well. But that was fine. Better to be a wanted wallet…
”I’ve really missed you… I seriously can’t believe it’s been so long. Look at us all, successful adults. Six years ago if you’d told me that Trisha Vanburen would be helping with the family businesses, I would’ve laughed!”

”No way would we believe it! I’m so glad you’ve matured, Trisha. I’d be so worried for you if you hadn’t… After all, it’s not good to just live off your family’s money without working.”
”Right! But at least you’ve learned that now.”

Says the subpar artist living off her parents.
“I was a teenager then… Of course I’ve changed.” She hadn’t, much. She was still stuck just like she had been then… the only difference that she had a few more people around her. But how long would that last? Could she really afford to keep being her genuine, unloveable self when the few people who could tolerate it would probably leave eventually? Didn’t it make more sense to go back to being like this? The expected Trisha, the one a certain type of people flocked towards.

There was a brief silence as their drinks were brought around - cocktails for both women, even though it was far too early to start drinking.

”Enough of that boring talk!” Vivienne declared. She turned around in her seat to face Trisha, leaning into her personal space.
”Don’t think I didn’t notice you changing the topic earlier! Tell us more about your boyfriend! What’s his name?”

“Casey.” A simple reply. What else could she say?

”Oooo, Casey…”
”Casey and Trisha has quite the ring to it.”
”It does! So, how hot is he? Oh, how good is he!”

Trisha didn’t really want to answer that question. That kind of girl talk had been fine in highschool, when all her relationships had been short and shallow. Very physical in nature in her later teens.
“What do you think? He’s dating me, isn’t he? He’s amazing.”

Both Vivenne and Amanda let out an excited giggle, leaning forward to talk in hushed voices just like they were back in school again. In that crowded cafeteria, at the corner table reserved for their group. The popular, rich kids in their year.

”Oh my gosh, you have to tell us everything!”
”Yes, we need all the details. What’s he like in bed? How-”

“We’re in public,” Trisha cut her off, as if that was actually her problem. It wasn’t, really. She just… didn’t want to talk about it. Any of it. It was two worlds she wanted to keep separated. Casey, and people like this. And especially when it came to the intimacy that had always been the focus for her before, but wasn’t so much in this relationship. It was different.

”Come on! We’ve talked about much worse in busier places when we were teens! There’s no one near us.”
”Yeah, Trisha, you never had a problem before… It’s just girl talk! Or is there a reason you can’t talk about it? Oh gosh, is he ‘amazing’ but not satisfying you enough?!”

“He is- I’ve never been more satisfied.” Trisha couldn’t just leave that unaddressed. She looked perfectly relaxed, with an expression as if she enjoyed whispering about this. Her elbows were on the table and her body slumped forward slightly. Very little tension. Perfectly hiding just how uncomfortable she felt. Her feet pulled back against the booth chair. It was where all the tension went as she faked everything else.
Why hadn’t she faked being fine like this for the whole past week?

”Seriously?! Wow, that’s some high praise, after everyone you’ve been with! Your boyfriend must be some kind of sex god.”
Amanda giggled, nodding her agreement.

There was spatial interference that brought Casey’s White Lux spell caving into itself until it was a pile of dust in Trisha’s pocket. He’d taken to sticking things in her jackets and other accessories with monitoring spells to make sure she was staying safe. Part of it was this, a listening bug that picked up perfectly on the sound of her voice. Nothing else, just her. And he’d gotten it pretty tuned too…

Having loaded the full order into the car, he was pulling around to the valet out front. There were plenty of open spaces at least, so he didn’t feel guilty about telling them to leave it running. Staff was more than happy to watch the vehicle for the Blade, so he knew there was plenty of time to address what little bit of this gossip he’d heard.

He’s amazing. I’ve never been more satisfied.

Whoever she was talking to, they were at least friendly enough that she was bothering to engage. That had to be something… Something worth playing up, surely. If she was painting him as a stud, he’d be a stud. Stepping into the lobby, he quickly adjusted his coat and made sure his hair was pulled back neatly before stepping around the corner and into the restaurant.
It helped that, rather than treating him like any other guest, the staff practically parted the red sea for him as he made way toward where Trisha was. He made sure to give a nod and a smile to each one in turn as he came to a stop and put an arm around The outer top of the booth to lean in.

He didn’t need magic to know the two women were Blinds. They just didn’t scream “Awake” in any sense of the term. Two mundane people with presumably superficial lives.

You’re here to make my Baby’s life miserable, aren’t you?

”Well well well… Beauty swarms the Queen, doesn’t it Baby Girl?” he reached far into the Heavens for a line like that.
Make them feel complimented; chances were they’d miss the back hand no matter how hard he hit them with it.

Both of the women turned away from crowding Trisha, looking at Casey with wide eyes and letting out little gasps. Vivienne let out a high pitched giggle while Amanda leaned back and fanned herself with one hand.
”You were not joking, Trisha, oh my God!”

Trisha’s body had tilted forward so that she could see Casey past Vivienne, looking at him with a smile he’d easily be able to tell was fake. But it was more difficult to see how she was feeling underneath it.
Upset. He’d come up and complimented them before- Oh. Oh! It took Trisha a moment to see the bite underneath it, her immediate anxious reaction clouding her mind for a moment. A hint of smugness crept into her eyes.

“It really does, Babe.” Trisha felt relieved that Casey was here and she finally had an excuse to leave. But even with him there, she didn’t switch to how she normally was- that genuine warmth she always seemed to carry around him.
“Are you here to pick me up?”

”No way! You’re not leaving so soon after we haven’t seen each other for six years!” Vivienne gasped, shaking her head. She grinned at Casey.
”You should join us for a bit. Trisha was just telling us all about you!”

”Yes, take a seat,” Amanda shuffled closer to the wall, patting the empty section of the booth beside her.
”I’m Amanda.”

”Vivienne Dumont,” Vivienne threw in her last name, of course. The Dumont family ran a successful Real Estate business, and were well known enough. Amanda’s family was more lowkey.
”We went to highschool with Trisha… It was such a lucky coincidence we bumped into her today! I’m so excited we get to meet the man that’s managed to capture her seriously. Do you know how popular she was in school?”

”School? What school, six years ago… High School? Long time ago to be there, isn’t it?” he grinned, sliding into the booth.

It was innocuous, seemingly harmless comments like that which acted most like mental timebombs. Little drilling checks and splits that didn’t offend immediately, but offended nonetheless. Better to leave it for after they’d left… Time to process.

”Y’know I was homeschooled? Never got to meet Trisha back then. Or you guys either… Maybe you knew my Brother- Oh, where’d my manners go?-”
Casey slapped his head very playfully.
”-Must’ve fallen out somewhere between Africa and Italy with my patience and sanity!”

Casey’s hand reached out. If they did know Junior, it was only by the briefest of margins. Casey had been the cutoff of public school, and Lynette had intended to keep all of them locked away at first, but once Junior kindled relatively early, they assumed it was only Casey who needed any sort of special lessons. Junior had been allowed to attend public school, and Mia had until her first breakdown…

”Casey Richoux. I guess maybe you’d know Max? Couple years younger than us? Or… If you’re a sports fan, maybe the name rings a bell.” he offered to them, downplaying but still sending a low hook for the fame impression.

Both of them looked thoughtful for a moment, shaking his hand in turn. It was Amanda that had the realisation first.
”I didn’t pay much attention to the younger years, but I remember the name Richoux! Don’t you remember, Viv? When we started highschool, there were all those rumours about a super handsome, super tall guy who’d finished the year before! Leon Richoux-”
”No? How would I remember someone I never met?”

”You’re missing out, Viv! My brother’s so into sports, and told me all about this… fighting? Champion that came from our school. That’s him! You should see him, I almost got into it just for that face.” Amanda once again fanned herself with a hand before turning to look at Casey. She really looked, eyes scanning him up and down.
”I can see it really runs in the family.”

”Wow! So your standards really have improved, Trisha,” Vivienne nudged Trisha with a teasing giggle.
”An actually worthy family and high standard, handsome boyfriend.”

Trisha’s smile wavered for just a moment as she tried to laugh it off. Like she cared about any of that. Yes, Casey was the best person she’d ever been with… but not for those reasons. Not because of his family. Because he actually… treated her well… loved her…

“Name one partner I’ve had that wasn’t attractive,” she shot back, as if it was some kind of little joke between two friends. Like that was what she really cared about and she didn’t want to shout at them that it didn’t matter like that. But she’d spent the past half hour burying herself underneath the fake, pretentious person she needed to be for them.
“I bet you can’t.”

”But Trisha, there were simply too many for us to remember!” Vivienne laughed in return. She turned back to Casey.
”I’m so glad she’s with someone like you. Trisha told us you’re… some kind of Security Head? Sounds like a very stable job!”

Amanda nodded.
”Stable job, good family… Is your brother single, Casey?”
”Oh my gosh, you can’t just ask him that, Amanda!”

Too many to count? Casey laughed. That sounded exactly like the high school drama bullshit he’d seen in all those movies. Heard Leon and El talk about all the time. It was dumb! Worse than dumb, petty!

”Oh, uh… Well, Leon’s a bit like a… Whore? A Whorewolf, really, he gets around every Full Moon, then comes back home.”
Waving his hand dismissively, he figured he’d do his best to shit-eat in front of these Blinds… He wanted Trisha to look cool, whether it was by herself, or by proxy.

Someone brought him a drink. He hadn’t asked, he hadn’t ordered. It was brought, and it was exactly what he wanted courtesy of the staff. They knew him… And they knew how he liked his hot chocolate.

”To answer your question, Viv. Can I call you that?- To answer your question, I’m Chief of Security for Virtues Unlimited; we do security for religious institutions across the state. Churches, Temples, we don’t discriminate based on denomination… All Gods use green money in our country, don’t they? That’s what I fought for, I believe.” he tilted his head just enough that if either of them had brains they’d see the dog tag chain around his neck.

The symbolism had been on every propaganda advertisement throughout the war practically… He was just trying to stack layers of impression upon two normal woman… He was just hoping they’d both cringe after they left.

It was then that he planned on bugging them just so he could get the experience on the drive to the Temple.

Amanda had covered her mouth in shock as Casey called Leon a whore, turning to look at Trisha with… Sympathy? Or maybe, saying he was just like her. Trisha wasn’t happy about it either way, but that displeasure was still hidden under a plastic smile.

”Oh my gosh, did you fight in the War?!” Vivienne gasped, ogling Casey enough to catch the chain and realise.
”Thank you so much for your service- of course you can call me anything.”

Amanda’s reaction was a little less extreme, but she got out a more muted thanks.

”Why didn’t you tell us you were dating a veteran, Trisha?!” Vivienne finally stopped staring at Casey to turn to Trisha, leaning into her space again.

“... What did you plan to do if I said, stand up and salute him?” Trisha’s eyes narrowed and she leaned back towards the wall subtly.
“You were too concerned asking about other things.”

”Oh, don’t be like that!” Vivienne laughed, batting Trisha’s arm. Her gaze turned back to Casey.
”That really is impressive. No wonder you can handle Trisha… not that it’s a bad thing she’s so… Excitable!”

”So true,” Amanda rejoined the conversation.
”We were really worried when she stopped talking to us after highschool… After all, we were her closest friends! But I’m glad she’s doing so well.”

To a certain extent, Casey was rather receptive of this kind of conversation. He wasn’t upset over it, and the only reason he would be is if it had been affecting Trisha too harshly. He bit his tongue a moment, letting a shot of White Lux ripple out on a memory of getting something right. Just to check on her. Heart rate, breathing, eye movements; anything to give away her level of stress without him making much of a fuss.

At the last comment, Casey visibly pouted his bottom lip out.
”Y’know, my Brother actually recently had his uh… Ten year reunion. With his high school friends. When he came home, he joked about there being a reason he stopped talking to all of them. So, who knows. But, we’re making a delivery to the elderly! I have a few tenants in one of the buildings I used to work in, and since I have so much free time in my position, I like to stay involved in community outreach.”

He took the cup and pulled himself up out of the booth. The liquid was piping hot, but just to leave them with something to think about, he sucked the entire glass down to nothing and left it there for them to stare at.
”Fuck, that’s delicious. Trisha? You all set uh, y’know… Getting pollen on your wings?”

He made a bit of a flapping motion with his two hands before holding one out to her across the table. Casey’s smile beamed down at her, like a mischievous child.

Trisha smiled back, and that fakeness around it started to crack.
“Mhm, I’ve been ready to go since you appeared.” She reached out to take his hand, looking at Vivienne. Her expression settled back into the mask for a moment.

Vivienne started to move out, with no excuse to block Trisha in anymore.
”Oh! Before you go, Trisha, you should give us your new number! So we can keep in touch.”
”Yes, please. It was so nice to see you again,” Amanda added with a smile.

Trisha squeezed Casey’s hand, slotting in at his side. The hidden tension, the agitation she’d carefully covered up that Casey would’ve easily detected with his magic, started to drain away.
“It was nice. But my number hasn’t changed, so you should already have it.” She looked up at Casey, slowly dragging herself back out from under her protective shell.
“Let’s go, Babe. We can’t let them wait too long for their food.”

Casey nodded along and took a deep breath inward.
”Yep. I’m sure it was someone’s pleasure meeting, Girls. Enjoy your meal, and…-”

He turned his head, waving his hand up toward the maître d. He snapped his fingers, pointing down at the table and making an “ok” with his fingers. The well-dressed man responded with a nod before making way toward them.

”-Girls, this is Ricardo, the man in charge of the floor here. Ricardo, can you see to it that these two are taken care of? Well taken care of.”

Ricardo’s eyes lit up, and a big grin took over his face.
“Ahhhh, senioritas,-”

Casey’s head tilted at Trisha, smiling coyly as he turned their bodies to start walking away. When they were out the doors and around the corner in the lobby of the hotel, Casey started to bubble up with laughter.
”Jesus… Y’know, for all the interactions with people you know, that was the tamest.” he joked, rubbing her shoulder.

”Though, I guess I really need to quit leaving you alone, huh?”

“Pleaaaseee," Trisha jokingly whined, pouting cutely as she leaned her body towards him. She took in a deep breath, then let out a long exhale to ease the tension she'd been hiding. The fake calm expression began to chip away one piece at a time. The cute pout, then a little wrinkle of her nose, then the coldness leaving her eyes.
“I didn't expect to bump into anyone I know… Knew. It wasn't like I was acting approachable…"

She tilted her head up towards him, brow furrowing a bit.
“What did you mean by ‘taken care of’?" She didn't want to say what her immediate thought was- of course Casey wouldn't hurt people over something small like that! Probably… Not that she'd be all that upset by it.

Casey laughed a bit harder when she asked what he meant before, pulling the door open for her to step back out into the cold.
”Well, what do you think when you hear ‘Take care of’? Contextually, I mean… Obviously not kill them. It someone was taken care of in a restaurant, you’d think that would mean-” he stopped, looking at her for a moment.

“... Treated extra well, with a free dessert- oh, or fully paid for?” Trisha replied after a moment, pulling her puffy white coat around her with a slight shiver as she went outside. For a moment it was like her mind was loading, staring at Casey with a little confused look. Then it dawned on her.
“They’re not actually getting a free meal, are they?”

Casey’s laugh was only more evil as he pulled the passenger door of the car open for her. The valet watching the car tried to do it, but Casey politely waved him off.
”No, Babe. They’re gonna get the Ricardo Special. See, he’s not magical or anything. He knows, he’s a third-eye opened-”

Letting her into the car, he closed the door and rounded before sliding into the driver’s side.
”-but he’s just a dude… Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one Hell of a sales pitch for just about everything. Imply their meal is free, but let them assume. Indulge them, let them get comfy, a little boozy… Then the check comes.” he smiled widely.

”What can they say after that?”
Casey was purely grinning back at Trisha, right hand reaching out to pat her on the leg before putting the car in drive to pull away.

”Just for you, Babe… Because I know how much you seem to love anyone we meet from your past. How are we ever gonna communicate it if you actually happen to like someone who we randomly run into?”

Trisha smiled back, giggling as she pictured their faces when they got the bill. Served them right… The only reason they’d approached her was because they’d hoped she’d be as ‘generous’ as she was in school. Maybe if she’d been alone… Because it was one way to get people to stick around. A shallow way. But she had Casey now.

“Well… I don’t think there’s anyone I like from before University.” She sounded a little awkward saying that, hands clasping together in her lap. But it really was the case. At first, she liked people in the Coven. Some still weren’t bad… but none of them were friends. People she’d hoped would be, but she was too reactive. They were too. It wasn’t her fault.
“Most of my high school friends were like them. Liked me for my money… or they wanted to sleep with me. The only two I was closer to aren’t around, so… You don’t have to worry! Just treat them all like that.”

Casey threw up his bottom lip in consideration, eyebrows rising and curling back down in turn. It did make things easier, but at the same time he didn’t want anyone thinking that Trisha was totally off limits. And he certainly didn’t want to be an accomplice to her as she cut opportunities for experience from her life person by person. Even if she wasn’t inclined, he believed in her having the chance to decide that for herself.

”We’ll see… Sometimes its fun to put the adjusted person skin on. Y’know, do the little dance. I choose to when it’s most entertaining. Like that situation.” he threw his thumb backwards at the slowly fading Hotel.

”But, uh… Like, you remember my coworkers when we went up North. Most of them aren’t insufferable, they’re just normal people. Boring people. Those two didn’t seem horribly malicious, just… Boring.”

“I am well adjusted.” Trisha frowned a little, getting a little upset at that implication. She didn’t find it fun. It was… natural, perhaps, but not fun. Just a way of protecting herself, of being what people expected to fit in. It didn’t necessarily feel bad, but she wasn’t entirely herself.

“I know they’re not that malicious. That’s why I didn’t make more of a fuss when they dragged me away… They just wanted me to pay for my meal. But it’s not like they’re people I’ve been actively avoiding. They stopped talking to me when I moved to Chicago. I wasn’t around to pay for things, so they started ignoring my messages. So they're boring people that hurt me.”
Just like so many people in her life… But could they be blamed with how she was? But she was never the one to end relationships.

Casey could only laugh at Trisha protesting her level of social adjustment. She wasn’t, but he didn’t exactly want to rub it in her face like she was a bad girl.
”But they didn’t hurt you with Malice. Like, a giant, right? You give him a chair to sit on, he breaks it. It’s not his fault he’s broken it, you asked him to sit and he obliged. It’s what they do: Parasites. Leeches. Most Blinds tend to be pretty selfish.”

He wasn’t exactly paying attention to what he was saying, but even if he’d been asked again, he most likely wouldn’t have disputed anything he said. He’d seen enough Blind soldiers treating themselves, one another, and every civilian they came across as if they were just big fat wallets to be taken from. He’d seen them stampede over one another looking for a spot on a boat to escape Hell to anywhere…

He’d never been impressed by Man’s common form. Humanity’s common form. Apathy, disorder, lack of regard. It’d be villainous if it wasn’t all done out of instinct. He believed it took an outside influence to really pull a person away from that… Totally leaving out the idea that most of the Adepts he knew had the exact same attitudes and problems. Humanity’s common form.

And then he was thinking. And then he regretted saying that knowing that Trisha hadn’t been naturally gifted. Even if he’d taken so long to Kindle, it didn’t mean he hadn’t had some kind of leg up. Some kind of predisposition for strength and aptitude in his field. He’d been given. Handed to.

”Well, whatever… Those two specifically? I’m sure they’ll fall for Ricardo’s game. If you want, we can listen to them talking shit together… I can make it happen.” he grinned at her, hoping she’d take the opportunity to be the mean girl for once and let it distract her from any lingering feelings.

“Oh, because they’re just Blinds, so that makes it okay to spy on them?” Trisha intoned. She wasn’t looking at Casey, instead her eyes were fixed on the road in front of them. Her legs had pulled up, becoming that tense ball that signaled her agitation. He’d clearly upset her, and she wasn’t just going to go along with the ‘well whatever.’ Normally she would jump on what he offered, but not after what he said.

It brought her back to some of what she’d felt when Casey reacted so extremely to the Queen appearing. She was worthless without her. Wasn’t she just a Blind with extra steps? She didn’t have any magical lineage. It was just luck… so wasn’t she all those things? Didn’t that make her selfish too? Would he even look at her if she didn’t have her magic?

“Isn’t it my fault, anyway? Because it’s just what they do, and I opened myself up to it? Really it’s all my fault they stopped talking to me. Nothing they say is going to be interesting… or is it like a zoo? Listening to Blinds?”

He heard the click of the landmine long before it went off. He could feel his missing leg and the tissue aching around it as his ears were ringing. It was the worst injury he’d sustained that he accepted repair for, and where the leg had been remade, the nerves were slightly twisted. It only hurt when he felt guilty. The last time had been during the Discharge trip, and before that had been the incident at the Portal Lab.

Now this. It flared across his leg like a hot blade, and he could feel every piece of shrapnel where they’d blown the original off. Part of the nerve damage had to come from it, because the pain flared deep into his pelvic area. It made it hard to drive.

He heard the landmine go off… Winced. Didn’t look over, because he could see her legs tucked in his peripheral vision.

”Trisha, don’t do this now… I didn’t mean what I said, I should’ve immediately apologized. We were talking shit about two people you didn’t like, and I brought it somewhere I shouldn’t have. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I need you to know that it’s not like that at all.”
He turned his head just enough to let their eyes meet, then turned away again with a frown.

”I love you. And I know there’s a world where we meet, and it has nothing to do with any of this crazy shit we can do. And I still love you.” Casey let the last words linger in the quiet of the car, no longer excited about what was coming next.

Trisha was silent as she thought. It was difficult to believe he’d still love her if she didn’t have any magic at all. It was a hypothetical, it wasn’t her, but it still made her anxious. She knew he loved the current her… but that was always the worry, wasn’t it? That he’d stop loving the future her.

It was difficult to stop herself from reacting more. The only reason she managed to suppress it a bit was because she knew what was coming. They weren’t going to a place where they could fight and then make up… If they made up, and this wasn’t the moment Casey realised she was too much.
“Alright, I get it.” She didn’t. “I love you too.”

She hadn’t accepted his apology, and she didn’t sound any happier. Less snappy, maybe, just… Deflated. Sinking deeper into her insecurities and irrational thoughts. She didn’t unfurl at all. Her face pressed into her knees as she took a deep breath. She just needed to keep her magic so he’d keep loving her.
“We can talk about it later…” She didn’t want to, but she was forcing herself to give Casey that chance so she wouldn’t hold onto it. Giving herself a chance to not self sabotage.

Casey could only appreciate her saying that last part. Besides her obvious body language that did nothing to dispel the tension, she’d at least agreed to be part of a discussion featuring the situation as it stood. She was going to try being amicable until then, he hoped.

”That’s literally all I can ask for Baby… I’m sorry, I know I fucked up, and I’ll think of a better apology too. It’ll be good for the both of us.”
He meant the agreement to consult one another about the situation later. What was coming immediately was far worse.

At least Lynette had also found a new personal secretary… Elise was back full time, completely separated from her husband now and no longer interested in carrying on up North. She’d also brought her own flock of sheep, which meant the grounds of the Temple were packed full until they could make accommodations. Casey knew for a fact that the Cannery had more than a dozen empty apartments that were totally unused, but distribution meant that things still needed negotiating.

Which meant today probably wouldn’t just be about the Feast. It was going to be arduous, but at least it’d be Elise sitting next to Lynette instead of Lena Zoller… Chances were that Trisha wouldn’t see much of her at all, and it made Casey more than pleased to know that things were happening. Getting Lena further away from the center of power before it all collapsed was for the best, and if it made the environment less hostile to Trisha, even better.

”Now, work with me for a second here. Because there’s always a chance this goes really bad. I’ve never known her to be openly violent in her reactions to things, but… Shit, fuck… Why did I wait so long to tell you this?”

“H-huh, what?” That was more than enough to bring Trisha’s panic back up to the surface. What was he talking about? What… Did he think Lynette was going to try kill him? Them? Her hands gripped her knees as she sucked in a harsh breath.

