FernStone

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Damn good job guys

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Henri Han

Mentions: Edict @AtomicEmperor
November 4th, 10:04am.
Linqian’s House

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It was just past ten in the morning when Linqian dragged herself home. After leaving Greyson’s she had to stop by Andre’s house, suffering some judgmental looks and words, to get the spare set of house keys left with him. She was more willing to go through that than to wake her brother up early in the morning, or risk him sleeping through it and being stuck outside for hours.

She was wearing more clothes borrowed from Greyson - including a hoodie many sizes too big, making it easier to cover up. Not that she was embarrassed about what had happened after the coven meeting, but she looked a mess in general. The hood was pulled up to cover hair pulled back into a tight bun, the only thing stopping it from being a frizzy mess. There were dark bags under her eyes and her skin was a slightly lighter, more ashen brown than normal.

Nothing she couldn’t cover up with makeup. At least the bruising across her face, after taking Vashti’s skull to it multiple times, was minimal… Durability enhancement was no joke, even if it was nowhere near what Aryin was capable of by herself.

She quietly opened the front door, slipping inside and making her way into the hall. With a yawn, she turned straight into the kitchen on her left.

”Morning, Jie.”

Shit! Linqian jumped, spinning around to see Henri sitting at the small table pushed into the corner, phone in his hand and smile far too bright for the time of day it was. Well, it was more of a smirk, as he continued.

”Where’d you get that hoodie, Jie? I’ve never seen it. Ohhh,” he grinned, waggling his eyebrows. ”Did you borrow it from whoever you stayed with last night?”

”What're you doing up so early?” Linqian completely ignored the question.

”It’s not that early,” Henri laughed. ”We said we'd talk, and I couldn't get back to sleep once I woke up thinking about it...”

Linqian felt a stab of guilt. After the chaos of yesterday, from nearly dying to seeing everything she wanted just out of reach, followed by the night with Britney and Greyson, she had forgotten. The worry she'd had over what he had to say had been replaced by the normal, constant fear that she wasn't going to be able to provide for him like Jinhai would have... That she might just be putting him in danger. She'd been so stuck in her own problems, about what couldn't be anymore, she hadn't thought about the one person she still had. Fuck, she was a terrible sister.

”Let me grab some breakfast, then we can talk. You eaten?”

”I had some cereal, but I won't say no if you're cook-”

”I'm just heating up some congee,” Linqian interrupted, holding up the small tupperware she'd gotten from the fridge. Things looked a bit bare in there, with only a couple of single portion meals she'd made earlier in the week left. At least there were plenty of vegetables she could use to make something that'd tide them over until her next day off.

It didn't take her long to get her breakfast ready, making herself some instant coffee at the same time. It was gross, but she wasn't going to waste money on the fancy stuff Jinhai used to buy when she didn't really care and Henri hardly drank the stuff. As she very efficiently ate, Henri was strangely silent. Concerningly so. It only increased the bundle of (nerves) in the pit of her stomach. What did he want to talk about? Was it that bad?

She finished, putting down her spoon and looking at Henri across the table. He caught her gaze and his dark eyes widened, smile slightly panicked. ”Go on, what is it.”

”I- well, you see, Jie...” Henri looked away, wringing his hands together in his lap. ”No, you won't believe me. But I think- I think I might be going crazy. I don't know who else to talk to...”

”Yi-er, what is it?” Linqian narrowed her eyes, chest clenching at the sudden panic displayed across her brother's expression. Had something bad happened? Had someone hurt him? Was someone messing with his mind- fuck, who was she going to have to kill.

”You'll think I'm a freak. I just- I kept it from you because I know you will! But I can't keep it in any longer. I... I...”

”Spit it out.”

”I think I have magic! I started seeing things that werent there before- people who claimed to be mom and dad, and other weird creatures! And I... I keep draining lights near me. I swear, it's real, I'm not a freak. I'm not, I don't know what's going on, Jie. I'm scared... is something wrong with me? Am I going mad, please believe me, Jiejie, I'm not making this up, I really-”

”Hey, hey, Didi, it's alright, listen to me,” Linqian said hurriedly. She quickly covered the distance between them, arms wrapping around Henri. One rubbed his back, the other rubbing the back of his head and gently pressed it into her shoulder. It was how she used to hug him when he was younger - except then she had to crouch down while he stood, and now he was the one sitting. When... Just when had he grown so much? ”Everythings going to be fine. It's okay. It's okay.”

”It's not ok! I'm seeing things and doing things I shouldn't be able to do. There's something wrong with me and-”

”There's not,” Linqian cut him off again. She pulled back and crouched down to be at eye level with him, taking his face in her hands. ”Listen, there's nothing wrong with you. I have it too.”

”You do?”

”Yes, those things you see? They're called apparitions - like ghosts. And you have magic. That's why you can see them all. It runs in the family. Mom and dad had, Jinhai and me too. I hoped that you... wouldn't.”

”Why? Why didn't you tell me?!”

”To protect you,” Linqian sighed. She'd really, truly, hoped that he would never kindle. ”The magical world is dangerous. I wanted to keep you away from it. We assumed that if you kindled- that's what happened when you saw mom and dad- we'd be there, or able to talk to you about it. I didn’t expect… it to be like this.”

In a way Linqian felt relieved. She hadn't wanted her brother to get involved in the magical scene at all - if she had her way he'd still be at university on the other side of the country, safe from it all. But he was here, where (there was a magical murderer close) and people who could magically mess with your mind closer. At least now that he'd kindled he had some kind of protection.

So long as he wasn't reckless about it.

”If you and Ge have magic… if it is magic, when did you get it? Were- were your friends magic too? The ones from ten years ago? Is that why you were always vague about what you were doing?”

Why did he have to be so fucking smart? Linqian went back to her seat, now that he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He’d been quick about it but… This was Henri they were talking about. He always bounced back from things like it was nothing.

”Yes. We were in a coven back then fighting something I’d rather not tell you about. It’s why we didn’t want you involved, because it’s dangerous. Some of my former covenmates are good people, some… not so much. I’d rather you not be around most of them.”

”Okay… what can you do, Jie? Show me!”

Linqian’s lips pulled up into a slight smile. She raised a hand and focused on heating just it up, until it glowed orange and heat could be felt radiating off it. ”Changing my own temperature, mainly. Jinhai could do a lot more. His main spell was turning himself into ice - but he could do the same for crystals, could control those elements, heal himself… he worked on it a lot more too.”

”Whoa, cool! So if I work on it I could do more?”

”If you work on it,” Linqian snorted. ”Show me what you can do now, then.”

Henri grinned. He flicked the switch to turn on the kitchen light before holding up a hand. The light was sucked out of the bulb, entering his body before coming out in his palm as a small ball. “Pretty neat, right?”

”Right. You definitely need to practice, because that’s useless.”

“Aw, Jie, can’t you be nice for once. Wait, that means you’re okay with me using magic?”

”Can I stop you?” Linqian rolled her eyes. ”You can, but there’s going to be some ground rules. One, don’t join any covens. In fact, don’t join any groups. At all. Don’t seek out people from my coven either, please. I might see if some can help you… but otherwise, they’re off limits. You can talk to Louis or Andre if you want - they’ve both got magic too.”

“They do? Was I the only one who didn’t know about magic?! That’s not fair!” Henri jokingly wailed, shit-eating grin on his face before he continued a bit more seriously. ”Will you help me, Jie? We have two types, right, so you’ll be the best to help?”

”I wish I could, but I don’t really have the time.” Linqian shook her head. She wished she did. She wouldn't be the best teacher anyway, after neglecting her own magic for years. ”I have a friend who’s Red and Green Lux too, they might be willing to help. Maybe I can help a little when I have time… Ah, actually, maybe I can help today since I don’t have work tonight.”

”Really? Jie, you’re the best! I’m so excited.” Henri jumped up, punching the air.

Linqian rolled her eyes, but there was a gentle smile on her lips and warmth in her eyes. Seeing him excited like this reminded her of what she was doing this all for. It was worth it, to keep him safe and happy. She could keep going for him.

”Would I lie to you?”

”You lied about having magic!”

”Not talking about something isn’t the same as lying. We’ll-”

Linqian was interrupted by her phone ringing. She looked down at it with a frown. Andre… what the fuck did he want? She’d been round at his not long ago.

”Sorry, Yi-er, it’s Andre.” Linqian sighed, picking up her phone and walking into the living room next door.

Henri watched her go, leaning in slightly to hear (not that Linqian made much of an effort to be quiet).

”What?”

Pause.

”Are you fucking with me? -I’ll use whatever language I fucking want with you. Last night you said I could take the day off.”

Another pause.

”I don’t give a fuck if it’s just Sophie, Brett and Darren. Why hire people you can’t trust? Fuck it being a Saturday night. I’ve barely slept.”

A longer pause. Henri heard Linqian kick the sofa.

”Extra pay, and you give me and Yi-er dinner for a couple of nights.”

The sounds of Linqian pacing ceased.

”Alright, I’ll work it. Yeah… yeah. What else did you want to talk about?”

As Linqian continued talking about less important things, Henri pulled out his phone and sent a quick text off to Edict.

Not long after Linqian came back into the kitchen, expression a lot worse than she’d left. A hand raised to her mouth to cover a yawn. ”Sorry, Yi-er, I have to go to work after all. I’ll try and help you later.”

”It’s alright, Jie!” Henri jumped up, hands going to Linqian’s shoulders and pushing her towards the hall and the stairs leading up to all the bedrooms. ”I’ll be fine training on my own… go get some rest!”

Linqian narrowed her eyes suspiciously, concerned about what he was up to… did he have some sort of plans he needed her out of the way for? But, she really was tired. If she went to sleep now she could get a few hours before she had to get up and ready. Properly washing her hair would take almost an hour with the state it was in… but she had the time for a quick nap. ”Alright, I’m going to sleep. But if you do anything while-”

”I won’t!” Henri interrupted, throwing a thumb towards his own bedroom as they went up the stairs. ”I’ll just be here gaming!”

Linqian didn’t have the energy to figure out if that was true or not. She gave a slight wave, went into her room, and immediately collapsed into bed.

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

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Act One-Four

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Casey and Trisha's Home

On Friday, Trisha actually got to lie in past 5am. One of the benefits of living together was that Casey could slip out when he woke up, and there were no bees living in the same room to disturb her. As much as half asleep Trisha was reluctant to let her very comfortable pillow go, she eventually got over it and replaced him with an actual pillow. She didn’t set an alarm, figuring she’d wake up naturally while it was still morning.

But a strange, increasingly loud buzzing interrupted her dreams. With a groan, she rolled over, feeling about for her phone. She propped herself on her elbows and squinted at it. It was just past 11:30, she hadn’t set an alarm, so what- shit.

Her phone displayed in annoyingly large writing ‘Incoming Call: Cass’

She fumbled for the answer button, rolling onto her back and holding her phone up to her ear. “What?”

”OH MY GOD TRISHA FINALLY! WE MESSAGED YOU LIKE HOURS AGO BUT YOU FUCKIN’ IGNORED US!“ Cass’s voice assaulted Trisha’s ear, so loud she had to hold her phone away from it. ”I was all for just turnin’ up to your gaff and just banging on your door but Reyna said we gotta phone you first, so, that’s what I’m doin’.”

“What?” Trisha repeated, mind slowly processing what the fuck Cass was saying, taking a moment to actually understand her accent and slang. ”You’re… coming to my place?”

”Yeah! We’re like, fifteen minutes out.”

Trisha shot up, suddenly very awake. ”From what place?”

”Y’know, the one Reyna visited before, fuckin’ posh ga-”

”I moved.”

”Nah, you’re kidding, fuck- Rey, she moved!” There was some mumbled talking in the background. ”The fuck you move to? It ain’t far is it, cause Reyna’s gonna lose her head if she’s gotta drive much longer.”

Trisha pressed a hand against her forehead, trying to push down the impending sense of doom. This wasn’t what she wanted to deal with right after waking up. ”It’s ten minutes away… I’ll text you the address. Text when you’re outside, it's… difficult to access.”

”Sweet! Oh- you’re new boyfriend better be there, even if he has to absolutely leg it to arrive before us.”

”He’s already- whatever. I don’t have time, bye.”

Trisha very unceremoniously hung up, staring at her phone for a few minutes just processing what the fuck had just happened. Then, she sent them the new address, and then… the panic set in. She had maybe twenty minutes to get ready. That included getting dressed, doing her hair, makeup- letting Casey know. Shit.

Alright, calm down, before the bees get added to the situation- She took a deep breath and jumped out of bed, scurrying over to the wardrobe in their room. It wasn’t big enough to hold all of her clothes, so she’d just unpacked a few things which… made it easier to choose. She pulled off the t-shirt and shorts she’d worn to sleep, throwing them on the bed. There was no time to take ages choosing like normal, so she went with something easy, quickly getting dressed in a black dress with a tight fitting, off the shoulders bodice and a looser skirt that fell midway down her thighs. It didn't do anything to cover the mottled blues and purples across her upper body - but if she wore a turtleneck she'd just get more questions with how her friends were…

Trisha spun around on her heel, clattering down the stairs, almost tripping over her own feet at the bottom.
“Casey! Caseeeyyyyy!” She had no idea where he’d be so she shouted… she really hoped he was still in the house, otherwise she’d be running all around trying to find him. “I- my- fuck, I forgot to find out when my friends were getting here and they’re almost here!”

There was no response, making her really feel like she’d wasted her breath by explaining the situation to an empty house. It was fine. He was either outside, or downstairs. Or out… but if he was out it was fine, she’d just deal with a bit of shit from her friends, that was all. She took another deep breath, forcing herself to at least appear calm. It was fine. She could handle this - or at least pretend to.

As soon as she stepped outside, about thirty bees descended on her. Their confused pheromones bombarded her as they mostly landed in her hair and on her shoulders. They’d obviously felt her intermittent panic, and gone between coming to her and not as she jumped between freaking out and calm.
“All good,” she said softly, letting out a soothing scent. Satisfied in her safety, most of the bees buzzed away back to their new paradise, leaving her with just a few burrowed in dark, messy waves of hair.

There was no sign of Casey on the roof, and she couldn’t hear anything, so that meant downstairs. She rushed over to the door leading off the roof, not even bothering with shoes - socked feet pattering down the stairs and into the corridors of apartments below.

There were a lot of apartments he could be in. Biting her lip, Trisha started to walk down, ears straining for any sounds of life. Thankfully she didn’t have to get far, the muffled sounds of something coming from the apartment closest to them. She pushed open the door to that black metal box. Had he registered her with it yet? Could she just put her hand against the wall to get in? But if he was in there doing something… now inside here it sounded like bangs - hammering or gunshots maybe… wouldn’t she disturb him if she just went in. It wasn’t that important, was it? She could go down by herself. Better than disturbing him doing something important.

“Casey?” she called out towards the wall she was pretty sure had the door in it, loud enough it should be heard if it wasn’t too soundproofed, raising a fist to tap on it. If he didn’t hear she’d just… go back up and get ready, then figure things out.

Inside, behind the second door, the indoor range was alight with gunfire as Casey put round after round into the randomly appearing targets. Modern ear protection was something of a magic in its own right, hardly needing to be adjusted for a range like this despite the tight quarters.
Each shot was a dull thud in his ears, the electronic components of the earphones adjusting the amount of dampening to meet different needs. The shots were dull thuds in comparison to the notification on the wallboard that someone was looking to come into The Box.

He immediately ejected the magazine and cleared the chamber of the rifle, laying it all down and pulling his headset off before making it to the door. He didn’t open it, but he did slide the eye slot open. Trisha wouldn’t be able to see the wide golden retriever grin form on his face, but she certainly would be able to see his eyes narrow at her.

”Ooooh, whaaaaats the password, Miss?” he tried his best to sound aloof.

Trisha narrowed her eyes back at him, but it was less of a cheerful narrow and much more of a tired one. As much as she would really love to have time to play some back and forth, her internal clock was ticking down. She'd much rather spend what little time she didn't need to use on some much needed morning hugs.
“Casseyyy," she whined, pouting rather cutely. “Good morning, please come out, I forgot to set an alarm and my friends are twenty minutes away?"

Casey frowned, mostly because he didn’t realize things were going to be quite that rushed. Immediately, the door opened and he was standing there, more or less in the same shorts and shirt he went to bed in.
Seeing his face, he had a slight but playful frown.
”Oh, man… Sorry Babe. You want me to go get showered and stuff?” he asked her pretty plainly.
”It’ll be an Army shower with that much time, but I’ve gotta put my stuff here away.”

His torso bent down, planting a kiss on her forehead before he spun and made way for his gun and the other things he was using.

“Yeah, if that's alright," Trisha half smiled, rubbing the back of her neck and unable to hold back a yawn. “It’s on me for not checking when they'd get here yesterday so… don't worry about it too much. I can always tell them to go wait somewhere."

Just admitting the blame in such a simple way made her feel uncomfortable, like nails were scratching at her chest. It wasn't how she'd planned things to go… she hadn't expected them to be here till at least midday. Why was today of all days the one that Cass had been successfully dragged out of bed early?
“I’m going to go back upstairs and finish getting ready… I'll see you up there."

She backed out of the room with a smile which quickly fell when she was out of his sight. The journey back up was just as quick, not quite jogging to avoid breaking into any kind of sweat. She wanted a shower too but she just didn't have time. She nipped into the bathroom to grab all of her stuff - makeup, hairbrush, and a small mirror she was glad she'd had the foresight to bring along. She was used to having her own bathroom, so sharing one was yet another adjustment that she really wasn't used to after only one day. She took it all to the counter in the main room, setting up a little station. Her phone was placed unlocked beside her, group chat open, ignoring the unimportant messages as she shooed away her bees and started to properly brush out her hair.

It only took Casey a few minutes to get his stuff situated. Assuming she was going to be using the shower upstairs, he opted to use the one that was still intact in their office. Furio was there, working as usual.
”Chief…”
”Boss…”
Casey threw his hands up.
”Woah, woah. Let’s not go throwing out crazy titles or expectations here.”

They both laughed, and Furio swung around in his chair.
”What’d she want?”
”She’s got some friends coming, just gonna shower.” Casey explained in the lightest way possible.
Furio’s head nodded along, and he smiled.
”They comin’ here?” he asked.

Casey was impacted by the question, and it left him stunned for a few moments.
”She… Said they were twenty minutes away? I assume yes.”
”Alright! I’ll expect visitors.”
”I’m pretty sure she said some of them are Blind, so…”
”Some? Is one a Sycamore? Any?”

Casey did his best to recall what she’d said, but some time after the wine and the crying, it was all a haze.
”Gonna go ahead and say that I’m ninety-nine percent sure no.” he offered, figuring that was going to be enough. Furio cleared his throat.
”Y’know, protocol is usually a lot tighter than what you’re giving me right now.”
Furio’s gaze turned downward, expectantly staring at Casey. He took a deep breath in turn.
”Y-yeah, Uncle, I know. I’ll be five minutes in the shower, run up and ask her, and then-”

Furio dusted his hands off, pushing back in the chair and standing.
”Take your shower. Do your thing. I’ll go up, ask, and grab you some clothes so you can be nice and fresh for your little second housewarming.”
”Oh, I don’t know if they’re even gonna come up, Uncle Furio! D-don’t worry about it, I-”
Furio put his hands up.
”Shut up! Please! I’m doing you a favor so I don’t have to see you traipsing around my fuckin’ office during my last days of being the boss like you’re in a nudist colony!”

Casey grimaced, hand flicking up for his watch.
”Fine, man, fine. Whatever, I’m wasting time as it is with this. But if she gets pissy with me because you’re prodding, I’m gonna rip your shit apart.”
”Rip my balls you precious angel you.”

Casey stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Furio stared for a final moment before seeing himself out and upstairs. Not bothering to ring, he simply invited himself onto the roof and up to the front door. He didn’t hesitate to swing it open, though he didn’t quite enter so much as drape himself in.

”Heyyy, Trisha!? It’s Furiooooo. Mind if I come in real quick sweetheart? Casey’s showering downstairs, asked me to get him some clothes!” he called in through the open door.

When the door opened Trisha had assumed it was Casey, so panic shot through her when it was a voice that wasn't. She twisted around in her seat and the few bees with her automatically reacted, shooting towards Furio. Thankfully she was awake enough to properly react, instantly telling them to stop. Five bees screeched to a halt halfway to Furio, before reluctantly buzzing back to Trisha and landing on her shoulders.
“... Uh, hi, sure, come on in," Trisha said, expression relaxing back down to some more neutral than caught out. She was in the process of twisting her thick, wavy hair into a proper bun at the bottom of her neck, both hands taken up with it. “His clothes are up in the loft… just don't mind the mess up there."

”Oh, it ain’t a mess. You guys just moved in, a mess is expected anyway.”
Furio wasted no time making his way through and up, but he spoke to her through the open floor plan.
”Casey said you guys have friends coming? Anyone from Sycamore I should roll out the carpet for?” he asked so casually.

Trisha laughed, as if he was telling some kind of hilarious joke. There was a bitterness to it, her eyes darting over to the stairs up to the loft before moving back to the mirror in front of her.
“The only Sycamore members I'm on speaking terms with are too rich to come round to my place, or Leon as of last night. They're university friends, unrelated. None are even from around here."

She paused, finishing tying her hair back. If Furio was here… she hadn't even really thought about the whole security thing they had downstairs. She hadn't actually planned to invite her friends round in the first place until they'd surprised her with practically being there, meaning she didn't have time to plan anything else. It wasn't exactly a situation she wanted to bring them into.
“They don't have to come up if there'll be a problem going through downstairs. Things Blinds shouldn't see… or maybe the other way around?" She also spoke very casually, not signs in her voice that she was annoyed about it.

”Well I imagine they’ll ask questions. You and Casey get a story straight?” he asked back, starting to rummage through clothes. He found most of them were hers, and he’d only brought a backpack up from downstairs for now. Lazy fucker. So he simply picked it up and started back down the stairs.
”No need to worry about anything really, not like they won’t just see closed apartment doors. I guess, if you know whose driving, you can give me their names and I’ll make sure they can get into the side lot. I figure Norm’ll be fine, he’s got nice clothes on today.”

“I’ve got a story straight, I just haven't discussed it with him. I'm sure he'll go along with it," Trisha shrugged one shoulder. It shouldn't be hard, she'd just tell them he had some kind of security job, and keep them moving through that floor. She was used to fielding and ignoring annoying questions from them.
“The one who's driving is called Reyna- she's the only one with magic. She can read auras, so she'll know Norm's magic too if she sees him, if that'll be a problem."

”Well, I mean… Can she read auras well? It don’t take a skilled White Adept to know this place is engaged as it were. I mean I hope she’ll have enough sense to not bring it up to your Blind friends, but she’s gonna ask you some extra questions.”
Furio wasn’t supposed to be pressed, and he certainly wasn’t acting like he was… But know he was going to need to know a whole lot more about this Reyna person than he wanted to find out. He tapped his foot anxiously.

”I mean… If I wasn’t…” he cleared his throat.
”Uh… It’s Casey’s show now, right? So, I’ll… Be an adult and let you guys handle it. But, I would be leery of your friend. Will be. We can’t know who wants to hurt you or Leon or any of us. But, I’ll stay in my office and I’ll trust you both, and I’m sorry that I’m a grumpy ol’ man like that.”

“If Reyna was going to hurt me, she would've done it four years ago," Trisha said, tone slightly cold. She understood, but also didn't like her friend being questioned like that. Just because she was white lux didn't mean she was some invasive asshole like the temple was used to.
“As far as I'm aware she's a fairly skilled adept, but she's also good person. She's only ever used it on me for an impromptu therapy session- " maybe a bit more information than she needed to give out there. “ So yes, trust Casey's trust in me. I'll answer any questions without giving away anything about the Temple, don't worry."

Furio really wanted to say more. He almost couldn’t help himself.
”More just, we don’t know who could be controlled by forces beyond our understanding. You remember the Snake: It would be in your mind one second, next you wake up somewhere you never wanted to be. It ain’t her fault, ain’t anyone’s fault and it’s got nothin’ to do with what she knows or doesn’t know about the Temple.”

He shrugged his shoulders.
”I’m… Very sorry. Seen a lot in this business, and it’s paid to be a paranoid fuck. I hope you and Casey can find a better balance than that… I think our organization needs it just as much as you both deserve it. Capice?” he asked as sincerely as he could.

“Yeah, I understand," Trisha waved her now free hand, as if it didn't really bother her at all. It did, but she did also get it. It wasn't like she was out here trusting many people - or anyone fully. It was just a different kind of trust. She wasn't worried about magical threats to an organisation that already spied on her…
“I’ll balance him out if he starts getting that paranoid about people."

It wasn't so much meant to be a dig at Furio, just a statement of truth. That kind of paranoia and lack of trust would eventually turn on her, who was technically also an outsider to the Temple. She didn't want that.
“But I do get it. I might not be on the same level, but I'm more cautious than you'd think, since I do remember the snake." She did a pretty good job of keeping her tone even, as if just the mention of it being in her mind put her on edge in a way she didn't really understand. It hadn't quite happened like that, but there were patches she didn't remember from back then. It always had its ways of getting in. It was a specific bit she didn't like to remember. Couldn't, really.

“You better get those clothes to Casey before he traipses up here in a towel," Trisha smiled as if she wasn't not so subtly trying to get him to leave. “Oh, sorry in advance for how annoyingly loud one of my friends is, I'll try get her past the apartments as quickly as possible."

”Got it, no worries. We’ll keep it down ourselves.”
With that, he was off. Another ten minutes went by before Casey made his way up freshly dressed. He’d actually worn the clothes Furio brought only long enough to get back into Leon’s apartment so he could grab something nicer to wear for Trisha’s friends. He dressed as uncomfortable as possible, assuming that they’d be pretty preppy.

Jeans, a white collared tennis shirt, square toed shoes. He had his half-wet hair pulled and tied courtesy of his Uncle, and the nice watch that Leon had gotten him when the war ended.
He walked into the house smelling like cologne.
”Hello my Baby, hello my honeeeeeyyyyy…” he sung into the place.
”We’ve got Norm waitin’ for your friends downstairs Trisha Bee, so he’ll bring ‘em up.”

He swaggered about, looking for her.
”Anything you wanted me to get done?”

“Uhhh- m'dunno," there was very mumbled response from the bathroom, followed by the sound of the sink running. She popped out, beelining for Casey with a small trail of bees behind her. She stopped just in front of him, holding her arms out to the side and swaying her hips slightly to swish the layered skirt.
“How do I look? I had to rush, I didn't have much time to choose what to wear."

The black dress was different from what she'd worn around him so far - namely the more comfortable crop or tank top and baggy pants combination she tended to favour. It had a lower cut, strapless bodice with short off the shoulder sleeves that were pulled in tight at the top but loose towards her elbows. The skirt fell about mid thigh, loose enough to have some movement to it but not too voluminous. It was the kind of dress that could work in a variety of settings - for both a nice day out, going to a bar, even to go clubbing. She'd done a bit more with her makeup, too - darker, more purplish eyeshadows, simple eyeliner, and soft pink lips. Still relatively simple, since she hadn't had much time. She'd swapped out the simple hoop on her front lobe piercing to be a longer one, a twisted loop that swayed a bit with her movements, and the other two were now just simple studs.

She stopped swaying and reached out for his hands, squeezing them. The bees meandered past her towards him then paused, floating confused in front of him, and going right back to her.
“You don't smell enough like me anymore, they're confused- I like it. The cologne."

Casey smiled at her, looking her up and down. He was glad he ended up dressing up a bit similar, the idea of pairs and things matching making him feel satisfaction.
”I think you look fantastic, Babe.” he grinned. His hands reached out for hers, and he pressed forward to kiss her for a moment. He didn’t automatically go for tongue, but it was on his mind. How could it not be?

”And I’m glad you think I smell good. It was in a box of my stuff from before I joined Basic. Been sitting in my room, barely had the chance to use it.”
He did feel like he was missing something, however, so he made way for the hoodie he’d left on the rack when they were done moving yesterday.
”When I woke up this morning, I was looking out at the same moon we fell asleep looking at. I really hate the Winter. he chuckled.

“You know if you sleep in past five the sun's up?" Trisha teased, smiling brightly at him. It'd been a stressful morning, what with barely having a morning at all after waking up, but it was fine. She had him with her and she did like spending time with her friends… as much as she wished she'd had a couple of hours warning.
“But summer is nicer… long days, not having to worry about getting cold. I'm looking forward to spending our first summer together next year."

She really hoped they made it to then. Her lips parted to say something else, but her phone buzzed on the counter, distracting her. She unlocked it with her thumb and squinted down at it.
“Uh, they're basically outside- that wasn't twenty minutes was it? Shouldn't have trusted Cass' estimations… it's fine…" her voice lowered into a mutter at the end of what she was saying. Her fingers flew across the screen as she sent a quick response letting them know where they could park and that someone would get them. She then locked it, moving back to Casey's side.