Casey shook his head in shame.
”It’s the sermon. The, y’know… The Church Part. You said you didn’t want any part, so I did what I thought was appropriate, and then I was reading through it again and… Well, I’m not the best writer. Best case scenario, she tells me to go back and do it over again. Worst case, she reads too deeply into it and I tip her off more about this situation bubbling up around her.”

He scrunched his nose up, shaking his head and taking another deep breath as he made the turn up onto the highway.

”But in the unthinkable? If something happens, and you need to run to safety? You need to run back to that room you were in during my Coronation. It’s gonna be hard, but if you can make it even close to that spot, there’s a good chance that… My Dad, y’know? He’ll protect you if I can’t.”

No way. There was no way that she was going to leave Casey, she’d rather die with him-
“A-alright, I’ll try,” Trisha got out through her heavy breathing. She was trying to calm down. To pretend it was fine. She’d dealt with the assassin, hadn’t she? She’d stayed calm then. But it wasn’t the same! This was more than one powerful Adept… wouldn’t she just die too before she even made it to his dad? Then wouldn’t it be better to stay together so that didn’t happen alone?

But she couldn’t say any of this. Not when they were in an unsteady truce over an already unresolved argument.
“But it probably won’t happen, right? It’ll probably be fine? I won’t have to leave you?”

”No. You won’t have to leave me.”
There were three of them. One poor, relatively weak Adept. One potentially devastating Artifact in her back pocket. Chances were Elise would side with him. She was closer… Maybe she’d even take the blow?

Was that a life worth living? With Trisha, it was. He didn’t want anything else. Couldn’t think about anything else.

”You know I don’t leave things up to chance Trisha. Leaving instructions ungiven just isn’t my style.”

---

It was a long ride of misery smelling the food in the back of the car. Roast pork still smelled good no matter how much Casey hated the look of it. That blanche-white flesh with steam curling off it. The vegetables in some rich broth, the bread… Actually arriving at the Temple was a blessing since there was at least a few minutes where his nose wasn’t glued to the smell of cooked food, and his mind didn’t have to be distracted by looking back at her.

She’d been a nervous wreck the whole ride, and he was dumb enough to actually make the comment in the first place. He felt dumber than dumb, and the prospects of what was next weren’t sitting well either.

”Ahhh, Coo-coo le deu! It’s my Casseau!”

Lynette was cheerful at the very least, her dark robes looking rather comfortable in the otherwise cold weather. The snap they were in was hitting hard and fast, leaving everyone scrambling for winter clothes. Lynette’s arms wrapped around Casey, then her body turned to Trisha. She tried to know the rules.

”And our favorite little Lady from out of bounds! Have you been enjoying your time with Casey, Trisha? All adjustments being handled, I take it?”

Trisha managed a smile. It was fake, of course, but she was able to slip back into what she was best at in public- hiding her anxieties. At least the panic, if not the agitation that often came with it. She shuffled towards Casey, taking his hand while angling herself so it was obvious she didn’t want any kind of hug from Lynette.

“Of course. Casey’s always happy to accommodate me.” She tried not to read too deeply into Lynette’s words. It was difficult when her mind was already thrown into panic mode. She was just prodding. Polite, fake small talk. Not based on spying… hopefully. It wasn’t like she’d even said much.
“I don’t want to spend my time with anyone else… Sometimes I wish we could just be in our own little bubble, undisturbed.”

Lynette could only smile in return.
”Well, so long as he maintains his responsibilities, you two can live anywhere you want! In a bubble, under a bridge, somewhere in the middle of the ocean… Ooooh… An island, Casey!? Do we have an island?”

Casey’s face slightly folded.
”Do we have an island?”
His mocking voice left his lips like a child repeating something they’d heard people laugh about.
”You damn well know Never-Never isn’t ours, and it’s not the Temple’s either. Mr. Gasendo is nice enough that he’d let us stay for a vacation, but nobody is touching that poor man’s property.”

Smugly, Lynette’s face played forgetful before she mockingly wiped some imaginary dirt off of her robes. At that time, the food was being brought into the Temple’s chapel and conveyed down the left stairs into the inner sanctum.
”Mhmmmm… Cubaine?” she asked, absentmindedly pointing at the bags that literally said the name of the restaurant on them.

”Y-yeah, Ma… You know your food schedule,-”
Casey paused for a moment, furrowing his brow.
”-did you have a stroke or something?”

It may have sounded like a funny question, but Casey was dead serious. Not only was she acting like an Alzheimer's patient, but a creepy and potentially unstable one!

”What?... Oh, no… No, Casey I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my plate too. You know, th-”
Casey didn’t let her keep going, rather putting a hand on her shoulder to try spinning her around.

”It’s fine… Just, let’s go and get a move on.” Casey accepted, giving her a gentle nudge toward the stairs.

”So, Trisha? How are our fuzzy little friends? I know, I know it’s only been a couple of weeks… But their adjustment! Surely you’d notice by now whether or not they’re satisfied with the environment.” Lynette tried to ask casually.

“They miss sleeping on me,” Trisha replied, with a light laugh. It was one of the things she didn’t miss… as much as she loved her bees, it’d been quite difficult. As for why she started with the negative? Mostly the bad mood, and not wanting to make things too easy for Lynette. No that she thought this’d affect her much…

“They’ve settled in. They’re still building the comb, but they’ve started producing a good amount of honey. It’s faster now that they don’t have to travel as far to find flowers… They’re satisfied with it. They’d all have moved in with us if they weren’t.”

Lynette laughed warmly, the thought of so many bees taking refuge at the height of their little home made her laugh. Imagining the noise alone was enough.

”God, I bet it’d sound like living in a laundromat. Let’s bee thankful they can at least take the hint that they live where they are, and that your home isn’t just their home.” she smiled, turning back as they reached the bottom of the steps and followed the train of food toward Lynette’s office.

As it was the last time, it was the same here again. Lots of dark wood, cabinets with things. Big comfortable chairs. Only, Elise was waiting there. Not Lena. Thankfully…

”There they are… Couple of the century. Little Brother, Little Sister.-”
Elise was dressed like she’d just woken up in the cutest set of flannel pyjamas.
”-I didn’t think anyone would be worried if I was comfy… I slept here last night.”

There was a blanket and pillow on the couch at the furthest side of the room. Classic Elise. The people in charge of bringing the food down made sure each container slid in front of a seat where someone could get to it. There were already sets of plates and silverware present.

Casey pulled a seat out for Trisha, letting her sit down and taking the spot next to her. As predicted, the other two sat down across the table. Elise slid a big organizer folder across the table to herself, unzipping it and yanking it open.

”Okaaaaaay… Harvest Feast. Last year was ‘The Moon and the Coast’, right?” Elise started pretty much immediately.

Lynette gave her a tired look.

”Can we not eat like a family first?” she asked, head turning from Elise to the other two.
”You’re not in any kind of rush, right? We can sit and just enjoy each other’s company for fifteen minutes, surely.”

”Casey’s very busy Mom… You must know.” Elise tried to gently explain.

But Lynette just looked at Casey and Trisha with a pleading glare. Casey didn’t say anything, just turned his head slightly to look at Trisha. If they answered wrong, he knew Lynette would snap up the chance to consume their time.

”There’s some things that need to get done at home, right Hon?” Casey asked Trisha with a calm intent.

“There are,” Trisha confirmed, smiling slightly at Casey. It was easy to go along with… the less time spent with Lynette, the better. She turned to look at the woman in question.
“Casey’s so busy he’s barely been sleeping… and some of the combs are almost full. If I leave them too long it’ll be a problem. We both have work to do.”

Elise waved her hand forward as if to say “See?”. She could only wave her hand in disregard, moving for her first box of food. Some kind of plastic bowl of soup, which she practically drank out of like a cup. Satisfied with that, Elise nodded and continued on.

”So, Trisha… Casey’s given you the basic gist of how things go, right? That this is a Blind-Friendly event, and that we’ve hosted almost a thousand people at one point? We learned our lesson, obviously; so this year we’re looking at about five hundred invitations sent out between single members and families. Have you two… Come up with a theme, or anything like that?”

Casey nodded his head.
”Trisha had a good one, right Babe?”

Trisha wasn't sure if it was actually a good one. It was something she'd thought of while focusing on ‘making it about them.’ Something that, in her opinion, they both shared. It just happened to work for a general theme…
“Mhm… I was thinking resilience. Surviving and overcoming the past and moving into a new future. Like ancient forests that still thrive, or… bees." Even though she'd discussed it with Casey, she didn't feel entirely confident about it. She watched Lynette more than she did Elise… since her reaction was more important.

But why did she really care? It was an event she was being forced to organise just to try make it slightly comfortable for herself…
“We wanted it to be outdoors so it was a more natural setting. Casey had the idea of a beer garden kind of thing… well, a Bee-r garden." She glanced at Casey with a slight smile, before looking back at Lynette.

Lynette’s smile curled up around her lips.
”You and those bees, Trisha… Adorable.”

Elise nodded to herself, marking something down on a piece of paper.
”Were we thinking like… Bee theming? Or is the pun just because it’s cute?”

While her tone was monotonous and somewhat tired, Elise still shot a sly grin up. It wasn’t malice, rather amused. Whatever she felt about it, chances were it was at least good enough that they didn’t protest.

“Because it's cute… Casey's the one who insisted on it." She let out a joking sigh like it was some little inside joke- Casey loving her so much that he always tried to make things about her. Of course she'd considered making the entire theme Bees at first… but that seemed too much.
“I wouldn't want to put them on display like that… they get crowd anxiety."

As she spoke, one of the small group of bees she'd brought crawled out from underneath her thick hair, little antenna wiggling in the air before turning right back around to hide. It was almost comedic.
“We were thinking it'd be nice to do something with my honey… y'know, product marketing."

”We were actually anticipating it. Do you… Have enough? The combs produced so far will suffice for the event with something like that amount of people?” Elise asked calmly, very clearly non judgemental in her tone.

She wasn’t just practiced in the language of anxiety reduction, she was proficient. In situations like this, one would never know what her personal feelings were about things… It was only business.

”She wouldn’t be asking if she didn’t think there was enough. Right, Trisha?” Lynette asked quietly, preferring to give Trisha the chance to take the situation into her own hand.

The bees were one of the things Trisha was relatively confident in. Confident enough to at least ignore the constantly bubbling panic and talk about them calmly… without taking things the worst way she could.
“Right. It does depend on what's done with it. There isn't enough to give everyone a jar… but for sampling, use in drinks or dishes should be fine. The bees have produced more than I expected, and there'll be even more by next week. Assuming I keep up collection and maintenance it won't be a problem." Emotional maintenance of the bees, that was. There was little she had to do in the way of hive maintenance with their new environment.

“We could even do really tiny little jars… enough to put in tea or on some bread."

Lynette had started to slurp oysters directly from their shells. There were probably six plastic containers full of them, now that one could see the spread laid across the conference table. She had a thick half-lemon in her left hand, and stopped mid-slurp to lean and kick Elise’s chair playfully.

”The fuckin-”

Elise was writing something and laughing at the same time.
”Yeah. Trisha, we’ve got these glass vessels? We used them for holy water at one point, and then we made another order… To sell shots out of at some adult event or something? But it never happened, so we can use them. They’re these-”

Lynette stood up from the table, brushing her buttery, lemony hands off on a rag before moving to one of the many shelves. She pulled out a rather ornate looking bottle roughly the size of a single serving soda bottle. It looked totally full of liquid, but it sloshed around in a very strange way. Bringing it to the table, she handed it over to Trisha.

”Three fluid ounces. Two shots, basically. But the illusion of the glass makes it look like it's really filling the thing.” Lynette explained.

Trisha took the fancy bottle, turning it in her hands. She brought it right up to her eyes to look at it. Her brow furrowed as she did some quick math.
“With what I've collected the last week, and what I should get in the next week… I think I should have about thirty to forty pounds of honey. That'd be enough to fill about seventy if it's only thirty? Or a hundred and forty if we half the amount… But I might end up with more, the bees have been surprising me. It wouldn't be enough for everyone. Will that be a problem?"

”No, absolutely not. However, we’re always looking for the best way to do things. So, if your math is right, thirty pounds of honey cuts out to roughly four-hundred and twenty net servings of honey at one tablespoon per serving. If we’re looking to get… What, do you think sixteen dollars a pound? Eighteen?”

Lynette started giggling while Elise was going over math, and Casey was huffing down a small box of baked potatoes and sour cream. But he had the wherewithal to at least give his mother a chastising look.

”What?”
”What?/… You know what. Don’t be a child.”

Lynette laughed again, waving her hand. But Elise had stopped, also smiling slightly.
”Yeah, Mom… Four-Twenty. Har har. Anyway, Trisha, I honestly think we could push it. Have you talked to Andrade about it? Priced it at all for him and what he’s getting it for?”

Trisha nodded along with Elise's math, mentally keeping track of it in case there were any mistakes… not that she expected there to be. But it seemed right. She was too caught up on recalculating to have much of a reaction to Lynette's juvenile sense of humour, beyond a flat stare.

“I have, we discussed everything and signed contracts last week…" She'd wanted to get it done as soon as possible, around everything else they'd been dealing with. Especially after that call with Ezra… as much as she hated to admit he'd been right.
”He’s getting it at about twelve a pound, with some variation depending on quality and bulk. When I start producing enough to sell in bulk. His rate is technically discounted." Though less discounted than she'd expected. She was thankful for both the lawyer Ezra had suggested, and the fact that Andrade was so willing to work with her. He saw her value almost more than she did… he could've very easily cheated her out of a lot of money.

“So sixteen to eighteen would be able what I'd sell a pound for anyone else, and when it starts being sold by the jar." Trisha was glad the conversation was staying in this kind of thing. Practical, something she knew about.
“If we do it by tablespoon, I should be able to get enough for five hundred. Thirty pounds is a conservative estimate of what I'll have by then."

”We like to plan on the conservative side. That way, anything extra is something we can report to the congregation as a blessing. So, what I was thinking? Raffle. We always have stuff we’re looking to move, so we could slip a bulk order of the honey in as one of the prizes? We’ll put it on a special ticket, and then we’ll have anyone who purchases one have access to some… Mead? Bread and honey treats?”

Casey laughed.
”We… We could do that weird fermenting machine. I think Gin would be happy to help.”
Looking at Trisha, he shrugged his shoulders.
”There are things we could do magically to… Y’know… Pad out the product too. I’m not sure how on board with something like that you’d be.”

How easily one slipped back into the past. To ease back into a position so comfortable you don’t realize you’re in it. It almost scared Casey when he realized. But Elise was there to pick up the slack, sniffing out the old family proclivity.

”Oh, no… We don’t want Trisha having to do anything like that. We’d rather get the product in its most undoctored form. I only mentioned the mead as an assumption that there was some already made. I should’ve asked instead of assuming.” she looked from Casey to Trisha and gave a warm smile.

Trisha’s body tensed slightly when Casey suggested using magic to pad it out. To fake it. She didn’t want to do that… she didn’t want to market or sell a false product. It wasn’t like she was really doing it for the money. But that honey was her bees' hard work, and she didn’t want to dilute it. Could hardly stand the idea.

Thankfully, Elise stepped in before Trisha got a chance to more harshly shut it down. Her hands clasped together tightly in her lap and while she didn’t return Elise’s smile, there was a hint of thankfulness in her gaze.

“I don’t want it tampered with. That would be like dismissing all of the bees’ hard work. I don’t mind it being processed, but I don’t want that process to be magical… or for the honey to be given out in an impure form.” She managed to speak calmly, though she looked down at the table rather than at Casey. It was just like what they’d put a cap on earlier… the view of Blinds, magical superiority. The immediate want to solve a problem with magic was part of it. But they were going to talk about it later. She just had to ignore it for just now… push it down. Try not to show her annoyance.

“Having my honey on offer was just a suggestion, anyway. It’s not the focus of the festival, and it shouldn’t end up causing us hassle… I’d be fine with the raffle idea, sans mead we don’t have.”

Elise waved her hands to ward off the doom.
”We’ll do exactly as intended, and there’ll be no hassle in making it happen. We’ll allocate a small amount to do a raw tasting bar available to anyone who purchased the ticket. I think a twenty-dollar buy in for the chance to win a year’s worth of grade A honey is a fair ask. And you guys take home the proceedings, since it’s your product. Does that sound square, Trisha?” she asked.

Trisha didn’t have to think about it much. It achieved what she was primarily after: getting the product out there, and something she could rub in Tansy’s face. Maybe she could even prove to Ezra that she did know what she was doing with it.
“It does, so long as my name’s attached to it too.” She honestly wasn’t expecting to get paid for it. She’d been willing to make the financial sacrifice for other gains, and making things all around easier for them both…

“So, uh, as well as the honey… We had some other ideas, didn’t we, Casey?” She half glanced at him, before looking down at her hands.
“Like I thought a buffet style meal would fit the theme, and give things a more… Chill feeling.”

”Oh, like a soup kitchen?” Lynette asked, seemingly without any thought. Obviously, that wasn’t actually the case. She never asked anything like that. Every question tended to have some driving purpose.

”There’s nothing more communal than queuing, Ma… You get in a line, your folks are around you, Dad’s at the front talking to mister so-and-so, Mum’s jabbering away with Janice, then all of a sudden all the kids are in a knot messing around with one another one by one. Suddenly they’re sitting at a table with people they never expected, and everyone’s thankful.” Elise deftly framed the situation for maximum value.

”And it fits the theme, Ma! Resilience! Nothing more resilient than having stood in line for an hour to get your food.” Casey joked, shaking his head gently.

Lynette did giggle in turn, sighing from her nose.
”I only asked a question. You both could’ve just said no.”

Elise was very clearly masterful at dealing with her mother. Rather than feed into her, to give her more opportunity to play, she simply redirected the conversation once again.

”I think it’ll go down great. How do you feel about multiple establishments? We’ve got access to such a wide variety of food from Andrade’s restaurants, we can offer people three or four different choices for buffet. That way we can also distribute traffic in a more intelligent fashion.” she suggested with such tremendous professionalism, it almost felt like an actual interview…

Were it not for the woman loudly crunching on a baguette.

Trisha had been waiting for Lynette to say something. She’d been strangely- unnervingly- quiet. So she was able to hear the question without reacting much, and without needing to when both Elise and Casey responded to it. Then the conversation was shifted, thankfully.

She found herself appreciating Elise’s presence more and more.
“I assumed it would be something like that… or at least, more than one table of food. Offering a bit of variety when there’s so many people makes sense. If there’s any traditional foods that need including, that can be done, but it’s nicer if people have options.” Going with a buffet meant she could avoid the awkwardness of forced sitting times, and just skip eating entirely if she didn’t feel like it…

Her lips twitched up into an almost joking smile.
“As much as I’d love to see my sister, and maybe my brother, stand in a long queue with all the ‘normal’ people.”

”Oh, Trisha, you’ll love the guest list by the way. No doubt Miss Tansy must’ve contacted your brother; his RSVP was one of the first to come in. Along with a generous operational donation which we intend to actually return to him… It was completely unprompted…”

Casey’s brow furrowed.
”Our coffers received a donation from Ezra Vanburen recently?”

Lynette looked too smug about it.
”No… My coffers. That’s obviously why you haven’t seen a large donation in your audit.” she explained.

Trisha’s eyes narrowed as she tried to keep a frown off her face. Ezra didn’t spend money without a reason. He wasn’t one of those rich men who threw it around everywhere. Was it because he knew it was a cult? Some way to… bribe Lynette in case she was trapped in it? No, that didn’t make sense. Ezra didn’t care that much. It was far more likely Tansy pressured him into it.

“Unprompted by you, perhaps,” Trisha responded, shaking her head slightly.
“Ezra doesn’t do things ‘unprompted.’ There’s always a reason. He probably thought you were on the many charities that ask him to attend Galas and the like… I assume his RSVP was a no?”

”And why would we ever assume something so negative?” Lynette asked with a grin, looking at Elise. She flipped back through her folder.

”Ezra Vanburen… Confirmed. Plus one, denied. Seems he’s either coming alone, or he’ll be with Tansy directly.” she shrugged, looking up at Trisha with a vague frown.
”Otherwise, we’ve got a lot of no answers from the spectrum of Vanburens. Rest easy, Trisha… It’ll only be the two it seems.”

”Can you check one more name for me? Should be Mendoza? Maria?” Lynette’s question echoed out through the room like they were in a cavern.

It was like everything froze for a moment. Static rang in Trisha’s ears, cutting through the suffocating silence. She was stuck, unable to even breath as her mind slowly caught up with her body’s immediate reaction. Mendoza. Maria. No…

“What?” The word barely managed to escape Trisha’s lips, sounding almost strangled. Unable to hold her breath any longer, instead it quickened. The air she sucked in was ice cold, painful. Her nails dug into the back of her hands to try stop the panic threatening to consume her.

There wasn’t an immediate explosion as Trisha tried to keep herself under control. But more than that, panic dominated any anger she’d feel. It was difficult to speak. Difficult to even breath.
“You didn’t… invite her.”

Elise had enough time to find the name and see the status of the invitation before Trisha asked a question like that.
”Married sister of yours or something, Trisha? We can scratch her off… Nothing a call from someone very far away can’t fix.”

Lynette blew air from her lips to ward off Elise’s current course.
”Don’t you dare! That’s Trisha’s Momma, and she’s already confirmed too. It’d be incredibly rude to have someone planning to come all that way on such short notice just to upend her plans.”

What? She’d already confirmed. There was no way. Lynette had to be-
“You’re lying.” She had to be. Trisha’s mom was too busy to attend something like this. She’d see the invitation and throw it in the trash. She had to. What could the invitation even say that would make her come?

Why would she attend a festival in the city her daughter lived in while ignoring every single call and text Trisha had sent? It had been two years since they talked. Even longer since she actually saw her. But she agreed to come to this? And there’d been no text to Trisha. Nothing.

It hurt. She was being thrown away again. Worthless. Would she have to see her mom there, refusing to talk to her? Ignoring her? Talking to everyone else… She couldn’t do that. No.
“She’s too busy to come to this. There’s no way she said yes.“ The words were spoken through gritted teeth, Trisha no longer able to hide her panic in the slightest. Her breathing was visibly shallow and her eyes narrowed into a frantic glare towards Lynette. But Elise didn’t know. And she didn’t want her to know!

So it had to be a lie. Maybe it was all a lie. No, Elise had found the name. So even if it was a lie, she’d still invited her. She’d still fucking invited her!
”So stop fucking lying about it.”

Elise’s eyes darted from Lynette to Trisha and back again. But Casey was already reacting in turn with Trisha’s rapid shift.
”This is a joke… Right? You’re kidding, I mean, there’s no way in Hell you actually decided that was a good idea! Ma?”

Lynette’s brow furrowed.
”You’re a little shocked, Trisha… But I’m sure you want to see her! What kind of animal wouldn’t want to see their own mother?”

It didn’t stop her from eating… She was gripped tight to a bowl of mashed something or other, and had poured the leftover shellfish butter into the mix long ago.

”Elise… Call her. Have someone else do it. Whatever you need to; we don’t want that woman at this event.” Casey intoned, and tried to do so calmly upon his authority.

”Wait, wait… This is all a bit much, isn’t it? She did confirm, but maybe we should ask ourselves why! Trisha? Maybe… I mean, I don’t know! I know when I leave things unsaid for too long, it feels embarrassing to address them… Maybe this is that?” Elise tried to rationalize the situation in a constructive way.

”She seemed thrilled when I spoke to her.” Lynette decided to leave another gunshot hanging in the air for Trisha to get hit by…

“You spoke to her?!” No, no, no no… Why? Why the fuck would Maria talk to Lynette but not her?! There was no way she sounded thrilled. Trisha had heard her sound something close to thrilled before… when work was going well, when she obtained awards, when her research made a breakthrough. But about or to Trisha? It was never more than tired disappointment.

Frantically, Trisha pulled her phone out from her pocket. Just in case, maybe she missed something… No. All she saw was the calls she’d made and the texts she sent for every occasion. Not a single response. Not since she graduated. She shoved it back away.

“Very fucking funny. This has to be a joke.” But Elise said she confirmed. Elise didn’t even know… She wasn’t in on it. Right? Trisha would rather she was. That it was one horrible joke to hurt her. Because the reality was worse. The reality that Maria was coming to the Temple’s Thanksgiving equivalent, probably based on some promise of Academic knowledge Lynette fed her… Coming to a city she knew Trisha lived in.

And ignoring her all the same.
“No. She doesn’t get embarrassed. It’s not that… What did you tell her? Because there’s no way you used me as the reason. You’ve dug into my past enough to know that wouldn’t work!” Trisha didn’t want Elise to know. She didn’t want anyone to. Telling Casey had been such a major thing for her. But it didn’t matter now…

“She’s my mother. What gave you the right to invite her?! Just because I’m dating your son doesn’t mean we’re suddenly family, and you can access mine!”

Elise turned to her mother.
”You’re a petulant and cruel Witch… Y’know who I went to see recently? Because of what I’ve been dealing with?-”

Her face had turned from a sullen calm to a concerned parent, then finally into the devil itself as Elise stared at Lynette’s smug smirk.

”-Lady Preen Murkwood? From Our Ladies of Brilliance?”

Lynette knew not to take the bait. That old bat hadn’t taught Elise anything that she’d not taught her.

”Trisha, if you want to know what I said to get her out here, then I think there’s going to need to be a little compromise! You’re going to have to accept that she’s going to be here. And then you can ask her yourself. Or, I can stop making exceptions for you.”
Her voice was incredibly smooth, and with the vague implication of any kind of special treatment came the implication that there was something that could be taken away.

”I’m sorry, Ma… What are you saying?” Casey asked, very subtly moving his left hand underneath the table to grip into any loose clothing Trisha was wearing. To yank her if he had to.

”I’m saying that we’ve made some pretty serious compromises welcoming our dear friend into our family so openly! Trisha… Is it so hard to think that I’ve had an awful relationship with my children? I’d say I’ve done nothing but try to reconcile that. So maybe what I said had something to do with that? Maybe all someone needs is to hear things from the mouth of someone you happen to respect?” Lynette offered the question for Trisha to answer actively, leading her toward a thought path she hoped the young woman would follow.

”Ma!?” Elise blurted out in shock.

It felt like everything was crumbling around Trisha. What was Lynette saying? Tolerate the mother that abandoned her, or be forced to leave Casey? He wouldn’t, would he? No… he might… He might not have a choice…

A quiet, bitter laugh came out before any words did.
“You are a terrible mother. You’re manipulative, controlling, you spy on them- but there’s a relationship to ‘reconcile’, no matter how awful you are! You love them. My mom doesn’t love me!” The truth she tried so hard to hide came spilling out.

Did she care? It could all be over now. She could be left with nothing. Of course it had been too good to be true. She should’ve known everything was going to come crashing down… No, no, not yet. She was still on the edge of the precipice. The panic wasn’t so bad she’d shut down.
“And I’m not going to let you take away the one person that does!”

”Who is taking any person away from you!? I’m trying to get someone back into your life! Because, amazingly, she does love you!” Lynette cooed in the most somber tone she could muster.

Elise pushed up out of her chair and slammed her planner shut.
”She’s right! You have no business doing this kind of thing to her, Ma. You shame me, you shame your son, you shame the name of our Coven-”

”-Shame!? You want shame? Shame is knowing what I know and living with myself every day! You kids… All of you! Spoiled rotten! As soon as someone throws something hard at you, you fucking cry and cry about it until Mummy makes it go away. You fucking fix it! Or tell Professor Dryden that Professor Mendoza won’t be joining them for our Alumnul Society.”

Elise’s head ran through several gears trying to pin a face to the name.
”Miss Mackie?” she asked with a wholly confused look.

”Professor Mackenzie Dryden! Our Boston branch lead?” Lynette looked like she was going to snap the fork in her hand.

”Oh, my God… So she doesn’t even know?”

Of course she didn’t. It was exactly what Trisha thought. Nothing to do with her. It felt like she was being crushed. She’d known but it didn’t make the confirmation any easier. How explicitly her mother didn’t care for her. How she’d really been cut off and abandoned by a woman she’d worked so hard to obtain the love of. Her own mother.

She bit her lip hard enough to taste iron in her mouth, preventing tears from forming in her eyes. Not here. She couldn’t. But it didn’t stop the panic attack. She was visibly shaking, and it was like her limbs were being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. It was all consuming.

Because she was unloveable. A failure. Couldn’t handle anything. Destined to be left by every single person in her life…

“S-see, I fucking- knew it.” She barely managed to choke out. She wanted to run, to hide, to just not exist.
“I don’t care. H-have her, since she’s so important. I’ll- I’ll stay home. You don’t need me there.”

She stood up suddenly, hands slamming into the table to stop herself from immediately collapsing on shaky legs. The edges of her vision went fuzzy. Her voice was harsh, frantic. There was no way to hide the anxiety attack even when she fought through enough to talk.
“I’ve never had anyone to fix anything for me. So- so I’ll do it myself by leaving.”

”Trisha… We want your involvement. We love having you and Casey working together. We. Forget whatever’s going on here…-”
”-What’s going on here is I’m leaving my last harvest to watch my Son take over. Like he will. And then, I’ll be gone! And nobody’ll have to deal with big bad Lynette anymore…”

Casey hadn’t considered the idea that Lynette would’ve started drinking before they arrived… But reaching out now, he knew that was exactly what had happened. Drunk. Hiding it well, but hammered regardless. And, as he already assumed, fully aware of the machinations playing out in the background behind her. Nothing got past that defense system… Which made sense. It couldn’t fail. There was too much at stake. So, if she knew, why was she acting like it was inevitable?

”And Elise is right, Trisha. You’re doin’ great, honey!” she sarcastically intoned.
”You and my big boy! You’re honestly lucky. Coming here when you did. It’s all slipping away now… May as well try and make my babies happy before they take my heart.”

Elise bristled visibly at her Mother, readjusting and making way around the table.
”You two… Come on. We don’t have to sit here and listen to this woe-is-me White Lux bullshit.”

Casey stood up with Trisha, and had since wrapped his arm tightly around her. But his eyes met his Mothers, and at once he could see everything she knew. Everything she’d seen and felt and imagined… All coming together. All according to plan.
”Oh, sure Elise! Deprive them of their lunch! They’ll starve! Starve, like dogs who hate their mothers!” she called one last time before Elise was able to usher the two of them out and back down the hall.

”Trisha, Trisha… This is not how I planned things going. There’s no reason for that, at all. I want you to know that we’re on your side here. Not hers. If it means enough that we don’t have this person come around, whoever she is, then she simply won’t be there. There’s no way. I’d rather the entirety of the Greater Eastern Branch didn’t come than have you absent while your honey is present. Or, while Casey’s present for that matter.” Elise did her best to explain as she walked alongside Casey and Trisha.

Trisha clung to Casey, only able to walk because of his support. Her whole body was shaking and being removed from the situation hadn’t done anything to help her panic. How could it? Her mother still didn’t love her. Still hated her. Trisha loved her. She did want to see her, actually. But not like this. Not around so many people… not when she might be completely ignored.

“O-okay.” She was slow to process what Elise said, and struggled to respond. She knew that they weren’t on Lynette’s side. That much was obvious… but were they really on her side?
“She is my Mother… B-But I don’t want her there. Not when… I just don’t.”

The death grip one hand had on Casey’s shirt only tightened. She looked up at him with eyes still filled with panic.
“Can we go home? O-or I’ll go…” She wasn’t even sure if she could make it that far. She just needed to curl up. To be anywhere but here… to be alone.

No, no, not alone, she didn’t want to be alone, she wanted to be with Casey. It didn’t matter where. She just needed to be him, just them.
“Even just- the car.”

Casey was already far, far away in his mind. Taking himself to a place of comfort and rest. One where whatever this was wasn’t happening right now. Where things weren’t like this. He didn’t plan on stopping, even if Elise begged him to. Not because he didn’t want to talk about it, because of course he did… But because she couldn’t handle it. He knew she couldn’t. Trisha would probably dissolve into fine mist before anything actually got settled…

And she didn’t need that. Not after what they’d discussed. Not after this whole holiday had already become a problem.

”Literally whatever you need. Casey, get her home safely please.”
Elise did her best to make sure Trisha knew she cared… Too bad, no matter how hard she tried, there would never be enough words or feelings between them for Trisha to trust her… At least, that's what she assumed.

”Is Ray around?” Casey asked very quietly. Elise nodded her confirmation.
”Have him bring a car around. I’d rather not have to focus on driving and this at the same time.” Casey instructed. Wordlessly, Elise moved off their side while the two ascended the stairs of the sanctum back into the world of the living.

”I’m sorry… God, I’m sorry… I’m so-”
Casey’s voice was awfully quiet, and seemed to echo directly into Trisha’s ear rather than sounding like it was coming from somewhere.

Trisha’s head jerked from side to side in a shaking motion. It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t know, but he hadn’t stopped it, he’d barely stepped in, did he really lo-

She cut off her thoughts with a harsh intake of breath, feeling like she was swallowing shattered glass. Her body twisted towards him. She didn’t look up at him, because she was trying to cling as tightly as she could.
“No, no, no… I- I don’t w-want to lose you, I c-could handle it.”

She couldn’t keep her thoughts straight, or separate rational and irrational panic… It all felt real. And there was that very real fear of what Lynette had said. The compromise, a choice that she didn’t seem to make. Or did she choose not seeing Maria over him?! No, no, she didn’t, she was overwhelmed, unloved, abandoned, it was just all too much.

“I n-need you… it wasn’t you… I- I- she-” The panic was overwhelming, with a need for comfort but a struggle to verbalise anything.
“I j-just want to be alone w-with you.”

”We’re going, Baby… I promise, we’re going. Someone’s gonna come and drive us, we’ll be all alone all the way home. I promise, I promise you Baby…” he rubbed his hands up and down her arms as they exited the building into the cold.

Not even wanting to be that close to the building they’d been under, he started to walk them further off onto the lawn of the Chapel and down to the cul-de-sac.

”Nobody’s taking anything from you. Fuck her. Fuck her bullshit exceptions.”

Trisha’s head snapped up to look at him with wide eyes. It shouldn’t be a shock after everything he’d said. But when she was like this, after everything she’d heard? When Lynette had threatened it so confidently? It was hard to not be terrified at the prospect.

The risk of losing Casey to something outside of their control…
“O-okay. I don’t even care about exceptions, I-I’d hide in your closet all day if I had to, o-or sneak in, so I could stay with you. I just want to be with you…”

”Trisha, you’re a fucking Adult. The day you have to hide in the closet of our home is the day I burn this entire plot of land to the fucking grou-”

Casey stopped. Stopped talking, stopped moving, stopped everything. At a short distance, a few hundred feet away in the opening to the treeline, stood a thing. It wasn’t a man; too small. Not a boy either, too large. A teen? No, no… Just a… Being. An entity that Casey’d never actually seen before. Its long black hair cascaded down its body like a blanket almost entirely covering its body. Its face was mousish, but wholly distinct as a face he’d seen before. His lip quivered.

Why now?
But it just stood there staring. Even as the car pulled up and the driver pulled the back door open for Trisha and Casey to climb into, it was just watching them. Casey didn’t bother asking if the other man could see it… Why even ask?

But they were in a car at least, and driving away from that brief but painful nightmare revealed to them. At least it was over… For now.

---

Home

By the time they got home, Trisha wasn’t that much calmer. Her breathing was at least a bit more steady. She wasn’t hyperventilating to the point she could barely feel her hands and feet. The whole journey had been spent mostly in silence, taking refuge in Casey’s arms in the hope everything else would go away.

The thoughts didn’t. They never did… And she couldn’t stop the panic attack when it was a constant cycle of those thoughts. Each time she came down a bit, another would throw her right back into it.

So they ended up back in what was a safe space for them, in that spot at the back of the large couch where Casey could hold her without hurting his back. She was still a tight ball of anxiety, curled up in his lap while pressing herself against his torso. Her face pressed into his chest, trying her best to even out her breathing further. Her limbs still shook, but it was more muted.

She was still in the middle of an attack, but she’d managed to come back down to a point where she was somewhat functional. It was a little bit easier with him… She found herself wanting to get the jumbled mess of thoughts out. Some of them. Otherwise she’d keep spiralling, and it would last for hours and hours, no matter how much Casey hugged her.

Talking scared her… but not as much as making Casey deal with this.

“She hasn’t talked to me since I graduated,” Trisha whispered, breath catching in her throat. The tears that had just barely stopped started to flow again.
“Even when I- I tried to call. She knows I live here… but still didn’t contact me. She really d-doesn’t want me.”

Casey had already spent enough time seething on the way home. He’d been so pissed off that it was hard to give Trisha the space in his mind to occupy. Only when they’d finally made it back, foregoing the changing into his usual comfort clothing just as she had, did he feel safe and secure enough to give her anything more than his expression of absolute mental anguish mixed with some strange form of empathy.

He was rather upset with himself still; having gone through the guest list twice, he knew the name was there. He even knew they’d accepted the initial RSVP. It didn’t explain to Trisha that the RSVP was a lump agreement, nor that it didn’t guarantee any one particular member of the Alumnae Association’s attendance. Only that they, along with a large group of people, had said yes to a larger banquet table. Meals were paid wholesale, and whether the seat was used or not, it was served just like all the others.

”And you don’t want her either. It’s fair, Trisha… Fair enough that I would never judge you for not ever wanting to see her ever again. And, I know you want to deep down. I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t want their Mom in their life. I know I still do, even though she’s an insane person who does things like this to the woman I love… Why? Because I love her too. It’s programmed inside us. But some people don’t have it at all, Trisha. Some people just don’t feel that love toward others, and maybe there’s ultimately nothing wrong with her being like that either! Except that she let that feeling ruin you!”

He was rubbing her shoulders as firmly but gently as he could, taking deep breaths with her in between sentences as he explained his position. Hoping she’d find some sort of comfort in what he was saying, his lips planted gently on the back and top of her head.

But Trisha did want to see her. It wasn't even deep down… just not like this. She wanted to see her Mom when it was just the two of them. She wanted her Mom to want to see her. She didn't want to see her at a Temple event where Maria was actively avoiding seeing her. Her eyes blinked rapidly as if it would stop her tears from falling, trying to curl up even closer to Casey- like that was possible.

“But she can feel love. She loved my dad," she whispered. It wasn't like Trisha had ever seen it, with the divorce happening when she was just a baby… but Maria had talked about it, when Trisha was young and not yet a disappointment. Whispering poison into Trisha's ears about the woman who'd ruined their marriage, broken the love they'd had… It was another reason Trisha was so scared of falling in love and then losing it. Because what if she ended up just like her?
“She just doesn't love me."

It was difficult to admit again, when it was just them. And it was difficult to accept that lack of love had ‘ruined’ Trisha. But it had, hadn't it? If she'd had at least one normal, loving parent maybe she wouldn't be so fucked up. No, she didn't even need that…
“F-for a while after dad died, I wished I was like some of my other siblings. The ones with no m- mom. Cause that seemed better. But I didn't really… because I love my mom. And w-without her all the hard work I put in would- would be for nothing."

She shook her head, hands clutching onto Casey.
“But it was anyway! It's not fair- why didn't she just abandon me before I got attached? I- I- I wouldn't be so… " Unloveable. “Anxious. I just wanted her to l-love me but I-I was always a disappointment.”

Casey’s face was sullen. The situation wasn’t one he could exactly relate to… He had been the failure. But all roads returned him to Grace: He kindled in that jungle, and with the flames came love and acceptance from people who had treated him like an accessory up to then. The same people who practically drove him out were the ones who wanted him back now. It was kind of sickening, especially with Trisha’s situation being so raw in front of him.

”People can be disappointed and still provide love, Trisha… Like uh…-”
His head had a billion examples that Trisha would’ve probably shot down for one reason or another. The only one she’d positively relate to hurt more than he wanted to bring up.
”-Like Lynette. I know it sounds crazy but… Well… You heard her! She was going on about this being her ’Last Harvest’ and how her children were going to steal her heart!”

He got close to her, pushing into her field of view.

”Like… She knows Elise is going to move on her. She knows the Aberrations are planning an uprising, and Leon isn’t stopping them. She knows that all Mia and the girls really want is their privacy, and that Junior’s plans are almost entirely outside of her purview… And ultimately, she knows that just like her, I can look down on it all and see every little chess piece move.”

Casey paused again, looking deep into Trisha’s eyes.
”Lynette knows she’s going to die, and that it’ll be one of us to do it. And she’s going to make us as miserable as possible… With her love. I know it doesn’t always look like it but, like… This is the only way she’s ever loved us. And I can see it inside her now, whenever I look. All the lies around her, like moths that circle her constantly in the White Lux. But there’s five bright pink ones… One for each of us. I know she loves us. Even though she’s probably angry, disappointed, sad and scared all at once.”

Casey’s hands gripped Trisha’s arms to hold her steady.

”If everything you’re saying is true… Maria really doesn’t love you. And I won’t pretend to believe that you should waste your incredible emotional stock on someone who can’t love her daughter over stupid shit like academic prowess and skill in a professional field. You’re so much more than those vapid qualities, Trisha…”

Trisha struggled to accept that. What more was she? What did she actually offer? If she had other qualities, why didn't her mom see them? Her body trembled as she sucked in a harsh breath, trying not to let that all consuming panic grip her again.

“Am I? Everyone's always wanted something… Everyone else just wanted m-my body or my money, until y-" She cut herself off, realising in that moment it was entirely true it wasn't until Casey. Because there was Cass, and Reyna, and Sal, and Nadiyah… but it didn't feel like anyone had fully loved her until Casey.
“Until you and my friends."

She tilted her head back a bit to properly look at him with wide, tear filled eyes.
“I know she doesn't love me. I know she'll never love me- but I still want it so much! A- And I see Lynette, and I know she loves you even though she's awful. I can tell and then- then it makes me jealous! I know it shouldn't… Because she's hurt you but… at least she does."

Her head curled back in to press against him, trying to take a deep breath.
”And I hate that anyone knows."

Casey just rubbed her head and shoulders as tenderly and lovingly as possible.
”You have every right to be jealous, my sweet Trisha Bee.”

Taking a deep breath, he wondered whether or not she’d be receptive to the kind of motivational training they put one through in the military. In the FFL, it was still very professional, and morale was based on marching cadences and games of football (he’d grown so used to calling it that, the word “soccer” almost never crossed his mind) interspersed with the general suffering that soldiers tended to partake in around one another.

It was there that you really learned that hate and spite could be powerful tools. That those two emotions often gave rise to some of the most heroic wartime acts one could think of. Including his, frankly… He’d be lying if he said that part of his heroic stand hadn’t been fueled ultimately by a roiling spite engine that consumed his gut to this day. That he only had such powerful memories of courage and the nostalgia involved in that glory because he hated the man on the other side of the line.

”You don’t… You don’t want to get even? Like… All the time, I hear you talking about how sad you are, or about how difficult it is to deal with these sorts of things. But the only time they really seem to carry you is when you’re trying to please. Like the good girl you wanted to be. But, I mean; haven’t you ever considered using all that built up lack of recognition to do something evil?”

He let the idea linger in the air for a while, waiting for Trisha’s response to the ominous question.

“I lash out all the time." Trisha furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure she'd ever used it for anything evil, but she always held onto grudges. There was just a conflict between wanting love, wanting to be what others wanted, and refusing to change. But she was only still around, still trying, because of the resentment she felt towards almost everyone in her life.

“Maybe it's not ‘evil’, but- But I've hurt people before. That's how I lose everyone! Because I can't keep up the good girl act and then I snap, and everyone's leaves." She was hyperventilating again, thinking about the continuous cycle she seemed trapped in. It always hurt her when those built up feelings came out. It hurt her more than it did their target.
“The last time I saw my mom- actually saw her- I told her I hated her. I did so much as a teenager and her only reaction was disappointment. All my siblings hate me because I was so resentful as a teenager. I don't- I don't know how it'd ever help?"

Casey shook his head roughly.
”No. Not what I mean.”
He took a deep breath, leaning forward with her so that he could stretch his back a little bit.

”When I first transferred into the actual Army, I was put into the specialist unit. Magic guys. It was me in a batch of like six candidates. I got along fine, fit right in because I was already used to magic and used to weird shit from the FFL. But there was this other candidate. Usher, or something like that.”

Sergeant at Arms Robert Charles Usher, 330-21-0955. Tallahassee Florida; Wilkshire Boulevard, number 801. Survived by wife Whitney and daughter Isabella. Something like that.

”When we got there, he managed to catch some serious static with our supervisor right out of the gate. They both had the same uh… Job. Like, we all have jobs in the military besides going and taking positions. So they both had ways of doing things that were different. Got them to the same place usually, but never easily.”

Casey had mentioned this concept in front of Trisha before… Much more casually at the dinner up North when he’d been discharged. The previously described “Military Occupational Specialty”. Seemed like a hot topic that he and his military companions loved to talk about, so it wasn’t surprising that it’d be a source of friction somewhere down the road.

”Anyway, make a long story real short: Usher wound up becoming so much better, so much more dominant at the job than our supervisor, that not only did everyone in the unit prefer the times that Usher did them, eventually the Chief had to admit that he was better. Except, I was one of the few people who was privy to what Usher was actually up to.”

He smiled slightly, shrugged his shoulder.
”Usher was a cook. And a Green Lux Adept. Every time the Chief tried to cook and feed us, Usher would release this God awful gas. Nobody knew, because it didn’t smell like it smelled. But it reeked. He just programmed it well, so that it would only affect the back of your tastebuds. The area around the nasal passages. Any time the Chief made dinner, people would eat it and gag. Eventually, it was like a Pavlov’s Dog thing: People saw the Chief behind the counter and wouldn’t even turn up for Mess.” he grinned, giggling slightly just remembering the faces.

His turned to Trisha.
”Usher won. After that, he was irreplaceable. Less missions, less away time, more chances to requisition shit from OPSEC. People loved him, thought he was a God with food. He wasn’t; he used a lot of salt, and treated anyone who tried to muscle into the kitchen like animals. But he was determined to survive the war like that. He wanted to go home to his family. He was desperate.”

Trisha's lips pressed together as she listened, head tilting a little in the way it often did when she was processing something. At the very least, listening to him talk about something completely different had allowed her to even out her breathing a bit. Still on the edge of panic, but able to breathe a little easier.

“That doesn't sound ‘evil.’ Just… like you said, desperate. We had people like that in Sycamore too… who made spells so they'd be more useful off the front line." She furrowed her brow, trying to figure out how it related to her situation. Sometimes she was desperate enough that she'd do almost anything to keep someone in her life. Desperate to keep things secret and suppressed, or to never see people again. There was all that resentment built up inside of her, but it wasn't like she could use it in that way, could she?

“Are you… suggesting I put bad honey in people I don't like's food so they stop enjoying it?"

Casey put a finger up to his lips, smiling gently as he looked through the vague darkness at Trisha.
”Six months of Chef Usher’s reign go by. Chief doesn’t bat an eye, just slowly transitions kitchen duties over to Usher. We move into a new operational base: Chief and I are going over the plans of this shithole with the previous crew chief who was in charge of the engineering team there. He tips us off that there’s a unit of locals out in the desert real fond of using rock and roll style mortar strikes. Usually, they hit the edge of the place, or somewhere off in the field not super close.”

Casey seemed to be half humored and half pained. He was, because the story was just so… Evil.

”But there’s this one spot on the Northern edge. It’d been like nine things apparently. Living tents, shitters, you name it they’d tried to put it on this spot… But the fucking Wacky Races crew out there seemed to have some kind of lock onto it because without fail mortars managed to strike the position.”

His bemused grin got slightly more serious.
”Usher figured there was no chance anyone was onto him. Thought they were too stupid or too tired to care. So he didn’t ask the Chief any questions when he told him to set up the kitchen tent on the freshly made platform on the North side of camp. He just did it.”

Casey lifted his hand slightly, isolating a finger and letting it drop before making a motion with his fingers of expansion. Explosion.

”I’m saying that you’re more than smart enough to wait for opportunities to guide others to their own mistakes. Their own downfall. Let their hubris get the better of them, let their negativity eat them alive… Whatever it is, I know for a fact that you don’t have to be the one hurt here. You should hurt the people who deserve it… Emotionally, mentally, and only if all else fails, physically. Because when you’re the one still standing? Everything they said up to that point just fades away. They can’t hurt you… You won.”