“Ready? They're really all fine, just a bit loud sometimes…" She spoke quickly, as if they were about to enter some insane battle and she only had seconds to give him the battle plan. “I’m just going to say you have a live in security job if they ask- oh, Reyna will know you're magic right away, but she won't say anything. She really doesn't pry much, just the basic stuff like that and surfaces emotions- anyway, let's go outside?"

Casey calmly nodded, chuckling about Trisha’s explanation of their story. He was happy enough to hear about it, but he wondered if they’d been told whether or not it was very recent.
”Oh yeah, but I mean like… Yeah, alright. I figured maybe we’d just wait in here but we’ll go get ‘em out there.”

Taking a few steps forward, he swung the door open and held it for Trisha.

“There’s less things that can be knocked over out on the roof," Trisha commented somewhat ominously, smiling at him. She paused in the door, stretching up to press a kiss to his cheek.
“Thanks, babe, I know it's a lot."

They barely got a few steps out of the house before there was the sound of thudding footsteps, as if an elephant was sprinting to get onto their roof. The door was going open, and a woman of average height barreled out. She had short, curly hair with blue tips and was dressed extremely casually - a baggy black hoodie with dark, ripped jeans with all sorts of chains hanging off the belt. Her light brown eyes immediately found Trisha, already massive grin growing even wider.

"TRISHHHAAAAA!" She shouted loudly enough that she could definitely be heard downstairs. She charged towards Trisha, leaping at her in some sort of flying hug. Her arms and legs wrapped around the slightly smaller woman, sending them both crashing towards the ground. On the way down Cass twisted with a nearly inhuman speed, so that she landed on her back with Trisha safely protected.

If Casey looked close enough, he'd noticed cheetah like spots receding as quickly as they appeared from Cass' hands and ankles.

“Let go-"

”I ain't fuckin' letting you go, it's been a fuckin' age! Like monthhhhsss!" It was obvious as soon as Cass opened her mouth that she was one of the British friends Trisha had mentioned, with a rougher northern English accent.

"Come on, Cass, let her up."
Through the still open door came another woman, with two more people close behind. She spoke with an accent that made it obvious English wasn't her first language, a distinct, drawn out Latin American accent to it. Dark, kinky hair was pushed back behind her ear and her dark eyes moved from the two on the floor to Casey, lips pulling up into a calm smile. She pulled her denim jacket close around her.

Right behind her was taller, slender woman - dressed the nicest of the three, in a halter neck burgundy dress with a short, black wool jacket and a myriad of delicate, gold accessories. Her makeup was obvious but well done, painted red lips pulled into a thin line. Last was the one guy of the group, just a bit taller than her, coming out with a laughing grin. He carried about three bags, and had a rucksack on, swinging one up with a sweater covered arm.
"We brought brunch! Or lunch, whatever!" Also clearly British, but with a smoother accent closer to the stereotype.

Cass finally let go of Trisha and helped her to her feet with a laugh. Trisha rolled her eyes, immediately going to slot in at Casey's side.

And so all eyes moved to him.

Cass looked him all over before getting in real close for a better look.
"Whooooaaa, so Mr tall, dark and handsome is your boyfriend? I ain't saying it's suspicious but you bring us to your fancy as fuck gaff and pull out a dead handsome man, but you sure you ain't-"

"Give the man some space, come on," Sal had reached them, grabbing Cass by the back of the collar and dragging her back so she wasn't practically pushing into Casey's space. He dumped her a bit away along with the bags and went in for a hug with Trisha… lifting her well off the ground and spinning her around.
"Trissshhaaa, I've been excited to see you for months!"

"You only invited yourself along a few weeks ago," Nadiyah, the only one who hadn't talked yet, commented snidely. She glanced up and down Casey with a raised eyebrow and cold expression. Of the four, her look was the most judgemental. "It is nice to see you again, Trisha."

"Well I'm always in a state of excitement to see my friends," Sal laughed, putting Trisha down and stepping away. "Well, introduce us to this incredibly handsome man, Trish."

“Back off. You’ve got a mouth, don't you, introduce yourself," Trisha shot back.
Sal held up his hands and laughed.

"Gladly!" Cass pushed back around Sal, holding out a hand towards Casey. "I'm Cass, which rhymes with ass!"
They all groaned.

"Nadiyah," the tallest woman said, without a hand held out to shake or a smile.

"I’m Salvador but you, handsome, can call me Sal," Sal lowered his voice until it was silky smooth, leaning in towards Casey with a wink and a smirk. Trisha’s hand immediately flew up to slap his chin. It wasn’t a hard hit at all and he chuckled, completely unphased and unmoving.

"Don’t joke around too much, Sal… It’s been too long, Trisha, I thought that you maybe were avoiding me." Reyna smiled and moved past the other three to Trisha’s side, pulling her in for a normal hug. Trisha half returned it, grumbling something about being busy. It wasn’t like she’d been avoiding visiting Reyna, it was just a lot of effort to go to Portland and it always ended up being a therapy session forced on her that she didn’t want. Well maybe she had been avoiding her a bit.
"Reyna, and it’s a pleasure to meet you," Reyna stepped back and turned around towards Casey, also holding out her hand.

Casey was happy to observe, to be someone on the sideline of Trisha's interactions. Cursory. But they were, obviously, expected to focus in on him at some point. He wasn't intimidated by their closeness, nor was he worried about whether or not he could make friends. His main concern was simply not saying something stupid.

Though, he couldn't help swooning when Trisha got barky. What she said to Sal made him grin ear to ear, and Cass’ introduction was more than he could ask for as an ice breaker. From his personal perception, the only one who didn't seem thrilled to be here was Nadiyah. He felt the side eye, but with underdeveloped White Lux, he wasn't going to try and gleam anything from her Blind psyche.

Attempt to impress, expect to misstep.
Casey's hand quickly struck out to mine away the wall of hands.
”Casey Richoux, Casey Richoux. Nice to meet you guys; I haven't heard this many British accents since we stopped off in Scapa Flow for a refuel at the end of the War.” he grinned, shaking hands lightly.

With Reyna specifically, he gave a grin and a nod, bumping against her Emotional Field with his own vestigial White Lux in as friendly of a manner as he could.

”You guys just studying here? Or is it permanent residency?”

There was a slight shift when Casey mentioned the war. Not much, but both Sal and Reyna look at Cass with some amount of concern. The woman herself didn't seem bothered, however, still grinning brightly.
"Permanent! Well… that's the aim, y'know how hard it is to get a green card, and I ain't gonna shack up with someone just for that," she chatted away. "Well, dunno about Sal, he fucked off to Spain for a year back when we graduated."

"I just couldn't bear the separation from you lot," Sal said dramatically, with a laugh.

”Sure you couldn't… It is nice to meet you, Casey," Reyna smiled. There wasn't quite a message against his emotional field, but the like tap that came back was a clearly friendly gesture. "Trisha never seems to want us to meet her partners…"

“Cause you all start asking unnecessary questions and making annoying comments," Trisha rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she'd purposefully kept them from her friends. Right now they don't exactly all live nearby, and back when they were studying… Well, very little lasted long enough.

"Aw, Trish, we ain't that bad!" Cass laughed, leaning on Nadiyah, who just gave her a cool glare but didn't say anything. "Soooo… you fought in the war, Casey? Shit, thanks, sure you get that shit a lot but we lived through all the fuckin' bombing."

Casey laughed at their interactions, listening to Reyna as she mentioned Trisha’s other partners. Obviously, he knew that he was clearly the best. She hadn’t moved in with any of the others. Cass asked about the war almost instantly, which was expected. He mentioned it, and he had fond memories of the short time he spent in that cold, Scottish port.
”Oh yeah, the Blitz and the Lockdown. I appreciate your thanks, though… Thank you for, I guess keeping your spirits up? Did you guys have any civil duties?” he asked back, just trying to make some casual conversation about a nightmare.

"Nah, well, just the usual, growin' food and shit. We were like, teens when shit was real bad, then came over here," Cass shrugged. "My brothers were drafted, though! They were like a fair few years older than me so there was no escapin' it. Sal here managed to dodge the bullet- literally, heh."
"You're making it sound like I draft dodged or something," Sal snorted, reaching over to ruffle Cass' hair. She slapped his hand away playfully.

Trisha's expression tightened slightly. This wasn't a conversation she wanted them to continue on, and she was surprised that Cass was choosing to continue it. She glanced over at Reyna, who gave a slight nod.

"Let's continue this inside, it's cold out here. You British two might be used to it, but I still haven't adjusted to this weather," Reyna said calmly, with a relaxed smile. "More importantly, the food will get cold."

"Oh yeah, shitttt, I ain't fuckin' eating cold pasta, fuck that shit!" Cass shot over to one of the bags Sal had dumped. He also bent down for the other two, which looked particularly square shaped. ”Let us innnnn."

“Nobody’s keeping you out," Trisha rolled her eyes. She then reached out for Casey's hand, fingers threading through his. “Do you want to do the honours of showing them the place?"
Not that there was much to it.

”Whatever you say is my pleasure.” Casey smiled back down at Trisha, taking her hand in his and pulling it up to kiss it before he spun on his heels.
”And may I say, as a life long resident of St. Portwell, welcome. We’re happy to have you. I don’t know if my associate Norm gave you guys the rundown when you got here, but this is the Cannery Apartment building. Kind of a historic building in the town, been here almost the entire time. But, our house-”

Casey swung his arms up to their house built atop the building.

”Is like… Twenty? Years old? Originally, the landlord built it because his wife wanted a house instead of living in the apartments, but he didn’t want to live too far from the building. They compromised, and now I’m acting Landlord. Family business!” he smiled. Taking Trisha’s hand back, he walked them both forward to the door and swung it open for everyone.

”C’mon in! Pile in, it's warm and comfy.”

Trisha smiled up at Casey as he explained. It was a pretty good one, managing to avoid mentioning anything that pointed towards a magical cult. It was a better one that she would have given, for sure.

"Whooooaaa," Cass was the first one through, striding right in and looking around the place. "Hey, this place is fuckin' sound. Shit, I was absolutely dreadin' sitting in your fancy fuckin' place after Rey described how white it was… this is awesome! Like, dead homely."

"Sure is… where's my landlord boyfriend to give me somewhere like this?" Sal laughed, as the other three followed Cass in. Those two completely glossed over the whole our house thing, and Sal raised one of the bags. "Where do you want this?"

Trisha pointed towards the large countertop.
“He isn't here, this one's mine."
"Aw, Trish, you really think I'd try steal him- is there a chance?" Sal joked, winking at Casey again.
“Only if you have a death wish," Trisha shot back.

"It is nice, but," Reyna fixed Trisha with a look she knew meant some kind of prying, and a possible lecture, was coming? "What does he mean by our house?"
"I would like to know that too," Nadiyah added.

“It means exactly what it says, we're living here together," Trisha said as nonchalantly as she could, grip on Casey's hand tightening a bit. She wasn't… super bothered about if they thought it was a bad idea. Just a bit scared of the disapproval Reyna and Nadiyah might show.

They both stared at her.
"You moved in together… after a couple of days?" Reyna asked slowly, still looking calm, but Trisha had known her long enough to read the shock behind it. "That seems…"
"Stupid," Nadiyah said bluntly.

“Don’t start, Diyah," Trisha said, glancing up at Casey and then at her friend. She really… really didn't want Nadiyah to start going off about things she really didn't want to hear.

Nadiyah, thankfully, recognised the look… and decided to start ripping into her in a language Casey (hopefully) wouldn't understand, switching to Arabic. "Are you stupid, Trisha? How long have you known him?"

“Just trust my judgement, please," Trisha snapped back, words much more stilted than Nadiyah's, more following the modern standard than the Libyan dialect Nadiyah spoke in. She… was nowhere near fluent in a language she'd essentially picked up from short visits to her mom and then brute force learning to have discussions with Nadiyah that no one else could understand.

"Why would I? You have terrible taste. You get yourself into situations where you're stuck, and then you get hurt. But this… this is a new level."

“I'm not stuck- and it's not the same. It's…" she waved her hand trying to describe how it wasn't the same. It just wasn't. Casey wasn't the same as the other people she'd dated, apart from maybe Reyna. It had started differently. “He's not like them. He treats me well."

"Oh, right, because nobody can ever fake that. Remember, who was it… you dated someone who seemed nice, acted nice, and then after a few weeks of monopolising all your time, he changed and hurt you really badly."

Casey had been listening the entire time, but really didn’t want to disrespect the situation. Trisha couldn’t know how closely he’d worked with the locals, nor could she know how long he actually spent in North Africa. But the language was easy to him, and he found himself gripping tighter to Trisha’s hand.

”I really hate to disturb your personal discussion. I think it’s great you’re looking out for her too, Nadiyah. That’s great.”
His voice hung in the air as the eyes peeled up and looked at him as a singular unit. Arabic, just like they were using.
”But if I know what you’re saying, it’s hard to argue without me hearing. So… Maybe just give me a shot?” he finished in English.
”Unless we want to swap to a different language. I’ve got French and Spanish in the back pocket.”
Casey grinned a slightly evil grin, his eyebrows rising as he nodded at Sal.

Nadiyah's eyebrows raised, and Trisha's head snapped up towards Casey. She was glad he'd interrupted when he did rather than just listening until it got into things she wasn't comfortable being open with yet.

"Ooo, yeah, let's switch to Spanish," Sal grinned.
"That would be easier for me," Reyna added with a smile. She reached up to put a hand on Nadiyah's shoulder, rubbing it. "It is unfair I never get to speak my first language… ah, well, let's give him a chance, alright, Diyah?"

"Alright, I suppose I jumped to conclusions," Nadiyah said evenly. Throughout the conversation her expression hadn't changed very much, only narrowed eyes as she got more verbally aggressive that relaxed now. "I'll give you a chance."

“Since when was it-"
"Oohhhh Diyah stop acting like such a stuck up ass, we all know you're soft as fuck inside!" Cass interrupted, leaping over at Nadiyah's other side and hooking an arm around her neck, forcing her to bend over. "Unless you're just jealous cause Trisha got such a smokin’ hot boyfriend!"
Nadiyah rolled her eyes at Cass. "You know I have no interest in that."
"Well just picture a smokin' hot woman then!"

”Hey, before we get too into this, let's eat, I'm starved," Sal said. He'd pulled out a whole bunch from the boxes along with Cass while they were talking, laying it out across the counter. There were big pizza boxes and smaller tubs of what looked like pasta. "We went to an Italian on the way over… we didn't know what you'd like, Casey, so we just got a whole lot."
”Yeah cause someone wasn't answering our messages."

Trisha ignored Cass's dig. She was still a bit visibly wound up, grip on Casey's hand not loosening, but she took a deep breath. She'd expected this.
“Let’s have something to eat," she leaned up towards him, speaking softly. “You’ll need the energy… they're not that bad, just nosey."

Casey was at least happy about the fact that Nadiyah conceded the point. It was a bit more frustrating that Trisha hadn’t put out the fire earlier. He found himself lingering on it as something he’d find a reason to bring up later. No problem; couldn’t be. So it was annoying? Everything else was too.

”Hey, me and food have a weird relationship. Though, I’m not a big pizza guy. It kind of, well… What kind of pasta did we get here?”
He wasn’t above tucking into simple food, finding himself hoping for some sort of scampi or alfredo that didn’t look like someone’s head-mashings. It wasn’t as bad as the raw flesh color of things, thankfully having a very different sheen compared to the color of spilled blood.

”But, y’know Trisha I can be nosey too. I learned from the best, y’know.” he giggled, bumping into her gently.
”Like, uh… Sal? From Spain fully? Born and raised?” he asked, eyebrows rising.

"We got macaroni cheese, carbonara-"
”That one's mine!" Cass shouted, sprinting over to grab up the plastic box Sal had just gestured to.
"- which is Cass's, and some kinda spinach Alfredo thing. I think."

”Oh, no problem. You said Mac and Cheese, so I’m on it.” he smiled, going for the gooey golden deliciousness.

"Perfect," Sal grinned. "And to answer your question… Spanish born, sadly not raised, my family moved to Manchester when I was like four."
"What do you mean sadly, you wouldn't have met me if you didn't move!" Cass pointed out, kicking at Sal's ankle. ”Oh, Trish, where do you keep your plates and shit?"

“I’ve got it," Trisha said, finally loosening her grip on Casey's hand and letting go to get out a bunch of cutlery for the pasta, then trying to remember where they actually kept the plates. She just started opening random cupboards in her search.

”Only Diyah's actually American born and raised," Sal continued, opening up the pizza boxes. There were three - a plain margarita, something with a ton of -meat on it, and something with a ton of veg on it.

"Technically I'm American," Reyna commented with a light laugh. "South America is part of America."
"Right, right, only Diyah's from the states. Well, Trisha too."

Trisha, as her name was said, popped back up from her plate hunt, looking over towards Casey with a look that clearly said ‘i don't know where anything is in our kitchen but I'm too embarrassed to say that please help.’

The scent of cooked meat hit his nose like a punch. There was a great need to extract from the spot he was at, which Trisha happily gave him an out to do. He couldn’t not stare at her, after all, so catching her gaze wasn’t a problem. He pushed up and away, sliding out while he tried to maintain conversation.
”Uh, right. So, full British, Spanish raised British,-”

He spun slightly to keep looking at them, pointing to each individual as he relayed his memorized information.
”Then, I mean… Egyptian? Or Lybian? But, your folks, right? You’re born here, so a States Citizen. And then, born where, Reyna?” he asked her, just being nosey. Not giving them the chance to be nosey about he and Trisha.

As he listened, he stayed quiet. But, with gathering things, he was hoping Trisha was watching so she could know where their dishes and cups had been put. Though, he did take the time to whisper to her.
”Nothing has to go back in the same spot, Babe, so don’t worry too much about keeping it neat.” he smiled, kissing the top of her head as he handed off some plates.

Trisha had watched carefully as Casey pulled out everything, committing it to memory. He said it didn't have to go back to the same spot, but if it didn't go back where it belonged then they'd never know where their stuff was. But it wasn't hard to remember, so she just nodded to him with a soft smile.

"Libyan," Nadiyah said, taking a plate and stacking a few pieces of the vegetable covered pizza on it. "My parents moved over just before having me."

"And I'm from Ecuador," Reyna said with a smile. She hung back as both Nadiyah and Sal got their pizza, seeming to be waiting for everyone else to serve themselves first. "I was… sixteen, I believe, when I moved over with my family. It is safer here, but I miss the warmth back home."

"I don't miss my home weather!" Cass laughed. She'd just taken a fork, not bothering to take the carbonara out of the plastic Tupperware it was in. But she hadn't started eating, instead she was watching Casey and Trisha with an increasingly widening grin.
"You guys are soooo cute… Trish, I didn't wanna start out with it, but," she gestured to her neck with a smirk, "you're clearly gettin' a lotta love, huh?"
Sal whistled, and Nadiyah rolled her eyes at Cass.

“Shut up," Trisha groaned. She'd known she wasn't going to escape this, and her reaction was a lot more annoyed rather than embarrassed compared to the night before with Casey's family. She was used to it.

"You can't silence meeee, I want all the deets! C'mon, tell me, when-"

“Just because I invited you into our house doesn't mean I invited you to our relationship," Trisha said, pointing a finger at Cass. It was clearly in good nature, because Trisha appeared more relaxed than she had been before. She took her own plate and put a couple of slices of the margarita pizza on them. “Keep asking and I'll make you shut up."

"Ooo, Trish, don't tempt me with a good time," Cass laughed.

“Neither of us will enjoy it," Trisha intoned, fixing Cass with a hard stare.

"Heyyyy, don't assume I won't, anything can be enjoyable if you try hard enough," Cass grinned, waggling her eyebrows.
"Cass, can you not make us all look bad in front of someone new?" Nadiyah interrupted, also fixing Cass with a cold stare.
"It ain't that bad, Diyah. Right, Casey, it ain't bothering you? Not like I'm gonna steal your girlfriend."

”Oh, I mean, true.” Casey laughed, bringing one of the couple chairs from the island out into the parlor.
”I’m a big virgin, so I’m sure you could outmaneuver me.”
Casey liked Cass. She was the kind of person he wasn’t bothered by at all; if the worst she did was get into people’s business and give out good energy, she’d be the easiest to deal with.

”Plus, I mean I was a Marine. Pretty hard to be poorly impressed when one of your Sergeants liked to play the ball tucking game.” he giggled, taking a spoonful of mac into his mouth. There was a good cheese mixed in with way too much mozzarella that was clearly meant to give it a good cheese pull. Photo-food.
”I’ve got so many stories that’d make you blush, and honestly none of them have anything to do with awful shit happening. Just, like, the shit people do, y’know?” he laughed openly.

"Ohhhh yeah, people do so much weird shit, I'm pretty damn normal, honestly… especially compared to you army folk," Cass laughed, before flashing an ok sign at Trisha. "I like him, he's passed my test!"
"You have defeated the first boss," Sal intoned, before laughing too. "Don't let Cass fool you into thinking she's got legit moves she's dated, like, two people."
"Shut upppp, don't out meee!" Cass punched Sal in the side. He half kicked her back, and the two continued to play punch each other with their free hands all the way over to the parlor area, when they finally stopped to sit down on the main couch.

Reyna and Nadiyah followed suit with sitting down, though Nadiyah perched on the edge of the smaller couch they'd chosen as if she'd somehow get the cheese from the pizza she was delicately eating onto it.

“She’s been trying for nearly five years, and you succeeded in a day," Trisha said to Casey. She'd trailed after him when he'd brought out the chair, just kind of hovering as if this wasn't her house where she could sit literally wherever she wanted.

"Awww, Trisha, babe, you totally fell for my charms, we'd just be too powerful together!" Cass joked, winking. She then very enthusiastically slapped the space between her and Sal. "C'mon sit between your two favourite people! I just knowwww you've missed the Cass cuddles."
"Pretty sure you've been replaced by someone else with a name starting with Cas," Nadiyah pointed out drily, lips curving up towards an almost smile.
"Nooooo!" Cass wailed dramatically, making fake sobbing sounds as she started to stuff carbonara into her mouth.

“You can't replace what was never there," Trisha retorted.

"Yeah, keep dreaming, Cassi," Sal mockingly patted her head, grinning and turning to look at Casey. There was a glint in his eye. "So, Casey, how exactly did you two meet? Trisha gave us very few details. Her messages are the shortest shit ever."

Casey grinned, looking down at Trisha. Of course he wasn’t going to tell them that, and he figured he’d do his best to help his girlfriend out while assuaging at least a portion of the worries her friends had about the situation. He was a member of the Charming and Graceful, after all… If Grace gifted him with anything, it was the Richoux propensity to avoid awkward truth with convenient lies.

”Trisha and I were in high school together. Hung with a different crowd, but we had a few classes together and we were quiet friends. At least friendly. But I’m a loser, and didn’t ask her out then. I came back home recently from up North, and we actually met back up at the Halloween festival here. Which, by the way, if you’ve never been to the St. Portwell Halloween Festival, you’ve gotta come. We’re like the Salem of the West out here.” he grinned, throwing a thumbs up.

”But, yeah, we’ve really not left one another’s side since. I knew I’d be coming back to this place, so I asked her if she wanted to try living it out. Worst comes to worst, there’s empty apartments downstairs she can use. I don’t really see that being necessary though.”

Both statements were true, obviously. He’d be just as likely to let her live downstairs for the safety of it regardless of their relationship status, but he really wasn’t keen on things becoming like that.
He wanted Trisha in his life as long as he could have her.
”I really think she’s just embarrassed about how people are gonna act, y’know? But I keep tellin’ her, Original Sin is just shame, right? If you don’t feel the shame that people try to force on you, it rolls off your back.” he shrugged, spooning some more of the stringy glop into his mouth with a wide spoon.

Trisha nodded slightly as Casey spoke, but her gaze had immediately moved to Reyna rather than Sal who'd actually asked the question. She was watching Casey intently, with the same calm smile she'd had for most of the time so far. Even Trisha couldn't see through it to tell if Reyna could read past the truthful cover to the lies within it. She didn't remember the full extent of her life detection, just that it was something she could do as passively as basic emotion reading. Paranormals didn't feel it happening. And that made her worried, even though the other three ate it up.

"Oh, that's good to hear! We were worried when Trisha said you guys started dating Tuesday that you'd just met then!" Sal nodded, seeming satisfied as he ate some pizza. "I did want to come for the festival agesss ago but Trisha said she was hanging out with other friends - guess I understand why now."

"Moving in with someone you've known since highschool is slightly less idiotic than someone you just met," Nadiyah concurred, glancing between the two.
"But Trish, why would you be embarrassed? You know we'd never judge you! We've seen you in all sorts of shit states, like when you-"

“Lets not," Trisha interrupted. She finally stopped staring at Reyna and shuffled closer to Casey, nibbling on one of the slices of pizza she'd taken. Her mind was jumping all around the place, from the comfort that came with Casey saying he didn't see her moving out being necessary in the future, to discomfort at the mention of Original Sin and Reyna's possible truth reading. At least no one-

"Are you religious, Casey?" Nadiyah asked. "You mentioned Original Sin, though it's… an interesting way of looking at it."

Casey shrugged at the question.
”You get a lot of time to read in the down periods. Raised in a weird little Christian sect, but never got nuts over it. I did think that the whole Paradise Lost book was pretty cool though, the one where you see the Devil making Hell and shit? Obviously, religious fanfiction, but still cool, it’s the type of shit that sticks in my head.” he shrugged.

Obviously, he had no clue there was a situation where someone was reading his mind would be present. Everything he knew about Emotional Fields told him that there’d be some sort of struggle generally; at least Adept to Adept. Rarely did someone have a spell that wasn’t extremely telegraphed that could freely bypass the natural defences.
His Mother, as he was aware, was so effective because of the way her powers worked. Being able to observe people remotely through some innocuous means made it hard to pinpoint her to begin with.

He wondered if she’d join.

”How about you guys, any religious trauma? Or just the normal stuff?” he giggled.

"Sadly," Nadiyah said drily, seeming surprisingly fine with the question. "I was raised Muslim, but clearly."
She gestured to her hair. "Islam in Libya is… well, it's not something I can agree with. My parents were less strict about it since they moved away, but it was still there until I moved out."

"I just got the regular shit," Cass laughed, having somehow finished off most of her pasta in the short time she wasn't talking.

"I'm technically Catholic, lightly practising," Reyna said with a smile, gaze almost unnervingly fixed on Casey.

Which just made Trisha uncomfortable. Why would she be staring so hard if she wasn't reading his aura? Just what could she read again without it being felt… she tried to remember at what point she'd feel that intrusion. Rarely. Reyna wasn't exactly the intrusive type in general, unless she felt it was for safety. But the basic emotion reading… the lie reading, perhaps.
“Are we really talking about trauma this early?"

"Hey, you know I'm an open book," Cass said cheerfully. "We're bonding here! Maybe Casey and Diyah can make a religious trauma support group, get friendly, y’know…"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. I’m surprised, Cass, I didn't know you had a brain in there," Nadiyah said.

“No, absolutely not," Trisha shook her head, trying to clamp down on her agitation when she failed to change the topic. Reyna's gaze flickered over to her for a moment, before returning to Casey.

"Religion aside, you grew up here in St Portwell, Casey, is your family still here?" Reyna asked with a smile. "I know Trisha has three sisters here that she was living with. Do you have any siblings?"

While he didn’t mind the questioning, his predation senses were tingling like he was being stalked by the cats. He actually took a cursory glance outside, scanning across the rooftop trying to see if the blighted beast was waiting. He wasn’t, thankfully. But, that did lead him back to Reyna’s eyes.
They locked with her as everyone else talked, until there was a shift that clicked into place. Like his body went from loose and noodly to locked and rigid. He tried channeling a little bit of White Lux again, but without his glove actually on, it was just going to hurt. He wasn’t practiced enough to ignore that kind of pain, not these days.

Thankfully she started talking, and since she was the only one he was uncomfortably focused on, he quickly answered.
”A couple, yeah. Well, out of five I’m the middle. My older brother lives where he likes, my older Sister is up in Seattle most of the time, my younger brother lives outside of town, and my little sister actually lives here in the basement. Which, coincidentally, is our childhood home. Big apartment down there, enough for everyone. Her and her girlfriends are happy enough, which makes me happy.”

He held his gaze a little while longer, still smiling.
”Sorry, I just… Can’t get over feeling like I’ve got some cheese or something? On my face?” he asked, pretending to search for some cheese he knew wasn’t there.
”Or, maybe you recognize me? I look a lot like my Dad, and he was a famous boxer. Max “Gravity” Richoux? World Heavyweight Champion, I think record holder for the largest modern boxer to hold the heavyweight title. Started his own league for guys our size, The Superheavy League? Posters. Tooooons of posters. I’m sure I can get one.”