Trisha's face scrunched up as she considered it. Not because she thought anything noble like that she shouldn't hurt others but… Was she really smart enough to do that? Could she really hurt people like they'd hurt her? Sure, she'd used the bees a couple of times… On exes that hurt her. It'd never been entirely on purpose. She definitely couldn't get anyone killed. She'd already done that… Not again.

And it would never work on her Mom. Not unless she went the physical route, which she couldn't. She just couldn't bear the thought of her reaction. More disappointment.

“I don't know how to not react." After a while, she spoke again quietly. She looked at Casey with red rimmed eyes now that her tears were starting to dry up.
“Maybe I am smart enough, but it's so difficult to stay calm. People say things to me and I just- I just get consumed by it. I can't suppress it enough to do something like that. Either I snap, or I bury it… I don't know how to do anything different. I don't know how to hurt people effectively."

She let out a quiet, breathy laugh.
“Most people would say you shouldn't hurt them at all, wouldn't they? But I do so much and it's not always people who deserve it… I just… I can't stop myself." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper, and she looked away again.
“I still want them to like me even after they hurt me. Even if I lash out too."

”People still liked the Chief. Word got out quick, y’know? That he left Usher hanging in the blast zone, and that he knew what was coming the entire time… But people didn’t bat an eye when he started serving chipped beef and toast again.” he intoned, trying to cap off the lesson here.

”I’m not saying you need to physically hurt them. Sometimes the best pain is mental anguish. And there’s plenty of routes to get there. I’ve got Lynette’s Big Revenge Playbook in my head… There’s a few things I know we can try easily. They just… All ask you to be big and bold. Not scared. Not small like this, my Love…” he whispered gently, head against hers.

Trisha wished it would be that easy. That she could get revenge on all the people that had hurt her, and those who still did, and that would just solve all of her problems. But her insecurities would still be there. The thought of how much her Mom hated her, how she might end up all alone, still caused her breath to get caught in her throat. But maybe it would help? Maybe…

“I don't want to be scared." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. Trying to not look so panicked… trying to accept the comfort of him being right there, his face so close, and what he was saying.

“I feel so helpless. It's not… I can't control it. I can't stop having p-" She bit her lip. It was difficult to admit what they were… as if it wasn't obvious. As if Casey hadn't already seen her have so many.
“Panic attacks. But, maybe if there's something I can do… I can handle it better. Like… Like when we were attacked. I was terrified, but I knew what I could do. It was the same against the Snake…"

She took another deep breath, then another. Slowly calming down. Managing to pick herself back up… but she still clung to Casey. He was her lifeline.
“When it's like this I feel like everything's been pulled out from under me and I'm just falling. I can't do anything about it… But if I could, I can focus on that. Maybe." It wouldn't be that easy. She couldn't just get rid of a deeply ingrained anxiety disorder with plans of revenge. But maybe slowly… slowly she could get better.

Casey only had one question on his mind.
”Then I only want to know how I can lift you, Trisha! Tell me how to pick you up… Because I’ll fucking lift you, spin you, twist you, fucking throw you if I have to, and I will fucking sprint to catch you again!” he urged, his hands gripping into hers.

His enthusiasm was so bright, like the daytime sun.

Trisha practically squinted against it, surprised by his immediate positive reaction. The answer was she didn't entirely know. She'd never had anyone to lift her up or fall back on. Both because there was never anyone to do it, and she'd never allow herself to…

“I honestly… Don't know. I'll have to think about it because I never really have. Or had anyone so willing to throw me around and catch me." Her eyes creased, lips managing to pull up into a slight, soft smile as she looked at him. She was so glad she had him… That she was able to come out of the panic earlier than she normally could.
“For now, just keep supporting me like this. Having someone there already means a lot."

”I just love you so much. Like… I didn’t think I was going to meet you. You. As in, the person you’ve become in my life, this… Constant fucking motivator. Trisha, I was so fucking lonely before you came into my life, and I know that we’ve definitely moved too fucking fast. But I don’t ever want to lose you!” Casey was teary-eyed now, just holding Trisha’s hands.

”I’ll take whatever you’ve got! Anything!”

“I don't want to lose you either." Trisha sniffed, blinking back the tears that had just been waiting for another chance to fall. But it wasn't the same. There was still a hint of panic- scared of how much she loved him and needed him now. They had moved too fast… but she always moved too fast. At least it wasn't just her.

“It doesn't matter how fast we've moved… I know my feelings won't change. That's what matters." She'd love him for as long as she was allowed to.
“A-And I've already given you so much more of… myself than I normally would. Because I love you too, and I trust you, and I don't ever want to be without you either."

Back to a life of moving from bad relationship to bad relationship, punctuated by loneliness in between. The loneliness that had pushed her to take whatever affection she could get.
“I- I do get scared, because I like you so much. But I won't let that win. I want to stay with you forever."

Quiet embraced the two of them, sealing them together in warmth as Casey pulled Trisha in tightly and rolled back into position. Love was a blanket, and a big green couch. Safety was the girth of his forearms, or the concave of her collar where Casey could place his lips. Security was knowing that they were both too fed up with everything else to go anywhere. This was the only paradise left. The only safe place…

He only wished she felt the same way.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

_{with @NoriWasHere}

The Grove

---

"Fuck." Bryn grimaced as they arrived in the Grove. She didn’t seem to be injured that badly, but it was probably worth taking a dip just in case. She dumped the bag of ashes and took a step towards the water. Her knee suddenly buckled beneath her, her hands shooting out to stop herself from properly falling. Fuck. More than just a broken rib then. Thankfully it wasn’t so bad she couldn’t make the last little bit, sliding into the waters beside Elara.

"Fuck." Bryn repeated, groaning as the waters started to work their magic. She turned her head to look at Elara. "Good job tellin’ those outsiders to stay out. Makes our job harder… and fuck, what the fuck was that?"

“I don’t fucking know,” Elara sighed as she felt the waters repair the broken ribs and mend her cut body, “it was strong though. You okay?”

”I am now," Bryn grunted, feeling the hidden damage repaired by the waters. "Guess we got more to talk ‘bout with our city contacts… Hopefully Mo'll know somethin’. They got records we ain't, I bet." She then shook her head. "I don't like how many outsiders turned up there. Like our jobs ain't hard enough."

“I think the one is harmless,” Elara said of Varnan, “I agree. We need a grove wide meeting tomorrow at the church, start setting up patrols or some shit to spot these monsters or outsiders miles away” Elara paused as she felt more of her body getting healed, “I fucking love these waters though.”

"The first guy? At least he knew Bill," Bryn groaned at the thought of another Grove wide meeting. It made sense but… fuck! Her days off were quickly slipping away from her. Fucking responsibilities. "We’re gonna need to figure that shit out ‘round everyone’s work schedules. We ain’t got massive numbers either… I guess pairs would work. We don't want shit getting in our town."

She tilted her head back to look at the other Grove members around them. "For now, y’all’re gonna watch out for shit in the town. Patrols or whatever, I don’t give a fuck. Me ‘n Elara gotta go to the city soon as she’s healed."

As Bryn spoke she stood up, looking down at her damp clothes with a grimace. What a pain… but it didn’t matter, they’d dry on the way. "C’mon. Let’s getta move on."

---

Bryn Woods & Moriah Motta

_{with @AtomicEmperor}

Sin Sisters. 12pm.

---

It had been a long day. A far too fucking long day.

By the time Bryn reached Sin Sisters’ she was already exhausted. Thank fuck she didn’t have to deal with paying or any of that shit, the doorman just giving her a nod on the way in. Even the buzz of the place, surprisingly energetic for so early in the morning, wasn’t enough to improve her mood. Not that it should… things were fucked. Utterly fucked. Who would’ve thought the twelve hours in the mines would be the most enjoyable part of her day.

Nobody stopped her from making her way right to the elevators outside the club itself, completely ignoring all the public and non-VIP areas. She wasn’t here for the club’s actual purpose… something that was obvious just from how she was dressed. Worn khaki dungarees over a white tank top, with her equally worn jacket slung over subtly muscular arms. She’d had to change again after fighting that fucking thing.

The short time in the elevator, going all the way to the bottom floor, was spent leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. So many fucking creatures appearing… she wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing that she’d been attacked today of all days.

The ding of the elevator, doors opening, interrupted her thoughts. She sighed, stepping out into the bottom floor corridor. She assumed Moriah would be in the same office as normal, so… without thinking about it she walked along. A courtesy knock was given, before she pushed it open, quite frankly not giving much of a fuck about politeness right now.

”-ating into a-”

"You want the bad or the awful news first?"

Momo stared up from her desk, legs swung up on the massive black wood surface with her shoes off. Actually, most of her clothes were off, and one of her dancers was standing behind her chair with the strangest kind of massage contraption. They were mid conversation, the dancer’s elbow driving into the crook between her neck and shoulder with significant force.

The Proprietress’ face was immediately concerned, the blotchy skin-pigmented tattoos on her body shifting slightly as her attention skipped to Bryn. It was like the two of them were buffering the unannounced arrival until Moriah finally took a deep breath. Feet swung off the desk, presumably slipping into the pantlegs waiting on the floor.
She bent and tugged them up, buttoning them.

”Y’know, when you said later I figured that meant like… Nighttime. It’s noon, so unless things have gone to utter shit, I clearly need to readjust what I consider ‘later’... Bonnie, can you get me a new shirt? Just one of the club ones, I’m not picky.”
“Yes Ma’am… Bryn; nice to see you. Care for a drink?”

”Well I'm on the night shift, so this is my nighttime," Bryn snorted, hand raising in a slight wave to Bonnie who she felt… a little bit bad for interrupting. But she was otherwise unbothered by the general lack of dress and whatever she'd walked into.
”Nice to see’ya too. A boilermaker, thanks. Make the beer strong."

Nodding, the woman made haste for the door and slipped out. Moriah’s hand swept toward one of the chairs.
”Now, chill out Cave Princess… Tell Mama Momo all your troubles: I presume you’ve had a run-in with those clay bodied freaks?” she asked gently, legs sliding back into her tall boots.

Bryn's eyebrows shot up as she sat down, slouching immediately and suppressing a yawn.
"Fuck, you too? Guess I don't need to go into the fuckin' bad news then." She groaned, pressing a hand against her forehead.
"Me n' Elara went to check up on the local tattooist - Bill, nice guy, been in town for long as I remember… but that fucker had taken his body. Fuckin' imperfectly, too… wait, freaks plural? You deal with multiple?"

Momo’s brow furrowed.
”Imperfectly? Like you could tell? The ones I fought definitely weren’t trying too hard to impersonate anyone I’d recognize; but yeah. Multiple. They were eerily polite about it, but… They caught me at my station into the city. Three, and one had some kind of prior wound. Big gaping hole in its chest. Made it pretty creepy.”
Her face softened, and she slyly smiled.
”They don’t die easily.”

"Yeah, it didn't have his tattoos - fuckin' stupid move when imitating a tattooist," Bryn snorted, shaking her head in disbelief that Momo had fought three. Really, she shouldn't be that surprised… she was incredibly strong. But it was still a lot.
"Tell me about it. Took three of us to take down one. Me, Elara n' some city guy… fuck, it was a bad fight. I really hope there ain't anymore. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were…"

Bryn frowned, one hand sliding into a pocket of her dungarees almost reflexively - making sure she still had some ash in there.
"It ain't just them. Somethin' big is comin', this is just the first time it's got to this side of the city."

Momo cleared her throat, nodding her head.
”It’s worth looking into. I’ll call my younger Brother, get him working on the case. Have you talked to him recently? Or is he still drowning in a bottle across town?” she asked after her brother Lazarus, whom their Matriarch had given to the Grove as a symbolic gesture of exchange.

"He ain't reached out, I ain't reached out, so I expect he is," Bryn shrugged. There was always that thought with people who she'd grown up with - like him - who'd then moved away from Raven's Rest. But there was her job and grove duties, nevermind her complete inability to text.
"It'd be good to get him involved… in the past two weeks we've had about ten different attacks. Vampires, werewolves, other Paranormal. Comin' in from the west and hittin' town. It ain't just us, it's towns all across the mountain. That's why I'm here - cause somethin's pushin' ‘em at us. According to our Paranormal Pastor friend, we gotta month till the worst of it hits."

Momo’s face turned slightly sour.
”John? And what’s he know that we don’t? Be leery of shit like that B- There’s no tellin’ who else the goodly Father’s been chattin’ with… Could be something just to scare us, and this is just the typical migratory patterns of the clans following old hunting tracks. I’m only worried about these goopy clay freaks because they’re… Poking around my shit.”

At that, the woman returned with a Double-Boiler: a double shot of whiskey and a pint of beer slid onto the desk in front of Bryn.
“Anything else, just give a knock. I’ll be waiting Ma’am.”
”Thanks, Bonns. Just go take a break, sweetie.”
“Mmm, alright. Whatever you say!”
And then she was gone, leaving the two of them alone again.

”They… They were aware of my project space under the station. Or, aware that something was around. It’s not hard to find them with a bit of White Lux, but I’ve done my best to mask it with the magically touched debris from the Cataclysm… However they know, it makes me nervous.”

Bryn took the double shot of whiskey straight, chasing it down with a long drink of beer before saying anything else. Her eyes narrowed at Momo slightly.
"Y'know, Momo, I get not trustin' him. And wantin' to protect that… but I didn't expect you to act just like every fuckin' city person - only givin' a fuck when it starts to affect you. This ain't typical migratory patterns. Y'think we ain't aware of those? We got fuckin' records… and this ain't in them. My people are already dying."

Bryn frowned, taking another long drink. Fuck, it had been a long day.
"Yours will too. I'm tellin' you that this is the start, no matter who says it. It ain't gonna be just them coming for your project space, cause I don't think they're the worst. If they can find it, so can whatever else is coming."

The pale-skinned woman had pulled her replacement shirt on- A t-shirt featuring the bar’s logo -and was digging through the drawer for a tall glass bottle.
”Alright, alright… No need t’get uppity with me, Sister. If you say it, I trust you. But… What are we gonna do about it? I say we should get proactive. If it’s some coming tide, or a wave of nightmares headed our way, shouldn’t we be sending people out west to head it off at the pass?” Moriah asked thoughtfully.

She had called home to make sure that they were on high alert after the attack, but now it was more concerning thanks to the idea that this could be some kind of concerted effort from an unseen enemy.

”Also… I don’t mean to disparage John. I’d just like to know how he knows what you’re saying. That make sense?”

"I get it," Bryn waved a hand, tone evening out again. She got it, and got why someone outside of the community wouldn't just trust him. Bryn was no woman of God, much as her parents would've loved that, but Father John was as much part of the community she loved and protected as anyone else. So she got touchy.
"Him ‘n the other Pastors - fucking paranormal pastors of the mountain, absolute mouthful - have been keepin' track of it all. Every attack recorded, mapped, fuckin' estimates of the next one's and all that shit. While the Grove is dealing with the ground shit in our town he's been… doing the magic admin work, I s'pose. I ain't sure how accurate the month thing is, but they got records from each town that it's gettin' worse. All of ‘em."

It wasn't good to think about. They hadn't lost any Grove members yet, which would be like losing family… but townsfolk were bad enough.
"I also think we should head it off. We ain't had time to discuss that as the Grove, cause we decided to talk to our allies here first. There's not enough of us to do shit alone anymore. I dunno how many we can even spare but… you're right, we gotta push back and find the actual fuckin' source."

Momo nodded. If it was going to hit them, chances were that it’d affect the ladies down South as well… Past Roanoke, the Ashram of Untouched Glory was a bastion of Whispering Flesh. A hardpoint to escape to if things got too crazy.
”We ain’t leave when Nyrah came… Ain’t gonna leave for this either. Whatever comes, we’re here. If I have to drag a thousand Sons and the Commendatoriate here, I will. At that point, it’s just a matter of whether or not you’re cool with breaking those old ass treaties…”

She referred to the Founding Pledge; Sylvia Motta’s agreement with the ancient Keepers to reduce the overall presence of the Whispering Flesh near their sacred grounds. It forbade any large-scale troop movements on the part of Momo’s people within range of their precious coal town and the surrounding cities, which included Cloverfield.

”But I’ll have to warn my Grannies. Ain’t no chance they won’t send the absolute limit… Ain’t salaries I want to be payin’, but if it keeps Cloverfield secure, that’s necessity.” she conceded.

"If it comes to breakin' the treaties to keep us all safe, then we break ‘em," Bryn shrugged. To her, only two things were important when it came to being a Keeper: protect the Grove, protect the people.
”If they ain't in the Grove itself, it ain't a problem. I gotta talk to Elara and Seren first, but far as I see it, we can't stick to the old when we gotta protect the new. We should look into it first before you call on those sorts of numbers- and use that sorta money. You should still warn ‘em but… Maybe it won't be as bad as Nyrah."

But that was just hopeful thinking, and Bryn wasn't really a hopeful person. If it was something in the mountain, then it had been trapped in there for a reason.
"It might be worse. You got any records of somethin' that might've been sealed in the mountain? We got records of some shit, but most of our learnin' is verbal. Great when all your elders just fuckin' die."

At that very practical question, Moriah seemed to turn thoughtful.
”I’ll check that too when I talk to B-Nana. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is probably. What do you think spits all that water up into y’all’s spot, huh? Could be anything!”
She took a breath, popped the top of the handle she grabbed, and Bryn would be able to watch her polish off a half-handle of what could only be genuine Appalachian moonshine. Absolute jet fuel. Moriah felt the alcohol washing through her liver and kidneys pretty immediately, and the conversion process of alcohol into carbohydrates far more processable by her advanced gastrointestinal system.

”We should just send Elay. Honestly, him and your cat guardian’ll probably be plenty for the scoop.”

”The fuckin' guardian probably knows better than all a' us what it is," Bryn snorted. She didn't even blink as Momo downed half a bottle of Moonshine - Green Lux oddities or whatever. She just finished off her own beer.

"He is a Grove member, even if he ain't been to a meetin' in years. Might as well get some fucking use outta him…" It was all rough talk about someone Bryn did genuinely see as both a close friend and family. He just hadn't turned up for fucking ages…
"Still can't believe he got the fuckin' Grove guardian and I got stuck with a barely grown fire baby."

”I’m not a babbbbbyyyyyy!” The head of a child, barely more than ten, stuck out of Bryn. She was pure, glowing white with little flames across her whole body, her hair a wreath of fire above her head. Surprisingly expressive dark eyes looked between Moriah and Bryn, pouting.
”I’ve been alive ten years now!”

"Yeah, yeah, get back in, the adults are talking," Bryn snorted, looking at her companion spirit. The little girl just pouted more, sitting in her lap instead of going back into her body.
"You gonna contact Elay, Mo, or am I doin' it?"

For a moment, Momo considered what talking to her little brother would entail. Probably nothing she wanted to deal with.
”You do it. I’m barely his sister… Especially after what happened. I doubt he feels any different about the fact that I didn’t drop my whole life to go find his fucking home-womb.”
A fairly derogatory way to refer to a Matriarchal Dame’s consort. Most of the time they were simply “Bonded”, but Moriah didn’t exactly love Cadenza’s Bonded… Even if her blood was one of the few non-Matriarch contributors. She was mother just the same as anyone else in Culla…

”I will say; I think it's more important now that you Girls and your kin make it over here for Thanksgiving. If we’re all gonna be on alert, we should have as many friendly bodies as we can surrounding our little lights. Raise the spirits and all that.” she offered the thought without much emotion behind her voice. An easy way to tell when she was being genuine.

Bryn just nodded about her contacting Elay - she'd text him later. She knew enough about the shit that'd happened between him and Momo to not shove her foot in it.
”Well that shouldn't be too much of a struggle. All the Keepers spend it with their family, but Elara and Seren ain't got anyone no more so… they'll be with me and my siblings. I'll try convince ‘em we should come here. The more the merrier and all… So long as nobody gets my littlest sister proper drunk."

”I was thinking we’d host down here, but I think we’ll probably do it upstairs. Not like we don’t have a whole restaurant or anything to use.”
Moriah smiled warmly.
”Now, is there anything else, Love? You’re free to stay and chat, relax if you need… Take some supplies and goodies for your people…”

"I ain't gonna say no to free shit, times are tough," Bryn gave her a tired smile back.
"I hate to ask this, but can I have a room for a couple of hours? I gotta wait for Elara to be done so I can take her back, but after that fuckin' shift… I gotta nap or I'll drive us into a tree."

Moriah laughed to herself, standing up from her desk and stretching her arms out.
”Oh sweetness… You ain’t ever gotta ask me. You go’in give your name up at the front desk; your I.D. and such. The Winter Room is always available for members of the Grove. You want me to send some company up? Give you a nice massage and such? I think there’s a Temporal available; we could generate some stiff-time for you to get a full eight hours in.”

"That'd be great if possible, but nothin' else," Bryn waved a hand, barely able to suppress a yawn. She stood up too.
"Ain't ever time for the full eight hours without magic… really helpin' me out here, thanks."

Recollections: Primal Sinister

---

Interactions: Open
1pm. South Side, By the River

---

Getting nearly killed at work had its benefits: namely, getting off early. After a short nap, Vin had enough energy to go back out on some personal business.

They were investigating rumours of a medium offering to summon loved one’s ghosts.

Eerily similar to what their mom had done… Something Loni could do too. Vin knew it definitely wasn’t her, but she was part of the reason they were investigating. If Loni somehow caught wind of these rumours she’d freak out. Vin didn’t want that. She could barely deal with the Black Lux they had. So they had to squash them.

The question was con artist, or genuine Black Lux user?

The latter was more interesting, and came with a secondary motivation: get rid of the competition.

The location of this ‘medium’ was an abandoned warehouse just off the river. Calling it a warehouse now was generous, with Nyrah the ravager taking it and its neighbours out. A small section of this one survived, and the broken walls of that section had been ‘rebuilt’ with wood.

It was a smart location. Along the river front was a neutral area. No gangs ran it… at least, not this section. There was too much of a risk when the North Side might be able to see. Not that they needed another excuse to want to bulldoze the lower district…

Didn’t matter to them that it wasn’t a Hollow area. That hadn’t stopped them before. They’d spent their whole life beating up people with little care for what gang owned where. Who would come after them now?

Vin narrowed their eyes as they rounded a corridor onto the ‘waterfront.’ It wasn’t as quiet as they’d hoped: people trying to fish in the river, others doing questionable business behind half destroyed warehouses. Well, whatever. Everyone knew to look the other way here.

There were even more people hanging outside the warehouse hideout of the ‘medium.’ About five lining the wall. At a glance Vin could tell they were all sad. People with very little in their lives. The kind they could easily ignore.

“Oy. Ain’t you see there’s a line? Mystic Melinda don’t take line skippers.”

Vin was stopped from immediately entering by a burly arm. They didn’t bother hiding their snicker at the name. Mystic Melinda? Seriously. Fucking hell. Could’ve at least gone with Mystic Mel, to make it just a little less shit.

They slowly turned to face the bouncer- nothing more than a hired thug glowering at them. For a moment, Green Lux sparked underneath their skin… but they stopped themselves. There were too many people around. If any were One-Eye open they’d have to deal with that. Worse, one might have a fucking beast person fetish!

They couldn’t deal with that again.

Vin stared at the man, then smiled. ”Ain’t obvious, is it?”

Before there could be a response or a fist for talking shit, they stepped out of arm's reach and made their way back past those five people waiting. They settled in at the back, pulling out a cigarette and lighting them.

Two in one day… Loni’s gonna kill me.

It was frustrating they had to wait, but whatever. They had time to kill.

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

---

Act Two-Three

---

Monday November 19th

Home

The week and a half after the assassination attempt, things fell into more of a routine. The two easily slipped into peaceful domesticity. At least, as peaceful as things could be. Casey still had work, and that still involved the Temple and long, awkward hours. But Trisha had the slowly starting honey business to concentrate on, and a contracting job she took that resulted in her working over most of the nights Casey was too.

So even when they weren’t exactly in the same room, they were close.
There were the nice constants. Going to bed together most nights, or mornings. Naps, cuddling and kissing on their big couch. A couple more low-key dates.

But as they moved into the second last week of November, it was like Trisha’s mood suddenly dropped. It wasn’t that she was short with Casey or anything, just much quieter in the morning. A bit distant. She brushed off any attempts to find out what was wrong, before escaping to the Greenhouse for the day the bees ‘needed checking up on.’

They didn’t, but sitting beside the large hive as they flitted to and fro comforted her down enough to think.

She knew what was wrong. Thanksgiving was next week. The holidays. Family events.

It was always a big trigger for her, together with Christmas. She started to sink down into a mire as the day creeped closer, and struggled to keep her more sullen side down. How could she when filled with dread, irritation and hopefulness about a call that would never come?

Year on year it was the same. A day she was forced to spend with the Vanburen side. Always an elaborate meal, always arguments, and occasionally a father during her first fourteen years. The numbers changed and reduced, out of town siblings rarely bothering to return for it… but it never changed the event.

She’d managed to avoid it the four years she was in University… but not since she was back in St Portwell. Attendance was required when in the city. Tansy insisted. She had enough material on them all to get her way.
Who was it going to be this year? Her, Tansy, Ezra, Sabrina… No, Sabrina ‘accidentally’ had an out of town fashion show. Just Tansy, and her oldest siblings. Even worse.

The initial calm from the bees presence backfired as she got more lost in her thoughts and her anxieties. A whole evening being torn apart. A whole evening without Casey, because he’d definitely be spending it with his family. Another family focused day where she’d be left feeling so alone… and it would happen again. Christmas. Then next year. She hated it.

How did she even talk to him about it? She couldn’t just open up and say ‘I’m feeling shit because I know we’ll have to spend thanksgiving apart and I really don’t want to.’ It sounded ridiculous and needy. It was just one evening…

It was late afternoon when Trisha dragged herself out of the Greenhouse and back to their house. She’d thought, felt worse, then tried to distract herself with the bees. But eventually she ran out of stuff she could fuss over… She just needed a distraction. Something to bring her mood back up a bit so she could pretend everything was fine till the dreaded event was over.

Thankfully her laptop was already in the den. She grabbed it, climbing onto the large couch and shuffling all the way to the back. There she curled up into a tight, tense ball, laptop beside her where she pulled up one of her more mindless games. It was good enough for distracting time wasting.

As for Casey, the particular day had him training a new class of security officers for the Temple. That meant he was out early, and was able to pass any mundane office duties off to Theo and Norm for the time being. Out early meant home relatively early, leaving the other instructors below him to take care of actual class administration for the evening schooling sessions.

Hence he was home. Doing what? Learning how to properly cook. Bags of ingredients, magically enchanted bowls and spoons and sieves; the kitchen looked like a Phantasia scene from top to bottom, and if someone hadn’t been in a bad mood, maybe she’d appreciate the harmony herself. Casey’s eyes passed from the pan of broccoli he was browning to the pot full of caramelizing sugar that he knew was too fucking hot. He didn’t even have to flash the thermal spell he had to know that, having familiarized himself with the smell of burning sugar back in the war.

Some people had the most amazing spells…

Turning the heat down, he still had a moment to admire the amber sap in the pot as it slowly congealed together into an even darker and thicker slop. It was meant for some flan, the custard component currently bubbling away in an oven-heated water bath. Ramekins were full of the sweet sticky pudding. Two were colored differently, marking out the ones that had been made with special Andrade ingredients.
There’d been another argument about that, though this time things seemed to be fully settled. Hence why he was so dedicated now to the action of cooking. He wanted to show Trisha that he was completely fine no matter what…

Even if he could feel the side effects creeping across him. Even if he knew that old layer of Oblivium had finally encompassed his stomach lining. It was fine… Oblivium wasn’t what killed people like them. A mostly aesthetic side effect that could very safely be ignored so long as one knew what came next. And Casey knew. The whole Richoux clan knew what second stage Oblivium infection looked like. They’d all lived through it and beyond.

She would too, if it came down to it. She’d be fine. He knew she’d be fine, because she was Trisha Vanburen. Tough as nails, smarter than the phone in your pocket, and backed by three very different royal dynasties. If anyone was set up to succeed, Casey was sure it was her. The love of his life.
Her mood shifts obviously hadn’t escaped him, and he blamed their last fight on that same problem. A dying joy, but seemingly zero intention to actually address the situation as it stood. Obviously he wanted to know why. To understand what the fuck the problem was so he could fix it.

But she wanted to fix things herself generally. She loved his company, but the occasions that saw his hand sweep down to guide usually wound up with her slapping the hand away. He got why she was aggressive about it… But also felt like she’d never get over any of it if she didn’t actually come clean.

So lost in thought, Casey didn’t notice the figure standing outside the glass front of their home. He hadn’t realized he was being stared at like a zoo animal from outside… Rather than moving from his busy post to open the door, his gloved hand flicked slightly. With a gentle pop, the door creaked open, letting the smiling face outside into their domain.

”Wooooow… Uncle Dre, eat your heart out huh?”

Casey laughed in return. Looking at his baby sister, he felt a little happy. She was clean today, didn’t seem lethargic or anything. She was dressed like she’d either been somewhere, or was planning to go somewhere. Slacks, nice close-toed shoes with heels, a blouse and a jacket. She and their older sister Elise found business attire in totally different styles, but Casey always preferred Mia’s sense of chic without her being overly pretentious. Elise sparkled, and while she always looked like the goth prom queen, Mia just looked…

Fun. Like she was the person advocating for the things others would be too scared to advocate for… Or maybe he was projecting.
”Yeeeeeah… This is my latest quest for knowledge. It’s gonna make Trisha feel even safer. And honestly, fuck- If it turns out I’m good?”

”Hey, nobody ever said you were a bad cook. Remember that Mother’s Day where you asked Uncle Dre’s help to make her that custard she likes?”
Casey grinned and lifted the caramel pot to show her the familiar substance.
”Oh, damn! Are they in the oven?”

Casey nodded his head, a smile on his face.

”Well that’s pretty cool dude… Uh, did you… Hear?”

”Probably, what?”

Mia took a deep breath. She looked a little nervous telling Casey this.
”Mom is going outside the family for planning this year's Harvest Feast.”

Casey nodded, thinking about it for a moment. He’d gotten the memo, sure. But hadn’t had to interview any event planners or anything in substitution. Curious, he took a mental note of the situation. At least the chicken was done, and he pulled the butterflied breasts from the pan to deglaze with a bit of cooking wine.
”Do you have any hand in it?” he asked casually, scraping the fond from the pan before letting the alcohol ignite to burn it all off.

”Yes. Technically. But, in all reality, Mum’s at it again.”

At it again meant so many things to Casey. Rather than verbally ask, the look he gave Mia encouraged her to continue.

”Actual outsiders. She’s obsessed with these, uh…”
Her head swiveled around the room, vaguely catching the sensation of Apparitional Lux deeper in the house. So she leaned across the island and whispered.
”Vanburen. There’s this bigwig event planner, and I’m pretty sure she’s related to Trisha.”

Casey’s face turned from casual interest to abject horror in a moment. He couldn’t hold it in. There was one last long pause, then his voice echoed through the house.

”........ Trisha!? Baby, come here real quick!?” he called.

It took a moment for Trisha to appear from behind the closed door to their Den, as if she was buried deep within a larger house rather than one room over. Her reluctance came from not particularly feeling up to talking to anyone yet, nevermind someone outside of Casey. She’d heard Mia and him talking, even though she purposefully didn’t pay any attention to it.

She was hit by the smell immediately. It smelled nice. Not that she’d expected Casey to be bad at something he put his mind too just… it was still a pleasant surprise. As she paused at the far end of the island, she had to actively order the bees crawling about her shoulders to stay where they were. Their instinct was to fly towards the caramelising sugar- something she couldn’t exactly let them do.

“Hey, Mia.” Trisha smiled slightly, raising a hand in a half wave. At the same time she moved around to the same side as the island as Casey was on, shuffling towards him. Then her body fully turned towards him, head tilting up.
“What’s up, Babe?”

It was pretty clear she wasn’t in any way out of whatever off mood she was in. There was that constant push and pull in her mind: seek comfort, or hide out until things improved. Even with all of the breakthroughs they’d made in a relatively short period together, she wasn’t comfortable with sharing. That fear of being rejected hadn’t been miraculously fixed. It was just easier to withdraw into herself for a little bit.

Mia waved back, all of a sudden far more uncomfortable than she had been giving Casey this news. Nothing had happened recently to make her nervous of Trisha, but she knew the look without any kind of White Lux interfering. Something was desperately wrong, and from the dream Mia had a few nights previous, this was only going to potentially make it worse. Interpretive things weren’t so bad in dreams; one could jump themselves into any logical direction they wanted.

But dreams that were like that? Déjà vu? She could only brace herself… The curse of prescience. The curse that she wanted to repress.

”So… Mia was just telling me about uh… The Temple’s current Thanksgiving plans.”

Mia felt words leaving her mouth before they even had.
”It’s the Harvest Feast for nerds like us. Y’know, pseudo-pagans.”

Casey laughed. At least he could dance around the topic a little longer.
”Which we’re not… Like, you know our-”

”That’s the point of the joke, dude. Why do you always make people spell it out? Takes all the air out of it.”

Casey playfully pouted, getting a couple of plates out of the cabinet and putting them down to start plating his and Trisha’s early dinner. They’d both be up later anyway, and that probably meant getting something delivered. It was easiest that way… But he could make sure they both got a good home cooked meal every day.

”Sorry… Anyway, we were talking about plans. I’m not sure what you had in mind, but uh… Ceremonially, I have a role to play. Like most of the things we do. I don’t want you to feel pressured like you have to go or anything… But I do.”

At the mention of Thanksgiving, Trisha immediately tensed up. It was like she was trying to curl up into herself. She just couldn’t hold back the reaction when it was a large part of why she was in such a bad mood.

Temple plans? Great, good, she definitely needed to hear about those. She loved hearing all about the things Casey would be doing while she was stuck at a dinner table between a boring business man and the most vapid, fake woman in the city. Sure, she’d known even without the role he’d be doing whatever his family- and Temple- were doing. It didn’t mean she wanted to hear about it. Not today.

And it was more than that. A role to play, like most things they did… that meant future events too. Christmas, fine, same situation. But the Temple was a magic pseudo-pagan pseudo-Catholic cult. That meant they might have ‘festivals’ or whatever for all the other days. Days leading up to it, days after it.

The twenty-sixth.

Trisha’s lips pressed into a thin line, and her gaze moved down to glare at her feet. Perfect. That would be so perfect. And this was what she’d been trying to avoid talking about. She couldn’t even pretend that she was completely unbothered by it all!

“I have to spend it with my family. If I don’t, Tansy will leak something I did as a teenager or whatever to the press to make my life harder. So I guess we’ll be spending it apart.” And she sounded absolutely thrilled about that.

Casey’s face turned to abject horror instantly. Mia’s, not so much. She heard it before. Wished she hadn’t. Couldn’t help it.
”To the fucking Press? Did you like… Beat an old woman to death or something!? Babe!?”

“No!” Trisha didn’t raise her voice, but her reaction was obviously agitated. It wasn’t like it actually mattered what Tansy leaked.
“Probably something about underage drinking or other shit- I’m a Vanburen it doesn’t matter if it’s minor, they latch onto it. Then they try find me, or they go to Ezra, which is just as bad.”

”Jesus… Well, like… Uh-”

Get it over with, Casey. Get it over with. Rip the bandage off, please.
Mia stared daggers at her brother now, waiting for him to stop faffing about with his food and avoiding the issue at hand.

”-Trisha… I think Lynette hired Tansy to plan the Temple’s events for the day. The Harvest Mass, and the Feast afterward.”

Casey’s voice hitched up as he was trying to find some slow way of breaking the news. The news that, for all intents and purposes, there was something strange afoot.

”And I’m certain that she knows who we are. That you’ll be there…”

Words like doom hung in the air. Casey could only watch Trisha now. The sugar was going to burn… A spoon magically stirred it, but eventually he’d either have to turn the heat off or risk it turning into leather coating the bottom of the pot. But he’d already felt the tension… For days he’d felt the tension.

Has this really been it? Fucking holiday trauma?
”Hey, what’d I say? I don’t want her feeling pressured like she has to go. If we need to keep a few deadbeat reporters quiet? What’s she gonna do?” Casey asserted.

It was very difficult for Trisha to stop herself from turning around and shutting herself away in the Den. Her body trembled slightly as she forced herself to take a deep breath. She was doing so well at not overreacting. Amazing. Great job not looking absolutely unreasonable in front of him, Trisha.

Of course Lynette had hired Tansy. But maybe that was better. If Tansy was busy organising a massive cult festival, she wouldn’t have the time to bother Trisha about her attendance. Trisha could just spend the day in bed with her phone turned off. No, on, just in case.

But… that meant Tansy near Casey. Near his whole family… some people who she was beginning to like. Mia herself, Hari, Ed… And Tansy was so good at making people believe her. Even if they managed to see through her falseness there were so many real things she could share. The kind of things people like Lynette probably already knew thanks to the digging but… fuck. Fuck!

“I don’t…” Trisha scowled. She didn’t, what? Want to attend? Want Tansy to be let loose? Be here at this moment? All of the above? Why couldn’t she just handle it. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t even that important. So why the fuck couldn’t she calm down over it?
“She’s just working, right? Planning it. She’s a good event organiser, if you can deal with her being a bitch, so I’m sure she’ll do a great job. If she’s been hired like that it doesn’t mean she’ll be attending. Not properly. It’s not like she’s actually invited, right?”

Casey’s face turned to Mia expecting some kind of confirmation.There was confirmation alright… The sullen expression told the tale of a nightmare come true.

”Mom was far too pleased for it to be anything that simple.”

He could only imagine her smug excitement. The prospect of landing the entire Vanburen legacy in one net… What was the obsession? Worse, was it chance? Or was there really some divine hand that wanted things to be like this, forcing Lynette’s plans into motion without any sort of ramifications…

”So, what? Invite whatever other member of the Vanburens will attend because she thinks they will? That’s bogus… It’s not like they’re like that, right Trisha? You… You said! Nobody’s really that close, right? Even if it’s just Tansy there, I mean…-”

He paused a moment before snapping his fingers.
”Oh! I’ve got it! There’s this girl in the Temple? Total doppelganger, can mimic anyone. We let you stay home, and she parades around as you all night! So we never have to deal with anything! What do you think of that, Baby?” he was desperate to remedy the situation however he could.

“Mimic me completely? Like, dragging twenty four years of memories out of my mind so that she can fool my older sister who makes it her job to know everything?” Trisha shook her head sharply. She wouldn’t let someone in there. And without that, how could anyone mimic her enough to fool someone who’d know her since she was born?
“And- and then she’d have to pretend to be with you! Tansy’s already seen how we are- and I don’t want that. That’d be worse. I don’t want someone else t-to hold your hand and hug you like that. Or to pretend to be me.”

She tried to take a deep breath, but it got caught in her throat. It felt like everything was working against her. Lynette, Tansy… Forcing her into the kind of event she hated. Putting the focus on her. It was something she’d desperately wanted when she was younger, but not like this. This was to mock her. It was just to tear her back down… when she’d finally been getting comfortable. Too complacent.

“Ezra will probably go too. Tansy will make him… he cares too much about appearances.” Her tone was flat as she tried to suppress the beginnings of a panic attack. Over this of all things. Just suppress, suppress, suppress…
“He knows it's a cult… I’ll need to go. Otherwise- I don’t know. Something will happen.”

She dragged her eyes up from the floor, glancing at Mia then Casey with a forced, obviously fake smile. Calm down, pretend to calm, pretend it’s not an issue, stop making it such a big thing when it shouldn’t be-
“It’ll be fine. No big deal, really.”

Casey wasn’t so sure. Mia… Recoiled in horror. There’d been a much bigger fuss in her dream. More yelling. She had cringed the moment that Casey said something about Mary-Lee, and had imagined that was going to be it. The end. But now she was in unknown territory again. A rare moment where her clear visions were wrong. She bit her lip, then shook her head.

”You said your brother cares about appearances… Why would he buddy up to a cult then?”
”Most people don’t think we’re a cult. We don’t keep leashes, remember? People are free to come and go? The outside insulates the interior? I know its hard to misconstrue that from our position, but… We’re just fuckin’ Methodists to those people, no different than the modern progressive Church.”

Mia gripped her face in strain. She’d never worn a cross around her neck, so it was hard to remember they were still a branch of the Levantine religious tradition. The whole thing often escaped her, and she could only nod in understanding. For Casey, he completely understood why Trisha had a problem with the plan. Thus, the plan was gone: Time for a new one.

Moving around the island, he took Trisha’s hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.
”Y’know what? You’re right. It will be okay, Babe. It’s gonna be fine, and we’re gonna make the best of this. Listen… If this is really happening? That means Mom wants the Blinds involved too… There’s no way she’d only invite magical people to an event planned by a mundane person. Which means that we’re definitely gonna be breaking tradition this year. Maybe that’s good! Maybe she’s willing to break from all this because she wants us to be the hosts! That means we can do what we want, right!?”

Mia was always surprised at her brother’s ability to be positive. Like he always had another plan tucked away, or a pivot on the heel of his shoe. Slowly, her face became brighter until she was looking at Trisha with a calm, soldier-like affirmation.

“Yeah, then we can make it work for us. So it’ll be fine. No magical cult stuff, or bending to one person’s whim… Better than if we were apart, right?” Trisha managed to sound, and look, like she was alright with this new plan. Her scowl lessened to a more neutral look and her voice was more even. But Casey would be able to feel that the tension in her body hadn’t gone anywhere. All that coiled energy was still there, one push away from exploding into the smothered panic attack. Right now, she’d just managed to detach herself. Because she’d only look worse in front of them if she kept reacting.

It was her favourite technique: suppress, ignore, pretend everything was fine until she could run away.

It was true that being with Casey was better than not. But it was still a family holiday suddenly made bigger. The kind of place where she was always made to feel less than. This year there’d be even more people to do it. It would probably be worse. She didn’t want to host. She didn’t want that attention. Such was her conflict: hating when there was no attention, but also when she had all of it. Because it was always bad.

“Sorry for overreacting.” Trisha looked up at Casey for a moment, before her head turned to Mia. Pretending the issue really was put to rest for her. She definitely wasn’t going to sink right back down into the mood that had been hanging over her the moment she could.
“Especially to you, Mia… My family’s just difficult. You, uh- did you just come up to tell Casey about thanksgiving?”

Mia bit her lip.
”I… Really didn’t want it to be all. But if you need some time to figure things out, I understand. I was hoping to-” Get it over with. Assumed it would all be gone. Relieved that you’re even still standing here talking to me. “-I don’t know… I guess intrude. I had no real plans.” she said, shrugging and standing.

”Though, one thought I had was a gift. But, your birthday is next month, right? Gin told me. Its a wonder how the Hell she knows, but I can just save it for then… Like I said, I just-” don’t want to be alone. Nobody’s downstairs, except them. Don’t make me leave. “-want to make sure you have your private time. And, honestly, it’s really not that much of an overreaction. It’s your family, y’know? I certainly don’t want to get them involved, especially not like this. Whatever I can do to help, I’m here.”

Trisha tilted her head slightly. Why… Why was her birthday being mentioned? How did Gin know? Probably from the fucking Sycamore fanclub. It shouldn’t be a bad thing. Maybe people would actually remember about it this year. Be around. Maybe it’d be the same as always. And a gift? For… no reason? She was confused by that too, and it was enough for her to push down the panic just a little.

Not get rid of it. Just suppress it further.

Her instinctive reaction was to say yes, she did want private time. She just wanted to forget all about it. Pretend it wasn’t going to happen. But she had a feeling that after Mia left Casey would want to talk about it more. She didn't want to talk about it. She wanted to be with him, yes, to hug him and get comfort in his presence, but he'd want to talk to. She knew he would. Then… there was the food. Her head turned slightly to look at it. The full meal that Casey had made for them.

A meal she really didn’t have an appetite for. But she didn’t want to upset him. Not when he'd worked so hard cooking for them. The hint of warmth she felt from the effort helped her not just entirely withdraw. She could force herself. It would just be easier if there was less.

So yes, there was something Mia could help with.
“Well… since you came all this way, you may as well stay for a bit? Maybe you can eat with us- you can have some from my portion, I don’t really eat much.” She wasn’t able to look at Casey as she offered that. Because she felt bad about it. She knew he’d noticed her poor eating habits, and was trying to make sure she didn’t keep just not eating on days she forgot or didn’t want to.

“And yeah, my birthday is next month. I guess Gin’s gotta know for her fanclub? They probably have detailed sheets on all of us or something…”

Mia’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. She looked from Trisha to her brother, then back.
”I don’t really have to eat, like… I don’t want to take food out of your mouths!”

Casey’s brow furrowed, but then he looked down at the two plates. They were practically identical… At first he wasn’t sure what the problem was; he’d even gone through the trouble of dealing with his raw meat discomfort by getting familiar with a whole unroasted chicken… He’d touched it! Separated the skin from the meat while it was still raw, just so he could get the butter and garlic and all the good moisturizer and flavor underneath and into the meat!

But then he looked at Trisha, and then the plate again…
He’d split the entire chicken.
One half was sitting on his plate, and one half was on hers. The exact same. And the exact same mound of pan-roasted broccoli, three bread rolls without special flour on the side…

”Dude, you’re so fucking right… I didn’t even think about you not eating that much. Next time, I’ll split your portion in half and put it in the fridge so you can have it again the next day…”
Without questioning any of it, he got Mia a plate and her own silverware, and she happily sat down at the island to eat.
”You two portion it out…” he laughed.

Mia smiled and nodded, sliding the empty plate to Trisha for her to divvy out as she pleased.
”Can you uh… Go get the subject while we do this?” she asked across to Casey.

He smiled and nodded, then made way for the den where he knew their new friend had last been located. Mia was still smiling at Trisha.
”Thank you, by the way. Sharing your food means a lot in our family.” she giggled.

“Really? It’s… never really been a thing in mine. But you’re welcome.” Trisha smíled back, though it was obvious she still wasn’t fully relaxed. There was still a tension in her shoulders. But she was doing a good job at suppressing it. It would come back… but she could get through dinner. Maybe even cuddling with Casey after, if he didn’t try make her talk about it. Out of sight, out of mind.

She went about splitting the food on her plate between the two. The chicken was split perfectly in half, because Trisha had seen how much effort Casey put into it, while Mia got more broccoli and two bread rolls. Casey had said about splitting the portion in half next time but… half a portion was still a bit much.

“There you go…” Trisha moved away to sit down, leaving the spot in between them for Casey. It meant she was looking across from Mia, head tilting slightly. Her bees meandered about her shoulders, a couple slipping down her arms towards her plate.
“What do you mean by the ‘subject’?”

”Well, not bein’ nosey… Casey said you guys had a nice date out on Misty! Said you went to the carnival? Got yourself a new friend?”
Mia’s face was bright with excitement. She’d not done this in so long… Worried if it would be as potent a spell as it had been in her youth, she was thinking about a particular moment in her childhood to project with the spell. A moment of supreme confidence she hadn’t had when she’d last casted it.

”As it turns out, I have a thing for toys. It started with Casey, actually. He’d sit with me when I was a real little girl and play with his little army men. He’d call me ‘Private Mimi’ and we’d make believe that we were in charge of the army… Cute little kid stuff. When I Kindled, I would make them come to life and run around. Let Casey tell them what to do, and they’d do it. We’d spend so many hours some days that I’d pass out from using too much Lux.” she giggled.

Casey’s pounding footsteps meant he was headed… Upstairs? There was a lot of rummaging, then excitement as they could both see his fist raise up over the bannister of the loft. In it was Princess, Trisha’s massive new stuffed bee. Then he was making his way back down in a rush. As expected, Princess was tucked under one arm. However, in the other was a very old plush triceratops. Its horns and crest were tamped flat to its body from years of being held tight to his chest. Mia only lit up more.