"OH! OH SHIT! I knew there was a reason I liked you from the start!" Cass shouted, jumping up and punching the air. She then shot finger guns at Casey. "Not only are you a middle child of five, making us totally connected cause same, but your dad's also a fuckin' legend! Damn- nobody ever knows about boxing, these heathens won't get it… fuck, now that I'm lookin' I see the resemblance, how did I not notice before?! Could you actually get a poster? Shit, that is so fuckin sound."

"Is he on any of those posters you used to have in your room?" Reyna asked, finally looking away from Casey and over towards Cass. It was partly because she realised he'd realised, and partly because she also realised she'd been magically prying more than she should.
"Oh yeah, a fair few. I had a whole wall of that shit… you know how hard they are to find now?!"
"Right, that makes sense, sorry if it looked like I was staring too hard," Reyna smiled at Casey.

“Just don't look at all," Trisha muttered, quietly enough that only Casey should hear it. She'd felt him stiffen, and knew he'd realised that Reyna was reading him in some way. She should've warned him… but also why couldn't Reyna just keep her eyes to herself.

As she did look away, Casey untensed a bit and put his bowl down on the table before wrapping an arm around Trisha. He leaned back slightly, smiling widely as he nodded along to Cass’ enthusiasm.
”No worries! I just didn’t want anyone sitting in anticipation. But, absolutely. And one of my Brother Leon’s too. ‘Timberwolf’ Richoux? He fought Carlo Herron for the Superheavy title a few weeks ago, actually, so we still have a bunch of those posters. Signed, too. I mean shit, I’ll hook you up! Date and everything if you wanted!” he offered up his own brother, laughing aloud as the expression left his lungs.

Not being stared at helped. It wasn’t so much that he cared what she was doing, it just… She was strange, and it didn’t feel good. And knowing she was the only magical one made him definitely feel like there was more than just a contemptuous gaze behind it.
”And he’s bi, Sal.” he winked, clicking his tongue between his teeth and shooting a finger gun at the wonderful gentleman. ”I honestly don’t know what the fuck I am, so I can’t exactly jump into the water.” he laughed aloud a second time.

“You can't jump in because you're taken," Trisha said with a light laugh, nudging him with her elbow before leaning into his side. She'd eaten one slice of pizza before putting down her plate. Reyna looked over at her now and Trisha stared back, clamping down on the surface agitation and forcing herself to relax against Casey.

"Oh shit! Timberwolf too… well I should've fuckin guessed that!" Cass spun around and pointed a finger at Sal. "Back off, Sal, you ain't even into boxing, I'll fuckin' end you before I let you get the jump on me for that date."

"Hey," Sal laughed, holding up his hands and grinned at her, then over at Casey. "Let the man decide himself… maybe we can share."

"Oh I suppose… but I ain't sharin' the signed posters! I'm fuckin taking those for myself." She then spun round towards Reyna and Nadiyah. "See, ladies, this is why I'm bisexual - the chance to bag fit boxers of all genders."

"I'm not into the muscular type anyway," Nadiyah shrugged, looking amused. Like she was watching some kind of show… but it wasn't a judgemental watching, at least to those that knew her.

"More for me!" Cass turned back towards Casey. "Would you really hook us up? Shit, just meeting him would make my day."

Casey grinned, slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He loved this.
”Oh, for sure. I’ll even have his big dumb ass bring you the poster.”
He quickly flicked through it, pulling it up to his ear after a moment. There was ringing, ringing, and finally-
”Yooo, what’s up. What are you doing?”
Silence. Listening.
”Alright, come up. And stop in the office, grab one of your posters. And one of Dad’s if there’s any.”
More listening. Anticipation.
”Well, no, I’m just… There’s a couple people visiting who’d love to meet you, and I know how big your head gets. Especially when you weren’t the first person who came up, it was Dad.”

A grin came over Casey’s face.
”Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Alright? Cool, see you in a few minutes.”
And then he hung up the phone, pointing at Sal and Cass.
”Ayyyy, we’ll figure it out soon enough. Either way, you’re getting your poster. Now, I’ve gotta ask… Did you guys just bring lunch? ‘Cuz we can go anywhere you guys want. I’ve got plenty of recommendations if we wanted to go have fun.”
Though, places he thought were cool and what was actually cool, he didn’t know how close the crossover was. Could’ve been miles off.

”Well I mean, maybe not so much in this weather, but… Oh, Trisha, did you ever go to the Walden Arcade?” he asked her.

“No, never really had the chance," Trisha shook her head. It was less that she hadn't had the chance and more that when she was in St Portwell properly she was studying, fighting the Stygian Snake, or spending time with the type of girls who wouldn't go to an arcade. She hadn't really been into that stuff before meeting this group anyway.

"Shit, an arcade?! We have to go," Sal grinned, already cheerful expression lighting up even more. "We just brought lunch since it seemed rude to just impose ourselves-"
"Something they would've done if I hadn't suggested it," Nadiyah interjected.
"-Right, but we didn't have other plans! We figure Trisha would have suggestions but we're definitely going to that arcade. If anyone disagrees it's just because they're scared I'll hand their asses to them."

"I'll beat your fuckin' ass if you start on that," Cass said, pausing what seemed to be panickedly rearranging her hair after pulling off her hoodie to reveal a black tank top with rips down the side underneath.
"Whoa, calm down with the violence, that's not going to be a good look in front of your boxing hero."
"Boxing is all about fuckin' violence!"

"An arcade is something we can all enjoy," Reyna smiled. As she did, she slipped off her denim jacket, putting it over the arm beside her. Trisha let out a soft sigh of relief, relaxing more. "So long as Sal doesn't get aggressively competitive. Avoids the cold weather, or starting drinking midday."

”Ah I mean, I’ll dominate him. Put him in his place.” Casey joked, sticking his tongue out at Sal before laughing loudly.
”Shit, sorry. I’ve never been more comfortable than in a barracks full of dudes acting gay. So, that stuff’s just gonna slip in and out y’know.” He tilted his head back, laughing some more as he thought about the absolutely heinous shit that would be said back and forth between the good-natured gentlemen he served with. Monsters. Animals every one.

”But it’s great. It’s on the bay, and it’s got this like, outdoor balcony on the back where we can sit and get drinks; they updated it to cater more toward people our age. Go figure.” he smiled, offering them an idea of what was to come.
”But yeah, I mean they’re still running strong. I went there when I got back to town with my younger sister a few weeks ago, and my mind was blown. I thought I’d definitely need to go there with more people, so this is perfect. I’m really glad you guys are game.”

He felt his phone vibrate, and he pulled it up to look. Leon telling him he was about to head up.
”And we’ll see if big brother’s free. If you guys don’t feel intruded on by him, we’ll definitely bring him along. Because he’s another dude who loves playing games. I mean, he’s nearly seven foot tall so like, those basketball games are guaranteed losses.”

"Don't underestimate us shorties when it comes to basketball," Cass grinned. She still hasn't sat back down, practically vibrating with energy and excitement. It wouldn't be surprising if she started bouncing off the walls. "Oh, maybe I can pretend I dunno how to play, then your brother can teach me… he better come along! If you guys cockblock me Ima be pissed."

"I, for one, am looking forward to actually having a challenge if you're as good as you say, Casey," Sal smirked, cracking his knuckles, eyes practically burning with a competitive light. He then winked. "I'm not easily dominated."

Trisha groaned, though it was less the unsubtle innuendos that she knew was a joke (though they jabbed at her fragile confidence too) and more the memory of all the times Sal had gotten competitive while they gamed and ended up cussing out whoever slacked just slightly in a team game, while managing to be both a sore winner and loser.
“Are you alright with the arcade?" she asked Nadiyah, the only one who hadn't agreed.

She shrugged. "I enjoy watching you all worked up over unimportant, supposed to be fun things."

“I guess it's that then," Trisha nodded, smiling up at Casey. It would be nice, so long as Sal's competitiveness was directed towards anyone but her.
“Leon can come along to keep Sal's attention off you," she said playfully, seemingly unbothered by the jokes that were going on there. She was used to it with Sal at least…

Casey laughed at the idea of Leon taking the spotlight. He almost wanted him to. Obviously her friends were here for Trisha, but if he could get her to himself? He didn’t mind that. He could see himself doing evil things to keep Trisha’s attention.
Not evil… Naughty. Like, inviting his handsome, rich, famous brother to a get-together where some of those attending were very clear fans.

That wasn’t evil. He’d seen evil.

”Well, Nadiyah, I’m not really sure what you’re into. But, there’s luck stuff. They have a mock casino where you gamble tokens for tickets to get prizes… And because they’ve gotta follow local legislation against actual gambling, you can’t actually lose your ante. It’s pretty neat, and a pretty clean gambling high. If you’re into that sort of thing. I know I’m probably gonna see if I can get a jackpot out of a craps game our something; I love that shit.”
He was laughing often and loud, making sure to keep his energy up. There was only so much of it he could dedicate to dealing with people outside his circle, so they were on a timer against his mood.

”But, honestly it’s no rush or anything. You guys take all the time you need to catch up, I mean… You came for her, right?”

"I just go with the flow, though getting some money out of the trip does sound enjoyable," Nadiyah mused. Her friends all laughed at her saying she went with the flow… it was very much not true, but she was genuinely fine following along in situations like this.

"Well yeah, obviously we're here for Trish, but there's no better way to catch up than over some games! Well, games then a couple of pints in a pub, but we gotta wait for that cause two and she's gone," Cass grinned. Her eyes widened as she suddenly remembered something. "Oh shit, before I forget…"
She ran over to Sal's backpack, rummaging through the front pocket and pulling out a small box. She practically skipped over to Trisha and held it out.
"Happy birthdayyyy, Trishaaa~"

Trisha just stared at that box, then at Cass.
“It’s not my birthday till the end of December."

"Yeah well, we ain't gonna see each other again before, are we? And I gotta go home for like a month over Christmas… so consider it an early gift! The rest of these assholes didn't think ahead like I did."
"I live in the same state," Reyna commented.
"Yeah but I bet you'll be back in Chicago for the holidays. Anyway, cmon, take it and open it."

Trisha wriggled out of Casey's hold a little bit to lean forward and take the box. As she did Cass took the opportunity to hook an arm around her shoulders, spinning over to her other side with a grin and leaning in. It was just an unwrapped box, so Trisha opened it to reveal a pair of nice, gold coloured honeycomb design dangling earrings. They were actually… surprisingly nice compared to Cass's taste. While she wasn't actually someone who enjoyed getting gifts, she did appreciate this. There'd clearly been effort put in.
“Thanks, Cass. I uh, yeah, I like them."

"Shit, that's a relief!" Cass grinned, turning around and properly hugging Trisha. Trisha half hugged her back. "You were always pushing honey on us and had that cool beekeeping hobby so yknow, I figured you'd like them."
She let go of Trisha and put her hands on her hips, looking at Casey with a jokingly intimidating look. "When her actual birthday rolls round you better spend loads of time pampering her. Everyone's normally busy so it's always a bit fuckin’ shit."

Casey looked over the bee styled earrings. His eyes went wide, and he snorted as she mentioned Trisha pushing honey on them.
”Babe! Holy shit, tell them about the-”

There was a knock at the front door, which swung open regardless of whether or not someone was letting him in. Leon stepped in like a Goth Prince, baggy black jeans and boots, a pristine white t-shirt, tattoos gleaming upon his rippling muscular arms. His neck bulged about the line of the shirt, straining just a bit too much. His hair was tied into a braid down his back, and he wore a half-folded beanie over his head. He was holding a bundle of plastic sleeves in his arms.

”Heyyyy, I heard people were talking about some fuckin’ boxing up here?”
His handsome, wolfish grin parted to reveal the sharpness of his teeth.
”Lemmie take a guess…” he said, looking about the people gathered before pointing at Cass directly.
”Had to be you, right? You’re looking at me like I’m not actually here.” he finished, actually managing to grin and make his face just a bit more handsome.
”Oh, yeah… Ladies? Sal? Meet my brother Leon. Leon, this is Nadiyah, Reyna, Cass and Sal.” Casey gave out casual introductions, being sure to reach for Trisha in order to give her hand a good, affirming squeeze.

"Holy shit!" Cass gaped at Leon. Her hand shot out to slap the person nearest her - which was Trisha’s arm. Cass managed to get a good few hits in before Trisha was able to get far enough away, gripping tightly onto Casey's hand. She was glad he'd taken it, the contact helping her deal with the extreme excitement that normally had her grumpily leaving the room for a while.

Sal whistled, standing up with a grin. ”Great to meet you, Leon, I see good looks runs in the family, huh?"
"Yes, a pleasure," Nadiyah said in a smooth tone that made it impossible to tell if she was being genuine or sarcastic. "The more people to hold Cass's attention the better."
Meanwhile as Leon stepped in, Reyna brushed her fingers over her denim jacket and looked over at him. Her eyes immediately squinted and her lips pulled down into a small frown, and she let go of the jacket. It was a minimal reaction, unnoticed by most of her friends. "... Nice to meet you, Leon."

"Shiiitttt you guys can't be fuckin' serious, nice to meet you, that's all, fucckkkk, this guys like a fuckin' legend in boxing, you just don't get it, fuckin' hell," Cass had snapped out of her weird slapping whatever was closest state to bounce over towards Leon, screeching to a halt just in front of him. "Shit, Rey, Diyah, you guys don't know how fuckin' easy you have it, I bet you could get it on TV all the time, but back in England I had to fuckin' hook up this shit on a computer just to stream shitty quality matches… then I missed a shit ton when all the poles near us were taken out. Fuckkkkk, I can't believe you're actually fuckin' real rather than some figure on fuckin' TV."

“I could have told you that since ten years ago," Trisha commented, rolling her eyes at Cass, but she was smiling slightly. Her grip on Casey's hand had loosened, playfully tapping her fingers against the back of it.
”You've known him for ten bloody years and you didn't tell me?!"
“No. I knew him ten years ago. Different thing."

Leon didn’t bother with any sort of magic, wanting to respect Trisha’s space. He could’ve given a great sniff of the air and known a lot of things; but he didn’t. Not, that is, until Lelou screeched so loud in his head that he couldn’t ignore the warning.
His nostrils flared, ears opening as the water and air seals ever-so-slightly unlocked to grant him a sense of the paranormal.

What he found was a room full of magic. No different than usual, only these were all people he didn’t recognize. Who? Trisha’s friends? From where?
”Y’know, Casey didn’t mention magical fans. I would’ve brought the moving posters instead.”
Casey furrowed his eyebrows, head turning to look at Reyna again before swinging back to Leon. He threw on a fake grin.

”They’re pretty awesome, but I don’t think I’d say magical!” he tried to insinuate.
”Caseau, you seriously need to sort out some White Lux spells, my man. And Furio said there was only supposed to be one. So, why’s there three and a Severed?”

Leon shook his head at his brother with a look of annoyance before turning back to Cass with a smile.
”That’s some pretty serious praise though. Boxing isn’t so hot anymore, but they won’t really let me into any of the MMA leagues, since there’s really nobody willing to put up a bracket for guys my size.”
Leon spun, putting down the tubes on the counter before stepping back into the middle of the room.

”You wanna throw some punches? Hard as you want, as much magic as you wanna use.” he grinned at Cass, leaving the rest of the room to deal with the probable psyche damage he’d just bombed them all with.

Casey looked back at Reyna, then at each in turn until he was looking at Trisha.
”I’m… Confused?”

Trisha looked back at him, shaking her head without saying anything. She was also confused.

"As much magic as I wanna use?!" Cass squeaked, eyes widening in clear panic and head snapping around towards Reyna.

Trisha frowned. There must be something wrong here, Leon must be sensing wrong, only-
Cass had grown a pair of wolf ears. A pair of wolf ears were sticking out of her head, out of nowhere, twitching around nervously.
"Ahhhh, fuck, Rey, how do I make them go away?" She reached up to try and cover them with her hands.

Reyna sighed, holding up a hand to her forehead.
"I was going to talk about this until Sal tagged along. I didn't realise he was severed… I don't see that."

Trisha was still staring at Cass's wolf ears, and so was Nadiyah. She has an expression of shock that none of them had ever seen before. Reyna and Sal seemed to be taking it best.

“I didn't know," Trisha said eventually, voice getting really quiet as she looked up at Casey. She was worried he'd think she'd lied. And after what Furio had said earlier, that they might not trust her… well, did they even trust her in the first place? But she really hadn't known. As far as she'd been aware it was only her and Reyna.
“I really didn't know, only Reyna ever told me. I wasn't hiding it or anything."

"Cass kindled right before we graduated," Reyna stepped in, explain calmly to the whole room. "Nadiyah only became… an Agent, I believe, sometime last year. Sal…"
"I severed when I was eighteen," he shrugged.
"I don't read that," Reyna continued. "There has never been a time when I could bring it up, and I didn't think it was my place to out magic without the subject present."

"... And Trisha?" Cass asked, seeming to get over her shock, even though the ears remained.
Trisha didn't answer, and Reyna shrugged. "The whole time we've known each other. I'm sorry, by the way, Casey."
She gestured to her eyes. "It's not something I turn on and off at a basic level. If I wear my jacket, I see auras, and read the changes. I know I was looking too much earlier."

Leon and Casey frowned at one another, both realizing at once what they’d inadvertently done. It wasn’t something they could take back however, so the only thing Casey could do was try and make it right.
”I mean… Obviously, apologies are accepted if it’s something you can’t control. I mean, you were giving me a staredown like you didn’t believe me, so… I guess that cat’s out of the bag too?”

Leon piped up.
”You’re a White Luxer. Like our family” he said to Reyna, shrugging his shoulders.
”The intrusion is honestly expected in our household, so don’t go feeling too bad. Casey’s just been sensitive ‘cuz he’s got himself a girlfriend to be protective over.”
His gaze turned back to Cass.
”Now, you gonna hit me, or are you just gonna stand there and howl at me, little miss Green?” he tilted his head downward seductively, putting his hands up for her to strike.

”You serious?”
”You may as well just let it go, dude. Clearly we cracked open a big misunderstanding, so just… Y’know, live with it. So what, everyone’s had magic, not like we ain’t lived around it our whole life.”

Casey tilted his head back, sighing as his hand gripped Trisha’s, the pressure valves releasing. He relaxed slightly.
”It’s just… Awkwaaaaaard…” Casey finally blurted out, nervously laughing as he did.
Leon didn’t seem much phased, ready to put Cass to a test.

"Oh shit, I'm allowed to use any magic right? Uh- ain't so good at this magic thing, anyway," Cass shook her head, wolf ears twitching a bit. But she grinned, eyes narrowing up at Leon. She jumped from foot to foot for a moment, before shoving her hand in her trouser pockets and properly pulling out the guitar keychain in there.

"Don't hurt yourself," Reyna implored, glancing over at Nadiyah, who was still sitting in a state of shock. She went over to her and patted her shoulder, gesturing towards the corner of the room. To Trisha, she said, "I'll talk her through it over there."

Trisha nodded. She didn't say anything at all, just holding on tightly to Casey's hand, still slowly processing it all. It was difficult to decide how to feel. She looked at Cass, but also wasn't really looking at her.

Cass finally seemed to figure out what she wanted to do, shifting into an awkward fighting position. A curled monkey's tail pushed through her lower back, balancing her out, and spots grew visible through the rips in her jeans. Her nails lengthened into sharp claws… which she then looked at, and laughed.
"Aw, fuck, not what I wanted, I'm way better at the howling part, honestly," Cass shook out her hands, eventually the claws retracted. It was replaced by scales coating her hands and wrists, fading up into another set of spots all the way up to her shoulders. "Alright, better not start cryin' when I knock you off your feet."

She twisted her body forward, fist shooting towards Leon's hands at a supernatural speed. It slammed into it with enough force to send a loud bang echoing around the room, her strengthened legs and arms combined with speed and hardened hands allowing her to put a lot of power behind it.

Casey watched with baited breath in anticipation of what would happen here. He wanted to see serious, awesome raw power… To see an Adept fresh to kindle with a great deal of hidden potential. Leon was waiting for the same, as both were conditioned to the ultimate wait to see what a fresh wizard could do.

In the end, some of the plants overhead jostled about with the shockwave flying upward toward the ceiling. Obviously, as he’d held his open hands up intent on catching the blow, Leon did just that with speed and strength to match and exceed. Not like he wasn’t a trained champion boxer or anything… Like lightning, he’d grabbed and thrown Cass’ hand downward, letting the free hand lash out at full speed with deadly precision.

Even if she flinched the wrong way and got closer, he’d know exactly when to stop. It was almost literally an instant, and his hand was hovering an eighth of an inch away from Cass’ jaw.
”You know you’ve got that “fresh Lux” smell that all the freshly Kindled do. Pretty cute. Like the ears.”
He hand that had thrown the mock punch flicked up to pat her head, rubbing the wolf ears with a smile.

”I’d ask if you wanna feel my wolf ears, but-”
”Alright, alright… Jesus Christ, guys, I mean…”
Casey’s head looked at Trisha before looking toward where Reyna and Nadiyah had gone off to.
”It’s clearly a big deal to some people, so… Let’s chill out? Maybe?” he asserted, looking back at Trisha with empathy in his eyes.

Cass gave a little, involuntary wiggle when Leon rubbed her ears, almost leaning into it and seeming completely unphased by also almost being punched. She twisted around to look at Casey and Trisha, nodding. The tail was pulled back in first, and she grimaced as she began the arduous process of returning all her features back to normal. The ears stubbornly remained, though.
”You can show me yours later, I'm here till Sunday," she winked, laughing.

“Yeah, no more punching or animal features in my house please," Trisha finally said, sighing slightly. She managed a thankful smile towards Casey. It was the last thing she'd expected… suddenly her mundane life was growing less mundane. Did she actually know anyone without magic? Ezra, Tansy and a bunch of her other siblings, she supposed. But that was really it. Was it really a problem? Maybe not. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Man, if I knew keeping my lux would've allowed me to punch someone so hot, I wouldn't have severed," Sal joked, still very much lounging on the couch. "But yeah, it isn't nice to focus on something some of us aren't involved in anymore! And clearly it's broken Diyah, look-"

"I'm fine." Nadiyah and Reyna made their way back over to the group. She didn't look so shocked anymore, looking cooly at Cass's ears, before shaking her head. ”It's just a bit shocking to learn that magic is common enough that my friends, my friend's boyfriend, and his brother all have it."
"You'll get used to it," Reyna said.

“Not everyone gets used to it," Trisha frowned, as if she hadn't taken the many new magical things she'd been exposed to the last few days relatively well. Her view was an extremely skewed one, where the magical world was mainly a dangerous thing focused on fighting something that could easily kill her, and the non magical was the rest of her life.

”I mean, we can kill that feeling pretty quick. Reyna, when you came here today, did you notice anything weird about this building?” he asked. ”Or the guy who met you at the door? Or the elevator you took to get up to the top floor? This place glows like a magical beacon. If you’re real observant, you’ll probably be able to feel out the Cat Demon in the basement.” he grinned evilly, hand reaching down to tug Cass’s shirt.
”C’mon, let’s get your posters signed, we can talk about the date we’re going on later.” he waggled his eyebrows.

”Mon Dieu, Leon! You animal!” Casey called, looking back at Reyna and Nadiyah as they came back.
”I’m… Listen, I’m real sorry. I cocked this one up, I… Shit, man…”

"Fuck, yes please!" Cass shouted a little too loud, patting Leon’s hand before very happily bouncing over to tubes on the counter.

"Don't worry about it," Reyna was the first one to respond to Casey, holding up her hands and smiling. "If anyone's at fault it's me. I knew about the magic and yes, I could see it in the whole building. I should have figured someone else would be able to tell."

“I would've appreciated a heads up," Trisha grumbled. She glanced over at Leon, then back at Casey. “And someone who doesn't just come in sniffing magic out."

"You can't expect me to text you something like that, Trisha," Reyna shook her head. "You failed to mention that your boyfriend has magic too. But it's not important now, right?"
"Well, I do think it was a ‘cock up’," Nadiyah said bluntly. "But I accept your apology, it was unintentional. None of us hold grudges over things like this."
They both glanced at Trisha for just a moment, before Reyna looked over towards Cass.
"We should think about going to that Arcade soon, before Cass drags your brother into a room somewhere."

“She does that in my house and it's over," Trisha intoned, not being very clear about how it would be over, but it would probably involve a lot of bees.
She wasn’t really happy about the whole magic situation, but she was trying to let it go. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault. It wasn’t even really that bad. She definitely shouldn’t let it ruin her time with her boyfriend and the friends she didn’t see very often. Move past it, enjoy herself.
“Going to the Arcade sounds good, if everyone’s done eating, I want to see Casey beat everyone- especially Sal." She reached out to hug Casey’s arm, pressing her face against it.

”Y’know, I don’t think she’s capable of dragging me anywhere. But I’ll happily go.- Here, check this out, its from my da-”
Two fans of a sport hit it off like peas in a pod, leaving the rest of the group to sort out what was going on. Casey looked back, then looked at Sal with a grin.

”If you flirt, like, a little louder? I’m sure he’ll give you just as much attention.” he giggled, standing up from his seat with Trisha’s hand tight in his.
He looked back again to see how absorbed Leon was in talking about their Dad, so he turned his head to Trisha and nodded at Leon.
”Yes? No? I understand no.” he shrugged. ”Not that… Not that I think no at this juncture will stop the train.” he grimaced.

"I let her have this one, this time," Sal held up his hands and laughed.

Trisha chewed on her lip for a moment as she considered it. She was still on shaky terms with Leon, and she wasn't particularly comfortable with him. But… she glanced over at Cass who's already high energy had already gotten higher. It was difficult to say no when one of the few friends that had actually stuck with her was that happy about it. Especially when it was Cass. It wasn't like he'd be with them all day, either.
“Yeah, you've put something scary in motion," Trisha half joked, managing a smile. “He can come along, I imagine at an arcade we'll split up a bit? Different games. And they're here till… Sunday morning I think, right?"

"Yeah, here all day tomorrow," Reyna smiled. "Not that we'll be demanding all of your time, unless you want to give it."
"No, we are demanding Trisha's," Nadiyah countered.

“Yeah, two whole days, I actually need Leon to come along so I don't get a headache from Cass's shouting," Trisha managed to joke a bit more fully, finding herself relaxing again. Yeah, it was really alright.

Casey nodded.
”Heard that, Big Man? Or do you need Mumma’s permission today?”
Leon was too busy GUSHING about his own father to the girl, not missing opportunities to talk about his own record.
”Leon?”

”-so we were just kind of waiting for this fuckin’ pussy. We’re sitting there in his corner, I’m wrapping his hands-”
Casey took a deep breath, tilting his head back and snapping it forward.
”Leon Furio!?”
The massive man jumped out of his skin.
”-What!? What!?”
”Pay the fuck attention, God… We’re going to Walden! You’re coming!”

Cass would be able to see Leon’s childish grin.
”Oh… Why didn’t you just say that?” he asked, holding his hand out to Cass and wiggling his eyebrows.
”I guess the date is right now, huh?” he grinned.

Casey groaned.
”God, I’m so fucking sorry for this.” he said, shaking his head and taking a deep breath.

”Fuck yeah it is, I ain’t gonna wait,” Cass grinned, practically slapping her hand into Leon’s.

Reyna laughed as she looked at them. "Well, honestly, when Cass is happy, we’re happy."
"Cass is always happy."
Reyna shrugged.

“Alright, let’s go, let’s go,” Trisha started gesturing towards the door with her free hand… before realising she didn’t have any shoes or a coat on. She pointed to the door, looking at all of her friends.
“If you aren’t all out by the time I’m back, I’m calling it.”

"Aw, don’t worry Trisha, I won’t steal your boyfriend while you’re gone!" Sal laughed.

Trisha just rolled her eyes at him, giving Casey’s hand a squeeze before letting go and running up to the loft.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

Kenshiro

_{With @AtomicEmperor @NoriWasHere}

Friday
Kari’s House -> Luca’s Apartment

---

Ken had brought Luca closer to Lynn, ensuring that they’d be close enough to hear. At first, all he could do was wrap his arms around her in an attempt to give some sort of comfort. But the fire in her eyes matched the flames that were still raging in the remains of Kari’s home.

”If that’s your passion, then I think we can make things happen, Sister… We find ourselves at a unique crossroad. I need to know what you saw.”
He looked back at Luca, patting the bubble with his arm.
”Let’s get you both where you need to go. We’ll talk on the way.” he offered his hand to Lynn.

”Oh, we’re going back to the same place,” Luca said from inside the bubble, voice slightly hoarse. ”Lynn’s been staying at mine… safety in numbers and all that.”

“I will,” Lynn said with a sniffle. “And yeah, safety in numbers.. Father wolf is still on the prowl,” Lynn sighed as she moved closer, “I’m good to go. We have much to discuss.”