”Stompyyyyyyyy!”
She got up, running to meet the stuffed dinosaur like it was an old friend. Wrapping her arms around it, Mia quickly went for her pocket and pulled out the hat to stuff onto her head. Before she could even get it on fully, the stuffed animal was already growing and growing in her hand.

Setting it down, its legs grew and its body became re-defined with rigid properties. The triceratops expanded rapidly until it was the size of the island they sat at for dinner, and then… The construct named Stompy showed Trisha exactly why he was named that. Rearing back, Stompy’s no-longer-plush footpads on its forelimbs smacked up and down on the floor of her home. It was hard to tell what the reaction meant at first until its swinging tail upended a lamp and sent it crashing into the floor.

Mia and Casey both laughed, and Casey handed Princess off to Trisha before raising his hands.

”Woah, woah! Good morning, big guy! That must’ve been quite the nap! Are you happy to see us!?”
The construct let out an elephant like blurt, stomping its front feet again in puppy-like excitement. Casey beamed at Trisha.

”Trisha? This is Stompy! Stompy… This is Trisha!”
The construct didn’t care… It was too wrapped up in its own nerves to pay much mind.

Trisha wasn’t entirely sure how to react to the triceratops in her house. She flinched slightly at the loud crash of the lamp tumbling over, before managing to calm down and take Princess. She hugged the plush bee to her chest.

At least it seemed… excited to see Casey? Like a massive dinosaur puppy. A plushie magically brought to life… It was hard to not end up smiling softly at Casey’s happiness. His smile just brought her warmth even when she was feeling off. The tension in her shoulders softened a bit.
“Uh, hello Stompy. Nice to meet you.” She slipped off her chair to move over to Casey, looking at the construct with a slight smile.

She then tilted around him a bit to look at Mia.
“So you can make toys move, and… grow and come to life as bigger versions of what they are?” She gestured to Stompy.
“That’s really cool. Are you planning to do that to Princess?”

Her eyes moved back to Casey, jokingly pouted.
“And you didn’t tell me in advance? You’re just springing the magical moving toys on me?”

Stompy’s front horn on his beak gently nudged forward to Trisha, bumping softly into Princess and backing up. His tail hit the nearby chair, causing him to swing around and kick the table near the fireplace. Casey had an instantly nervous look on his face and reeled back, pushing up and placing his gloved hand on the construct’s side. Like a size slider, he slid his palm down and brushed against Stompy until he was the size of a small dog.

With an almost intelligent indignance, the little thing looked back up and began to stomp all fours by hopping up and down. Casey laughed.
”Sorry little man, you’re making a mess.”

As he scolded the little thing, Mia stepped closer.
”It was only my plan if you wanted it. Obviously, I can’t force you to accept. And I wouldn’t expect you to if I were you either… If I saw my mother, I wouldn’t trust me either. I mean… I don’t.” she laughed through the sad expression that cropped up on her face.

”My point was, I have a memory that would make a particularly stable Forest Friend. Something I think you could benefit from. And when Casey told me it was one of the big oversized carnival animals, well… Everything’s better when you have more room to work with.”

Trisha looked at Mia, eyes narrowing slightly. She’d have to be blind to not notice her expression. Trisha wasn’t really the comforting type… she had so many of her own problems she barely made a dent in. But she was trying to be a bit better.
“I don’t not trust you because of your mother.” She paused, frowning. That didn’t come out right.

“I don’t mean I don’t trust you.” She didn’t, entirely, but that wasn’t Mia. It was her. Trisha didn’t fully trust anyone. Casey was the closest, but even then… she couldn’t say she completely trusted him when she was still scared he’d turn around and leave, could she? But the last time she’d said something similar to Mia about her view on ‘sisters’ it hadn’t ended well.
“I do… as much as I could for how long we’ve known each other. I definitely don’t think you’re going to put some kind of White Lux spying on my bee plushie like your mother would.”

She offered Mia what she hoped was a comforting smile, though it fell a bit flat. But it was clear she was trying. Trying to be as honest as she could be, to make Mia feel a bit better, and to not let her own background bubbling issues get in the way.
“I’d like that. For you to do the same to Princess… I was just joking about it being sprung on me.”

As she spoke, Trisha crouched down, holding out a hand towards Stompy hesitantly.
“Uh… how long does it take? Maybe we should eat first?”

The miniature monster happily rolled off its feet into Trisha’s hand, scratching its back along the ridgeline and promptly flipping back over.

”Really? Wow… Uh… Do you… Do you think the Queen would want any help? I know for a fact that I can easily joint-cast this spell with other people. Apparitions. The last time I used this was for Ren, so she has a friend sometimes.”

Casey couldn’t help but smile and laugh, both at his little old friend playing with his beloved Trisha, and at his baby sister’s excitement. As soon as he’d shown her a picture of it, she had expressed wanting to do this. So, he was more than happy that it was happening.

”Let Trisha figure that out over food. Sit, eat. Have a couple of these too.”
He’d baked himself a massive batch of rolls with Andrade’s specially provided ingredients, and the bulk of his nutrition from the meal would come from them. Everything else just… Tasted good. Six of them was all he really needed for dinner, so he slid a few more to Mia. She didn’t eat so much, even with their condition… Mostly on account of her own personal condition.

She eyed them, then looked at him and grinned.
”Real Andrade behavior now, huh? Y’know, whenever we got a letter home from the Government while you were serving, Mom would always say that we got a letter from the ‘baker.’’

Casey laughed and smiled.
”Oh, dude… Before you were born, or like when you were really little, I used to spend way more time in the kitchen with that guy. She used to call me ‘The Little Baker’ because I would always beg him to make the croissants, and so we’d make them and I’d come home with a big fuckin’ tray of them. Dad would eat them all.”

Then they both laughed, and Mia stopped herself with a bite of Casey’s biscuits. She chewed, and chewed a little more, then swallowed with a little difficulty. Casey laughed, having started to split one and fill it with butter before she could stop herself.

”Dude, moisturize it. It’s still bread dough, it’s not like I magically made it not the driest thing in the world.”
Laughing, he filled the steamy and fluffy interior with a slathering of butter and stuck a piece of chicken into it as well. Then it was gone in a single bite, with him chewing on it again and again.

He did smile at Trisha, pleased with himself for cooking something tasty.
”The same goes for your rolls, Babe. Put some butter or something inside, or you’re gonna need a glass of water.” he giggled.

“I’m going to need water anyway with all this food…” Trisha laughed slightly, smiling back at him. She reached for the butter, splitting one roll in half and spreading it across it. Even with her portion split with Mia, it felt like a lot. But it was also food that Casey had made for them.

She hadn’t had a proper home cooked meal in a long while. Not since she was in university, when Cass got so sick of her ordering takeout that she ended up cooking for the both of them. Her and Diyah took turns, while Trisha just paid for most of it. So it felt nice, and she didn’t want to waste it, even with her lack of appetite and another person eating with them.
When did she ever have an appetite anyway?

“Mm, it’s really good,” she commented as she dug into the chicken first. It looked like it was where the most effort had been put in, so she concentrated on eating it with her now buttered roll first. If she couldn’t finish the broccoli… it wasn’t the end of the world.
“It’s unfair. You’re already attractive, dependable and empathic… but now you can cook too? Leave something for the rest of us to do, Case.”

”I’m functioning at a pretty high level right now. Don’t worry, it’ll balance out.”
He gave a very ominous smile across the table at Trisha, eating another biscuit sandwich. But Mia laughing made him laugh too. She had a chicken leg in her hand, and was half way to actually taking a bite when he made the joke.

”He’s kidding… Well, maybe not with all the brain stuff, but he never gave us trouble in the few months he’s been home. Besides being a little nosey, but… I forgive you.” she smiled warmly at him, and he replied with the same.

”Though, he’s kind of always been like that. Insecure, you know? Our Dad told us that the only way to fix that feeling is to earn it… And that our family had been ‘earning it’ for eight hundred years, but that’s not the point! The idea was always, if you don’t feel good doing something, do it more. Practice, and learn, and get better. We were supposed to feel better getting there.” she chuckled to herself, clearly not believing in the philosophy.

”It does work for some of us. Cooking for you-” he pointed at Trisha with his fork. ”-makes me feel good. If I keep learning how to do more, naturally I’ll feel even better. Its hard if you’re prone to failure spirals, like…”

”Yeah, yeah. You try living with what goes on in my head and see how long you can keep up the positivity.” she shook her head, but was still smiling.

Trisha nodded slightly - it wouldn’t be obvious to the other two what she was agreeing with. Mia, more. The whole ‘try until you get better’ thing sounded nice until you tried and tried and never got anywhere. Failure was just inevitable at that point, so of course the more you failed the more it’d affect you.

“If you don’t get better no matter how hard you try, it’s natural to spiral,” she offered, as if it was some kind of comforting agreement rather than the story of her life.
“I have a friend who struggled with something like that. Always seemed hard... So I’m glad you don’t, at least, Casey.”

Casey’s face turned into a frown. It was empathy, of course.
”Eh… I am lucky like that. I guess when I put my mind to something, I can do a good job of perceiving the slow and steady progress of improvement. I’m not really intimidated by messing anything up over and over again.”

”You don’t have Daddy’s voice constantly booming in the background when you do this.” Mia intoned, finally taking another chicken bite.

”That’s probably it. I’m certain that’s why I was never worried about Drillstaff when I was in basic training either. In the FFL, some of my officers spoke French and would Drill in French. It actually was… Comforting. But, I’m also certain that’s why I spent so much time with Uncle Andrade as a kid.” Casey’s finger casually tapped at his temple as he spoke.

”You know it’s crazy to think about what kind of a guy he is sometimes. Never once have I heard him yell. But that time that those Nazis made it down into the Temple’s halls?-” she spoke, eyes passing from Casey to Trisha.
”-He was just like an anime character. Him and that knife. I remember being scared of him!”

”Which, obviously, is nonsense. Nothing to be scared of, because he’d never do anything to any of us.” he said, knowing full well what Andrade was actually capable of.
”But he is extremely comforting in that regard. You know anyone scary like that babe? Anyone from the old coven?”

“Scary like Andrade?” Trisha furrowed her brow. She hadn’t experienced him like that, and it was a bit difficult to imagine. When she thought of scary, the first thing that came to her mind was her Mother. Not scared for her life scary, but the fear of her judgment or lack of care almost felt worse.

“Was kinda hard for anyone in the coven to be scary when we were fighting a world ending snake,” she said with a deadpan expression, before her lips twitching up into a teasing smile. As if there wasn’t much trauma to that- like her entire time in the coven wasn’t one big mess of trauma.
“There was this one person, a Green Adept… their magic was all blood and bone based. But it was the way they got all excited over the different places to stab people, and torture, that was scary. Like they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you… it was pretty creepy.”

”Oh, damn… Can I ask Gin if she knows who that is? I’m kinda curious now, like… Sounds like a serial killer in your midst! Maybe they’ve got something to do with Father Wolf!” she sounded like someone who had a classic infatuation with true crime and murder stories. The kind of attitude that made someone fall in love with Ghost Face from Scream.

Casey shook his head.
”I… Don’t think so, Mimi. I really doubt it. As far as Hemomancers, there weren’t many in the old coven… And as far as I know, the only one confirmed is dead.” he shrugged, knowing full well who Trisha was talking about. Just another piece of information magically piped into his skull from a compendium thousands of pages long.

”So you know?” Mia asked with a higher pitch in her voice. She was hungry for it now.

Casey’s hand directed back at Trisha.
”She told you literally everything interesting. They died fighting the Stygian Snake, so there’s no big legacy. Nothing hiding.”

”But maybe that would just make it more plausible! What if they died to the snake, and it turned them into its new vessel or something!?” Mia’s wild gaze turned back to Trisha, practically pleading for engagement.

“No way, we buried their body. There was magic of some kind involved… it’s way more likely to be a living member,” Trisha shrugged. From her memory, the person in question- Saskia- was unlikely to murder any of them, aside from Drake and Emily, if she’d still been alive.

Well, it might’ve happened if they’d survived and Ella hadn’t.
“There’s so many coven members with the capability of becoming a serial killer. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Greyson, or Anya, or Sloane… it could be anyone. Definitely not someone already dead. That’d be… unlikely…”

”Definitely not Greyson. Did I even tell you what happened after our date the other week?” Casey intoned, gossip column mode activating.

“No?” Trisha shook her head.

”Apparently Leon got a call from some undisclosed source? Pointed him to the abandoned power station East of the city? Picked up Greyson, Linqian, and supposedly her little brother from an Elite torture facility, said all three of them were banged up pretty badly.”

Explaining it now, Casey remembered why he hadn’t brought the news up to Trisha… It wasn’t for her benefit either. But, he’d told the scenario without bringing anything up about who else had been there in the raid.

”No way a dude who gets kidnapped twice in a week would be some mastermind killer, right?” he joked.

“Seriously? Twice?” Trisha’s lips parted in shock, before she let out a little, snorting laugh. She wasn’t surprised that Greyson was doing shit that was getting him kidnapped like that, but… it was just too funny. The fucking smug bastard. She could just imagine how much it’d pissed him off.

“You’re right.. If he was Father Wolf it’d be putting the rest of us to shame. Plus, it would’ve been the perfect time to murder Linqian…” Trisha trailed off, shaking her head. As much as she wasn’t close to the woman, she didn’t really want to think about her possible murder.
“Were they, uh, alright after Leon got them out?”

”Yeah, apparently. Leon escorted them home, I guess.” he gave a very simple answer without much thought besides avoiding any mention of who else had been there. Though, Theo had been called… He only hoped that the typically quiet and reserved individual didn’t find the time to start yapping now.

”Man, I don’t know how you guys can be on call for stuff like that. Or, even like that Dude from the Siblings? The one who interrupted your guys’ date?-”

Mia’s head tilted to Trisha.
”-Real sorry about that…-”

Then back to Casey.
”-I just don’t know how I’d deal with being on edge like that?”

”Probably how you usually deal with pressure.” Casey gave her a side-eyed response, and she huffed slightly in reply.

”Hey… It’s been a pretty good couple weeks. And, Leon said he thinks he found a secure place he can bring Kane and Abel! So, no more nightmares!” she said happily between the two of them.

It had become a problem for a few nights… For whatever reason, they’d been particularly cruel, and were purposefully waiting for vulnerable crossings between the roof and the safety of the hidden floor beneath them. Casey considered opening up a staircase directly down into one of the apartments, effectively increasing their living space while also offering a more direct passage for both guests and daily life. But, if they were really going to be gone, at least he could take it slow and plan better.

“Really? He’s really going to move them?” Trisha tried not to sound too excited at the prospect. But her attempt to play it off calmly didn’t really work… She really hated the cats. She hated how they dragged up all her deepest insecurities. How they hurt Casey too… and it was all her fault now. But if they were gone…

She’d still have nightmares, sometimes. But it wouldn’t be the same.
“I bet it’s cause they’re bothering Cass, isn’t it? Not that… I’m upset, because Cass is my friend. Just a bit annoying he waited this long, right?”

Casey’s face sagged into a flat grimace like a displeased frog.
”It's a bit more annoying because she reports zero issues. From what she’s told me, and what Lee’s said, she just… Eats the nightmares like they’re candy. Though, recently she had trouble with one, so maybe that was the real impetus. Leon didn’t go into details.”

Mia shrugged.

”Some people just aren’t prey, y’know? I don’t think we ever had a chance, they were allowed around us as babies. So many pictures-” She faced toward Mia ”-of the cats like in or near our cribs. Like, hello? Mom and Dad? The menacing Maine Coon cats? No? Nothing?” she laughed again, but a little bit more nervously this time.

She only hoped they’d never forced the kind of dreams on Trisha that they had on her. Nobody deserved to see those sorts of things.

”Either way, I’m happy for all of us.”
She playfully raised the last bit of her chicken drumstick.
”To peace in the Cannery!”

Trisha laughed lightly, really hoping that Leon got rid of them soon. And that they didn’t know… because she had a feeling they’d only get worse if they did. It was like they were doing their best to make sure she was knocked over after every step she took forward. Not that she needed much help with that when her anxieties did such a good job.

"To peace," Trisha raised a piece of bread, before eating it quickly. She’d gotten through about half her chicken, half of that… she was already starting to struggle. But she’d soldier through. Had to, to make Casey happy. But she’d need to change the topic to do it…
"Oh, Mia? When you asked earlier about if the Queen would want any help, what did you mean by that? Help with what, how?"

Mia brightened up reactionarily, swallowing the bite of food and uncannily cramming a buttered roll into her mouth to swallow just about whole.
”Ehemmm… Mmmm… Th-... The process for making…-”
One last gulp pulled the bread down.
”-The process of making a Forest Friend, which is what I call them, basically takes me using the spell to imbue an inanimate object with… Life? Not really life, but I can’t explain it. I watched that toy movie when I was little, and I felt inspired! So, like, they come to life.”

She smiled just thinking about the memory she had for Trisha. It’d be the most powerful Forest Friend yet! Especially if-

”Anyway, when I cast the spell, I can pretty easily invite other magic into the weave of the spell, meaning that its influence can impart a great deal of individuality on the… Friend?”

”Constructs, Mimi. They’re constructs, you provide Luxal Attunement, and through that you can project a semblance of sapience into just about anything. It’s a pretty common thing for Orange Adepts like us to do. Y’know, you inspired me to make something like that one time?” Casey said, beaming.

Mia smiled.
”Thank you, Old Man. We’ll get back to that when I’m not explaining myself.”

She didn’t really snap. In fact, she sounded pretty playful despite chastising him like that. But Casey had a terrible habit of side-tracking conversations and taking the reins away. But in his defence, he was more saying it to compliment her than to interrupt with a story.

”Hey… I just love you is all.”

”I know, I know. Anyway, the original point. I mentioned that to say that if the Queen, or if you could muster up enough of her energy to do so, would like to influence this Forest Friend, the option is available. Unfortunately, the only uh… Example-”

She pointed down at little Stompy, who was chowing down on a broccoli head at the side of Casey’s plate.

”-is Nervous Nelson down there. Stompy is probably the most skittish of the entire line I’ve enchanted. He’s nervous and scared of just about anything that isn’t a blanket and pillow, and you absolutely cannot make loud noises around him. He only freaks out more, hence why he started to…”

She pointed at the broken lamp and half-crushed furniture.

”And that’s purely because that was Casey’s influence. I took what little residual magic he had around him at the time, and that’s the trait that came up…” she said with a small grimace.

Casey laughed.
”It checks out. I was a nervous little kid.”

“You’ve changed a lot, then,” Trisha said softly, reaching out to rub Casey’s arm. She smiled at him warmly, then turned that smile towards Mia. It wasn’t as warm, but it was still genuine.
“I understand… I don’t think I’d be having any kinda anxious influence, at least.”

That was a lie, of course. She definitely couldn’t be the one to do it. If she did, she’d end up with a massive plush bee with attachment issues… or any of her many negative traits. She didn’t want that. But the Queen… then she’d be calm. That would be nice. It’d certainly balance Casey’s anxious friend.
“I doubt I could channel her energy like that, so I’ll have to ask her. If that’s alright? I’ll be, y’know, holding a conversation in my head. Kinda feels like texting at the table.”

She laughed in return, thinking about how silly that would’ve sounded from any other Aberration she knew. But Trisha? She was so mundane with all her habits. Everything seemed like she was a Blind. But here she was, one of the remaining heroes who destroyed the Stygian Snake… How time healed wounds…

”We’ve watched our Mom break down into full ‘Beam from God’ mode several times. Talking to your Apparition Partner is basically just talking to another person sitting here with us.” she joked, laughing about Lynette’s habits.

“We’ve had very different upbringings,” Trisha laughed.
“Though I suppose my older sister having a fit over us being ‘rude’ not paying attention to her at the table is similar enough.”

But she nodded, turning more inwards. The Queen had been more responsive recently. Even helped Trisha with her magic recently, even if there hadn’t been much steps.
Have you been listening?

It was silent in her mind for a little bit, but she’d learned to wait. Eventually she heard those sleepy, dulcet tones.
Distantly. I know what you want to ask.
Will you?
You have the strength to do it yourself.
I don’t want to. It won’t turn out well. I’d like you to… you said you’d help. Please

The Queen didn’t reply for a moment.
Very well. But… only if I get a taste of that bread. Ah, the memories it would bring back.
I’m already eating bread?
Not that bread. The other bread.

Trisha’s gaze moved from where she was staring right ahead, slightly vacant, to Casey’s remaining rolls. She frowned a bit. Was it worth it for her influence on something like this? But it would… make the sentient toy calm. Trisha needed that more than anything.
“She, uh, wants to taste the bread. Your bread.”

Casey didn’t hesitate, handing over a roll from the tray.
”The bread? I mean… They’re as clean as I can make them, Babe. Goliath grain, supposedly recovered from some ancient abandoned temple in a cave outside Nice in France. We started growing it, and it has the properties we need… So, I guess she probably knows more about it than we do, huh?”

“Probably, she talked about memories with it,” Trisha laughed a bit nervously as she took the roll from Casey. But if he was handing it over so easily it had to be alright. He wouldn’t let her have anything that’d hurt her.
“It’s good to know she can be bribed.”

She took a little nibble first, not particularly feeling like eating more. Not when it was something that provided so much nutrition. Surely it’d be more filling? But the Queen wanted some, so after a nibble she took a couple of bites. She managed to finish half of it before putting it down.

Ahhh… Just as I remember. The sweet pollen my children used to collect for me. A pleased sigh echoed around Trisha’s mind.

Then golden light started to pool across her shoulder. It delicately formed a beautiful Queen bee the size of a small dog. Trisha’s head twisted around to stare. She hadn’t expected the Queen to come out to do it. Did she need to? She supposed it would make things easier.

”How is my assistance required?” The Queen asked in a soft, melodic tone.
“Uh… we’re still eating…” Trisha said, looking between Mia and Casey.

The two onlookers shared a new look of shock and surprise as they came to the realization that the Queen was literally just that. Casey had expected some immaculate humanoid form incorporating bits of bee anatomy. Mia had imagined a far larger and more intricate looking portrait of evolution from the times of Paradise Lost.

But she was just a big, chunky, fuzzy Queen Honey Bee. And she was fucking adorable.

”Oh my God! The Queen! That… Royalty! In my house!”

Mia looked at him and laughed, but he wasn’t joking. He stood, grabbed Mia by the arm, and in a moment they were both kneeling on the ground before Trisha, and by proxy, the Queen.

”Your Grace? I am Ser Casseau Richoux of the New Dawn’s Holiest Order of Banded Knights. This is Damzel Mia, my Sister and honored seeress of House Richoux. You honor us with your presence, and the abode is yours to do with as you please. I bear offerings of hearty Bread, Elder Wine and many modern fruits should you desire.”

This was part of his “programming”. The knowledge of formality.

Trisha wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. It felt like an awful joke meant to embarrass her… but she knew he was being serious. That was worse. It was mortifying. She really couldn’t bear it, her head tilting back to look up at the ceiling. But that didn’t stop her from hearing what Casey said and knowing they were kneeling. What the fuck?!

That ‘royalty’ had always been in their house… she was just too lazy to come out of Trisha’s body. Something Trisha hoped would continue with Casey’s reaction being like this.

Of course, to the Queen it was the welcome she deserved. She sat radiantly upon Trisha’s shoulder and looked down at the two respectful humans with an air of pleasure. If she could smile, she would be. Her host had chosen well with who she surrounded herself with… finally.
”Your gracious welcome is much appreciated, Ser Casseau and Damzel Mia. There are few who would pay such respect for an an Ancient Monarch such as I in this age. Perhaps I was too quick to judge Mankind. Your offerings are unnecessary. You already provide my dearest Beekeeper with all I could ask for.”

Trisha really couldn’t stand it. Her hands clenched into fists beside her and her face was becoming more and more red. She was clearly getting agitated too, that mood she’d managed to suppress wriggling its way back up.
“Oh my God, stop it! Get up off the floor, Casey! You too, Mia! She’s just a Ghost! She’s been sleeping in my body for years she was always here. This is ridiculous! Please fucking stop.”

Casey smiled softly at Trisha, still kneeling. Mia moved to get up, but Casey’s hand reached out to hold her by the sleeve. His other one reached out and crawled up to hold Trisha’s hand.

”Baby? Trisha? When have you known me to do dumb, pointless things? Ridiculous? Maybe. Maybe to you. But to the Queen, who as far as I’m aware you’ve been doing your absolute best to maintain good relations with, is gracing us here in a physical form. Something she’s probably ill-comforted to do… And she’s technically doing it for you. So, in my opinion, I think it's only fair that Mia and I should at least respect royal conduct… We are nobility, after all.”

Unlike most, Mia and Casey didn’t have to stretch too hard to confirm their link to Charlemagne: The very first entries of the Richoux Tomes are pages directly copied from the Holy Roman Emperor’s own book of Orange spells. Gifts given to one of his many sons, and where the Richoux line would eventually appear a few hundred years later.

”I understand that this makes you feel uncomfortable too… But in the long run, I’m sure that Our Lady would feel far more inclined to participate in your life knowing that you have this level of knowledge and support at your side.”

He looked up at Trisha with eyes wide, practically pleading with her for a moment more spent considering what this could mean. She called him empathetic before, so she had to know that this was a possibility…

Trisha’s whole face was scrunched up now, lips pressed together and eyes squeezing shut so she didn’t have to look at them. The hand Casey had held gripped his tightly, enough that the tension in her whole body could be felt. Her head shook from side to side instead of saying anything. What was the point, if he was convinced? She’d just look bad.

She knew it wasn’t for her. But she hated it. She just wanted to be normal. It brought up all sorts of feelings- feelings that weren’t the Queen or Casey’s thoughts, but were there. Inadequacy. Inferiority to the Apparition resting in her. Worthless without her. Only there to maintain good relations with someone who’d ignored her for so long.

”He is quite right, Dear Beekeeper. It has been long since I’ve been shown such respect outside of my children. It is not often I allow humans to witness my radiant splendour. To do so to those that do not respect it is… distasteful. I appreciate that you surround yourself with intelligent ones such as these.” The Queen’s soft voice didn’t bring Trisha much comfort.
”But you may both rise… I do not wish my dear host to be distressed. It’s rather difficult to regulate the emotions.”

Don’t regulate them then! Trisha thought to her Apparition, lips still clammed shut.

Casey hadn’t taken his eyes off Trisha. His hand holding Mia released her to stand, but he stayed closer to his beloved for a few more seconds. Then, coming up, he kissed her gently and rubbed his thumb against her cheek.

”I’m sorry… I love you. We’ll talk more about it later…”

Clearing her throat, Mia hoped to take a bit of heat off Casey.

”S-so… Your Highness? Presumably you’d heard of my plan through Trisha. T-the…-” she pointed at Princess the stuffed bee. ”-The necessity would be a small amount of your energy. Preferably, a positive and courageous energy. One that you and Trisha should discuss fully, so you know what traits you’ll impart. Not just emotionally, but physically as well.”

The Queen had floated off Trisha and onto the table, moving gently around Princess to inspect her.
”I understand. We shall discuss it.”

Trisha still wasn’t particularly happy, but she’d given Casey a nod of agreement. There was nothing said… partly because she was worried what would come out now that all that suppressed agitation was seeping into her mind with nowhere to go. It was difficult for her to just get rid of it.

The Queen floated back over to Trisha, gently speaking in her head.
What did you have in mind?
Calm… like you.

The Queen chuckled.
I believe she means more than just personality. This bee could become a weapon. Or perhaps, a way to transport the children. Maybe something to focus and boost your pheromones?

Trisha furrowed her brow. She hadn’t actually thought about that. She’d just assumed Princess would become a larger, living toy… but still a toy. What did she want?
Something to defend and carry the bees? So they have somewhere to go when they’re hurt… something they’ll be safe on.”
And something they can go to and from the Hive without having to travel long distances?
If that’s possible.
Anything’s possible with magic.

Decision seemingly made, the Queen moved away from Trisha and back onto the table. She seemed to look up at Mia.
”Do you need to know what traits we wish to impart, Damzel Mia?”

Mia looked down at the adorably blown up face of the little bee Queen, eyes massive with adoration for the miniature size. She was like a pug…

”No! No, your Highness. If you have the intention, I’ll read it in the weave.”
An extra benefit which made Mia’s golemcraft a cut above others: White Lux. She could read, translate, reconstitute and train anything she was exposed to into her own work… It didn’t even take much brain power.

Just a very strong booting cost. She was willing to pay it for Trisha…

”Beneficially, linking your essence directly to it will also allow both of you to activate it without Orange Lux influence. Quite the benefit in my opinion.” she grinned.
Her fork fell down and snagged another piece of broccoli. As there was enough motion, Stompy had become curious of what this new big bee was doing… So he’d come to nudge the Queen with his horn, pressing into the fuzzy abdomen of the Apparition.

Casey didn’t see… He was still trying to comfort Trisha. He had his head in her lap, just laying there and hugging her by the hips now. Hoping that his weight and his affection would both keep her calm and still while Mia did what had to be done.

Mia fixed her hat just a little tighter on her head.
”It really won’t take too long… Usually it takes longer for someone to actually lock down what they want in their head. But, I trust you and Trisha made it easy for me. So, I’m ready when you are.”

Luckily for the small triceratops, the Queen was gracious. She recognised it’s inferior life form and lacking intelligence. Below that of her bees, even. So she didn’t react negatively as he nudged her, just floating out of his reach after allowing him a sufficient nudge to feel just how fluffy and superior she was.

And luckily for Casey, Trisha wasn’t in a moving mood. Her body was still stiff underneath him, but one of her hands moved to grip the fabric of his shirt. She curled inwards slightly as she silently watched.

”Don’t worry, young one, I have a clear picture of what we want.” The Queen sounded almost amused, but still gentle. A bee plush that embodied her calmness and rationality. She reasoned there was enough fluff on this bright orange thing that once its size increased it would hide and protect the bees, if it was strengthened. Then a connection to their hive. A clear final form.
”I am ready.”

Mia nodded and smiled. One hand placed itself on Princess, then the other stretched out open for Trisha or the Queen to occupy. Once one had, she took a deep breath and fell backwards into the pit of her mind. Air rushed from below her, forcing all the fabric and hair upward toward the sky as she fell. Down, down to the vault where the most precious treasures were kept.

The memory played over for her like a slideshow with long gaps between takes. Mother’s office. Cold reception. But firm conviction. Standards. Ideals and beliefs not broken. A confrontation that, she felt, took a lot of guts to have. And a lot more to leave peacefully from…
At first, the echo of the magic bubbled up across Princess’ bulbous body. But then the hand that held the contributor flared up into a strangely shaped orange mass. Like basalt pillars, or the combs on a hive, small hexagons formed and stacked atop one another until they cracked open to reveal an illusory throne in the orange light.

It was then that the energy of the contributor was pulled, and when Princess’ life would truly begin.

Golden light entwined with the orange, encapsulating Princess in a honeycomb formed of pure magical energy. Her plush wings started to lightly beat as she grew. Orange and black fuzz became as strong as steel while retaining its fluidity. She grew and grew and grew, until she was nearly as large as the island. The honey coloured magic focused in on her centre, fueling a connection with the hive. Both a two way teleportation for bees only, and something pheromones could directly go through to call them. The link would only allow small groups of bees through at a time… but it was impressive nonetheless.

A large, plush bee fortress. The light withdrew as her transformation was complete, and Princess hovered there calmly.

“... Wow,” Trisha whispered, watching the whole thing. She was still tense, but it didn’t stop her awe at the combined spell. Princess turned as if recognising her and flew over, pausing right in front of her. Trisha could tell through her connection with the Queen that the plush bee could do everything she’d asked for. If she called the bees through, they’d come.
“Thank you, Mia.”

The absolute blasting of Princess’ wings was filling the entire house with gusts. Loose papers flew about, and above them the hanging garden’s occupants wobbled about. Mia’s hair flew about, and the hat was blown off her head. Not that she could care…

”Can… Can I hug you? I’m just… Really, really proud of this. Of her! I mean, look! The wings work! God, I never expected the wings to work! Like… Work!” she exclaimed in an all over the place fashion.
Her feet took her closer to Trisha, if not a little bit instinctively, but she didn’t automatically reach out like she wanted to. But Casey was still there clinging to her. He didn’t even look up… They’d have plenty of time later, he was sure.

”I mean, you’re welcome of course, Trisha! And, blessings to Her Highness too! Frankly I don’t think we’d be quite this far without her!” she attempted to impress her excitement upon them both.

”Don’t give yourself too little credit, young one. Your magic is impressive. I felt your strength and conviction. Truly impressive.” It was the Queen who responded first. She sluggishly floated up, golden light brushing past Mia. She would feel the warmth against her cheek where the large, glowing Queen bee almost touched her.
”I shall return to my slumber. It was a pleasure, Damzel Mia, Ser Casseau.”

Then she disappeared into Trisha. Trisha was still staring at Princess. She wasn’t purposefully ignoring Mia. She was just a bit lost in the flying plushie in front of her. Her free hand reached out to touch her, and the bright orange bee pressed against her fingers. She was still so soft…

Her head turned towards Mia finally, and she managed a smile. She wasn’t upset at Mia. She wasn’t even really upset at Casey… She’d just been set off. Casey hugging her offered some comfort, but it wasn’t enough to truly calm her down. She didn’t know what would. She just felt off.

But she could suppress it just for a moment. Try to be better. At least, pretend to be. Be reasonable for once. Don’t take it out on someone who doesn’t deserve it…
“You… You should be proud, Mia. She’s amazing. She’s exactly what I wanted.” While subdued, Trisha did manage to get some of her excitement across as she looked up at Mia. It was there, a spark in her eyes and in the way she kept glancing at Princess.
“And you can… hug me. If you want.” She patted Casey’s shoulder, before awkwardly moving her arms up to let Mia move closer.

Mia accepted Trisha’s reaction after everything. She’d been bombarded by Thanksgiving news, then dealt with whatever that was. Casey seemed to know something Mia didn’t, because he just refused to move entirely. But, she still moved in and gave Trisha what she thought would be a decently proportioned hug for the person and situation. Relatively short, but tight to convey the depth of affection.
Before it became too cloying, she pulled away to look up at Princess just like Trisha had been.

”Thank you… I’m really just… I guess I’m excited. I don’t know what using your powers is like, but not using one after a long time isn’t like riding a bike. I had to practice all last week before this.” she smiled.

Finally, Casey looked up. He looked up at the giant plush bee, then back at Trisha. Then Mia. She caught his gaze, and the two shared a knowing nod. Casey conveyed thanks and love and appreciation all in the same instance, and Mia picked it up instantly. Pulling back a little, he patted Trisha’s leg with a subtle smile on his face. Doing his best to stay comforting.

”Happy birthday, Princess… Right, Babe?”

“Mm, sure, it can be her birthday,” Trisha agreed quietly, hand reaching out to grasp his. Seeking comfort even after days of doing the opposite, even when she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted or why she’d reacted. Well she did know, but she just felt so… unreasonable. Stuck. Wanting to withdraw, but not wanting to. Trying to pull herself out. Or at least pretend to.

“I really appreciate you practicing and doing this for me… and Princess,” she continued, looking back at the calmly hovering bee.
“Can I… change her size like Casey did?”

On reaction, the spell in control of Princess’ life and existence reacted to the innate desire of the main controller. Thus, with the simple suggestion that Princess change her size, she began to shrink back down slowly, waiting until Trisha’s mind took note of what the “perfect” dimensions would be in her mind.

“O-oh.” Trisha stammered a little as Princess shrunk down to just a bit bigger than her nonliving form. She hadn’t expected it to just happen because she thought about it. Maybe she should’ve… but she really wasn’t used to using magic outside of her own. Magical objects were still foreign to her.
“That’s… really impressive, Mia. The way she reacts… Wow.”

The now smaller Princess moved forward, flying onto Trisha’s shoulder and very awkwardly resting there. She still had to flap her wings to stay up, such a rotund body not made to rest on narrower surfaces…

Casey looked up and could only laugh.
”Poor girl’s shaped like a fuckin’ egg… If you ma-”
Cutting himself off, he didn’t finish the thought. She didn’t ask for the suggestion, and his first reaction didn’t need to be to give it out.

”-Ehhh… Honestly, this is cuter. She blows your hair all around.” Casey giggled up.

”She will compress tighter… For the record, of course. In case you need to sneak her in anywhere or get her through a gap. Easier to store too, if you think you want to bring her anywhere. Compress her, then retract the spell; she’ll remain whatever size you last left her.” Mia explained the intricacies of the spell at this point, her mastery of the concepts having improved drastically over the many years of thinking about it.

”That’ll be good too. Maybe we can improve her with some technology too… If we have prep time, we can strap a harness on her to carry bigger guns. If she can get big enough, and the spell is strong enough, we’d be able to get some massive bee ordinance.” he giggled upward playfully.
”Do you boys have to weaponize my babies?” Mia chided back down at him.

“You’re already arming the bees, how many weapons do you plan to have me carry around?” Trisha added, though she wasn’t sure she was entirely against the idea. At least… not if there was a risk of assassins like during their date. Having access to something like that would at least be useful. She tilted her head down to look at Casey, head tilting. Her tone turned somewhat playful- though it was still flatter than normal. She was trying to follow along and joke with him, at least.
“And do you ever think about anything other than guns?”

”I think a lot about you.”
He grinned so widely that he could’ve split his lip on his teeth. Mia scoffed about as loudly and with as much exaggeration as she could muster.

”Holy fuuuuuuuuuuck I’d say get a room but I’m in your houuuuuuuuse!” she finished with a laugh, dusting her hands off like she’d just done hard work.

”So, I mean… I guess I’ll leave you guys alone? Casey, can I sit in your office and eat this?”

He looked at Trisha, not exactly wanting his little sister to feel like she had to run away, but knowing full well that the last half hour was probably enough to drain poor Trisha twice. Ultimately, it was their place…
”Of course. Just leave the plate there when you’re done, I’ll make sure it migrates back up here washed at some point.” he offered.

”Take a few more of those rolls too.”

She nodded, piling a few more on her plate.

Trisha also felt a bit bad about Mia feeling like she needed to leave… but she was really at her limit. She could feel the agitation crawling back up. The longer Mia was around the higher the chance of Trisha lashing out. Not that it wasn’t a risk with just Casey, but… less, maybe. He seemed to know what to say a lot of the time, and hadn’t left yet…

“Thanks again for Princess,” Trisha said quietly, raising a hand to wave Mia off as she left. She picked Princess up off her shoulder, looking at her for a moment before deactivating her. The now still bee plush was put on the island in front of her.

She still had a bit of chicken and about half of her broccoli left, but… she really didn’t feel like eating it. The thought of eating more made her feel a bit sick. Her body tilted forward, torso bending to curl around Casey. Her face pressed into the top of his head and she took a deep breath. Then another.

It didn’t really do anything for her, but maybe it’d look like it did? Like she was calming down from days of tension and then a second probably completely ridiculous looking blowup. Way to go, reacting so negatively to everything.

“Do you want to… finish your food, and then go into the Den?” She asked quietly, still not quite sure as she weighed up the want to be close to him versus not wanting to talk.
“Maybe… watch a movie or something?”

All Casey thought was: What a silly thing to ask.

His arms scooped up under her, snagging her off her feet and bringing her close until she wrapped around him on her own. The left hand deftly scooped out, popping Princess into the air.
”C’mon, Stomps! C’mere boy!”

The tiny dinosaur took a running leap off the side of the island to follow along behind its best pal. The supposed Nervous Nelly, once everyone’s back was turned, wasn’t so nervous… He’d do whatever it took to keep close to his pal. Courageous Mia following her older brother off the side of that rock. Following Daddy. The warm summer day upstate.

Casey slipped through the door of the den, setting Trisha down and letting her slide off to wherever she was going to go. Assuming she was probably going to wait for him to get comfortable in what had become his usual spot, he instinctively scooted himself up to the very back of the couch.

Trisha hesitated for a moment, kneeling on the edge of the couch. Her hands pressed into the fabric in front of her, clenching and unclenching. Trying her hardest to push down the feeling of wanting to run away or withdraw to the opposite corner. But she also wanted to hug him so badly.

She hated feeling stupidly conflicted like this. There was obviously a right answer.
Which she chose, after a little bit, shuffling across the couch towards Casey. She silently wriggled up against his side, one arm draping across him and her face nuzzling into his chest. Her legs curled up towards her torso, knees resting on him. Her body loosened up as she cuddled up to him.

“I missed you today,” she mumbled, as if she hadn’t run out of the house to ‘work with the bees’ the moment she had the chance early that morning. Unnecessarily, when he was on his way out anyway. But it was true, she had missed him. But she’d also withdrawn. Both because she didn’t want to talk about what the problem was, and she didn’t want to risk snapping at him about it. Because that might be the final straw. Each time it happened could be the last time… even if he was so confident it never would be. She still wasn’t there.

“It was strange knowing you weren’t just downstairs.”

”Well, it’s been strange knowing that you aren’t in the office just behind me.” he offered in return.

Of course he knew what he was doing there. Mentioning the idea that she had been doing something different probably wasn’t what she wanted. But he did his best to use his understanding of tone to avoid it sounding accusatory. He’d had to start using it quite a bit now that his position was settled in and he was handling daily things.

”I miss you all the time you’re not right next to me. Maybe I’m a little obsessive though, huh?” he asked, redirecting the negative emotion back onto himself so she didn’t feel like he was attacking her. Without using White Lux, it was all a guessing game…

Trisha rubbed her face against Casey in what seemed close to a shaking motion. She liked that he missed her like that, if it was true. If for some reason he wanted her right there even when she was obviously feeling off. It was enough to stop her reacting to being told she was the one hiding somewhere further away than normal.

He was right. She knew he was right. She’d known what she was doing the whole time, even if she didn’t ever try to step back and stop herself.
“It’s not that obsessive. Obsessive would be… locking me in the office to make sure I was there, or something.” She suggested an extreme and unrealistic scenario. But she really didn’t think he was a little obsessive… probably because she was the same.

“I’ve just been in the Greenhouse, though. It’s not like you can’t visit…” She said evenly, like she didn’t know that it was viewed as her space. Her and the bees. Her neutral, slightly soft expression turned into a frown of frustration. Not at him. At herself. Why couldn’t she just get over it, or properly pretend everything was fine? Why did she have to get stuck in this in between state?
“Are you… upset at me… for it?”

Casey frowned, but shook his head no. He was a little annoyed that she wasn’t doing what they agreed to do.

”At most, I’m sad. Sure, I could visit, but I can tell when you’re not feeling good. I don’t need any kind of magic to feel you clam up on me. You’re not quite my bouncy Trisha-Bee. I leave you alone, because we said we’d talk about things, and I trust you enough to come to me with your feelings.” he offered the whole truth to her, bracing for impact and praying that she would at least see the logic that he was working with.

”But I swear to God and everything I stand on that it doesn’t make me love you any less. I love you more. Because you need it.” he explained.

She didn’t understand. Love her more when she was pulling away? How? That didn’t make sense. Wasn’t that when she was at her least loveable? Why… she managed to clamp down on her instinctive reaction to tell him it couldn’t be true. Her hands clenched in the fabric of his shirt as she tried to think about what Casey was saying.

Of course he could tell. She knew she wasn’t hiding it well. She never did. And she felt guilty because she hadn’t planned to come to him. She’d planned to wait it out, until it all blew over in a week and a half. Even though they’d promised to talk… it had always been a promise she knew she couldn’t keep. Because she just wasn’t good enough.

“You’ll think I’m being stupid if I talk about it,” Trisha asserted, like it was a solid fact. There was no way he wouldn’t. It was all her overreacting. An overreaction that started one year and continued the next, getting worse and worse. It was the same earlier. She should just be able to accept things at face value.
“Then you’ll… well… then I won’t deserve your love…”

What the fuck could you possibly say? What on Earth would be so stupid that I’d feel that way?
Casey’s face nearly remained stationary, the gentle and reassuring smile still on his face. But there was a vein near his hairline, thankfully covered up by a loch of hair that had been tugged out of place. There was also a subtle motion of his hands, fingers gently wriggling against Trisha’s hips as he held her close.

He was getting mad. Mostly about the fact that it seemed like every single thing in her brain was telling her to go against his wishes. Was this what he’d seen so many times? That look… He could see himself, practically like a mirror shimmering in her eyes. It was identical to that man in those moments where his frustrations were starting to boil over.

You are not Maxwell Richoux. You are Casey Richoux. You are not like him. You are like you. Do the right thing.

”I… Sweetheart? Look at me.-” he said, getting a little closer to her face so that he took up her whole field of view.
”-I want you to try me. Seriously. Make it sound as stupid as you can. As bad as you think it sounds in your head. Don’t hold back.”

Trisha bit her lip, having no choice but to look at Casey. There was no escape. And she knew she’d put herself in this position by cuddling with him. Maybe she’d wanted to… maybe something deep down wanted it dragged out. But she didn’t know. It was just so stupid.

“I’m- I’m upset because I don’t have a family to spend holidays with. I’m forced to spend time with people I’m related to but- but we’re not a family. And you do! Even if it’s far from perfect there’s people that love you and I can’t even latch onto it because I have to appease my sister. But more than that- I can’t stand the thought that you’ll probably have some Temple event you need to go to on my birthday because there’s no way a Christian cult doesn’t extend Christmas into the next day. And it’s so fucking stupid because I’m not a kid. I’m almost twenty-five and I’m upset about all of this stuff because I’m selfish and needy.” It all came spilling out, a mess of words dragged out from where they’d been stewing in her head.

Casey deflated all at once. It wasn’t anger anymore… It was the understanding that there was still a little kid inside that body screaming for something more than what she’d been saddled with in her life. He couldn’t be mad. Only empathetic as he had come to be.
”You didn’t get many birthdays, did you? I bet it always got wrapped into Christmas, which meant you shared it with whoever else was young enough to celebrate Christmas at the time… You think I won’t make the Temple’s Christmas celebration all about you? I mean, I wouldn’t, because I know that you wouldn’t want it. But, if you told me to? To make you feel better? Trisha… This shit means nothing to me if it’s hurting you.”

He was still so close to her. He only blinked to wipe the tears that were slowly creeping in from the corners of his eyes.

”For once, Trisha… Tell me what you want. We have time to plan.”

“I… Anything as long as it's with you," Trisha replied without much hesitation. Just like every time something like this had happened, she was shocked by how well Casey responded. It wasn't like she expected… And each time added a tiny drop to her confidence about talking about things. Small, slow, but it was happening.
“J-just be with me… I want someone to spend the day with me for once…"

That was honestly all she wanted. For everything. Someone who'd prioritise her. Someone who'd choose her.
“It never even really got wrapped up in Christmas… because no one remembered. Dad didn't, so none of my siblings did- aside from Tansy. But when she stopped trying to replace my mom she started ignoring it… Like my actual mom. She doesn't care."

Her eyes slowly moved downwards, as if to hide how upset it made her. As if her even almost monotonous delivery was all that mattered when her face screamed dejection.
“You really don't… think it's stupid- that I'm unreasonable and awful- for… getting like this because of Thanksgiving?" Her voice dropped until it was barely more than a whisper- but no matter how quiet, Casey was close enough to hear it.

There wasn’t much of a pause for Casey to answer this one. There wasn’t any room to think about it further. His arms curled tightly around her, and he purposefully let his hair fall around her like he had before. Their private little world within their private world. The ultimate safety of being totally and completely covered in him.

”It only hurts me that you’ve chosen to try and go through your pain alone again. But one day you’ll get it hopefully. And in the mean time, all I can do is be patient about it. Most people can’t admit when their family is a sore spot, so… I keep hoping that because we share the ability to admit it, that we would also freely admit the traumas that they’ve created.”

All Casey really wanted was to dedicate himself. To anything that would accept his hundred percent. The hope was truly that Trisha would be able to one day.

”Can I… Do you mind if I have a little conversation in my head? I need to ask someone some questions, but there’s no way I’m leaving you right now to make that phone call…”
He had a stern look on his face… That same look he had the last time he confronted Lynette about something and Trisha was involved.