Ken scooped her into a bubble similar to Luca’s, linking them together with a thinner membrane that the two would be comfortable to talk through without the risk of infection. Still remembering Luca’s place from Halloween, he forced the three of them high into the sky and gave a lazy bump.
Traveling at the speed of a car on the highway through the air, this was a lazy cruise compared to the speeds he usually hit. Assuming the Rot would simply be blown away by the wind, Ken opened up a few sections near the front, where he sat and looked down at the two non-fliers.

”Sometimes I like to fly like this and get my thoughts cleared out…” he called over the din of the wind. He had angled everything to push most of the air away, but the noise was still considerable.

”Whoa, everything’s so tiny down there,” Luca said, head tilted down to look underneath him, smiling slightly. He was still clearly not quite himself, curled up into a tight ball with his legs against his chest in the bubble, but the views were nice. ”Thoughts literally cleared out by the wind, it’s a good technique, Ken!”

“Your thoughts are cleared by this?” Lynn shouted as she wrapped her arms around her body. She was really high up. Like really, really high up. And she was moving fast. And she was too sober to truly enjoy the view. She instinctively reached for her flask and groaned when she remembered that it was gone. She would need to make up for this grave injustice later on tonight. “Ken we’re going to have our discussion over a drink.”

He grinned at both of them. But he could take a hint occasionally, and decided he’d do his best to help Lynn out as well.
”At least Luca gets it! We’ll do more flying; I think it’d be therapeutic for you, Dear Brother! Just relax, and enjoy.”
Closing them both back in, he jostled them slightly to ensure there were no weak points, and formed a blast that accelerated them to the point that the trees and the eventual streets below them flew by in blurry greens and greys. It wasn’t long before they were decelerating just as fast.

The scariest part, at least for passengers, was the fact that they were in zero control at the end. It was ominous to hear the noise simply stop as you approached the ground at terminal velocity. But just like ninety-five percent of the time, the landing was devoid of accident or injury.
”Destination arrival!”

Lynn was immediately released from her bubble, and he pulled Luca in to look at him.
”Would you like to be let out? Or are you still weakened?”

Luca stretched out his arms and legs, wincing slightly. He still hurt, the energy expended in rotting away someone else and being rotted in turn was… a lot. But he was also used to it. He grinned at Ken from within the bubble.
”I’m good! You can let me out, I’m not going to collapse or anything.”

“That was something,” Lynn said when a chuckle as she took a few wobbly steps to regain her balance. “Thank you for the ride, Ken.,”

The support slowly faded around Luca as he was stood upright by the unseen hand.
”Of course… Now, this alcohol? Upstairs?” he asked. ”Or, should I return at a later point? I know things got… Strange. But, I’d really love to uh… Well…”
He gave a sad look to them.
”I guess I don’t want to go back to my boat alone. Tennogama is there, sure. But, he’s strange. He’s not a lover, really. He gets why I’m sad, but he can’t relate. I’d like to be around people who may.”

”Oh, of course, you’re welcome to come over, you can even stay the night if you want- Wait, do we have any alcohol left in my apartment, Lynn?” Luca turned to look at Lynn, furrowing his brow thoughtfully. ”Didn’t you complain last night we were out?”

“I may have said something,” Lynn paused as she looked to Luca and smiled through the emotional pain, “Ken, there is a store around the corner,” Lynn paused as she rubbed her arm, “I could use a drink, walk me to the store and we can talk about what I saw?”

Ken was covered in swords and gear and mud. He’d been blasted through a floor’s worth of dirt at the end of things, and crawled his way out mid-hallucination. He shook his body.
”Right, right. Wait here. I’ll be quick; I should go get clothes.”
The man bubbled back up into the sky until he was high enough up that launch wouldn’t damage anything. Then he was gone like a UFO into the afternoon sun.
It left Lynn and Luca enough time to idly chat before he rocketed back with some very comfortable looking clothes. Loose pants of a foreign material, a scarf that seemed to hum a little tune, clacking wooden sandals, and a North Face hoodie that Kari had gotten him for his birthday one year.

He hit the ground with a clacking noise, readjusting his ponytail as he approached.
”That was good. Tennogama was shocked at the speed. Come now.” he waved. ”We shall journey to the liquor.”

Lynn motioned for Ken to follow. “I saw several possible futures at Kari’s house,” Lynn started with a sigh. How to explain what she saw without sounding crazy? “There were a few possibilities that were shocking, but I want to tell you them all the same. There was one where we learned that Lyss was wrong, and summoned the wrong Kari. Another where Kari swapped bodies with another universes Kari to save herself, another one where she swapped to live the life she always wanted away from all of this, another where she accidentally swapped and is stranded, Lynn paused as she looked around, making sure no one could hear how crazy she sounded, “one where Kari was father wolf, one where she was father wolf but doing this to stop a great evil, one where she was being controlled by the snake. A few more like those and lastly,” Lynn looked to Ken and let her eyes linger in his, “I saw Kari alive and she faked her death to stop a monster,” Lynn exhaled finally and took another deep breath.

As Lynn went on about the futures she saw, Ken simply listened. Shiro-Nin were always listened to in his culture, no matter the potential depravity in their visions. Students of the Ten Paths were taught to cut through what was impossible and what was truth. But, so often were the portents of potential future marred by the veil of insecurity; one simply took it all for face value after a while.
It was the only way to not panic. He’d seen what he wanted in the pink mist. His course was, somewhat, readjusted. It was just good to hear there were so many options where Kari was alive.

”How many futures was she dead, Lynn?”
His eyes hadn’t really met hers until her head shifted. He felt comfortable, which probably wasn’t good: Tension needed to exist to keep him on the razor’s edge of anticipation. It was the only way he could keep his Murasaki soul alight with the flames of war.
So asking the worst possible question placed him upon a tall cliff with crumbling rock beneath his feet. He was ready for the bottom to fall.

“Very few, she’s killing us in more futures than ones where she’s dead,” Lynn Lynn sighed, “If she’s alive, she’s either killing is for the greater good, killing us because she’s fallen victim to the snake, killing us because of a grudge, or she’s trapped somewhere else, left for somewhere else, or is actively trying to stop whoever or whatever is killing us. If she’s alive, she probably watching us right now” Lynn paused as she looked at Ken again, “the question is,” Lynn looked around and down to the ground, “If she’s alive, what’s the end game?”

Ken found it incredibly difficult to imagine that there were actually less futures where she was dead. Surely, it had to be her wanton desires running amok and affecting her visions.
”I usually tried to time my investigations with upswings in her mood. But the last time, there was… No way, really. She was so down, she kind of told me to just go. Like, in that loving way she does. Like she didn’t want to be a burden to me.”

He fiddled with a coin in his pocket, footsteps clacking against the concrete sidewalk.
”If I know her, she clammed up to save herself. But, I doubt she’d do anything to hurt us, but… She’s a real control freak these days. If things aren’t going perfect, it gets dodgy.”
There was an unconscious grin that came over his face.
”I’m not talking too much shit, am I Darling? I’d hate for you to get the wrong idea.” he said into the air, doing his best to give off the tough guy attitude he liked to put up for her when she was feeling low.

”Don’t worry; we’ll get you back. I’m floating in anticipation.”
The clacking suddenly stopped, Ken’s wooden footsteps replaced by gentle pops that pushed dust away on the sidewalk. A smirk drew across his face as he ceased the playing and impacted the ground again.

”Truthfully, Lynn, I can’t rule any of them out except the accidents. She’s too sharp for accidents, even these days with her attitude. Too tight laced. There’d have to be serious duress for her to make a mistake.”
He nodded as they came to a stop at a crossing.
”Now, the one where she’s killing us? Not on her own. She’s not Batman; she doesn’t have a plan to kill everyone. She’d need serious backup, which means she’s somehow being empowered by a force that’s probably not her, or she’s found a crew of like minded individuals without asking me. Which would be cool, but also shitty.”

“We need to find her, Ken, and the two of us together,” Lynn pointed between them, “will draw her attention, you know? She’s really smart, and if she is killing us I’ve just made us both targets. If she’s not? If she’s out there trying to protect us from the sidelines,” Lynn paused as a tear welled in her eyes, “If she’s protecting us, i just want her to know that she’s not alone in this. She can have help. I know a spot, and if Kari is paying attention she’ll know exactly where my safe space is,” Lynn smirked, “maybe she’ll come say hello.”

Ken thought about where exactly Kari could be led to that she'd actually go to free of her own will. She wasn't exactly a traveler or much of an adventurer.
”We'll do what we have to…”

He started to think about what it was that he was really chasing. It wasn't easy for him to separate his feelings into different categories, and they simply lived in a squalid pit together. Only Pride and Anticipation were standouts, the constant Lux exposure truly coloring his emotional spectrum in swaths of purple and gold.
”You know… Where I come from, we don't date. Arranged marriages, targeted breeding and intermingling of the clans; rarely do people like me choose who to love.”

Targeted breeding? Lynn knew that Ken came from an interesting backstory, but that…..

He stared up at the light for a moment, anticipation for the sign to cross welling inside him.
”When I came here, I was fascinated by th social dynamics. Like, I never saw two Feminine-presenting people kissing, or being accepted as a pair. It was strange to me, and I couldn't understand.”

He frowned at Lynn.
”Being here so long now, I understand that you're simply free to love who you come to love. So, I guess… You still love her? Probably just like I do? And you're free to, and obviously if it helps finding her that's good. But…”
Trying to think of all the things she'd explained to him, Ken tried to imagine what Kari would say.

”I… What I mean is… That is to say, hoping, or knowing…”
The light switched, and Ken quickly pushed across the road as he stammered to find his footing in his own mind.
”I am… Insecure. She's told me so. I am not quick to jealousy, so much as I am quick to despair. And she would be upset at me for even considering this. But I have to ask: Do you wish to remain with her? When we do inevitably find her, and ensure her safety and the safety of our Coven, will you pursue her?”

Lynn thought long and hard about the final question. There was a part of her that so very much loved Kari. A part of her that was very much in love with the idea of potentially getting back together. “No,” the tears welled a little more, ”no, our ship has sailed,” Lynn said as she wiped a tear from her eye, ”long ago. I stayed on the docks and watched her steam away from me. I had so many chances to get on board with her, you know? I could’ve stayed with the most amazing person I have ever known.” Lynn paused as she looked at the ground, “I won’t stand between you two, Ken, that’s not why I want to find her. I still love her, but I want her to be safe,” Lynn paused as she held back more tears. In truth she wanted nothing more than to be back with Kari, but too much had happened. Too much had changed. Too much had changed, but not Lynn. Lynn was still the very same person that ruined that relationship.

Ken took a long, deep breath.
”Until this return, I don't remember speaking much to you. We hardly know each other, so you probably don't realize how useless I am…” he admitted.
”Honor binds me to a duty: To hunt the Fiends who slaughtered my family and left me empty. Eight years ago, I had a wife. A child on the way. I… Can never give myself to her in a way that she deserves. I'm full of pain and loss. She needs someone dedicated to her, Lynn. Not to vengeance. And I've said that to her countless times, but she cares so deeply that she won't… Won't let go.”

Clearing his throat, Lynn would easily be able to tell that Ken was also getting emotional.
”But she's no safer with me. No better off. I've even brought up… What is it? Polywog Love? Where, multiple people are in the relationship? I just feel so wretched… So, maybe now's your chance to make things right?” he finally suggested.

“Polywog Love,” Lynn eyes were suddenly bright but confused. What could it mean? Lynn thought long and hard about the context of Polywog Love before a single loud, sharp gasp filled the air. “Do you mean polyamory,” Lynn asked with a bemused tone, “If so, that’s a whole beast in and of itself,” Lynn smiled. “I’m a lot alike you I’m coming to learn tonight,” Lynn cleared her throat, “some evil apparition is out there ensuring that my bloodline is cursed. I’ve lost my entire family to this fucking thing. My parents, my siblings, my cousins, my aunts and my uncles, and grandparents, great grandparents, so on and so forth going back to when my ancestors made a deal with a devil,” Lynn looked at Ken, a thought entered her mind forcing her to both smile and shake her head, “what I’m hearing is Kari has a type. Emotionally damaged, emotionally unavailable,,” Lynn chuckled as she began to count the traits on her fingers, filled with so much anger for what the world took away from them but still kind enough to want to make a difference anyway.”

Ken was a bit shocked to hear it. He wondered if it was really an apparition, or some trans-dimensional monstrosity towing the line between that and true creature. It was difficult to know without experiencing it.

But what she was saying held weight. Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Ken spun and wrapped his arms around Lynn.
”She never told me…” he held her tight. ”But, who knows? Maybe this is our chance to do better. And when she's back, and everything settles down, maybe we can show her that she can have the best of both worlds? I'm not opposed, really, to… Polyamory. I think she has that kind of love to give. Don't you?”

Why admit he didn't feel like he was enough? It paid, Ken assumed, to brighten her spirit more than it paid to imagine the nerves and hurt that would come from knowing that he had to share… But he was desperate to please without breaking his oath. Settling meant that it was all over.
But this could be a loophole. They may all be able to have their cake and eat it, if he just let go even a little bit.

“The future is, as always, uncertain,” Lynn said with a genuine laugh, “I’ve had my chance and I blew it, I don’t want to step in and ruin it again. I don’t think it’ll be pretty for anyone involved, and I don’t want to ruin it for you. I’m not opposed either, but I am not trying to push my way back in at the expense of you,” Lynn hugged Ken back all the same, “but I guess we’ll greet the uncertainty of tomorrow in a drunken stupor tonight” Lynn pointed to the store that was just up ahead, “do you want to get drunk and reminisce about the ones we’ve lost,” Lynn asked with a raised eyebrow.

”Too drunk, I begin to summon my allies from Gama. This is bad for multiple reasons, so I will exercise a modicum of restraint.”

He touched his pockets weakly.
”Shimmer is a bureaucratic hellscape-”
Pulling one of his gold coins out, he held it up.
”-Just about anywhere magical, you hand someone gold and they give you what you want. Here? You hand someone a gold coin and they have a conniption…”

“Plastic is king here,” Lynn said with a smirk, “drinks are on my friend.”

After a quick trip through the store, Lynn emerged with two twelve packs of a strong IPA in hand and several bottles of vodka in two bags hanging around her wrist. As the duo approached the apartment complex she spotted two familiar souls. “Hey,” Lynn spoke to Jasper, and Lynn, “you guys just….” Lynn paused as she saw Lila’s wings once again, “just get in?”

“Yeah, yeah we did,” Jasper said with a fake smile, “I’m going to run up real quick and talk to Luca, can you give me a five minute head start?”

“Sure thing.”

Lila simply nodded her head. Jasper turned towards Ken and threw a quick wave as he headed into the building.

Watching Jasper head in, Ken gave a big wave. But, he was more happy that Lila was okay. He moved toward her, wrapping his arms around her and wobbling back and forth for a moment.

Oh this is nice. Lila allowed Ken to embrace her and in that moment she forgot about the maiden, the vision, the claws, and the wings. Instead she let her head rest on his chest, wrapping her wings around him for a prolonged moment before she released them. This was nice.

”I’m happy to see you too… It was a little scary hearing Emily calling you out like that; so it’s good to see you in one piece. I’m only sorry we didn’t end it for good.” he said calmly, his hand rubbing her shoulder as he pulled out of the hug.

“It’ll take more than Emily to bring me down,” Lila thought as her mind flashed images of Emily’s mangled corpse, “Thank you though, Ken, it’s so good to have you back,” Lila finished with a smile.

”It’s good to be back in the presence of friendship. I often miss everyone’s antics, but your memories do help me. Occasionally, I pop back into the shimmer if I’m close to a door, just to see if anyone is using the land. The camping is year-round, so I always encourage people to use it!” he expressed to her, his lux sending little bubbles of telekinetic energy through her feathers.
”But, I’ll be here for the foreseeable future. I find it so strange that now all we can do is wait.”

“Well at least the waiting is better with company, right?”

---

Luca had gone up to the apartment as soon as Ken and Lynn went off for some drinks. His thoughts were calmer now after the time he’d spent with the two of them, and the time in that little air bubble. He pushed back down the Rot’s influence and began to feel a bit more himself.

It was difficult to get over what he’d done to Sloane. It wasn’t something he could view in any positive light. While he could understand while Jasper shot Carol, as much as he disliked it, and accepted that he and Sloane would be better for each other… There was nothing good that would come from how much he’d hurt Sloane. Apart from it bringing her and Jasper closer together, maybe.

Something he was fine with. Completely fine with. There’d been no chance with Jasper anyway. He was straight, and why would he want to be with someone he couldn’t even get close to? Luca was happy enough being friends and keeping the warm, fuzzy feelings he had to himself.

He sighed softly, pulling his legs up to his chest where he sat on the worn couch. He’d need to reach out to Sloane later to make sure she was alright and properly apologise… But not right now. His head drooped onto his knees, hair messily falling across his face as he closed his eyes for a moment. He just needed to rest a bit, and everything would be fine.

---

After what felt like an eternity Jasper was walking up to Lucas’s door. He had driven Lila here, which was difficult given her newfound wings, but left her outside with Lynn and Ken.. Jasper knew that Luca was more than likely feeling a thousand terrible feelings and he also knew the reason he left early and without him was because of them. He needed space, he needed alone time, so Jasper did his best to accommodate them. But he did not want to leave Luca alone all day. For that reason, Jasper had made sure to stop at the store on the way home and grabbed a bag full of Lucas’s favorite snacks and a giant tub of ice cream. As Luca taught him so many weeks ago, when someone is sad there’s nothing like ice cream. Jasper grabbed the key to the apartment and opened the door.

“Hey,” Jasper said as he walked through the door, “I brought you the snacks that you like.”

”Oh, hey,” Luca looked up with a smile - it wasn't quite as bright as normal, so it was obvious he still wasn't feeling great. The time alone had let him at least gather his thoughts a bit, and get everything under control… but seeing Jasper again was a different thing. He'd brought Luca all of his favourite snacks. He was so thoughtful. Of course, it was what you'd do for your best friend. He shouldn't let it give him more false hope.

”Where are the girls? You didn't leave them behind, did you?” Luca asked, quickly moving to a topic that wasn't him as he stood up. He awkwardly hovered a distance away, looking at the bags, then at Jasper. There was an awkwardness that hadn't been there before. Things Luca had to talk about but wasn't sure how to… Carol, what happened with Sloane. A lot. ”They both… didn't look so great.”

“They needed a moment to talk about what they saw,” Jasper said as he rubbed his head. So did he, but how to speech approach that conversation? “They’re in my car, and should be up in a few minutes. They’re better but nowhere near good, that whole fight was messed up,” Jasper sighed. He quickly scanned over Lucas’s body, checking for signs of injury or pain and smiled when he saw neither.

“How are you feeling by the way, Luca?”

”I’m… well I'm as alright as I can be! What happened with Sloane was…” he grimaced. It was difficult to not still see it. To not imagine it happening to all the other people he cared about. He knew it was always possible. A risk he'd tried to avoid until the coven got back together. ”It was bad. But I'll reach out to her and make sure everything's alright!”

He smiled again, moving to the kitchen - making sure to give Jasper a wide berth - to grab himself a plastic bowl and spoon for the ice cream. ”A lot happened, huh. I saw you… managed to make the rifle useful.”

Shit. “I, uh,” Jasper started as he rubbed the back of his neck. He walked towards the counter, giving Luca a wide berth as well, and began to pull things from the bag. He knew that Luca was very fond of Carol and he knew that Luca would not be happy that he semi-murdered his friend. “I did yeah, I did get it to be useful and I think…I think I was the one who took Carol down. Did you want to talk about that?”

”Yeah,” Luca said softly. He reached out for the tub of ice cream, quickly heaping it into his bowl, then also took a big chocolate bar. He broke up the pieces and mixed it into the ice cream - easier to carry, less risk of losing some of it to his abstraction. He then went back to the couch with the bowl, rotting fizzling at the plastic exterior slowly, and turned to look at Jasper. He wasn't sure how to word things. He wasn't mad at Jasper. He understood. But it didn't mean it didn't upset him.

”I’m not- I'm not really upset at you… I understand. Carol can heal any of them, but…” Luca trailed off, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth to give him a moment more to think. ”It still hurts her, and she didn't ask to be like that. Unlike the rest she's there because she has no other choice… Emily promised to help her. I just don't like seeing one friend hurting another, you know? I still hope we can settle things by talking…”

“No I get that,” Jasper said as he turned around and leaned back on the counter, crossing his arms as he did. “Normally I would never do something like that, you know? And I didn’t want to kill anyone who could actually die. I figured that if I took out their biggest healer, we could force them to run away. In the moment I did not think of how Carol would feel, and you’re right. She did not ask for this, she’s just trying to get fixed and Emily is stringing her along because she’s more useful broken.” Jasper paused as he rubbed his temple. “and I know you two are really close so I know it must’ve hurt you too. I am sorry Luca.”

”Its alright, I'm not the one you should be apologising to…” Luca smiled slightly. ”I understand that you just did what we needed to, and that I'll need to get used to it if 8th Street keeps coming after Lila… I'm going to try talk to Emily’s sisters as well, see if there's anything we can do. But, would you mind apologising to Carol? I have her number.”

“I know, I know,” Jasper paused as he checked the time, “it was midnight right? When Carol respawns? I can shoot her a text in the morning that way she can have her night without the chance of fuming over her killer, you know? But I will apologise, give her the ‘hey, I murdered you and I’m sorry’ and see if she’ll forgive me. I can do that.”

”Yup, midnight, I'm surprised you remembered,” Luca said, smile widening. It was difficult to stay upset at Jasper… not that it was really at Jasper. More the circumstances. They really sucked, and the main person at fault was Emily… ”Thanks for being willing to do that! She'll probably call you a motherfucker a few times but that's just Carol…” he trailed off and laughed, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. Jasper really was a great… friend. ”How was Sloane after I left?”

“I did not stick around Sloane as much as I could’ve,” Jasper trailed off. She had Drake, Sully, and a few others to look after her. “I spent a lot of time with Lila and Lynn. Lila needed a few rounds of the chalice to close her wounds, and I did my best to lighten the mood for her,” Jasper paused as he leaned his head back, “Lynn needs a lot of support right now after what the mist made her see,” Jasper paused as he looked over to Luca, “You can say no to this, but do you mind if I ask what you saw in the mist?”

Luca's eyes widened for a moment, cheeks darkening slightly as he remembered what he saw - it was enough to temporarily push away his worries. Of course he couldn't tell Jasper… even if Jasper did somehow like him back, the hallucination had been way too embarrassing! That painting… with the heart cloud and the rose arch… it was too much. ”I didn't have the rot with me anymore, and everyone was happy. You were there- uh, and so were Olivia and Carol! They didn't have their apparitions either. It was just really nice and calm…” Definitely didn't involve Jasper pseudo proposing to him. ”What did you see? You don't have to answer either!”

Please don't say Sloane.

“I saw…..” Jasper trailed off, his eyes shooting to the ceiling to think of the words, “something I’ve been wanting for a while, something I didn’t ever really think would be around again you know? I thought that part of my life was well and truly closed, but since I’ve been around you.... all again it’s become clear that I have a lot of introspection to do, you know? So it showed me what’s at the end of that journey.”

”Oh…” Luca smiled, even as his thoughts raced. Something Jasper had been wanting for a while, that was around again? That had become clear after being around everyone? Around the coven? That he needed to do introspection for? It must be Sloane. He'd realised his feelings - seen a future with her - and it was pushing him to think about why he ‘hated’ her. Of course. That made sense. Who else could it be about? Definitely not him… haha, that would be too nice. ”Well… I'm glad you got something out of it! Sounds like we both had good visions, at least. Something for us both to work towards. Me towards being rot free,” and able to touch Jasper, even if that wouldn't happen even without the rot, ”and you with that… something you want. I'm glad.”

“Yeah…Something,” Jasper said as his eyes shot over to Luca and he flashed a warm smile. Jasper knew he wanted to talk to Luca about these feelings but right now was not the right time. With everything that happened with Sloane, Lila, and everyone else he wanted to wait venue he brought them up. He had his suspicions about Luca, and he was certain he felt the same way, but he did not want the worst day of Luca’s life to be overloaded like that.

“How about a chill ending to this day. I think the girls will be down. I can cook us all dinner, we can watch movies together, and we can rest up all weekend long and recover,” Jasper said with a smirk.

”Sounds good to me… I think we all need it after that,” Luca smiled softlya at Jasper, seeming to relax more. He ate another spoonful of ice cream. ”Let’s just put on something easy to watch… maybe another bad one? Something we can chat and laugh through. Oh, we might need to think about sleeping arrangements if Lila still… has the wings.”

“She’s still got them….. how do we go about making her feel better? Do we pretend the wings aren’t there, acknowledge them, I don’t know what to do,” Jasper said in response, “What would the sleeping arrangements look like what do you think?”

”I think we should pretend they’re not there,” Luca said, thinking about his own situation. He didn’t want certain issues brought up. ”I don’t enjoy the rotting being brought up, myself… And sleeping wise, I don’t know. I don’t think she can share Olivia’s bed with Lynn anymore. Maybe Lynn can take the couch and you…” sleep in my room, is what Luca wanted to say. ”I don’t know.”

“How about-” Jasper started but was cut off from the sound of the girls and Ken entering the apartment. Lynn lead the way and turned back to make sure Lila got through fine. Lila, still not fully in control of the wings, struggled to fit through the door without catching the door frame. She sighed as she turned to the side and shimmied into the room in full. Once inside she flapped the wings twice on accident and sent a gust of wind through the apartment. “How about I grab Lynn and Ken and go get my camping set from home, my sleeping bag and mattress pad. Maybe I can camp out in your room tonight?”

Luca was glad he was sitting down, because the gust of wind was strong enough it might have knocked him over… since his legs were once again feeling weak. He stood up after, one hand on the arm of the couch to support him, with a smile towards the girls. As if he hadn’t almost killed someone, and Lila wasn’t stuck with wings. ”That sounds like a good plan, Jasper… there’s plenty of space in my room, you should be able to sleep outside of my aura!”

Though having Jasper sleeping in his room was… something Luca really wanted, but also didn’t. He wanted it under different circumstances. Would he be able to sleep with his crush right there?! Maybe being so sick would be a blessing, since he’d eventually pass out anyway. He pushed the thought away, cheeks slightly red, and looked over at Lila. ”Me and Lila will pick out the movies while you’re away… but if you take too long there might not be any ice cream left!”

“I’ll have Lynn check if we need to stop,” Jasper said as he shot a wink Lucas’s way, “Lynn, Ken, you’re with me.”

Lynn looked every part of a person who had just stopped crying. Her eyes were bloodshot, swollen, and her makeup had run completely and there was no salvaging the kind of damage her tears had done. She looked to Luca and flashed the weakest smile, then back to Jasper and simply nodded. Lynn led the two out of the room, and Jasper turned around and faced Luca once more. He flashed him a big smile as he closed the door and left with Lynn and Ken to hopefully begin the night of recovery for everyone.

---

When it was just the two of them, Luca sat back down. He went to suggest that Lila sit next to him, but after a moments thought realised it… wasn’t really feasible. She’d have to properly stretch out her wings, and then they’d touch him and… he didn’t want to find out if they could rot too. ”Do you… want to talk about it? I understand if you don’t. But I’m happy to listen. I understand how shit dealing with an Apparition is.” As if to prove his point, he accidentally rotted another hole in the arm of the couch.

Lila found a chair and tried to sit down near Luca and struggled to figure out how to actually do it. The wings seemed to get in the way of a comfortable position no matter how she tried to avoid it. She had been given a white tank top that did little to hide the feathered chest beneath them but for whatever reason it made her feel less exposed to the world. Eventually she simply wrapped the wings around herself and leaned forward in the chair to get the stem off then pressure point. “For whatever reason all of this,” Lila paused as she looked around her visit, “is only like really really scary,” Lila paused as let out a nervous chuckle. She was terrified. She did not know how to properly communicate this and instead tried to deflect with humor. “I thought I was done, you know? I thought that Britney would be able to help me and steal away the apparition before it got to a bad spot,” Lila paused as she hugged herself tighter with her wings, “but she still here. She still is in my head, her body is coming out of mine, and that mist…. That fucking mist, made it perfectly clear that she wants to bring death and destruction to the world. I thought Britney would be able to help me,” Lila paused as she looked down to the ground, “and I got her drunk and let her try to do the sealing anyway,” Lila paused as she felt her tears coming to life once more. “I don’t know what to do Luca.

”I’m sorry, Lila,” Luca said softly, looking at her with a knowing sympathy. He understood too well. He’d spent ten years trying to get rid of the Rot as he destroyed everything around him, and it ate away at him. But at least he still looked normal. He couldn’t live normally, but for now he looked… mostly human. ”I wish I had an easy answer. I’ve spent years trying to look into a way to get rid of the Rot. They don’t make it easy, do they? I’d hoped you’d been able to seal her but… I guess not.”