She looked back up at him, mind stalling for a moment on what he'd said before asking. He was hurt by her trying to deal with it alone, and not talking but not… upset at her. At least, that's how it sounded. If he was willing to be patient. Because she really was trying. More than she had before, even if she stumbled at every hurdle.

Would she ever get to the point when she could freely admit it? Where she could just open up the moment she was upset? Maybe, if he was patient enough… stayed with her long enough.

“If you're staying, and I know-" that you're not ignoring me- “it's fine.” She curled up against him, a tight little ball seeking as much comfort as she could. Very quietly, she added.
“I really am trying."

The instantaneous permission meant an equally expedient discussion could take place.
”I know you are, Baby… It’s gonna be okay.”

He was shifting in his seat until his glove could be slid out from his back pocket. Trisha would be able to see his fist tightly gripping it as if he was trying to crush the poor ratty accessory. In reality, he was determined, and still a little pissed off. The massive burst of White Lux was the magical equivalent of kicking someone’s office door in to start an argument. There was an equally brief but noticeable moment of resistance for Casey as he projected the telepathic signal to its source… But it still picked up.

At that point, there was no conversation. Conveyance between two White Lux users of such skill was as simple as projection. Every little emotion that came with the instance was fully expressed through officially non-verbal means. For Casey, it meant having an argument faster than the speed of light, and negotiating just as quickly.
On the outside, it looked a bit like he was having a stroke as one side of his body drooped forward. Trisha would be able to hear him babbling something without any kind of intellect behind his words.

Then he snapped back to reality, fully inhabiting himself once more. Now he just looked annoyed.
”It’s exactly what I thought.” he grunted, wiping the drool away from his mouth onto the inside of his shirt.

”She’s doing it on purpose, and we both know why, and-”
Now wasn’t the time to worry about the expiration date on his Coven’s Archmatron.
”-she says… I’m in charge this year. Which, by proxy, means we are in charge…”

He wasn’t sure if Trisha would take this like good news, or bad. He could see both, but already had his own perception of the situation.
”If it’s really like that, we should take the chance to make Tansy’s experience miserable. Let’s be difficult the whole time. Lets make it about us. That I’m thankful for you, and that the entire Temple can suck it.”

His eyes screamed revenge. A lust for conflict.

Trisha frowned, her fingers pressing into his abdomen where they rested. She didn't like being the centre of attention like that… not when she could fail. And then everything would be worse. Everyone would know just how much of a fai-

She took a deep breath. It wouldn't just be her. She wasn't going to be alone and… the look in Casey's eyes gave her a strange confidence. He really believed that they could do that. And he was upset enough on her behalf to possibly ruin a whole event over it…

“Alright… but it won't be easy to actually upset Tansy. I've been-" She frowned, face scrunching up a bit. She didn't really want to admit it, but…
“- difficult my whole life. She's used to that. You saw how she was. But maybe- maybe if it's the two of us. If your focus is all on me…"

A part of herself liked the idea of that a bit too genuinely. Of him just being thankful to her in that way. It wasn't a part she liked, and she squashed it down.
“But what will other people think? Like- Ezra if he's forced along? I guess he already thinks I'm difficult, that doesn't matter… but Mia, Hari, Ed, Gin… Won't they think badly about me after?"

Casey felt the reluctance. Maybe this was too much for her right now.

”Well… You’re spending it with me no matter what. Quiet, loud, in people’s faces, out of it… I want you next to me. You don’t even have to look at anyone you don’t want to.”
Overcorrection was natural as a reaction to this sort of thing. Casey just wanted her to feel better… Because he could feel her worse.

It was… A little fatiguing. Nothing he’d never done before, but the fact that it was so consistent meant he just had more of it to look forward to. More of her needing him, maybe…
Not so bad.

”You’re the woman I love. I just want the world to know it. But I’ll do whatever it takes for you to feel like you can count on me for anything.”

The tension in Trisha's body reduced slightly. She was still curled up, but it wasn't like she was about to snap and flee. Her hand clung to his shirt like she'd somehow fall if she didn't.

“I’m not used to having someone to count on," she admitted quietly, as if it wasn't something Casey already knew. It was obvious. And it was easy to tell why so many of her relationships didn't work out. The withdrawal, the difficult reactions… The self sabotage.
“I- I know I can depend on you it's just… I don't know…" What if it got taken away one day? What if I can't cope when I'm left alone?

She shuffled herself up a bit so her head was resting on his shoulder. It was slightly easier to tilt her face up to look at him. She chewed her lip for a moment. What did she want to say? It was so difficult to figure it out…
“I was upset thinking we'd have to spend a day I hate apart, but then having to deal with Tansy and Lynette together felt just as bad. I know it's not, because it'll be us... And I don't mind being in everyone's faces, I like that you… love me that much and want everyone to know. I'm just worried that if…" She curled her head forwards, thick hair falling across her face.
“If I'm built up too high it'll hurt more when someone tears me down."

Casey didn’t know how to convey what was in his head for once. How could he say what was closest to the truth without Implying something? She would have to learn how to love herself one way or another, because there was no way he was going to let her-

It’s not about money, idiot… It's not about financial stability, or being able to take care of mundane bullshit. It’s fucking love!

But what if there was a finite amount of this that could be taken? What if she really never got better? This was the first woman who he actually liked in a mutual fashion… Sure, women had made passes at him before, especially prompted by Lynette. But he felt like he knew enough to know that she made him feel different.
Maybe because he knew it wasn’t a setup… It was something that came organically; that all he had to do that night was give her the pie and send her on her way. But he hadn’t. He felt empathy then, and it allowed her to expose herself to him in an equally organic way.

It had been real. Not part of his mother’s manufactured world. It was, strangely, the same sentiment he had upon joining the military when he did. It wasn’t a fantasy world; there was a real war happening, and people could use his help in a real way, even as a non-Adept. But, he’d stuck with that. He’d stuck so hard he made a career out of a war. Lost his mind and got bits of it back in the same lifetime, and did the last part without magic.

He took her hands. Both of them, slipping them away from where they’d been to brush up against his face. So she could really feel him when he said what he had to.

”I’m gonna ask you what it is you think I’m supposed to say as a reply to that. I feel like if I say that you’ll never get torn down, I’ll just be setting you up for failure. Life is full of personal anguish that I’m not always going to be able to help you with…”

But the frown on his face was full of sadness and empathy. The only real responses that were appropriate as far as he was concerned.

”But, like… I would never purposefully do that to you, Trisha! I’m not here to hurt you! Even if we did break up, which would only happen under the most extenuating circumstances that I don’t even want to begin thinking about right now, there’s no way I would treat you with any less respect than I’ve given you already! Do you hear me!?”

“I- I know!” Trisha’s eyes went wide with panic and her fingers pressed into his face. He’d misunderstood. She didn’t think he’d hurt her. Not on purpose… Not when he hadn’t shown any signs. She’d been in enough relationships like that to know the red flags, even if she’d never heeded them. But he didn’t have those…

“I didn’t mean you- I know you wouldn’t, I really didn’t mean you would, i-its other people, not you… I’m sorry, I know you wouldn’t hurt me, I do, I- I-” She sucked in a deep breath, pushing through the sudden panic. She couldn’t just shut down… It was just that reactive fear, and desperation to make sure he understood she did hear him- and really knew he wouldn’t. Desperate honesty shone in her eyes as she looked at him.

“I wouldn’t… I’ve already told you more than I have anyone else. I know it’s not much, I know I’m going to keep failing, people will still pull me down but I also know you’d never do that… I really do. I… said that because I’m- I’m trying to explain why I find it so hard.”

Casey could only frown again. Frown, then try to comfort. He nodded, taking her in as close as he could for a moment before letting her back into a position in which they could look at one another. He didn’t make any kind of speech or try to lecture her further… He just wanted her to look at him. To see him, and to see the pain in his eyes…

So she could see that she wasn’t feeling it alone…

”If that’s how it is, then… I’m sorry. I guess I’m wrapped up in feeling selfish, even if this really doesn’t have anything to do with me. I hate that you hurt, and it’s worse when you do it all alone.”

His face got a bit closer to hers, rubbing his nose against hers slowly.

”I love you. And we’re gonna spend Thanksgiving together. And we’re gonna spend Christmas together. AND we’re gonna spend Trishmas together. Official Temple Holiday, December twenty-sixth.” he tried to be very sweet about the attention.

“As long as it’s only select Temple members invited,” Trisha replied softly, managing to smile at him. Her posture softened and she slowly calmed down. It was difficult to push down the guilt she felt from making him feel bad too. That was one of things she didn’t want… Even though she kept repeating the same actions that led to it.

“Maybe five or six for some of it, but mostly just the one.” She tilted her face downward so her forehead rested against his. Just taking in the warmth of her favourite person. Finally letting go of the tension under his comfort.
“My patient, loving boyfriend… Thank you for not giving up on me. I know you won’t…” Or she tried to, at least.
“I’ve never had the chance to try and… break my bad habits. It’s- it’s like what you said earlier. Practice, try, and learn… even if I f- stumble.”

He nodded, and gave her a much warmer and more living smile. Hearing her at least acknowledge that things were going to be okay was enough for him to prepare for the next fight. It was coming soon apparently…

”Even if you stumble. Because I’m here, and if you do stumble, I’ll catch you. And if we stumble, then… We’ve gotta trust the people we surround ourselves with. It’s the only way. And if they fail, well… Shit, y’know? Life’s like that. Shit.”

With her hands still in his, he rubbed his thumb across the backs of them slowly. There was a pattern, though Trisha may’ve not noticed; the Ohm, at least in some basic summation. White Lux channeled from his body into hers, resonating against the mark of Absolution. He knew exactly what it was at this point, having done a little more prodding.
Like a set of chimes in the wind, Trisha would be able to feel the warmth of a spring day. Like being in the bee sanctuary, there was a great comforting wave that washed it up and over them.

”Everything else could implode. You could take my arms, my legs, my tongue… If you’re here with me, I’ll scream my love for you with my eyes. I would defend you with my fucking teeth, and the gums if they knocked those out. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure you know that I’m yours… And I’m here for the ride.”

Trisha's fingers curled into his hands, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. There was love, warmth, softness in them but also that ever present anxiety and hesitation. She tried to not hide it even though all she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and have that moment last forever. She didn't know what he had to do so she'd know that. No, she knew, the problem was accepting it… Trusting it. And the problem wasn't with him. It was with her.

She didn't feel that she deserved it.
“You do need to lose anything like that for me to know… I hope you don't. I don't think I could handle you being in that much pain." She shook her head. Getting too caught up in the hypothetical. He wasn't literally going to lose all of his limbs and his tongue and his teeth. She really hoped not… she didn't like seeing him hurt just like he didn't her.

“I know that you are. I know, I just…" Her grip on his hand tightened.
“The worries don't just go away. Because it's… not…" you it's me. She couldn't say it. “I don't want you to think I don't know, or I don't believe you. Everytime you tell me… it helps. I promise, it does. It's just slow because…"

He was fighting against a lifetime of being unloved and abandoned.
“I’m not used to it." She was trying her best to be honest, even though it was like tearing the words out of her throat. But when he'd said something like that… when he made a declaration of his love like that… she was able to try to push through, even with her anxiety bubbling just underneath the surface.

All he could really do now was accept what she said at face value. There wasn’t any more comfort he could give her besides being this close… Besides just dealing with it. So he made sure he was still mostly filling her field of view, and he gave her the biggest and brightest smile he could possibly muster.
”Then, all we can do is be patient, right? I’ll keep showing you. I’ll be your harbor.” And now I’ll never be able to erode. I won’t fall into the sea. I need to keep you safe. I need to do it. I need to.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

---

Interactions: Elena @Qia
St Alexia’s Practice

---

Loni didn’t know enough about tea to get Elena’s joke about chamomile. Was it because it was too fancy? Or just didn’t seem like a flavour she’d like? Loni didn’t know, and she didn’t dwell on it. There wasn’t any point overthinking light teasing!

"I’ll trust your tea choice! I ain’t really the tea type at all,but ‘m sure you’ll fine somethin’ I like." Loni smiled at Elena, while comfortingly curling her hand around Luciana’s. She was glad Elena was willing to see her again. It was difficult to make friends in this city… and while Loni had met many people through her work and coven, it was nice to meet someone outside it. The more friends she had, the better!

And Elena had protected Luciana. Loni already felt a connection.

"Mhm, don’t worry, I’d never rush my baby girl. But she’s a real trooper… Ain’t sure where she got it from, not me." Loni let out a light laugh, her other hand running through Luciana’s curls. It was much easier now that her shoulder was nearly healed. ”She’ll get all the love in the world till she’s better."

Loni meant it completely. She looked down at her daughter with eyes filled with love. The toddler was everything to her… and even though Loni’s tone was light, there was a pain in her heart seeing Luciana still like this. It was only the Black Lux remaining apathy that let her hold it together…

But once she was done here, she could go to Sin Sisters. Luciana would calm down in a familiar place.

"Oh, oh, ‘course, if you gotta go… don’t lemme keep you." Loni was snapped out of it as she realised Elena was talking about leaving. While she didn’t like the idea of being left alone, even for a short while before she went elsewhere… she couldn’t exactly keep Elena. She’d already been nice enough to stay this long.

"Thanks again for stayin’ and all you did for Luciana… Just text me anytime, if I ain’t workin’ I’m around. I’d really like that… if you got in touch. Hmm, Mijita? You wanna see the nice lady again?" Loni shifted her body slightly, raising the little hand in her own as if waving at Elena. Luciana’s head tilted up slightly so her large watery eyes could peer up at her mother. She quickly hid her face against Loni again.

Loni only held her closer, looking over her head at Elena with a smile. "It don’t seem like it, but I think that’s a yes."

The Symphony: Modern Magic

---

13 Mourningdove Lane

"I had a date wi’ the lake’s sea serpent- and Eau de Dockwater is a must to attract 'em," Cailean didn’t seem bothered at all by Lena’s mocking joke, instead joking back with a grin. They stopped cradling the bust to straighten back up with the pie.

"Aye, well, looks like my da was right ‘bout never going anywhere empty handed." They didn’t get a chance to open up and offer the pie… because the man of the hour was finally there. The Archivist.

Of course he was an elf. Of course he was a fucking English prick. The moment his mouth opened and that grating posh English accent hit Cailean’s less pointed ears, they were irritated. It was more than that.

The way he held himself, that air of arrogance and condescending gaze, were a reminder of their inferiority. It was a look they’d first experience when their mum took them to the Western Isles and the Elvish Clan she’d been banished from. She’d hoped that after the years, and with a child in tow, they’d change their mind. At least, she’d wanted Cailean to meet their grandparents.

All that had met them was disdain.

Then, him. Not when they first met… but eventually. Eventually he’d looked at them like they were nothing.

Cailean met the Archivist’s disgusted look with a harsh glare. There was a visible change in the previously excited person, as they clenched their fists at their side and extended their body as tall as it got.

Which wasn’t very tall.

"Tha rop cac ort (You’re talking shite)," they muttered under their breath.

Arrogant bastard. Was it really just the lake water that made him look at them like that? Was that the sole reason for his comment? Or was it because of their ‘tainted’ half. The non-elvish side… It was probably that too. Elves like him tended to dislike any but full blood elves, and one that wasn’t even half-human?

They weren’t the only one that was unhappy. Questions came from all over and they were mostly harsh. Good.

They were annoyed, but not so annoyed they didn’t laugh at one woman calling him Santa. Now there

"Of course you’re fucking English! It’s the double asshole combo!" Cailean exclaimed, lips pulling back into a sneer. "Y’think cause you knew about this shit you’re above us all, huh? You ain’t the only one who read some fucking musty books on magic… "

Not that they’d actually read any. Their mum had. She’d told them about them sometimes, but it was all based in memory… the books her clan held and protected. Of course, it was all useless when it came to Cailean’s magic. Theory, really. Nothing useful.

But that didn’t matter, it was the principle of the thing. This fucking asshole acting like he was better than all of them.

"I second all of her questions," they pointed to Belladona. "I ain’t from around here, I ain’t even got an address… so either you’re a creep as fuck stalker or you’ve got creepy stalking magic. Either way… how do we know you ain’t just gonna take us down to your murder basement and slit our throats for some crazy ritual? Wait, you wouldn’t get your hands dirty- I bet you have some minions that’d slit our throats instead."

They then glanced over at Rowan. "Oh yeah, also what you need from us if it ain’t our bodies in a ritual sacrifice."

The Symphony: Modern Magic

---

13 Mourningdove Lane

The Archivist finally turned up, and he was an absolute fucking dick. Of course. No normal person would go around stalking people and sending out magical letters. But the fact he was acting like he was so much better than them was infuriating.

Old, old, soooo old!

Bea raised a hand to cover her mouth at the very accurate whispers of one of her new shadows.

”This is why nobody likes old elves.” While the comment was directed to Rowan, who’d unnecessarily covered for Bea’s mistake, she didn’t bother being quiet about it. If the old fucker heard it, he heard it. She quite frankly didn’t give a fuck.

Nor, it seemed, did Matt. The moment she got a whiff of sweet, sweet smoke in the air it was over for Bea. She started to get twitching, the urge to smoke clawing at her. It wasn’t something she could resist. Not when someone else was already doing it. She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket, rolling it between her fingers.

Bea patted Rowan on the shoulder in as close to a comforting gesture as they could give, before moving over to Matt in what was becoming the smokers’ corner. They lit their own cigarette and leaned against the wall next to him, taking a long drag.

”Y’know, smoking too much gives you cancer,” she intoned to the increasingly animal like man. There was no care or fear for the fact that he’d probably just admitted to killing someone and hiding the body… it wouldn’t be too much of a loss if his claws turned on her.

She smoked away as Mason also asked a few questions. All about magic and controlling it… Bea didn’t care about what caused it, but controlling it would be nice. Not that she’d be bringing that up herself. Her little talking shadows seemed far too like a hallucination. Especially when no one else could see them.

Glub glub glub glub-

That one was getting especially annoying.

”I got a question,” Bea spoke up when the other two were done. Nobody else jumped in immediately, so there was a chance for them to get in. ”What the fuck do you want from us? I want to know that before I go any further into this creepy house.”

The Symphony: Modern Magic

---

---

Twin Pines, 11:50

"For fucks sake, Da, I ain’t a kid! What d’you think’ll happen, I’ll walk in and get stabbed. This ain’t Glasgow!"

Cailean had made what they now realised was a mistake by calling their parents. They’d figured it’d be a good idea to let them know about the whole magic letter thing, but no, of course they were overreacting.

“You’re still my kid,” came his annoyingly reasonable response. “I don’t think you should go, Cailean. It could be dangerous. You don’t know who the sender of the letter is… so yes, I do think something could happen. You shouldn’t go.”

"C’mon… I’ve got magic. You’re the one who said I should go on an adventure. This is adventure."

“I told you to see the world. Not go to a small town and camp by the lake in hopes of seeing a sea serpent… which I hope you haven’t actually been doing.”

Cailean gulped. They weren’t technically camping, they had a room in a motel… but they had spent most of the day on the lake. Maybe taken a dip. Was maybe still a little damp from it. But there was no need to tell their dad about that. He was, after all, an overworrier. They’d figured calling would alleviate those worries.

"’Course not… just, I gotta know more about this magic shit. And whoever it was already sent me the letter!"

“It’s not safe. You can learn other ways… why don’t you come home, and we can help you with it? Then you don’t have to put yourself in danger. You know how much I worry about you…”

"Not this again… Da, I’m thirty-four, I can do it myself. Y’know what, put Ma on! I can’t take anymore of your nagging.“

There was some grumbling before the phone swapped hands.

“It ain’t smart, Cailean. I ain’t happy you got magic at all.”

Cailean let out a light huff, their mum of course agreeing with their dad. Like they did for everything… but Sìne could be convinced. Reo was much too cautious, hypocritically for someone who moved to the other side of the world and married an elf. But Sìne appreciated pushing boundaries for learning and academics.

"But I got it. Shouldn’t I learn how to use it? It’s like a whole new field of study- I could pioneer it!"

There was a chuckle on the other end. “That you tryna convince me to let you go?”

"Well, it ain’t like I need permission. Again, I’m fucking thirty-four! And in a different continent. I was just calling so y’guys knew."

“Mm, ‘course.” There was some more shuffling as the phone seemed to move a bit. “Y’know we can’t convince them when they’ve got their mind set on something.”

“But that doesn’t mean we should just say it’s alright, love,” Reo grumbled.

"I’m this close to just hanging up, Da!"

“Now don’t you dare hang up on us, y’here me?” Sìne said firmly. “Be careful. You dunno the people here, or who sent this letter. Anythin’ happens and you get out, alright?”

"Yeah, yeah, I’m no’ stupid."

“But you are reckless.”

"... Alright, I’ll be careful, Ma. Promise."

“Good.”

“Yes, be careful. Don’t do anything stupid… what are you bringing with you?” With his wife agreeing, Reo seemed to relax a little. Or at least, Cailean could tell he was less actively panicking.

"Uh, nothing? It’s a weird letter telling me to come to a creepy mansion."

“What did I always teach you? A halfling never…”

"... shows up empty handed," Cailean grumbled.

“Exactly. You have to bring something. It’ll make a good impression on whoever’s there.”

"You were just worrying about ‘em stabbing me!"

“I still am. But halfling hospitality is almost as important. I assume you don’t have the time or facilities to cook something?”

"No…"

“Then you’ll need to pick something up. Maybe… a pie would be a good idea. Americans love those, don’t they?”

"Fine, I’ll get a pie. There’s a diner… But I gotta go now otherwise Ima be late. Bye, love you!"

Cailean hung up before their dad could start listing off other halfling traditions. Fucking… did they really have to get a pie? Yes. Yes they did, otherwise they’d be shaming their heritage… Fuck!

Grumbling under their breath, they changed course. Now that had to walk to the diner then the creepy mansion.

---

13 Mourningdove Lane, After Midnight

Finally, everyone was given a reprieve from the flickering lights. Enough time to breath, see, and introduce themselves. No more annoying flickering, everyone must be there-

The door creaked open again, and the lights turned off. Then on.

STOMP, STOMP, STOMP, STOMP.

Clearly, there was another Goliath on the way. Or a monster. Or maybe it was the Archivist themselves, deciding to use the front door to subvert all expectations. This was going to be it. The big reveal. The stomping got louder and louder, until…

Anyone looking at the eye level of a normal human, or taller, would be disappointed. There was no one there.

But looking down, there they were. A few inches shy of five feet, Cailean held themselves with the confidence of someone much taller. Their long, dark hair fell in curls down their back. The front had been pulled back, with intricate braids joining the curls. Pointed ears poked out, adorned with multiple gold hoops. They wore a nice, light blue shirt tucked into slightly… damp slacks? A faint smell came off them. A warm apple, with something mustier underneath. There was a white carryout box under their arm.

The illusion shattered a bit for anyone looking further down. At least five inch platform boots were clearly the source of the loud stomping. It also meant they weren’t nearly five feet… they weren’t much over four.

The mysterious, almost graceful air they seemed to have shattered as they spotted Pom holding an open box of bright red goop.

"Oh shit, you broughta pie too? That’s so fucking sound!" The Glaswegian accent that spilled from their lips was distinct, but not so strong that it was difficult to understand. They bounced up to Pom, holding up the white box. "Glad I ain’t the only one that had the idea!"

As they got closer to Pom and Azure, the smell behind the apple pie in their hands got more… obvious. At least, anyone who’d lived in Twin Pines long enough would recognise the smell of someone who’d taken a dip in the lake. Their slightly damp hair and slacks only strengthened this theory.

"I hope ahm no too late- Got sidetracked! I’m Cailean- it ain’t spelt how it’s said, so don’ try- is that a fucking floating fireball?!" Cailean’s head jerked towards the ball of fire. Then, beyond it, they saw a tragedy. They ran over to the broken bust as quickly as their little legs could carry them. "Who did this t’you?!"

Their hands shook slightly as they tried to fix the marble bust, little pieces moving with them touching them.

Because magic. Of course, they weren’t very good at it yet, and couldn’t merge rocks together so they just clattered back to the ground. Cailean let out a sigh, wiping an imaginary tear from their eyes.

"Aw my poor wee man, rest in pieces."