He shook his head, smiling at her and wishing that he could offer some kind of comfort. If only he could at least hug her. ”Even if Britney didn’t help, maybe someone else can. I know you won’t want to, but Greta was working on something for me before I left 8th… maybe once things die down we can talk to her? Either way, I’ll do all I can to help you… We’ll figure it out.”

“Let’s make sure you get the cure first,” Lila joked, “one month in and I’m going crazy, I can’t imagine ten years,” Lila cuddled her wings into her even tighter once more. “I have fucking wings that can glow green, I have fucking wings man. I could get rid of them but the bitch didn’t tell me how.

”You get used to it… and hey, worst case we get a little cottage in the middle of the forest and become the local cryptids,” Luca joked in return, trying to alleviate the… shit situation. Even if that wasn’t something he could do, because he wouldn’t be around there for it. ”If there’s a way for you to get rid of them… maybe it’s like how I can suppress my rotting touch. I had to figure that out myself too. Its… hmm. How do I describe it? I have to put all of my energy into willing it away, and concentrate on not rotting things… Aha, that isn’t very helpful, is it?”

“That was…. One of my hallucinations. I had one, and the maiden had one. In mine, I was in the middle of the forest. I had a home, a life there and I never really stayed in one spot for long. Everyone still came to see me though. No matter how I looked, they still came and treated me like a friend. You tackled me. So yes. We could become the local cryptids, maybe cause a bridge to collapse on Emily who knows,” Lila joked as her wings no longer hugged her as tight, “what did you see in the mist?”

”That one sounds a lot nicer than the death and destruction one… I’m sure we can make that happen. And no matter what, you’ll always be my friend, and hopefully one day I can tackle you,” Luca said. Then, his face turned bright red when he thought about what he’d seen. It was just so embarrassing! But at least he could tell Lila about it… maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad if he did? ”Well, obviously I didn’t have the rot. Jasper was there and we… hugged. Fuck. This is so embarrassing, but he got out this painting! It was of us and I had a literal sunbeam smile, there were roses everywhere, and even the clouds were in the shape of a heart! He got down on one knee with it and asked me to be his boyfriend… Lila, it was so cringey! I can’t believe my mind came up with that.”

“Oh my,” Lila said with a smirk as her wings unfurled completely and spread out, “that’s the cutest one yet! Do we know what Jasper’s was? He didn’t look too beat up like Lynn so probably wasn’t with his friends again,” Lynn paused as she tried to lean back in the chair but stopped when she hit the base of her wings. “Luca that is so cute though,” the conversation pulled her away from the doom and gloom for at least the moment, “You should tell him,” Lila crossed her arms with a satisfying smirk across her face.

”No way!” Luca’s eyes widened, and he waved his hands in front of him, clearly very flustered. ”Jasper’s straight! He said his was about something he’s been wanting for a while so… I think it must’ve been someone else. We’ve only been in each other's life again for, what, a month? I can’t- imagine! ‘Hi Jasper, the mist made me see you pseudo propose to me with a sappy painting and a ring you pulled out of it, do you actually like me?’ I think I’d die of embarrassment before I even finished speaking!”

“Honestly…. Yeah I’d rather out the maidens plan to raze St. Portwell then tell a guy that now that you mention it,” Lila chuckled, ““I can talk to Jasper for you, if you are okay with it? I won’t tell him how you feel, but I can see if his wrist is a little limp you know what I mean?

”Yeah, it's super embarrassing,” Luca groaned, covering his face with a hand. He peaked at Lila through his fingers with a half smile. ”I mean maybe… test the waters. Nothing too extreme! I don't want him to get suspicious, in case it ruins our friendship. That's more important than anything… imagine how awkward it'd be for all of us.”

“Don’t worry Luca, I am sneaky,” Lila paused as she looked around, “I will be like “Yo, bro what’s up? You like men right? What’s that like?”

Luca’s shoulder started shaking as he tried to hold back laughter, but he couldn’t help it, bursting out into a laughing fit that ended in a series of harsh coughs. ”That’s- Fuck, Lila, haha that’s not subtle at all! You can’t just… say that to a straight guy!”

“Trust the process my friend,” Lila joked as she couldn’t contain a laugh. “I won’t be that direct. I’ll take him out in the next week, once we’re all recovered from the attempted hate crime, and work my magic,” Lila laughed again, and as she did she accidentally extended her wings out. She did not freak out this time. Instead she looked at them in detail for the first time with clear eyes. “Fuck the maiden and all but these are beautiful,” Lila took in a deep breath. Her wings were indeed beautiful.

”They are,” Luca agreed with a smile. They really were nice to look at, and he was glad Lila could at least see that a little bit after the pain she’d gone through when they came out. ”Maybe you can see if you can keep them when you deal with the maiden… But like, wings you can just pop in and out as you like. It’d be a cool party trick!”

“Only if they don’t break my back open every time. Like, imagine you’re the unlucky person who stands behind me at a party. Just a face full of blood and skin,” Lila gagged at the thought. Her eyes went wide. “Oh fuck I totally got a few of us with the wings arrival,” she placed her hand over her mouth. “I need to text them and say I’m so so so so sorry for splattering them.”

”It probably smelled better than those Zombies, so really it isn’t so bad?” Luca tried to joke, rubbing the back of his neck. ”But yeah, we both have apologies to make… Bit of a shitshow, huh? We really can’t catch a break.”

That’s putting it lightly. Lila pulled her wings in as she closed her clawed hands into a fist. “I’m going to get Emily back for all of this,” Lila paused as she looked at Luca, “this shit show is entirely on her shoulders,” an idea entered her head. She reached out to the murder and began to issue commands. As she did, her eyes went black in an instant. She commanded dozens of them to monitor the 8th street from afar. Just to see if Emily made the fatal mistake of leaving her mansion. They would be spread out all across the town and in the countryside. Once one spots Emily, a second murder would converge on her location and shit all over her. She commanded her crows to stay safe, away from those who could hurt them, but to cover Emily in shit. Then, another idea entered her mind. She sent out a third command, to the murder at large not in the second group. Once a day they would shit all over the mansion, on the steps, on the roof, in the bushes, and on any car parked nearby.

Lila’s eyes returned to normal as she severed the command. “Don’t worry Luca, I will make the transphobes afraid again,” Lila joked.

”Oh yeah, they’ve been way too confident lately,” Luca laughed, hiding his concern at Lila’s eye change. She was in control right now, that much he could tell so… he put it to the back of his mind. ”Emily’s… a bitch. She deserves whatever comes her way. But… I’m going to try and talk to her sisters about some stuff. They’re nothing like her. I want you to know, because, well, Emily’s clearly targeting you.”

Lila smirked at the words. Emily was targeting her, but Lila knew she had much more versatility. Lila hoped that her murder would prove to be quite the thorn in Emily’s side. Lila would need her murder to do much. A war was declared, and Lila would do well to keep the bitch in her sight. “She’s going to get a lot coming her way,” Lila said with a smirk, “I don’t want to hurt them, though, they seemed lovely and tried to stop Emily.”

”They are. I honestly don’t know how they’re related to her… At least they didn’t come along today. They always tried to help me back when I was in 8th… Greta and Carol too. They’re not all bad but-” He coughed, smiling awkwardly. ”While I hope we can talk it out with most of them, Emily and Vashti… well, while they’re in charge, 8th won’t improve.”

“How are you feeling,” Lila added to change the subject. They had talked enough about her problems, it was time she returned the favor for Luca.

”I’m alright, just a bit tired after everything,” Luca smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn’t really a lie, because he did feel alright. Upset that he’d hurt Sloane, but it had happened and he was moving forward from it. He just had to not let it happen again. ”I’m really hoping that something like that doesn’t happen again… Or that next time no one tries to hug me, haha.”

“Yeah,” Lila knew that the best way to ensure that it never happened again was the painful death of Emily, “I hope that we never have to experience something like that again. It was cruel,” Lila paused as she looked at Luca, “I hope you know that none of that was your fault though, hug included. Emily is the one who holds responsibility for Sloane getting hurt, and Emily is the one who will be paying for it. You had no control, and neither did Sloane. I know you, and I know it’s eating away at you, but just remember that. For me. Okay?”

”I know, it was part bad luck from me being so close to Sloane when it hit…” he shook his head. What Lila said wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t entirely blameless. If he hadn’t been there Sloane wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Just going out he risked hurting people. He should have control. ”I can’t really pretend it didn’t suck, but I’m not going to let it get me down. I’ll talk to Sloane tomorrow, apologise, and move past it. It’s just after managing to avoid it for so long… Well, you’re right. Emily’s fault.”

“Let’s find the movie for the night, do you need anything? I can do my best to scoop out some ice cream,” Lila offered.

”Some more ice cream would be great, but don’t push yourself! Grab some as well… or other stuff, Jasper got loads of snacks!” Luca grinned. He slowly pushed himself up and went over to get his desktop turning on stick. It took a moment to control the rotting, but once he did he used it to turn the computer on. Once it was on he brought his keyboard and mouse over to the couch. He didn’t have much time before he’d rot through them, so he started searching immediately… he’d hand it over to Lila if he didn’t find anything before.

”Ooo, what about this? I bet Ken will love it.” The cursor hovered over a movie called ‘Samurai Cop.’

“Oh I don’t think I have ever seen that one,” Lila said as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed the tub of ice cream, and attempted to pull it open but her claws simply sliced through the lid. “Fuck. Well how about we wait until the lover boy is back,” Lila said as she used her palms to grab the tub and place it back in the freezer.

”Lilaaaa,” Luca jokingly groaned, once again holding his head in his hands.

The door opened after a few knocks, and in came Jasper, Lynn and Ken, who in tow had a bubble full of camping stuff.
”Arigatooooo, thank you for having me Luca!”
Ken’s face was a little flushed. Clearly he’d given into Lynn’s earlier suggestions and had, at the very least, a few sips of something between leaving and returning.

”Ken! It’s no problem!” Luca looked up at the three entering with a grin. ”The more the merrier! There’s plenty of space… Me and Lila were just choosing a movie- oh, Jasper, mind helping with the ice cream. Me and Lila… well, apparition problems, y’know.”

He stood up with a slight grimace, gesturing to the large livingroom-kitchen. It was mostly an empty space, though there were a few more undamaged chairs since Ken had last visited, courtesy of Luca ordering them for the other three. He’d made sure to avoid everything but his ‘side’ so the rot didn’t start destroying immediately.
”Just put the camping stuff anywhere, Ken. We’ll figure out where everyone’s sleeping later!”

”You’ve got it, my friend. LUCA! My Brother; I may not be able to help Sister Lila with her… Apparition issues… But! Yours, I can potentially assist with. It will keep my mind off of utilizing my Kin abilities. And I would like to test.” he offered, putting the camping things in a secure and out of the way corner of the open space.

“Apparition problems,” Jasper raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the freezer and opened it, noticing that the lid was sliced cleanly. “That’s not a problem, I got you Luca,”

Lila walked to Luca and mouthed a “I got you” with a grin.

Lynn took a big drink from her beer as she found a nice spot to sit. She looked at the movie selection and smirked. A fun choice.

”Thanks Jasper, bro!” Luca grinned, shaking his head at Lila with a laugh. She really didn’t need to do anything, it was fine. But with the ice cream (and possibly his love life) being sorted, he could give Ken his full attention.
”Of course, if you have something you think will work… Well, I’m willing to be the test subject. It’s not like it can get worse?” He laughed.

Ken shrugged.
”If I remember, the Bastard’s trouble is radial… But, I wanted to see if I could force it back. I didn’t know if concentrating it in a Lux shell would concentrate it upon you, or if it would just… Let us be close to you for once. I’ve made a way to hug you at any distance, but… How tight can we get it?”

As he finished, Ken lifted his right hand and directed a great deal of Purple Lux into a phantom hand that closed itself around Luca’s arm. He could feel the weak particles being rotted in the air, and he started to close the gap tighter and tighter.
”Tell me if it hurts you or anything… If it doesn’t, we’ll spread it across your body. See how it goes.” he said, tugging the rot closer and tighter toward the center of it’s infection.

Luca watched as the phantom hand wrapped around his hand, and started to squeeze inwards. At first, it was just tight and uncomfortable. Like an intensified prickling against his arm and a squeeze from the pressure itself. Then, as it got closer, it started to hurt. Like sharp nails were scratching across his skin, then they became burning hot. It was a pain he felt when the rot went more rampant, or the days where he wasn’t doing so well physically. Not quite the constant background ache that came with his condition, but not to the level of the rotting of his insides either.

Luca’s scale of pain was incredibly skewed. On a scale of one to ten, he’d rate a badly broken bone at a five. Yes, it hurt, but being able to let people close was worth suffering through it. Maybe not risking hurting others, only himself.
”It feels fine, you can spread it, I think,” Luca smiled, no signs of pain visible across his features. He was well practiced at hiding it.

Ken grimaced as he felt a great deal of the particles slipping around from one edge to another. He was certain they were bounding directly through Luca with little care as to the thickness or shape of his flesh. Microscopic holes. But Luca was telling him it was fine.
So Ken faked a smile, and let the sleeve of telekinesis wrap around Luca, slipping its way under his clothes and coating him until there was a strange sensation of suction. The layer disappeared, slipping just under the first few layers of skin.

The result was a seamless subdermal coating, trapping the rot just below the skin and leaving Luca the freedom to see, hear and breathe at the cost of a constant low powered vibration echoing through his body.
And more pain… Whether or not he could handle it on such a scale, Ken waited with baited breath to see.

”Whoaaa,” Luca held out his hands, turning them, before touching the couch without rotting it away. He grinned. ”Ken, this is awesome.”

Of course, it was also incredibly painful. The rotting aura was trapped and pressed against his already rotting skin, all of the decay that affected around him suddenly trapped. It was bad. The vibration through his body amplified it as it forced straining joints to move slightly. But… it still wasn’t the worst pain he’d been in. This was the level of pain where he could still get out of bed, to eat and go to the toilet and maybe watch a movie. He wasn’t doing much more tonight. He could bear it. It was worth it.

”Thanks, Ken!” Luca said cheerfully, pushing to his feet and going over to hug his friend. It was the closest to a proper hug they’d had, different from the normal ones that Luca had always appreciated too. Standing was more difficult. His legs felt like they were being ripped apart, his muscles slightly trembling. But he was already in so much pain, he reached this level of pain while destroying everything.

Letting go of Ken, Luca spun around towards the kitchen, eyes locking on Jasper.
”Jasper, look, I can actually get close to people!” Luca’s smile was bright as he went towards Jasper, slightly faster than the sluggish walk he’d made towards Ken. His chest constricted, breathing difficult as the rotting penetrated through his skin. Another step, and his leg went out from underneath him, sending him falling in Jasper’s direction.

Jasper was stunned. Luca was walking, and he could actually move without worry of the rot. Jasper put the bowl filled with ice cream down on the counter and crossed his arms. It was incredible, the power of Ken, and Jasper wondered if this meant… “Oh shit,” Jasper thought to himself as he saw Luca start to fall. He reached out, shot his hands under Luca’s arm, and pulled him steady. However, he pulled him a little too hard and brought him in nice and close. They were practically hugging.

“Well how about that?”

”Pretty… neat…” Luca panted out, chest heaving up and down. He automatically leant in towards Jasper, furrowing his brow. Maybe he couldn’t handle this after all… no, he’d just exerted himself too much by walking. It was just a bit… a whole lot of pain. Really hard to breathe. He could feel the rotting underneath his flesh, scraping away at his insides. No, this was getting worse. It still wasn’t the worst because… he was in control. There was no visible damage.

Just his heart’s weak thudding slowing down. His lungs being scraped by shards of glass. The distinctive feeling of his organs rotting. A feeling he was accustomed to and in tune with enough to know when it was worse, when it was killing him faster.

It was bad. He’d made a mistake.

”Ken…” The single word came out as a weak whimper. Shit, this was really bad. Now everyone was going to be worried.

“Ken, take it away,” Jasper said to Ken with a panicked tone in his voice.

Panicked, Ken instantly released the spell to a comfortable distance, being sure to bump Jasper and anyone else away from being too close. He’d been extremely happy to see Luca so excited, but now it was far more sour.
He opened a hole in the bubble and began to circulate air through it to try and give Luca some extra comfort as the Rot’s influence expanded again.
”I knew it! I felt it, the way everything was so weak… Like it could all crumble! I should not have kept going… I’m so sorry, my friend… What do you need? Can I make it better!?” he pleaded against the barrier.

Luca had slouched to his knees, not able to keep himself up, one hand on the plastic flooring beside him as he took deep, heaving breaths. The intense pain subsided, and the pressure on his lungs and heart reduced. Blood, already rotten, pumped around his body again. It still hurt. It still hurt a lot, but it had reduced back down from a level of actively damaging… At least, just the normal amount of internal damage he was constantly suffering.
”It’s alright, Ken, it wasn’t your fault,” he said when he finally had enough air in his lungs to do so, holding up the hand not supporting it and shaking it slightly. He didn’t want Ken blaming himself. He was the one who’d said it didn’t hurt and decided to risk it. He hadn’t expected it to be so fast or deadly. ”I just need a bit of time to recover… It’s not that bad. Just a bit of rotting under my skin- aha, I’ll have to hit the gym again to get those muscles back.”

He coughed rather than laughing at the poorly made joke, holding up an arm that clearly hadn’t had much in the way of muscle strength in the first place. Of course, it had rotted much more than that. Luca knew that of all the people here, unless Lynn had peered into his future, Ken had the best idea of how bad it was. It was difficult for Luca to hide fully from one of the few people that had visited him over the years. But, still, the internal damage wasn’t so obvious. He’d like to keep it that way.
”What I really need… is to lie down on the couch when I can move, with some ice cream, and a movie, and friends.”

”Don’t move! I know I’ve got tricks that won’t… Won’t hurt you.”
His hands flicked between one another again, and Luca’s body simply floated. It didn’t cover him in the same way, and having been affected by Enlighten before, Ken figured Luca wouldn’t struggle.
With a phantom hand, he patted Luca’s head and floated him to hover in place just over the couch. He touched him down softly, half smiling as the whole situation settled.
”There… I wish there was more. Jasper, maybe, will feed you ice cream so you can save the spoon.”

”Thanks Ken, you’re the best,” Luca smiled brightly, as if he hadn’t been dying moments ago, and it hadn’t taken a further toll on his life. His cheeks darkened slightly at the suggestion, furtively glancing over at Jasper. ”That would be… nice. Y’know. My best friend helping out.”

Lila simply found a bar of chocolate, broke off a small chunk as best she could, and ate the chocolate with a smile on her face. She looked at Luca, flashed her eyes over to Jasper, then back to Luca and simply raised her eyebrows twice in quick succession. Lynn, meanwhile, downed another beer and watched the scene unfold in real time for the first time. This was apart of one of the possible futures she’d seen, and she knew that Luca and Lila were going to try and sus out Jasper. She could spill the beans ahead of time, but she much preferred letting everyone take it at their own speed. She turned to Jasper and tapped her fingers on an imaginary watch.

“I gotchu bro,” Jasper said with a wry smile. He grabbed the bowl of ice cream, a spoon, and walked over near Luca and sat down to his side, just out of range of the rot, and scooped a small dollop of ice cream and held it out.

”Thanks, man,” Luca blushed slightly but tried to play it out with a casual response, leaning forward to eat the spoonful of ice cream. He smiled at Jasper afterwards. It wasn't like it meant anything… Jasper was just helping him out! Totally straight friend ice cream feeding. Ken had suggested it too so that just made it a normal friend thing.

”Oh, does someone want to start the movie? I already picked one out with Lila,” Luca pointed to the keyboard and mouse sitting on the floor some distance from the couch. He turned his head slightly to look at Ken. ”I think you'll really enjoy this one, Ken, it's… got some kind of Samurai in it.”

Ken clicked his tongue between his teeth, settled up on the floor with his sandals off and his legs twisted into a pretzel. He sat upright like a board, and had pulled his sweater off to sit in a tank top with his abnormally toned shoulders and neck on display. As well as what looked to be a tattoo; the curse mark in the shape of the Fiend’s Teeth.
”Samurai? Poor guy. What do you mean by some kind?” he questioned flatly.

”Well, the movies called Samurai Cop and,” Luca forced himself to look away from Ken's muscular shoulders (it was a respectful look) towards the large screen, which was showing the movie title and poster. He gestured to the white guy with long hair prominently in it. ”I’m pretty sure that guy is the Samurai so it's… not very traditional? But it looks fun!”

As soon as the shirt was off Lila’s eyes went black. Her vision focused on the muscular definition, getting a much more clear visual thanks to her enhanced vision. She immediately shook her head, returning her eyes to their normal color, and looked away from Ken. As she did, she fumbled with the chocolate bar in her hand and dropped it to the ground. She struggled to pick it up with her talons. Lynn just took a sip from her beer as she reached over and hit the play button. Jasper meanwhile had his eyes lingering on the muscular frame of Ken. He did not let them linger for long, returning them back to Luca with a smile, but he did enjoy what he saw.

“I’ve watched so many interesting movies since I started being around you Luca,” Jasper chuckled as he looked over to the screen with a schule, “I think this one will continue that trend.”

For once, Ken found himself silently staring in awe as this movie played out in front of him. The warning and everything, it all just passed by as he listlessly stared into the screen as though he was taken in by it all. He was a cop, mostly. Ken failed to see how he was a samurai, mostly because it didn’t really go over his financial or social situation beyond being a cop. He trained, sure, but Ken was just waiting to see what was going to happen.
The truth was, he wasn’t exactly a high-minded individual. Concept building, subtext, implication; they didn’t sit well with his straight forward brain. Most of the time, rather than getting hung up on it, he just let it roll away.

So he found no reason it couldn’t be the same here. He was a samurai simply because he had a sword, and that was all the audience needed. Sure.
Ken found himself laughing aloud, not thinking about anything besides being entertained by the goofy spectacle. A phantom hand popped the fridge door open, bringing over a bundle of beer for everyone to have.
”Kanpaiiii!” he took one and raised it up as the cap magically peeled away.

Luca wasn’t quite as engrossed in the movie as Ken, turning towards Jasper to get spoon fed more ice cream here and there, but he was enjoying it enough that it was easier to ignore his aching body. He laughed quietly - because some of it was so ridiculous, rather than a good comedy. But it was fun… and it was fun because he was watching it with his friends.

”Oh, Ken, mind grabbing me a soda?” Luca asked, grinning brightly over at him. Then he looked back at the screen in time for yet another amazing reaction from Frank, now his favourite character. He pointed. ”Y’know, I think I should start just pulling faces like that in the back of coven meetings… I think it’d really improve things. Whenever someone says anything stupid…”
He laughed.

“Compared to me, you’re all nothing,” Lynn did her best Anya impression and pointed to Luca for the face.

Luca pulled his lips into a thin, slightly downward pointed line, eyebrows raised and eyes slightly narrowed. Then he turned his face more towards Lynn, eyes widening and lips forming a silent ‘oh’ of disbelief.

A can of soda lazily slid into Luca’s point of view, snapping open and pouring itself into a little canless bubble for Luca to slurp it through, courtesy of Purple Lux’s most useful of Telekinetic principles.
All Ken could do was smile as he held one hand in position to channel the spell. His headband, and channeler, was tied tight around his right bicep, which it mostly hid from view.

“Can I get another, another beer Ken,” Lynn asked with a slight hiccough.

“Me toooooo, I would get one myself but,” Lila moved her clawed hands and sighed.

”Having you around is great, Ken,” Luca grinned, drinking from his little canless bubble… It was nice not having soda mixed with rust. ”I think we’ll all forget to walk if you keep doing things like this for us.”

Ken was fixated on the movie before him, just giggling at the absurd banter and actions found within. In his head, he found himself being strung along by anticipation’s strength. This translated into his Purple Lux manipulations being strongly on-point. The beers floated about the room now, dancing their way from the fridge to be popped open cold and fresh before the requesters.

”You know…-”
Ken shifted on the floor to a kneeling position. From his sweater pocket, he produced a sheathed Tanto blade covered in strange, reptilian motifs crawling up and down its scabbard. Another beer floated on, and as Ken placed the knife down, he cracked open the beer.
”Tennogama will like this movie.”

His hands flicked, and from the sword, a faded figure grew more and more solid in the room. It got a little humid even, as through the mist, Tennogama’s figure and form were scaled down to sit perfectly alongside Ken.
Those who had seen the massive toad previously on Ken’s property would recognize that he was, unlike usual, clothed in what was some incredible robes that resembled the pants that Ken was wearing.

Big golden eyes blinked around the room, and he cleared his throat before letting a croak rumble through the living room. He did not speak, but the sides of his mouth curled up into a slight smile, and he raised one padded hand to wave at the attendants.
”Did you see, Tennogama?” Ken asked, putting the beer down in front of the sword as an offering.
Magically, a tankard appeared in Tennogama’s hands. He simply croaked again in response. Ken’s head spun around to smile at the others.
”See? Very excited reaction.”

Luca twisted around slightly to look at Tennogama with slightly wide eyes, raising a hand to wave. He’d seen him before the few times he’d been able to visit Ken’s, but had always made sure to keep his distance. His touch may not be so deadly for an Apparition, but it weakened them.
”That’s-” Luca didn’t want to say that the croak didn’t sound excited at all, just like… a normal croak. Well if Ken said it was an excited reaction, it must be. He grinned. ”Good to have you, Tennogama! Glad you’re enjoying it too.”

A light tap at the window caught Luca’s attention. It was the perfect volume that only he and Jasper, closest to the window, would be able to hear it. He carefully turned his head away from Ken towards the window. At first all he could see was a single, skeletal finger. Then, glowing eyes. When they caught Luca’s eyes, another hand raised to wave. Luca’s heart started thumping in his chest. They were back- but why now. Wait. This was an opportunity to show everyone else, even if they couldn’t talk about it!

”Jasper,” Luca whispered, nodding towards the window. Jasper would understand. He’d know what to do.

Tennogama, without true physicality, was little more than a presiding ghost among the group. But he was keen, and still ready to read aura. Eyes twisted in the socket, moving toward the window in the search for prey. After all, though many may not recognize, Toads are predators in their environment. In the microcosm on which they most often feed, they are behemoths. Goliath, threatening with their ear shattering war cries as they amble and trudge through the mud toward whatever insect they’re eating.

He felt an insect rattling at the window now. There was another croak, but Ken was already too distracted by the movie and the beer to come about. His phantom-like frame stood, trudging toward the window slowly.
Thankfully for Luca, the projection was just a projection. The rot couldn’t do what it wished to the deific creature, for all of its physicality lay within the blade that sat on the floor with a beer. Rather, he stuck his ethereal form through the wall without struggle, eyes narrowing at the intruder outside.

Skelly’s eyes narrowed as what would’ve been lips curled downward. They pointed to the giant toad and quickly pointed behind themself with their thumb. They then pointed to Jasper, and Luca, and used their thumb to point to their own chest, showing the giant toad that those two were theirs. Using their top two hands Skelly showed the giant toad that he wanted to strangle them.

Tennogama’s throat was consistently growing the entire time that the entity tried to mime out what it wanted to say.
By the time it was finished, his upper body had practically doubled in size. The fabric of his robes was pulled taut against his frame, and he began to shake slightly. Eyes glazed over, padded hands tightened their grip on the wall.

The croak that he released would’ve shaken the building if he had physicality…
But then the tongue flew out of his mouth, causing Skelly’s mouth to go wide with fear.

---

_{With @Atrophy}

Saturday, 10am
Tranquil Haven Park

---

Sloane eyed joggers with suspicion as she made her way to the entrance of Tranquil Haven Park. She had been one of them once, dressed head to toe in pricey athleisure, running in motion at a crosswalk waiting for the hand to become a little green guy while checking her fitbit, enjoying the fresh air while feeling the burn, just annoying the piss out of everybody else who woke up with an aching hip and a bad back. Since Father Wolf she had condemned herself to the treadmill, suddenly finding the prospect of going out alone and running through parks with heavily obscured sightlines a bit more terrifying than before. It’d be a lie to ever say that she had felt safe, but back then she had at the very least felt prepared. Now uncertainty clouded her mind, making everything grayer like the autumn skies above.

Sloane wrapped her arms around her as the wind blew, the brown leaves rustling past her through the iron bars of a creaking gate, as she posted up against a stone pillar next to the entrance. Slow anxiety gripped her stomach, a feeling she thought would go away when she saw Luca round the corner and half-raised her hand to get his attention, falsely believing that company would be the cure. The feeling didn’t vanish; if anything, the sight of Luca amplified it. She was scared, actually, a natural response to seeing something that had almost killed her, but it wasn’t instinctual self-preservation that put her on pins and needles. She wasn’t scared because of Luca, she was scared for Luca.

“Hey,” said Sloane, managing to steel herself enough to make eye contact.

They should probably move out of the entrance, if only to keep Luca away from the Blind. Tucked away off to the side of the park, in the opposite direction of the gazebo where they had their first meeting, was a small amphitheater where occasionally local actors would recite Shakespearan sonnets or a ten-person folk bands would perform covers of Wagon Wheel to a crowd of mostly empty stone stands. Sloane only knew about it because she had attended what she had been told was going to be an auction there before, realizing quite quickly by the amount of people in denim overalls that it had really been more of a rummage sale and having to excuse herself after becoming involved in a heated discussion that just because something had belonged to a grandparent and had sentimental value didn’t also immediately mean it had any kind of material value. Given the weather, it was probably unbooked for the season.

“Thank you for sa—” she started, wincing ever so slightly as she pivoted what she was going to say and turned abruptly, heading off in the outdoor theater, as she said, “Thank you for coming. Let’s find somewhere that’s not so busy.”

When Luca appeared at the entrance of the park and spotted Sloane, he smiled warmly as if the last time they'd met hadn't nearly killed her. He ignored the anxiety eating away at his stomach - or perhaps it was just the rot. The tingling pain was difficult to differentiate, sometimes, as was the harsher breathing. He wasn't entirely sure what they were going to talk about. He'd apologise as much as he had to, of course... And make sure she was alright. She did look fine, at least.

”Of course! I'm always happy to meet up, and have plenty of time,” Luca said cheerfully. It was obvious at first glance that he'd dressed to cover as much skin as possible. A worn jacket which revealed skin-tight long sleeves underneath it as it moved, and gloves sealing any gap. His pants were almost too long, ragged edges occasionally brushing the ground, and the light scarf around his neck was stifling in the autumnal weather. Underneath his chin was a surgical mask - just in case.

He followed Sloane towards the amphitheatre. It was quiet - very few people would choose to sit around in the colder weather, and even less on stone seats when there were slightly more comfortable benches dotted around. Luca found a spot on one of the lower steps. He glanced at Sloane, and tried to figure out if he should stay standing to take a seat... Well, he wouldn't be able to stay standing for long. Even after some healing from Sully, yesterday had taken a toll on him. It was thanks to Sully's healing that he was able to get out of bed at all.

”Mind if I sit down? My knees aren't great these days,” he shrugged, still smiling, and took a seat on the stone steps anyway. It was a good material - more difficult for him to get through, though he wasn't so concerned with the amount of layers he was wearing. He couldn't quite hide the grimace as his legs protested under the sudden bending, his arm moving out to support himself on a higher step on the way down. He straightened them out when he was sat, alleviating the aching slightly, and looked up at Sloane. ”I'm really sorry about nearly- for hurting you so badly. I should've been more careful. Are you feeling better now? I know it's a lot of pain to deal with, even if you got healed after...”

“Stop,” said Sloane, dismissively waving her hand. She stood away from Luca, arms crossed, staring at the empty stage. She chewed on the inside of her lip, having noticed the pained expression on Luca’s face as he sat down. “You don’t owe me an apology. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

It wasn’t entirely true. They could easily blame 8th Street or even go as far back to rightfully point a finger at Britney, but the Rot should’ve been sealed a long time ago. She didn’t understand how after all of these years Luca still carried the Rot with him. She lowered her head, wondering if she maybe just did not care until it had affected her. She shifted uncomfortably and glanced sideways at Luca.

“In fact, I’m sorry. I should’ve been the one to have reached out, and I definitely should’ve been the one being careful,” said Sloane, turning towards Luca. Her hand tightened on her sleeve, remembering how much of a burden she had become once 8th Street had unleashed the undead horde. She hated how useless she was in a fight. “I’m only alive now because of you, so thank you. Seriously. You saved my life. Anyway…”.

Sloane sighed, a genuine look of concern breaking through as she asked, “Are you okay?”

”It's what anyone would've done, but... You're welcome, I'm glad I was able to help you out." Even if it had resulted in him hurting her afterwards... Saved, and then nearly killed. Ironic, wasn't that what Britney had done for him? But he was grateful for the ten extra years he'd gotten.

Luca tilted his head, a hint of confusion crossing his dark eyes at Sloane's question and concern. Had he been obvious about the pain when he sat down? Or did she... Figure it out? No, he was good at hiding the reality. Maybe she was worried he'd be upset that he found out she liked Jasper? No, it wasn't like he made his feelings obvious either.

”Yeah, I'm good! Having a reason to go outside always makes it a good day,” Luca smiled, lying easily. It didn't feel so much like a lie. This was just how his body was - constantly hurting and deteriorating. Since he'd accepted his death he'd really become alright with it. Maybe his 'okay' wasn't the same as other people's, but that was fine, right? He'd learned it was better not to dwell too much on the negatives. Today, he was outside. He was able to walk. He truly was okay.

But... Sloane's genuine, visible concern confused him. He wasn't entirely sure where it had come from. And for someone as expressionless as her to show it, she must be really concerned. But why? Unless... ”You, uh, didn't hear anything I said while affected by the mist, did you?”

“I don’t know. I thought you were—well, it doesn’t matter,” said Sloane. “Look, there was some concerning stuff I noticed when we had all met up at Auri’s, and then last night I thought I heard something.”

Sloane took a seat on the same stone stand Luca was on, giving him a generous amount of space. She recalled the off things she had noticed at the first meeting: Luca’s aversion to hospitals, the prescription pill bottles he had dropped when his bag had disintegrated. Honestly, given all of the burner phones she had at first thought he’d just decided to deal drugs and perhaps even sampled some of his own supply. At the time it had been the easiest way to explain why Luca had seemed so chill when his wrist had been broken.

”When I asked if you were okay I didn’t mean if you were good. I’ve known you long enough to know that you always just say that you’re good. Let’s pretend that I didn’t hear anything you said while confused by that mist,” said Sloane, blinking away the sudden panic she felt at the realization that if she had actually heard Luca then that meant Luca could’ve heard her. “Given your question, I now refuse to believe that there isn’t something else. If it’s none of my business you can just tell me it’s none of my business, but I want a real answer this time.”

“Luca, are you okay?” asked Sloane, staring at him, looking for any signs of further lies.

”I…” Luca’s smile wavered slightly. Technically it was none of her business - but it was also coven business. He was like this because of Britney… Which was part of the reason why he didn’t want anyone to know. They’d pity him and hate her more. So, he’d tell a different half truth. He didn’t want to just brush off Sloane’s concern. He glanced away as he continued. ”Not always. I’m basically chronically ill. I have good days and bad days, but it's manageable-”

”Shut up. I know that you’re dying.”

Luca froze, lips slightly parted around his next words and eyes widening. She had heard… and she knew. Something that he’d managed to hide from everyone in the current coven, and nearly everyone in his life. Shit. He hadn’t wanted it to get out at all. "Yes, I’m dying. The Rot’s killing me slowly… I haven’t known for long. Not properly, at least."

He looked back at Sloane with a peaceful smile. There were no signs of distress or blame in his expression. Since she already knew, he would be completely honest. Sloane could… probably take some of the details he generally tried to withhold. "I managed to keep the Rot suppressed long enough to get a short checkup at a hospital. They couldn’t figure it out, because I’m rotting from the inside. But they could tell me that I’m dying… They said I probably only have a few years left. But with the rate things are going, I think I’ll be lucky to have one."

Luca looked up towards the sky, letting out a soft sigh. In a way, it was nice to talk about it. The only person he’d really spoken to was Greta, who’d figured it out before he could even try to lie about it… and then it had spread a bit in 8th Street. But he’d hidden it from even Olivia. "The real answer isn’t so nice, is it? But I’ve accepted the inevitable, after doing what I could to get rid of the Rot."

“Sounds more like you gave up,” said Sloane mechanically.

She exhaled in frustration and leaned forward with her hands folded and her elbows resting on her knees. A curtain of black hair fell over her face and hid her expression from Luca as she angrily stared at the ground, grinding a dead leaf into dust with the toe of her boot. While everyone else was banding together to take down Father Wolf out of the hope of securing their own future, Luca was doing it knowing that he had none. It was admirable. It was unfucking fair. If anybody deserved to be rotted alive from the inside it was the psychopath that had adjoined the apparition to Luca. Sloane sneered. No, nobody deserves something like that, not even Britney. She wiped her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear, staring forward, unable to look at Luca.

“Sorry, I’m being a bitch. Don’t listen to me. That just…sucks. I have no idea what you must be going through,” said Sloane. She scoffed and shook her head, almost as if she were laughing at herself. “What am I saying? Last night wasn’t the first time I’ve almost died, but it was the most pain I’ve ever been in. To have something like that drag out for years…”

She covered her mouth with a hand, trying to comprehend how long he must’ve been in pain, becoming indignant that he hadn’t said anything sooner, rather frustrated with herself that she hadn’t spoken to him sooner. Her eyes darted around the amphitheater as if she was searching for a solution that someone had carved into the stone. The others had sealed Apparitions before, but as far as she was aware the first step in the process was coaxing the Apparition out of its host. She couldn’t recall a time she had ever even seen the Rot.

“Yeah the real answer is not so nice, but being nice usually doesn’t come to a real solution either, ” said Sloane, sitting back up and turning her head to Luca. A hint of heat radiated off of her words. “How long have you known?”

"Two years."

“Two…two years? And you didn’t tell us? Luca you’re a…you’re a fucking idiot!” yelled Sloane, punching her own leg for emphasis, idiot, idiot, idiot echoing off of the amphitheater. “You’re not dying from some terminal illness. You’re being poisoned—murdered—by something Britney Williams did to you and you haven’t said anything? Why?”

"Was anyone around?!" Luca snapped, eyes flashing with uncharacteristic anger and flecks of green around the edges. He grimaced, twisting away and raising a hand to massage his forehead. Taking a deep breath, he was able to push down the sudden irritation. It was getting harder to keep a hold of his emotions… shit… it was progressing faster than he’d hoped.

When he turned back towards Sloane, he was calm again, the normal Luca with a smile and optimistic outlook. "I understand why you’re angry, Sloane, but what’s the point in telling anyone? I’ve spent ten years looking for a way to get rid of it. I know people would help even without this… detail. I don’t want to worry the people I care about… and I don’t want everyone to turn on Britney even more. We don’t need that.”

While he hadn’t forgiven her, he didn’t want to hold onto that resentment either. He had for a while and it had only fueled the Apparition inside of him. "I just want to live the rest of my life peacefully. If I told people, they’ll spend the whole time worrying and treating me like an invalid. I don’t want that."

Sloane had recoiled in surprise when Luca snapped at her. She couldn’t recall a single time she had seen him get angry before. It was the only thing that had kept from immediately opening her mouth again to retort. The words settled in instead. Was anyone around? Certainly. Probably. Just not her. Ten years and outside of a chance run-in or Merry Christmas text she had never even bothered to check in or even think about Luca. She was a bad friend.

Hell, until now she wouldn’t have even considered Luca to be a friend. Sloane had dehumanized him by identifying him only as a victim. On occasions she had worried about him but only in the pitying way one worries about a dog locked inside of a hot car with the windows rolled up on a summer day but takes no action to help, immediately forgetting about the sad sight the following day, only ever thinking about it on some restless nights where it’s three hours before her alarm and she still hasn’t fallen asleep, mixed in with a storm of other past regrets that fade once more by the morning time. She had been doing everything he was afraid people would do to him if they found out before she had even found out. It made her feel gross.

But the thought of letting him continue talking like this felt even worse. Any further silence and she would feel as if she was condoning his behavior. Maybe she was doing the wrong thing here, but the other option was inconceivable.

“You’re full of shit. You are so unbelievably full of shit,” said Sloane, jumping up to her feet. She approached Luca, stopping just as the hairs on her arm began to tingle. “You wouldn’t be here if you wanted to live the rest of your life out peacefully. You’re not that selfish. I saw the look in your eyes last night when Sullivan was putting me back together. You were terrified. You didn’t want me to be hurt. You don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Let me explain something to you. Earlier I said that last night was the worst pain I’ve ever been in. I lied. The worst pain I ever felt is a recurring one that comes whenever it wants, regardless of where I am or what I’m doing,” said Sloane, shoving a trembling hand into her coat pocket, her voice breaking for a second. “It’s the pain that comes whenever I think about Jade or Jinhai , knowing that not only will I never see them again, but that I never even really had the chance to say goodbye. It’s funny. I’ll eventually learn to accept that they are dead and never coming back, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that I didn’t have a chance to tell them how much they actually meant to me.”

“You said you don’t want to worry people who you care about. If you actually care about those people then you’d do the right thing and tell them what’s happening to you,” said Sloane. “Because that pain I feel is chronic. I’ll have it until I die.”

Luca’s eyes widened, and he shuffled backwards when Sloane approached him. There was that fear in his eyes again - the fear she’d get too close and he’d hurt her again. He didn’t want that. His hand shot up to his mask, going to pull it over his face but pausing when Sloane stopped just outside of his aura. ”Of course I didn’t want you to get hurt… or anyone else. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

He looked away, recoiling as if Sloane’s words had wounded him. His fingers dug into his pants, scrunching up the fabric. He knew, deep down, that she was right. The kinder thing would be to tell people and let them prepare. Was not telling them selfish? Yes, probably. He didn’t want to deal with it. The crying, the worrying, the coddling. Having to deal with everyone else’s preemptive grief while his own mental state deteriorated. ”But isn’t it cruel to make them suffer for longer? Do you feel like by knowing, my death will be easier?”

Luca turned back to Sloane with a sad, sympathetic smile. ”The pain would still be there. Maybe you’d have more closure, but the pain would always still be there. That’s just grief… and I’m sorry you have to carry that.”

”I know you’re right. I should tell everyone. And I will, eventually. But there’ll come a point where I can’t be around anyone. You know what I’m more scared of than dying? Losing this,” he tapped his head. He felt that he owed it to Sloane to at least be as honest as he could be, when she was being so honest with him - even if it was in a rough manner. He got it. He could see it all came from a place of concern. ”And I will. My body isn’t the only thing that’s rotting. Eventually, I’ll lose myself, and I don’t want anyone to be there when it happens. If I tell everyone… it’ll be more difficult to just disappear.”

A heavy silence fell between the two as Sloane held her tongue. The first thought she had was to hit Luca with a harsh counterpoint: if he had already given up and accepted that he was going to one day lose his mind, then what did it matter what he wanted seeing as how he wouldn’t even remember it happening? The second thought was that she was a terrible person for even thinking about saying that. She imagined that if she was in his situation she’d do the exact same thing. She wouldn’t bother telling anybody too, knowing that she’d be driven insane by the pantomime of people pretending to care about her just so that other people would think they were kind.

Of course, she would never be in his situation. It was just one of the many privileges that came with having access to Lux. Her fingers brushed against the frayed edge of her old tarot card channeler. The pain would still be there. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, an almost imperceptible change in her expression as she balled up her channeler as if it were a piece of rubbish. Sloane scoffed to herself, realizing that for a moment she had almost let someone suffering from brainrot to convince her to listen to him. Luca was wrong. Her pain wasn’t grief. Grief was inevitable. The deaths of Jade and Jinhai had been preventable. She suffered from regret, and she knew that she would regret it forever if she allowed Luca to make her believe for a second longer that his rotten end was inevitable.

“Luca,” said Sloane, sharply slicing through the silence, her face softening as she stepped back to her spot and took her seat again, giving Luca more than enough personal space. “I’m sorry. I want to say that I understand, but that just would be belittling. I doubt that I could truly comprehend all that you are going through. All I really know is that you don’t deserve this. Sometime ago I may have suggested that sealing an apparition to never use it again was an act of cowardice. Given what I know now, I think it’s safe to say that I was extremely, horrifically wrong. As an apology, I promise to stay silent about this. You may tell the others when you think it is right.”

Sloane fished the crumpled tarot card out of her pocket and smoothed it out on her lap, the wrinkled Queen of Swords looking as if she got a fresh injection of counterfeit Botox. She shifted herself to sit cross-legged and turned so that she was directly facing Luca. She gave Luca a soft, almost shy smile.

“No, that doesn’t feel like it’s an appropriate enough apology, especially considering that I still owe you my life. What if I just make it so that you don’t have to talk to anyone about it at all?” asked Sloane rhetorically. “So, how have you tried to get rid of our Rot problem? I don’t want to go down any paths that you’ve already found to lead nowhere.”

”Thanks, Sloane, I appreciate you trying to understand, at least,” Luca smiled warmly at her, feeling relief when she promised not to tell anyone. He had never been hung up on her implying that many years ago - in fact, he’d understood where she came from. It was reasonable to see magic as a gift when to many it was, and to see it as something they should use to help others. He would if he could. He’d come back in the hope that he could help.

”Hey, I’d hardly say you owed me your life, after I almost ended it right after- surely that makes it even?” Luca waved his hands in front of him but, at the end of the day, he couldn’t really say no to her offer of help. Because he did want rid of the Rot. He’d spent ten years trying to figure that out, with help here and there. He didn’t want to be a burden on others by making them help him, but he’d also gladly work with them. Sloane seemed to genuinely care and want to help… Well, of course she did. She was a good person, even if she was a little rough about the way she went about things.

”I won’t say no to your help.” Luca smiled, the slight tension still held in his frame disappearing as he relaxed. He didn’t have to defend himself anymore, or talk about his inevitable death. Even after accepting it, it didn’t get easier. ”The most obvious method is sealing, but that requires the Rot coming out of my body. It never does that, and it never takes over if there’s a risk of that. It’s too smart for it to be that easy. Back… before the coven dissolved, after you left, we tried using the Apparition Killer on me to get it out. It started to rot the tip of the blade as soon as it touched me. Since then I’ve mostly been looking into methods to drag it out. Talking to people, researching… Kari was working on something before we fell out. Greta too, before I left 8th. She’s made me potions but none of them have worked yet. I’ve been looking for any kind of artifact that would help, and I’ve tried asking around the friendlier factions. It's been difficult with limited resources and movement.”

”Basically, it needs to be something that will force an Apparition out in a way that it can then be sealed.”

Sloane leaned forward, elbows on her knees, fingers bridged in front of her lips, and listened. It was news to her that Ashley had tried to help Luca back in the day. She had always assumed their old leader was so far up her own ass that she was unable to even see the problems that others were having. Ashley had never bothered to bring it up when Sloane had demanded she hand over the Apparition Killer a few days before the woman had been murdered, arguing that it was wasted in her incapable hands. The corner of her mouth twitched as if it had been hooked by a feeling of guilt, thankfully hidden from Luca. As for Kari? Well, it wasn’t a very big surprise that she had turned out to be a disappointment. Sloane had a similar experience where Kari had suddenly shut her out of her life, too.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

“The Rot being strong enough to tarnish an artifact like the Apparition Killer is…quite something,” said Sloane, unable to say what she truly thought: it was absolutely terrifying. She spoke softly, thinking out loud, “Perhaps something could be crafted with Orange Lux to remove the Rot, but I don’t know what that would be…”

Sloane wasn’t a creator. She was a plagiarist. Her magic took something someone else made and corrupted it. Even with Anya’s help she doubted they would be able to craft a spell, let alone then create an artifact, in the time Luca had left. Sloane’s face soured. There was the slightest possibility that Sloane’s mother might know something, but the door for learning from her had been closed, locked, sealed over with brick and mortar and followed with the slaughtering of the masons to keep its location a secret so that it would never be unearthed many years ago. It would be nothing but a painful waste of time.

“The likeliest of ways to exorcise the Rot would be with Black Lux. Maybe Lyss—” Sloane suddenly stopped and glanced away. Another preventable loss. Sloane shook her head.

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something. It’s not like you’re actually an idiot. If the solution was so simple you would’ve already found it.” It was pretty much the closest to a complement Sloane was typically capable of making. “In the meanwhile we can focus on taking preventative steps. Slow the Rot down. Keep you being you. Stormy might be able to keep an abjuration aura on you, although he’d basically have to be attached to your hip the entire time. Plus, he’d undoubtedly ask questions. Sullivan, then? A daily dose of the Chalice could greatly extend the time we have, and he’s so thick he would believe any excuse you feed him.”

“Would you be willing to do that?” asked Sloane.

”I would be, as long as it can be done safely,” Luca said, nodding. He decided to ignore the derisive comment she made towards Sully - who was also his friend, but there was no point starting an argument over it. “I can’t drink directly from the Chalice without damaging it too, but we had our methods… I’m sure they still work! I’d rather that over Stormy… I think he’s already a bit suspicious, and he has his own life to live.”

He smiled genuinely at Sloane. While he hadn’t wanted her to find out - because he didn’t want anyone to find out - he was glad she’d been willing to hear him out and help. Some of the others would only panic, or get overly sympathetic. He appreciated actions more than words. “Thank you, Sloane, seriously. It's been quite lonely looking for a solution by myself after Olivia left… and then I’ve been too sick to do it at all recently. Something the Chalice will help with. It’s mostly physical, thankfully. The mental symptoms… are minimal. Memory loss, and the like.”

Luca put a hand on one of the higher steps, bare fingers peeking through fraying gloves. As they came into contact with the stone it started to visibly erode beneath them. Grey dust formed and was quickly carried away by a light breeze. Luca didn’t even notice as his fingers sank down into the rock. Sloane stared at the step, her pulse quickening, but she did not say anything.

“If you find anything you have my number- oh, but since I have to change phones a lot I’ll sometimes miss messages. If I don’t respond… Well, Jasper’s probably your best bet,” Luca gave a knowing smile, ignoring the knife stabbing into his chest at the thought of them being in contact. “Maybe you can get closer too.”

“W-w-what?”

Sloane’s eyes snapped back to Luca, wider and more alert than he would ever have seen them, as her cheeks reddened. Why would he say something like that? Had Jasper asked him to—a wave of horror swelled over Sloane, her pupils tiny like pinpricks, as the crashing realization flooded her private beach, the undertow dragging her out to sea. If she could hear Luca in his hallucination, it only stood to reason that Luca had been able to hear her. It felt for a moment as if she were truly drowning. A shaky hand rubbed at her flushed throat.

“O-oh, shoot! I’m going to be late for my meeting with Auri,” said Sloane, glancing down at her wristwatch. She sprung up to her feet, frighteningly animated for someone normally so reserved. She looked as if she was a deer about to bolt, but then the reality of their situation set in. The park was a nice place for a private conversation, but the secludedness was a double-edged sword.

“Walk me to the gate?” she asked. Requested, really. How could Luca not oblige?

The pair left the amphitheater the way they came, separated by a healthy amount of space, although as they walked back a peculiarly lively Sloane protested all a bit too much.

“I can tell you right now that Jasper is anything but my best bet, I mean, I swear, he just has it out for me for no reason, it’s absolutely ridiculous, he probably wouldn’t even answer the phone if I called and, anyway, I don’t know what you think you heard but it’s was probably just part of a hallucination, or even if I did say anything it’s not like what I said actually means anything, like it did with your situation but that doesn’t necessary mean it would with my situation, not saying that I’d have a situation, honestly, if anyone has a situation it would be Jasper, I mean, did I tell you how he painted a painting about me, like who even does that, he’s got like some weird kind of obsession, I mean get this last night I’m like,”

She finally took a breath, “Almost completely naked, not by choice (not to bring up a sore subject, but anyway) and he just waltzes over after not saying anything to me at this meeting or the last one and just goes, feel better, okay, like why would he even do that, and besides, my point is that I don’t understand why you would think we should get closer, like even if hypothetically I was interested in him, which I am most certainly not, but let’s say that if I maybe was it isn’t like he’s single anyway.”

“Is he?” she finished, having blabbered the entire way to the gate, a hint of hope in her voice.

”Sloane, you obviously like him,” Luca said bluntly, laughing slightly. He tried to ignore the tightening in his chest as it got a little more difficult to breath. It was just an ache that came with his decaying body, that was all. He'd accepted last night that Jasper was more likely to like Sloane than he was to ever like him. They'd look good together... And as a friend of them both he should help with that, right? ”I heard some of what you said in the mist… don’t worry, I won’t judge you, I get it. I’m rooting for you guys.”

Jasper had even painted something about her. That hurt more than anything else. Jasper had painted Luca when they became friends again as a gift but… it had been stolen by the skeleton haunting them. But it wasn’t about him, it just was him. He was sure the one about her came from deeper in Jasper’s soul. Maybe it showed his true feelings? ”He said that because he was concerned for you… And yeah, he actually is single.”

Luca smiled tiredly - hopefully Sloane would just figure it was from his sickness of the body rather than the heart. He pulled up his surgical mask to cover it up anyway. ”Well, I won’t keep you from Auri. Thanks again, Sloane.”

“Nuh-uh, thank you, Luca,” said Sloane, smiling slightly, her defenses immediately shattered by his bluntness, her silence serving as admittance, the bubbling anxiety eased by his support. Jasper was concerned about her? She wanted to believe that was right, and for the first time wanting that didn’t make her feel so perplexed. “See you later.”

The two parted ways, Sloane feeling a little less weight on her shoulders despite choosing to bear some of Luca’s burden and walking with a bit of spring in her step. Luca was a really nice guy, a good friend, and proof that she needed to curb her growing indignation to the rest of the Sycamore Tree Coven. Sloane came to a crosswalk and turned to look back at Luca, watching him go away from her in the opposite direction. Her good mood shifted as he turned the corner, disappearing from her sight. She realized something. She didn’t want to see him go. No, no, no, that wasn’t quite it.

She was afraid Luca wouldn’t come back, or that he would come back but it wouldn’t actually be him. Sloane rubbed her hand where the Rot had eaten through her flesh the other night, reimagining the pain coursing through her body. Luca had said something that in the moment she had glossed over it, but in hindsight it terrified her: ”My body isn’t the only thing that’s rotting. Eventually, I’ll lose myself, and I don’t want anyone to be there when it happens. If I tell everyone… it’ll be more difficult to just disappear.”

Her hand tightened into a fist. It didn’t make any sense why he would want that. If his mind was destroyed, then what took over his body? She clenched her teeth, her jaw firm, her eye twitching. Running away when the Rot could take over his body at any moment was absurdly dangerous. An Apparition strong enough to resist the artifact that had allowed them to take down the Stygian Snake? Something like that just couldn’t be let loose in the city. Her whole body burned as visuals of a rotted city flashed before her eyes. She told herself that she shouldn’t even waste her time thinking about it because it wouldn’t come to that. She would save Luca. The little red hand became a green man. Yes, she would save Luca, she knew she could, there had to be a way, but if that failed, if it was what he wanted against the safety of everyone else…

She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. She would cross it without a moment’s hesitation. For now, however, she just simply crossed the street.

---

Miranda and Jacqueline Reid

_{With @Zombiedude101 @Shin Ghost Note}

Saturday, 12pm
Dairy Queen

---

After what happened at Kari’s house, and setting up yet another new phone, Luca got back in contact with Jacqueline to meet up. After a bit of back and forth they agreed to meet at Dairy Queen on Saturday. There was enough outdoor seating that there wasn’t a major risk of Luca accidentally touching a Blind.

Luca had arrived a bit early, finding a table away from anyone else who’d chosen to sit outside on a cold November day eating ice cream. Thankfully, it was just a few people here and there. He’d dressed as if it was twenty degrees colder - hat, scarf, gloves and most of his skin covered. He even wore a mask on the lower half of his face, which he pulled down to his chin as he took a seat. Better to be safe, after what happened with Sloane.

”Was it her that did it to you?” A familiar voice spoke up from the booth behind him. The boy was tucked into the corner, wearing an oversized raincoat and baseball cap that just barely fit, with no sign of the

”Huh?” Luca spun around, thin frame tense until he spotted who was talking to him. He let out a soft sigh of relief. The ‘it’ was obvious, the her… just as obvious. But as Luca smiled at Clancy, he didn’t quite give a direct answer. He didn’t know why he was asking. ”If you mean the person that adjoined my Apparition to me… I have no hard feelings towards her, so it depends why you’re asking.”

”And you're okay with that?” Clancy's expression crinkled, betraying his confusion.

The last time they'd met, he’d been a smoldering patchwork of charred rags and jagged flesh, with several punctures that bled into an emptiness within him.

Now, he was back in clothing, not even a scraped knee to show for it. ”Anyone even try to help you?”

”I grew to be okay with that,” Luca said softly, smiling at Clancy. He genuinely looked fine with it. And he mostly was, after all these years. He assumed that Clancy’s… sympathy came from being in a similar situation. Luca hadn’t figured out exactly what he was, but adjoined was one of the possibilities.

He could tell the Rot knew, but it refused to tell him. ”Some did, at first. When I was part of 8th Street, people there were trying to help. As for Sycamore… well, most went back to their normal lives and I never asked for help. Now some are helping - Sloane, Adora. Ah, but-”

His expression turned slightly more pained. ”Your cousin tried to remove it using the same knife we used to kill the Stygian Snake, before the coven dissolved. It didn’t work.”

”I'm sorry, for what it's worth.” Clancy said, like aome distant guest at a funeral offering formal condolence, but there was a subtle indicator of sadness in his tone, ”I thought she could help me too.”

With what he needed help was left unanswered, for now.

He shifted the conversation quickly, ”I've heard about the knife. Where is it now?”

Luca tilted his head. So Clancy was similar to him, the way that he needed help with however he was. But he wasn’t going to press about something the kid clearly didn’t want to talk about. ”Lost, I think. I’m a bit out of the loop, but no one found it after Ashley was killed. It’s worrying that it’s missing.”

”Who would know?” Clancy slid out of the booth, paced over and inserted himself adjacent to Luca, keeping to the corner. The bagginess of his clothes suggested they weren't made for him. ”Those assholes following that cheerleader?”

”I’m not sure,” Luca shook his head, brow furrowing as he thought about it. Who’d last seen Ashley? He wasn’t sure. ”There's a chance Emily or her coven has it. They’ve been stealing Artifacts for a while… but I think if they did she would’ve rubbed it in our faces. Sloane might know something. She kept track of a lot of our Artifacts- but she also lost a fair amount of her own.”

”Got the feeling she won't be much use anytime soon…” Clancy's remark wasn't intentionally pointed at Luca or his part in the incident that had led to Sloane's injury, but it was a careless one nonetheless.

Judging by the skinny latino's tightened expression, the boy realised this too late.

”I didn't mean like that,” he bristled, awkwardly correcting”Not judging you. Hurt more people than your parasite ever will. It sucks. But that's… tough luck, I guess.”

”It’s alright,” Luca shook his head, expression relaxing. He hadn’t felt like Clancy was attacking him with his words, rather it just reminded him of the danger he posed to others. ”You’re right that it sucks. If I could control it, that would be one thing, but I just destroy everything I touch. I’ve… managed to avoid something like that for years, until yesterday. So yeah, tough luck, I suppose! I won’t be letting it happen again.”

”You control what you can,” Clancy's leaned forward, his gaze locked on the latino, ”You remember who you are and hold onto it with everything you have, because the other way things go is that you lose yourself and…” he trailed off, holding the thought for a moment.

“I've been there. It sucks.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Jacqueline and Miranda entering the Dairy Queen. Jacqueline wore a brown leather jacket, a white tank top with her pink bra exposed, and blue jeans and brown cowboy boots. Miranda wore a mini-skirt and a T-shirt with Gorillaz album Demon Dayz over her chest with black boots. They both sat on the booth across from Clancy and Luca, and Miranda waved at him.

Jacqueline placed the Expert’s Book on the table, before asking, “Luca, it’s great to see you again.”

”Jacqueline, Miranda!” Luca grinned, waving to them both. He pushed the conversation with Clancy to the back of his mind - losing himself, and just how possible it was, wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on. ”It’s so nice to see you both… It’s been a while, huh? How have you been? And oh, thanks for the heads up yesterday!”

He then looked at Clancy, and back at the two of them. ”Uh, this is Clancy, Ashley’s cousin. He… tagged along.”

Both Miranda and Jacqueline grimaced.

“... It’s great to meet you,” Jacqueline broke the awkward silence, smiling at Clancy as she said. “No, problem, but we have been… good.”

“Busy,” Miranda said. “I guess we owe your Coven an apology for what happened at the Halloween Festival...”

“... And Kari’s House,” Jacqueline sighed.

“... Yeah,” Miranda began. “... And Kari’s house.”

”You're sorry.” Clancy said, tone bristling with sarcasm, ”So why are you wasting your time with that Prom Queen?” he pointedly asked, his crinkled eyes fixated on Miranda, ”She obviously doesn't give a shit about any of you.”

”Hey, hey, let’s not be like that,” Luca held out a hand towards Clancy, trying to diffuse things a little. He hadn’t exactly been invited, and Luca had wanted it to be friendly. ”Emily’s their older sister, you know how it is with family…”

”Knew.” The boy corrected him, unfaltering in his withering gaze. ”That's all gone, now.” It was true. His family were gone, save for the daughter that Ashley left behind, and she was better off away from the lot of them.

“And we weren’t talking to you,” Jacqueline told Clancy.

Luca smiled at Miranda and Jacqueline, mouthing an apology, before continuing. ”And she should be the one to apologise… Though I know she won’t! You guys shouldn’t have to clean up after her mess, but… I’m glad. Hopefully we can talk it out sometime. Britney I get, but Lila… is it really just for what happened at the festival?”
“Yes, but-” Miranda sighed before she was interrupted.

“... You never said you were bringing a kid along,” Jacqueline said, pointing at Clancy, “We shouldn’t be talking about this in front of him.”

Luca laughed awkwardly. ”I didn’t invite him, he just kind of turned up! Funny, that… If I was going to bring anyone along, I would’ve told you- and it probably would’ve been Lila herself!”

He then turned to Clancy with a questioning smile, asking in a surprisingly upbeat but blunt tone, ”You weren’t following me, were you?”

The boy shrugged his shoulders, dismissive. ”Making sure your favourite serial killer isn't finding an easy mark.” There was more to it than that, but he hadn't wanted to elaborate at that moment, ”I have my reasons.”

”... I live with three other people just now, I’m rarely alone.” Luca’s smile didn’t waver, even though he found it strange. He rubbed the back of his neck, turning to the Reid sisters. ”He’s been sort of coming along to the coven meetings so I guess… he’s sort of part of it? I already, uh, told him about the Expert’s Book before Emily attacked us.”

Jacqueline’s jaw dropped.

“... You did what?” Jacqueline asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Luca… Luca…” Miranda rubbed her temples, shaking her head before she said. “... Who else did you tell about the Expert’s Book?”

“Look, you remember I’m the only person who can use it?” Jacqueline asked. “Right? Right?”

”I, uh, yeah, course I remember that,” Luca’s fingers dug into the back of his neck as he looked upwards, the picture of someone who’d realised he’d fucked up. ”Kind of… everyone? Who could hear, uh… Jasper, Lila, Lynn… Ken, maybe? I was explaining 8th Street to him and, y’know, saying how you guys are part of this whole Father Wolf thing without… being Father Wolf.”

His smile finally wavered as he struggled to not just dump everything on them. ”I brought it up cause we had a recollection about Kari, and we were trying to figure out… literally anything about Father Wolf. I thought I could talk to you about it and see if you knew anything just, I kinda said it out loud. Big mistake, I know, I’m sorry! Hopefully no one-” he glanced at Clancy, ”-else comes after you for it.”

”I remember you now,” Clancy’s crinkled eyes tightened a little further, cold condemnation boring back at their disapproving faces, ”Why are you all so obsessed with stealing from some dead slut?”

He’d echoed, word for word, what Emily had said while 8th Street had picked apart Kari's cabin.

”That’s what your sister said, right? While you were trying on a dead girl’s panties like a couple of high schoolers.” For a moment, a joyless grin formed across his lips - almost hideous in the way the lighting cast across it - before straightening out, ”That, and the part about affording shit a million times more than what that whore could afford.”

”That wasn’t Miranda and Jacqueline, that was Maya and-” Luca tried to interject, but was quickly cut off by Clancy slamming a palm on the counter, hard enough that the latino might’ve noticed the crack forming just across from him, at the edge of the table.

”And no, it’s not his fault I’m here. But Ashley is dead. She was family. So are others that were supposed to be her friends. Some are assholes. Some-” and for a moment, Clancy's gaze shifted back to Luca, ”-are not. But that list of dead people is growing, and forget Britney - all while this happens your sister is trying to kill someone because... high school crap?”

”So-” he continued, ready to speak over anyone who tried to interrupt, ”Unless you want to be seen as one and the same, or you just want to get stuck like a pig by the asshole that’s doing it, it makes sense to use this magic book of yours. Help us find this asshole, before he kills you and your ‘friends’.”

Jacqueline and Miranda looked at each other before Jacqueline shook her head.

“We weren’t members of the Old Coven,” Miranda corrected him. “He’s not coming after us, anyway… And we aren’t responsible for what other people do...”

“... You think we haven’t tried?” Jacqueline said with a roll of her eyes, before she grabbed the book, put it in her lap, and continued, “You think we aren’t worried for Em? Vashti? Greta? Luca? Lynette? You think we wouldn’t help if we could?”

Jacqueline opened the book, looked down at it, and said, “Oh, wise and all-knowing Expert’s Book, tell us everything about Father Wolf.”

After a few seconds, Jacqueline slid the Expert’s Book across the table. It had reduced from a comprehensive lexicon to a one-page leather pamphlet.

“This is all we can get from Father Wolf,” Jacqueline said.

Warily, Clancy leaned forward with an outstretched palm to turn the binding cover over and view the book's contents.

The singular page was blank on both sides. Just a white sheet of paper.

“... I don’t know how, but the book doesn’t know anything about Father Wolf,” Jacqueline shrugged. “Which means he has some information-denial abstraction, or….” She sighed.
“... He doesn’t exist.”

Luca just stared at the blank pages, then back up at Jacqueline. Shit. This wasn’t good. If he didn’t exist… well, that just didn’t make sense. He had to exist. How could he not? ”If Father Wolf is only an identity he uses for this murder, the book would know, right? It… has to be the former. Shit. I’m sorry, I thought you might have information and… wondered why you didn’t share it. Because I know you both care.”

He rubbed the back of his neck again, grimacing. ”But this isn’t good… another dead end.”

”You're not the only ones with access to this, are you?” Clancy asked, his tone only just softened compared to before, ”Someone else in your.. crew, maybe?”

“I’m the only one who can use the book,” Jacqueline said. “As in, if someone else tries to use it, the pages will go blank.”

”Cool.” Clancy shrugged, betraying no particular emotive response one way or the other, ”Convenient too, I guess. You trust her, then?” he addressed the question to Luca.

”I trust her,” Luca nodded without hesitation, shocked expression relaxing slightly as he smiled at Jacqueline and Miranda. ”I trust them both more than I do a lot of Sycamore - not that I don't trust them either. Thank you for showing us, Jacqueline… and I'm sorry that I only got in touch with you for this after so long… I should've been better about it! I miss you guys, yknow.”

He absentmindedly rested his hand on the edge of the table, immediately pulling it away when bare fingers started to erode through it, adding to the already formed crack. ”Uh, do you know anything about Kari? I- we- know that you guys got her notes.”

Miranda and Jacqueline looked in between each other before Miranda turned to Luca.

“We don’t have the notes anymore,” Miranda began. Clancy seemed ready to pounce on that, lips parting, but Jacqueline cut him off, “Yeah, someone paid us to get them. But, what do you want to know about Kari?” Jacqueline asked, “We… know a little bit.”

”Not much, she… cut me off after I joined 8th,” Luca sighed. It was difficult to stay positive thinking back on a friendship he’d ruined. ”Please keep this from Emily, but Lyss summoned her ghost… except it was a different world’s Kari. That’s why we started looking into her. Otherwise, all I know is that Emily wanted her to join, and she went to someone else instead.”

Miranda leaned forward “We don't know anything about her ghost being different, but…”

“... Why are you acting we care about what happened to that rich asshole?” Jacqueline rolled her eyes, then laughed.

“... Well, Kari went to Blake Schmidt’s organization, the Elite,” Miranda explained, “With her help, they were tracking down sealed Apparitions and artifacts and giving them to his associates.”

”Blake who?” Clancy asked, briefly glancing towards Luca. ”Whatever, they sound like another group of assholes who think they’re any better than the assholes who throw gang signs and smack.” He was starting to fit the pieces together, and he was not amused at the mosaic they formed, ”And when you’re talking about artifacts, you’re talking about stuff like the axe, right? Or maybe just that knife Ashley used to kill the snake thing, right? I know your sister wouldn’t leave her alone.” He pulled in the claws, leaning back into his corner of the booth, ”If it’s not with her, what’s the magic book say?”

“Well, allow me to explain how the book works because there are a few assumptions here,” Jacqueline laughed, as she put her shoulders on the table. She opened the book, looked, down at it, before looking up at Clancy. “It’s not quite an ‘artifact-artifact’-” Jacqueline finger quoted, “-it’s a Sealed-Apparition inside of the book with a personality and whatnot. It works in weird ways sometimes.”

Jacqueline shook her head, “So, to get to the point, sometimes when I ask the book the same question too many times, it will go blank. Like refuse to give me information on that subject ever again… I asked it that question too many times...” She shook her head.

“And look,” Miranda shook her head, “It was our fault that Emily started harassing your cousin. We… need the Apparition Killer.”

“To help our friend, Annabelle,” Jacqueline shook her head. “She’s… been cursed.”

”You're saying you don't know where it is, then? Maybe he trusts you,” Clancy fingered towards Luca, ”But I had a shitty first impression of your crew. Who even paid you for the notes?” Again, he turned his attention back towards Luca, ”Do you even know some Annabelle?”

”Yes-” Luca didn't get more than a word in before he was interrupted.

“... Well, I guess you’re going have to figure that out for yourself then,” Jacqueline said as she stood up, “I don't know who you are, but we came to talk to Luca. Not you.”

She grabbed Miranda’s hand, and she followed behind Jacqueline, however before the two left, Jacqueline paused. She spoke to Luca, “It's great to see you again, but this is too much. Bye. We’ll talk to you later!” She waved Luca off.

Then they were gone.

Luca waved after them, mentally making a note to just invite them round to his place next time… if he could make sure Lila was out at the time. He turned to Clancy with a half smile. Most people would be annoyed or blaming, but Luca seemed… fine about it. Visibly tired, but fine. ”I can help you find the Apparition Killer, if you’re looking for that. I don't have much to go on but… I'm sure the rest of the coven will want to find it too.”

”I don’t-..” Clancy almost shot back, but he gave some thought to it, his tone softening, ”You said it didn’t work on you, right? Did it hurt that thing in you, at least?” The boy was annoyed that the girls had left almost as quickly as they’d arrived, before he’d got the answers they needed. 8th Street had things to answer for after their business at the cabin.

”Not really,” Luca grimaced slightly, before returning to something closer to a smile. ”It didn't work because of the rotting. When they tried to use it the tip started to rust and then disintegrate when Ashley tried to force it through. It didn't even get to it. It's why I've accepted I'm probably stuck with it, y’know? Even artifacts can't get through. It might work on others… Ashley refused to try it on my friend Olivia after I destroyed the tip, so I don't know.”

”It still works on other monsters, right? Your ‘apparitions’?”

”Yes, far as I'm aware. It worked on the Stygian Snake, and the monsters it summoned,” Luca nodded. ”Those of us with ones attached to us are a bit of a… special case, I guess.”

”Can't fix me, either,“ Clancy chortled, barely concealing a bitterness in his tone, ”But it'll settle a score.”

”Ahh…” Luca rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit awkward about it. ”Well hopefully we find it soon, if someone like Emily got it…”

He didn’t really want think about what would happen in that case. ”For score settling.”

”With or without her sisters, she needs dealing with..” Clancy tugged at a phone in his pocket, ”You have a phone number?”

”Yeah, I do… I have to change phones a lot, but I always get it swapped over. Might just miss some messages because of it.” Luca smiled, before rattling off a set of numbers when Clancy seemed ready for it. ”Feel free to get in touch anytime! I really don't do much.”

”Same,” the boy nodded, a thin, weary smile forming for just a moment as he keyed the numbers in beneath his coat, ”Don't usually keep the numbers, though. Makes it easier when….” he trailed off, stood tonleave, then reconsidered as he exited the booty, ”.. you know.”

He offered Luca a weary nod.

”Yeah, I know,” Luca laughed lightly. Not that he'd ever had to… but it was a plan for the future, when he got worse. He smiled tiredly at Clancy, also starting to get up. ”Well, I'll see you at the next meeting? And next time… maybe give me a call before turning up outta nowhere, yeah?”

Recollections: The Compendium

Iroppoi.
| The Yaoi Blade | "It will show the colour of your deepest desire..." ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Created by a powerful Orange Adept, as the culmination of all her desires | TYPE: | Rainbow Sword | LOCATION: | Irropoi went mysteriously missing after its creator’s granddaughter was found dead, having inherited the sword. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | Samantha White: The original creator of Irropoi, an American weeb back when anime was incredibly difficult to get a hold of. She used the sword to bring out her deepest desires, and passed it down to her children. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No | .............................................................................	Iroppoi is a sword that was created by a rather… quirky Orange Adept many many years ago. It was her masterpiece and the culmination of all her desires. Unfortunately for all those who had the misfortune to witness it, the creator’s desires were to witness men and women alike in love. Yes, the creator was a massive weeaboo who was heavily into Yaoi and Yuri. This blade was her ‘masterpiece’, one that would help her bring BL and GL to the real world! Iroppoi is, of course, so much more than that - but that was the original goal when it came to be. Sadly, this desire does mean it’s abilities come with some unfortunate side effects. Iroppoi is a katana with a rainbow blade and white detailing along the top and at the hilt. When inactive, Iroppoi is an ever shifting rainbow katana. However when in use, it will change to a specific solid colour, each with a different magical effect. It can only be one colour at once, and it is difficult to change this colour mid battle. This change seems to be random to those who don’t know how it works, as it won’t follow what the user tells it yo do. Instead it will generally reflect its users deepest desire at that moment. They may feel they need an ice cold blade, but deep down at that moment they want passionate love, so it’ll turn red instead of blue. It can only be one colour at a time. For the person who made it, it was near permanently pink. This is what gained it the moniker “the Fujoshi Blade.” The Many Colours Of Love Orchid Red ⫻ When burning red, Iroppoi heats up to unnaturally high temperatures. This is enough to melt steel, and burn anyone the blade touches. Along with this as a side effect, anyone who feels its radiating heat (without needing to touch the blade) begins to feel intense, uncontrollable lust. Hydrangea Blue ⫻ When blue, Iroppoi is coated with a thick layer of ice. This will freeze everything it touches, and if it's stabbed into the ground it will create a line of icicles up to five metres away that shatter upon contact. As a side effect, anyone hit by the blade or the icicles who’s straight will suddenly feel very sorry that they’re straight. Marigold Yellow ⫻ Turning a sunny yellow, Iroppoi will drain the water out of anything it slices. The more it slices, or the longer it is held against something, the more water it will drain. It could leave people, especially blinds, an empty husk of themselves. It has the odd side effect of increasing hand sizes when used on people. Carnation Green ⫻ When an acidic green, the Iroppoi is coated in a layer of poison. When this enters the bloodstream it will cause various symptoms: intense fever, pain and sexual hallucinations. These sexual hallucinations are very specific: either the poisoned person will hallucinate about a specific person of the same gender, or watching a gay couple as if they’re an outsider. Generally this poison isn’t deadly, unless applied multiple times. It can be used on the sword wielder. Daisy Orange ⫻ Turning a bright orange, Iroppoi can be used to send out a powerful, focused wind slash about ten metres. This will hit one target and damage them. It also has the unfortunate side effect of blasting the surrounding area with an air blast that doesn’t damage anything except shirts, which it rips off. Iris Purple ⫻ Glowing a soft purple, Iroppoi shows things that couldn’t be seen previously and allows the wielder to see through things they otherwise couldn’t see through. It shows those magically hidden, such as by invisibility, and shows all sentient beings within ten metres through a vague purple “aura”. It also acts as a UV light. Vervain Pink ⫻ Turning a bright pink, Iroppoi can be used to send out a long range, pink energy slash. This can go out up to ten metres and is about three metres wide (able to hit multiple targets, but not going through them). Anything hit by it will immediately want to makeout with something else nearby. Nobody is safe from this - blind, adept, aberration or apparition. Lily White ⫻ A bright white, Iroppoi cleanses all of the side effects of the other colours and the poison of green. This will reverse extra large hands and ripped shirts, remove sexual hallucinations, and reduce lust. It won’t necessarily take back the gay thoughts. Rose Rainbow ⫻ Only when used by the purest, gayest of hearts will Iroppoi be able to turning into a shimmering rainbow when active at will. This bolsters all allies that can see its light. It frees them of their worries to make them more confident, removes their exhaustion, makes them feel like anything is possible along with strengthening their magic. It also makes them feel more gay. (Note: the katana was named Iroppoi by its crafter, a non Japanese weeb who believed it meant colourful. It, in fact, means sexy)

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: Sloane @Atrophy, Drake @Shin Ghost Note, Jack @Blizz
Kari Wilson’s House

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”Thank you, Jack, but we’ll take my car,“ Anya smiled at him as he offered his teleportation services. She didn’t want to leave her car behind, and she’d rather take the less disconcerting mode of transport. There was no way Sloane could handle the teleportation anyway, with the state she was in. That would just be cruel after she nearly dead.

Anya carefully supported Sloane, with one arm around her back without gripping onto her too tightly. If Sloane, for some reason, decided she could walk entirely on her own, Anya didn’t want it to become a thing.

”Yes, leaving is for the best,” Anya’s slight smile didn’t waver, gaze flickering between the remaining coven members and slowing on Luna before she disappeared. Ah, Luna, such an idiot. What use was a spy who always got caught? As much as Greyson had seemed concerned about the House of Cards, how strong could they be with someone like her among their ranks? ”My car isn’t too far away.”

Still supporting Sloane as much as she’d allow it, Anya led her and Drake back down the path. She knew that Sloane wasn’t too happy with Drake’s involvement but… she was being good willed enough to give them an opportunity to talk. More to the point, for Drake to apologise. Anya didn’t care for him, but he could be useful - and if Sloane wasn’t talking to him, she wouldn’t be either.

”Here we are.” Just a bit down the road was Anya’s small, but sleek, car. She opened the passenger door for Sloane with a smile, and turned to Drake.

”Before we go anywhere- well, I imagine you just want to go home, Sloane- I believe you have something to talk about,” Anya said with a pointed look at Drake, smile unwavering. ”Now’s a good time.”

It was left unspoken that if he didn’t apologise he wouldn’t be going anywhere with them.

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

Casey’s Car > Barker Brothers

They were in the car, driving back towards the city… Casey had called Clarissa, but since she didn’t answer it made sense just to head back. Trisha sat in the passenger seat with her knees drawn up against her chest, absentmindedly looking out the window.

With Casey driving, Trisha took the opportunity and lull in conversation to pull out her phone and checked it properly for the first time since… before meeting Casey. When she was alone she’d often be glued to her phone or computer - not so much out of a want to use it, rather than a hope of getting contacted. It meant when she wasn’t alone she didn’t really look at it much.

She frowned slightly as she opened up her messenger. Hundreds of messages in the group chat with her eight college friends… Expected. A couple in the girls only group, also normal. But… There were also about a hundred messages in a new chat named ‘Ruining Trisha’s Weekend.

Trisha's Messages

Trisha rolled her eyes at her phone, and considered straight up turning it off so she didn’t have to deal with that at all. But they would actually find her… and she did kind of miss them. It would be nice to see them. It was just the suddenness of it, and introducing Casey to them. She wasn’t fucking prepared for it. But that’d be fine. They’d met most of her exes… Right, it would be fine.

”Soooo…" Trisha broke the silence, locking her phone and putting it back in her jacket pocket. She did want Casey to meet her friends - the only friends who she had regular contact with - but it worried her. What if they judged him or scared him away? Or he didn’t like them… Well, it wasn’t like they could visit often, aside from Reyna. Yeah, if it all went wrong, she’d just make sure they never met again.

”Are you free this weekend?" She tilted her head to look over at him, arms wrapping around her legs. ”The college friends I mentioned are visiting… I just found out, because why would they tell me in advance? Ugh- anyway, they’d like to meet you. I’d like you to meet them, but if you’re going to be busy with the new security job that’s fine. Or if you just don’t want to, because they can be a lot. They’re nice but intense. It’s totally up to you."

Casey had mostly been focused on the road, half lost in a memory of France. She said her friends were intense, but all he thought about was the quid pro quo of the whole situation. Of course he’d put in whatever sort of effort he had to match her bravery. She was moving in with him!
”Well, I’ll kind of have a grace period. Furio’s still going to be coming around pretty frequently for the next couple of weeks while I learn everything… I think we have a place they can stay if they’ll be staying the night. Not glamorous by any means, but f-”

What was he saying? They were friends of a Vanburen; it was all gravy. What’d they care about forking over for a downtown hotel suite.
”They probably don’t need it, but feel free to let them know it’s a free place to crash. Private, they can stay as long as they want, and it’d be right downstairs from us. There’s so many empty apartments in that building, half of them are storage. It’s… Kind of meant to be a… Stronghold… For… When, y’know…”
He clammed up, clearing his throat as he thought about how to present the idea that he’d always thought was perfectly normal until he made it into the military.

You mean your parents aren’t building magical forts to dominate the coming new world?
Casey shook his head, vaguely shrugging his shoulders and trying not to make himself look crazier than he already probably had. Between the Temple and here, he probably looked psychopathic to her. So brave to stick around…

”I think they’re staying a couple nights… Unless they’re going back to Portland after just a night. They probably have somewhere, but I’ll ask." Trisha wasn’t sure she wanted them to be the floor below her, because then they’d know she’d moved in with Casey and she knew they’d have some thoughts and harsh words on that. She didn’t want to deal with it. Plus, Cass was intrusive as fuck and Reyna was nosey. Thankfully Reyna was also organised and would’ve definitely booked a place.

She paused for a moment, what he’d said about the apartments being some kind of stronghold registering. That was… pretty smart. Was it like orange lux reinforced? Or just a more secure place? A lot of buildings were destroyed when the Stygian Snake was in the city, so it made sense.
”So if something like the Stygian Snake appears again, we’ll be pretty safe?" Trisha asked, seeming to not find it strange at all. After all, the city was beset with magical dangers… and the Stygian Snake had been a big one. Absentmindedly, her hand rested on her upper abdomen, where a scar she’d never gotten magically fixed lay. Ignoring the feelings that came with that, she grinned and joked, ”good to know that I can sit out the next world ending threat- I did my part! I’ll just hunker down in our apartment."

With a light laugh she pulled back out her phone, and shot off a message to the group chat - getting an immediate response back. A few messages and she had her answer, along with enough annoying messages she wanted to turn this thing off again.
”They’ve rented an apartment, but they want to stay there next time… whenever that might be." She shrugged. ”In case you’re worried my friends will be stuck up or anything, they’re not rich like I am. I went to a public college, surprisingly… Anyway, I think they’re quite normal in that regard? Oh- but I should warn you, one of them- Reyna- is an adept. White and… whatever deals with emotional stuff. She can be a bit annoying about just reading auras. She’ll definitely do it to you to make sure you-"

Should’ve stopped at explaining what she did, well done, Trisha, good luck not sounding like a dick.
”That you’re not an asshole."

”Oh, you went to school with someone magical? Did you know one another before?”
He didn’t exactly love Pink Lux users. Learning from Hari, he found out that most of them were… Problematic. It was the power of using your knowledge to manipulate people. His mother often went on about how the world had been spared “Lynette of the Fuschia Crown”.
”Pink Lux. White and Pink. Apparently it’s kind of a common pair, and it works really well in tandem. Shrinks and fast talkers, conpeople. Hari’s a Pinkie too. She taught me about how it works when we were kids. Mom used to have her settle our arguments as practice; we’d all gather around as a family and let Hari dump our brains into a union.”

Yeah… Too much information. Thankfully Casey’s cellphone started ringing. He pulled it out without his eyes leaving the road.
”Warrant Richoux.---. Yep, in the car. Driving down now. —. What? What do you me-”
There was a noise like metal being ripped in half by some sort of destructive force. It was loud, it filled the car, and worst of all it send Casey into a panic. His phone left his hand at mach speed as both hands gripped the wheel and he stuffed the accelerator of the car into the floor.

In the back seat, there was a blinding purple rip in reality that expanded until it was about the size of a door, its shape literally clipping through the solid environment of the vehicle. Carefully, a great big blonde afro stuck its way through, staring forward at the two of them. Clarissa saw Casey’s immediate panic.
”Casey, Casey! Easy, Boo-bear! Easy!”
Casey’s head spun rapidly.
”Clarissa, what the fuck!?”

Carefully, Clarissa let one leg step through the portal into the back seat of the car, followed by the other leg before she made a kind of hopping motion. The portal slammed shut instantly, and Clarissa fell onto the seat.
He was slowing down now that he knew the “convoy” wasn’t under attack, but Casey was still shaking and taking great gulps of air.
”Jesus! Do you know how many times I’ve heard noises like that?! I can tell you, a tank shell peeling an armored transport’s roof off sounds just like that.”

Clarissa was dressed very casually, frilly cuffs on her blouse and a little vest covering the front. Flared bottom pants. A pick was still stuffed in her hair.

”Awwww Sweetheart, I’m so sorry Boo… I wish I could change the sound of it myself, but… It’s pretty intimidating. Scared the shit out of you, didn’t it?” she cackled, adjusting herself in the back seat.
”And loooook at you! I do remember that sour little face… You’re Trisha? My name is Clarissa Natale, Baby… It’s nice to not be watching y’all from afar.”
She held her hand out to Trisha, a wide toothy grin on her face.

Trisha was still trying to convince herself that she wasn’t about to die. One hand had shot out and grabbed Casey’s wrist, squeezing tightly, while the other gripped her seat brace herself for the suddenly stop. Twenty bees had flown out from her jacket, with about half of them hitting the window and ending up rolling about the dashboard in a state of disorientation. The others were also confused, buzzing all around the car in an attempt to find the threat.

”... Hello," Trisha managed to get out, taking a deep breath. She let go of the seat and Casey’s wrist, gently patting his arm before she twisted around to look at Clarissa. With a slightly shaky smile, totally passing as calm and collected, she reached out and shook her head. At least there wasn’t a hug this time.
”I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but my ears are still ringing- one minute."

Trisha realised her bees were still bouncing from wall to wall in the car like fluffy, panicked ping pong balls. At least they hadn’t tried to sting Clarissa yet - because they didn’t realise she was the ‘threat.’ Pursing her lips, Trisha took another deep breath, calming down her alarm pheromones and turning them back to soothing ones. Slowly the bees stopped. They didn’t come back to her, but instead landed in various spots in the car, on high alert. It was easier to talk now.
”Yeah, I’m Trisha… do you know me from before? My face has been pretty cheerful lately-" That wasn’t really the point, but apart from the stuff with Lena a little while ago, she had been in a generally good mood since meeting Casey. A lot of smiling! ”Alright, it’s nice to meet you, and not be watched from afar… can you just teleport into any car? That was fucking- something."

Clarissa gave a big belly laugh.
”No, I can’t! This was one of our fleet cars a few years back, so I had fixed points in all of them in case of shenanigans!”
She cleared her throat.
”One of my jobs a long time ago was making sure Leon stayed safe, which meant a lot of watching you Sycamore Kids doin’ the damn thang. You always looked a little… Annoyed? I thought it was cute, my Daughter’s the exact same now. That lil’ pouty look.”

Her smile was so bright and so wide open it was hard not to get lost in it. And her voice was warm, unironic, and motherly with a gentle authority in its body.
”But now you’re here with our favorite Soldier! God’s chosen Warrior!” Clarissa said with a great deal of conviction. Her hand reached around the seat and tightly clasped Casey’s shoulder.

He reached his own up and held hers’ tenderly.
”Oh, don’t start with that Auntie.”
”Listen, Boy, you made it through the hottest war this planet’s seen in thousands of years! If God don’t shine out the Richoux Family’s ass, I don’t know what does… ANYWAY! Lil’ Miss Trisha… You’re moving in? Already? My Furi… We were talking about kids a few days after we met, I’ll be honest… It took us years to actually get it done, but that’s just because we were so busy!” she chattered away in the back seat, her hands moving around. She was also fairly touchy, fingers tapping Trisha’s shoulders punctually on occasion.

”It’s not like I’m stuck if I move in," Trisha laughed, playing it off as a joke - even though it was true. The perks of being rich and having a sister with a large house with far too many rooms. But… She would quite happily be stuck if it meant that Casey was also stuck with her. It was only a problem if- when- he wanted out.
”I already know I want to spend all- well, most- of my time with Casey, that’s easier if we live together. I would’ve basically moved in anyway… But we’re not. It’s just the moving in. We’re taking everything else slow, right?" She looked at Casey for confirmation. There were some things she didn’t mind speeding up - things she could back out of, if needed, that wouldn’t leave her more hurt at the end. Others, not so much. If he started talking about kids in a few days, she wasn’t sure how she’d handle it.

Casey’s head turned slightly to answer Trisha, but it seemed to be destiny that the strong women in his life would speak before his own thoughtful personality allowed him to.
”Oooh girl, he’s a tortoise! You want slow?-” she playfully tugged at a tuft of Casey’s long hair, causing him to strain and laugh at the same time.
”-This is your man for slow. You know he ain’t stop breastfeeding until he was six years old! Too scared to use silverware, he would panic if you got anywhere near him with a fork or a knife.”

Casey’s expression got sour. How could he explain that the cats used to lob forks and knives at him from the dark of his closet?

”It was so cute, and he had that little stone-face otherwise, like he was all tough. But you couldn’t go anywhere near water with him or he’d fuss and scream until he was like eight. Remember your Daddy tossed you into the river and made Leon swim out to get you?”
”Yeah, just… More trauma, Auntie! Yaaaaaay…”

He patted his head gently.
”That’s why it’s important that you’re a big, strong man now. You can protect the people you love, and do things you never would’ve done before. You ain’t that little scaredy baby.”
Clarissa’s expression grinned at Trisha.
”He’ll do well by you, is what I mean. Even if you’re eager to stand by him, he’s gonna walk at your pace. The Soldier’s Drum.”

She held her other hand on Trisha’s shoulder, her thumbs rubbing the both of them comfortingly.
”Honestly? I’m just happy we’re getting out of that place. It’s been awesome living up there, it’s private and the view is amazing, but fuck me if we ain’t outgrown the bitch. It’ll be great for the two of you though, just perfect. Trisha, Honey, what’s your style like? What’re you thinkin’? Casey’s gonna bring us on down to the Barker Brothers, and we’re gonna look at some beautiful stuff, like how we got our actual house furnished. Elise approved you up, Case?”

Casey nodded.
”Yeah, the transfer has already gone through I’m pretty sure.”

The image of young Casey too scared to use cutlery made Trisha’s lips twitch up into a bit of a smile, because how did knives and forks scare anyone? The water wasn’t nearly as funny. If someone had thrown Trisha in a river when she was young she still wouldn’t want to be near it. Not that she even knew how to swim now.

”I know he will," Trisha said softly, mostly to herself, about Casey doing well by her. Perhaps it was to convince herself and that irrational anxiety that said otherwise. But so far he had. He’d already done so much for her.

But there wasn’t the time to dwell on that anyway. There was furniture shopping to think about! Something she had absolutely no experience in because, unlike some of her siblings who got their bedrooms redone regularly, she’d always moved into furnished places. The most she’d bought was some more shelving. She hadn’t even heard of Barker Brothers. But she was going to fake knowing exactly what she wanted.

”My style is… cozy, I’d say. Warm colours, or more natural colours- I like green. I like the space being used without being too cluttered. My mom’s place was minimally decorated and didn’t feel lived in, so it always felt cold. I don’t want a home like that. I want a place that really feels like… home. Probably simpler things, too." She laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. There was a discomfort there, with how intense and familiar Clarissa was acting, but the hand on her shoulder didn't bother her anywhere near as much as the hugs from Lynette had.
”Probably surprising, considering I’m a Vanburen, but I didn’t really like the style of where I grew up. Dad's wasn't as bad as mum's, it was very lived in, but it was so fancy it was intimidating."

Clarissa patted Casey’s shoulder excitedly.
”Dude! She loves green!”
Casey was laughing immediately, shaking his head and turning an embarrassed shade of red on his otherwise pale cheeks.
”Yeah, yeah… I heard that…”

The woman was hopping up and down with enthusiasm, her hand smacking his shoulder again and again until he had to shoo it away.
”This. Boy. Loves. Green! He had this little dinosaur jacket that he used to wear when he was a baby, and when you tried to get him a different color sweater or something he would just ball. It was so fuckin’ cute.”
She laughed aloud, her mind tracing back to those good old days of being their Godmother. All the trouble those kids got into…

”You gotta understand, Trisha: Lynette? She’s somethin’ else. Kids? Never should’ve had ‘em. But the Lord requires things of us, so like her duty, here they are. And honestly? I love every single one of these kids just like they’re my own. They’re the sole reason Furio and I waited so long to have our daughter… I was almost Forty by the time our baby girl was born, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t ready for everything motherhood could throw at me. It’s been perfect. Just perfect.”

Her gaze trailed to Trisha, eyes tired and accented by the crow’s rake marks of time. She was still glowing. Maybe it was the hair, but the smile was just so Goddamn friendly, how could one not feel a little warmth? The passion, the enthusiasm.

It couldn’t be… Real?

”So, one thing I was told is that there’s a general rule of thumb when it comes to stuff like colors. You want mostly neutral things, anything big you’re gonna go for. Couch, rugs, shit like that? Mostly neutral. Whites, beige, light browns; there’s a ton of windows in the place. You’ll definitely want something that goes well with the natural lighting. Not like that fucking dungeon downstairs, God in Heaven…”

“I really don't want it to be like that," Trisha laughed, shaking her head and smiling at Clarissa. It was difficult not to feel comfortable in her presence. And she was right, the basement apartment practically sucked in all the light. Trisha wasn't that fussy when it came to colours - when it came to her wardrobe, she had just about the whole spectrum. She had her preferences. But a living place that was completely black? No way. What she was getting from this, though, was that painting your apartment completely black pointed to not being mother material. Though from just one meeting she knew there were plenty of other reasons Lynette wasn't made for it… not that her own mom was much better. That hadn't even been out of ‘duty.’
“My sister's place- where I live just now- is the complete opposite. Bright white, kind of cold. I think I'd like light browns. Then it'll go with any green bits, since we both like it."

She turned her head to grin at Casey.
“Maybe we can pick you up a new dinosaur jacket too? Ooo, that can be the theme- bees and dinosaurs! How cute would that be?" She giggled, covering her mouth as she did. Her eyes creased into cute half moons as she pictured it. It was cute that it was something they shared - the like of green that was. The way he'd blushed over it was cute too. “Light browns, some greens, some yellows… that sounds nice. Comfortable furniture too. What else? I guess it'll be easier to figure out the specifics when we get there…"

She twisted in her seat again to look back at Clarissa.
“How big is it? The apartment… what kind of furniture can we fit in there?"

Clarissa held back as best she could, but her lips peeled into a precocious grin. A hot laugh bubbled up from her chest, and her afro began to bounce around.
”Oh, no!” Clarissa croaked, her composure cracking until she was finally sprawled across the back seat laughing hysterically.
”No you didn’t! Nooooo!”

Casey’s brow raised up, and he checked the back seat in the mirror.
”Alright, Giggles; what’d I miss?”
It only prompted Clarissa to laugh harder, until after a long few moments she finally came to her senses and sat back up.
”Oh my God… If you don’t see what’s funny in that, you’re both on the same page. And that’s just adorable.”
She cleared her throat, wiping the tears away before leaning back.

”I love where y’all got your heads at. We have a theme, and I think that’s great. But, let’s expand on it a bit; because if you’re just smashin’ bodily fluid colors together, it ain’t gonna go down great. Good news is, we can separate the spaces. And the last catalogue I got, they were havin’ this retro theme… Old cloth prints are chique again! Like back in my parents’ day, when you had a corduroy couch with the wooden arms on it…”
Clarissa’s head tilted back as she sniffed at the air.

”I can still smell every bit of the old cigarette smoke in those couches… Awful awful shit.”
She shook her head.
”But not you two… Pot stink is fine, it comes out easier than nicotine soak. As far as the space, baby, I’d say you’re lookin’ at like eight-hundred or so square feet. Most of it is the main room, it’s got a high ceiling, and the bedroom overlooks the room, shares the windows with it so it gets all that nice light. It’s so pretty on a cool winter morning. Up there, you’d probably fit a king bed if you didn’t plan on having any other furniture up there, but it’s also not technically the big bedroom. Before she was born, I had a little office up there, but once she got too many toys and things, we decided to move our bed up there. So, I’d say we should keep it conservative, but it’s all neutral for color. Nice hard wood floors and glass walls with some places that are insulated walls. Mostly interior walls.”

Trisha didn’t understand why Clarissa was laughing at first. She pursed her lips, clamping down on her initial reaction. Had she said something stupid? No, no… What was it that Cass always said? We’re laughing with you, not at you. It must be that. But what Clarissa was laughing at, she really didn’t get. Bodily fluid colours? What does that- oh. Her nose scrunched up as she realised what was so funny. Vomit colours. Right. You’re so amazing, couldn’t even pick furniture colours correctly.

Her fingers dug into her thighs as she forced herself to relax again, and smile like it was nothing. Just think about the furniture. Eight-hundred square feet. She tried to picture it. That was about… 28 feet wall length. Probably not much bigger than her room. Well, that was fine. She didn’t need a lot of living space.
”We don’t really need anything but a bed in the bedroom, do we?" Trisha said, lips pressing together as she thought about it. Right now, everything was in her bedroom, but that wasn’t necessary. Just have it for sleeping, the main room for living… and then an office in another flat. ”Corduroy is nice… I have a couple of corduroy pants… And conservative is fine, if you think that’d be best. I don’t want something flashy, anyway. I want to feel comfortable rather than showing off."

Though she also did like showing off herself, material belongings were never a way she’d wanted to do it. It wasn’t like she’d earned the money herself and her family just came with bigger problems. She’d rather show off a nice, warm and well lived in home.
”So we can have a big bed up there, since it sounds nice. Then all the storage can go in the other bedroom, I suppose… And everything else in the main room. Couch, a small dining table- only need it to sit two, after all. Space for Traitor. Maybe an indoor hive as well for winter. How much space would that all take up…" She zoned out for a moment, trying to figure through the maths without having the proper sizes for anything. While she’d started failing at the advanced mathematical concepts once she hit college, mental arithmetic was still something she excelled in. ”We could probably fit in a three seater couch with a couple of armchairs. I guess we don’t have to worry about a TV since you already have one, right, Casey? And the rest…"

She paused, smiling. Nobody wanted to hear her go on like this.
”You know what, I don’t want to make any proper decisions before we get there. Maybe there’ll be something we really like. This is my first time properly furnishing a place- when you’re rich, you tend to hire people to do it for you. So I might- I might-" Get a lot wrong. She couldn’t bring herself to say that. ”Get a bit too excited over it."

Clarissa laughed again, snorting and tossing her head back as she clapped her hands.
”When ya rich! Girl, I fuckin’ love you already. That’s badass.”
Casey smiled, rubbing Trisha’s leg tenderly with his hand.
”I said that to her! You’ve got the perfect attitude, Trisha, seriously. You probably would’ve made a good soldier if you joined, you’ve got that kind of confidence you need when you’re handling firearms and explosives.”
Clarissa nodded along, the big golden afro bobbing up and down like a child television show’s background sun.

Having pulled her phone out at some point, Clarissa swung it around the front seat to show Trisha. She was on the website for the store: Apparently it was one of those ancient boutiques that survived the restructuring of the Country’s infrastructure in the Internet Age’s childhood. The storefront looked prehistoric compared to the surroundings, which seemed to be what Temple members liked…
The Pre-First War hotel-turned-apartments, the old hilltop church in the middle of nowhere, everything just seemed a little more bespoke than the modern sanitized luxuries found in the Financial Downtown.

But Clarissa scrolled away from the banner image at the top of the webpage, opening up the home furnishing selection for couches and living room sets.
”Here we go! Disco Never Died collection: Honestly, I think you’ll love it. Go ahead, scroll away.” she finished, waggling her phone for Trisha to take.

”Of course I’d make a good soldier, I was already fighting for my life at fourteen. Why wouldn’t I be confident?" Trisha said dryly, with a smile. The compliments were nice, enough to bring a light blush to her cheeks and a warmth in her chest.

Of course, she didn’t actually believe she would. Being in the army required a lot of obedience - a strict hierarchy that needed to be followed. Someone told her what to do and she generally got really pissy about it. If someone tried to use violence or yelling to enforce it, she’d sting them with a thousand bees.

She took Clarissa’s phone, knees pulled back against her chest so her arms could rest on them as she scrolled. She was right, Trisha did like it. Couches of varying designs - patterned, plain coloured ones with soft velour surfaces, ones made from corduroy or tartan, some even large enough to be a bed. It was all simple on the surface, but nicely designed. Tables and shelving made out of natural wood. Some of the designs were weird, but overall it was a style she’d like.

”Yeah, I like it," she held up the phone, showing a green, booth style velour couch. ”This one would be really nice if it would fit. I probably wouldn’t bother going to bed though… Is it strange that I really want to feel it? Just seeing the texture on the screen."

She held Clarissa’s phone back out to her. ”It’s a bit scary how easily you got what I’d like. Will they have this stuff in the store?"

Clarissa nodded.
”Even if they don’t have it, you can order it. If you’re out a few things for a week or two, it ain’t a problem.”

---

The drive into the city brought them by the apartments again. Clarissa mentioned stopping off and letting Trisha see the space, but both of them insisted that her measurements and knowledge of the space would be plenty. Casey also included the fact that he’d been up there and seen it, and would be happy to input when necessary.

As such, they rolled on to the absolutely parking space devoid boulevard that once served as the City’s main downtown stretch. The frontage of the store was just like the website: Abstract art deco reverse arches held the overhanging facade in the air, creating a six foot lip off the side of the building that climbed almost four floors upward and stretched on for a couple of football fields into the block.
As it turned out, the store was two buildings actually melded together; a strange effect from the days of the Stygian Snake, simply never recognized or reconciled. The public gestalt said this store had always been like this; but head to the town library and look up the plans for it, you’ll never find them.

For members of the Temple, it was a little pilgrimage to visit the Amalgamate. But the Blinds would never know. They wouldn’t be able to see the seams between the structures sewn together at their ass ends with unreality.
After finally getting some parking a quarter-mile down the road and walking back to get to the storefront, they were met in a lobby by a few entry attendants who gave each of them a warm paper cup full of coffee. They asked if the group would need any sort of representative, but Clarissa was quick to decline and they were allowed to roam about the massive superstore without trouble. While the main causeway seemed sleepy and empty, there were dozens of mock rooms and display sets lining the sides of the store.

Dozens and dozens of dioramas had different sales people and their prospective customers chattering about. Some stood, some sat on the sets they were looking to purchase in hopes they’d find the one.
But none of the ones on this floor had anything to do with what they were looking for. Not that they weren’t nice, but Clarissa had heard what Trisha said about the furniture in her current situation.

It was all the most expensive stuff; the kind that would be in a wealthy person’s home. Austere, cold leathers and muted colors. Neutral and boring. Clarissa let out a muffled “Blech-”, turning her head to Trisha and sticking her tongue out.
”Gross and cold. Like someone said ‘make office furniture.’”

There were several escalators, as any good department store had, and they led upward to the second floor which was full of more open displays. Rather, the whole floor to the storage area in the back was full of open displays that seemed to hold different collections. One side was beds, mattresses, drawer sets, general bedroom things.
The other side was living room furniture, and among a flurry of wild colors near the back end, the edge of a fat, forest green friend was hidden cleverly behind some warmly colored wood cabinet.

Clarissa didn’t seem to notice it, and Casey hadn’t actually seen the picture of the couch, but it was there. Ready to be slept on.
She did, however, see the sign that was printed in amazing vintage lettering: “Disco Never Died”.
”Here it is! Oh, man, so when this was the big line, they had downstairs done all in that disco style. Even the clerks, and the sales people, everyone was in a period uniform. I don’t know how they pay for it all.”

Trisha had been looking around the store with barely concealed wonder, like a kid that had stepped foot inside a candy store for the first time. She really hadn’t been in a store like this before - any furniture changes in the Vanburen manor were handled by designers who came in personally, selecting what was best and overseeing its fitting. Her mom, when deciding to change something, just ordered online. She was all about cold efficiency. So there was something exciting about seeing all the furniture on display, arranged in little room sets as if ready to just be selected and inserted into a house.
”That’s some dedication… Surely it can’t have worked out financially- well, I don’t know much about that! But the furniture is nice. Much better than downstairs."

She grinned, very quickly finishing the coffee she’d been handed and crumpling up the paper cup. There was a lot to look at. She wasn’t quite sure where to start. Her eyes darted around, quickly passing around the bolder colours- that wasn’t what she wanted. A few pieces in a brighter blue, green or yellow perhaps, but not the vivid pinks and reds that kept catching her eyes purely because they were so eye-catchingly bright. She was drawn to the living room side first - she was more bothered about how it would look, assuming they'd be spending most of their time there.

Trisha stepped in amongst the furniture and quickly started weaving through it, seeking out the kind of things she actually liked. Tables made of warm looking wood… There was a nice, simple coffee table made to look like it was a cut of a tree trunk which she quite liked. Maybe impractical to fit, but nice to look at. Then, some cabinets- oh!

With a bright smile, she scurried back to the other two. Without thinking much about it, and how childish she might look being so excited over something like this, she grabbed Casey’s hand.
”Come over here, I found the couch I was looking at- you’ll love it." Hopefully. Maybe she didn’t have a good read on his taste yet, beyond her… Pushing away any doubts, Trisha practically dragged (as much as that was possible) Casey over towards the back end of the room. Moving past the cabinet, and it was visible in its full glory - the large, forest screen booth style couch. Trisha gestured to it. ”See! I bet we wouldn’t even need a bed if we got this… I’d definitely fall asleep on it."

With her free hand, other still holding onto Casey’s, she reached out and felt the arm of it. The fabric was soft to touch, but not too textured. Nice. She made to get on it, but paused, looking back. ”Are we allowed to sit on stuff to try it out?"

Clarissa was already diving across the two of them, leaping onto the massive sectional couch and bouncing slightly as she hit the springy cushion with a cackle. Casey was in awe himself, eyes wide and transfixed on the behemoth the moment he saw it.
”Holy shit Trisha! You’re basically fuckin’ right, but honestly… I… God, y’know…”

Clarissa’s hands shot up, grabbing Casey and Trisha by their respective sleeves and tugging them down onto the massive couch.
”Hear me out. I think you should put this in Ivetta’s room. With a new TV. A bigger one, with a nice sound system for yourselves… Trisha, you could even hook up a computer to it-”

She coughed, cleared her throat, and turned her head to Trisha with a bit of a grimace.
”-You… I mean… We know you’re plenty smart. Can’t not know all we can, we do our best to keep up with you kids. Knowing where you are, what you’re up to. I don’t know much about computers myself, but hey ain’t this couch just comfy as hell?”
Casey sighed gently, taking a deep breath.
”It really is. Is this what you wanted, Trisha? I think she’s right about putting it in the other bedroom. Making it like a den, leaving the open space part of the house as more like… Work or entertainment?”

Trisha’s heart jolted in her chest, suddenly speeding up. She had been enjoying the feeling of the couch, falling back on it and stretching out. But there was an instant shift in her demeanour when Clarissa used the words we know. She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one arm and pulling her legs into her chest. A smaller, more curled up and defensive position. Her other hand landed in front of her, fingers digging into the fabric.

What did they know? That she was plenty smart? No, that was a lie. She wasn’t. If they knew she worked in software development- then they must know almost everything. Or was she just overthinking things? No, with how Lynette had already spied on them. She’d told Casey that it wouldn’t bother her. But this meant they probably knew her grades. All the exams she failed. Her pitiful degree grade. Did they know she wasn’t in contact with her own mom? No, they probably didn’t care. But they knew how much of a failure she was. How she wasn’t good enough. Calling her smart was a lie. Why lie? She didn’t know, but far too many people had said the opposite. Her own mother thought the opposite. She bit down on her lip.

The look she gave Clarissa could only be described as cold. It was like all the emotions Trisha felt - the excitement, the joy - was locked behind icy walls. She withdrew. Any openness, the slight peek in that Clarissa had been given, was gone.
”If you really knew me, you’d know I’m not smart at all," Trisha intoned in a low voice. ”Making some money coding doesn’t make me ‘plenty smart.’"

She turned her head slightly more towards Casey, but didn’t quite look at him. Her eyes softened slightly, but there was still a distance there.
”Yeah, I want this one. We can put it in the other bedroom. I don’t mind what we use the open space for, whatever you’d like."

With those noncommittal answers, she unfurled her legs and suddenly stood up.
”I’m going to look at the beds." Without waiting, she shot over to the other side of the room. Absent-mindedly she started looking at the beds- except, she wasn’t really looking. She didn’t really see them. So fucking stupid. So sensitive. You couldn’t have just brushed it off? You told Casey you could handle it, but one small comment sets you off? It wasn’t like Casey had ever noticed. Her hand clenched around a duvet, scrunching it up between her fingers. It was a sore spot. Being decent at coding, and bad at everything else. Can’t let anything go… Should’ve just enjoyed yourself. Trisha frowned, staring at the duvet balled up in her fist.

There was a period of time where Trisha was left alone in the quiet with her own thoughts. There weren’t raised voices, nobody started a shouting match. Casey didn’t lose his temper… But it was an endeavour. How could he ever expect the people around him to not act like they weren’t a magical cult of stalkers?
He hadn’t realized what’d happened at first, too far gone in the bliss of the big green couch to think about what had been said. Clarissa had to come clean for him to know; but he was at least happy she had; and what was more, she admitted her wrongdoing. Casey couldn’t hate that, or her, and she expressed that once she spoke up, she knew she’d messed up.

But now it was Casey’s job to deal with it. Clarissa wasn’t so empathetic.
”She’s a computer person. It ain’t that complex. You wanna date her, you smooth things over. That’s what you ask for, you don’t think Furio ain’t deal with my bullshit?”
He figured if anyone had, it was that man. He took more shit than anyone.
So there he was, quietly walking up behind Trisha with his hands in his pockets.
”Tee? I’m… I’m sorry! Again… For the fifth time today, I think? This… It’s gonna keep happening, Trisha. I’ll do my best to put out a PSA or something. To not talk to you like you’re in on it... It’s my fault.” he said with a sad, longing voice.

”It’s not that," Trisha muttered, not moving. It wasn’t. She didn’t care about them talking about shit they’d overheard. Sure, it was invasive, and she’d rather she wasn’t spied on in the first place - but it was better that they came out with it. It was digging into certain bits of her past. Things she didn’t like anyone knowing. Embarrassing things. Was it hypocritical to get so upset over that specific thing? Probably.

”It’s not your fault, anyway. You’re not the one looking." She did believe that. After all, there were other people to blame. Clarissa, and the woman above her. If she was to blame Casey, then she was blaming him for who he was related to. She wasn’t angry enough to go that far… yet.
”Being watched is creepy, but I can deal with it. I’m used to what I’m doing being questioned." Though for her, it was her mom questioning why she wasn’t studying enough, why she left her room, why was the location sharing showing her being in a park? Not really the same scale. ”Of course they saw everything when fighting the Stygian Snake. Leon was there. Bet they even know about-"

She stopped, choking on her words and clamping her mouth shut. A person that had died because of her and a memory she’d forcefully forgotten. Not going to poisonous feelings welling up in her chest.
”Whatever. I don’t care. But none of the inbetween. They can know about the Snake, and now, but nothing else. I want my life to come from my own mouth."

Trisha finally let go of the duvet, letting it slip from her taut fingers. She turned around, at first glaring past Casey at Clarissa, before looking down at the ground. With a step she closed the gap between them, leaning her head against his chest and letting her arms hang limp at her side.
”I want to tell you about myself.” And keep what she didn’t want shared secret. ”And I don’t like people acting like they know me because of some fucking facts on paper.”

Casey couldn’t do anything but hold her. Poor girl, he thought, having it slowly taken from her. He agreed with the sentiment, that she deserved to tell him from her own lips, so that he could trust her to be accurate. He wasn’t looking for Rome to be built in a day, after all.
”They’re so much better around Blinds, you know… They can’t act like they know things, people are usually paying attention. But, when you’re magic, they just expect you to be ready for it.”

Shaking his head, he held her tightly in his arms, hands rubbing up and down her back slowly to comfort. He never thought it’d be so exhausting trying to show his family someone he was interested in, and wondered if Elise had so many problems back in the day. Probably not…

”Clarissa already said if you want her gone, she’s gone. No sense in fausting anything on you… But I’m sure she’d be willing to apologize and put it behind her.”
The woman in question wasn’t staring back or watching; she had her hands in between her legs, sitting at the edge of the couch with her head looking down. In wait of a verdict, she was ready for whatever came next.
”Or we can take a break. Just walk around the store, I’m sure she’d wait for us if you just wanted time to process things.”

Trisha closed her eyes for a moment, pressing her face in the fabric of his hoodie and taking a deep breath. Was she willing to accept Clarissa’s apology and put it behind her? On a surface level, perhaps. She was good at pretending when she wanted to. But the door to the true Trisha that began to open up at Clarissa’s disarming friendliness was slammed closed and locked to her now, for who knew how long. She was willing to at least try a little bit for Casey, which was more than she’d normally bother with. But it was difficult to change who she was - someone who held grudges over the smallest things, and took a while to get over it.

”I want to walk around a bit first," she said softly, finally pulling back a bit to look up at him. Her expression wasn’t so cold, but it wasn’t particularly warm yet either.
”Just a moment so I don’t-" Snap and say things that will make her look worse. ”Say something I don’t mean. I was just upset thinking about what they might know. It wasn’t like she said anything bad… Yeah, working as a developer is a bit embarrassing, but it’s fine.“

It was just what other things she- and by extension, other temple members- might know.
”We can actually look at the beds. That’s the kind of thing only we should be picking, right? Let’s find one we like, test it out to make sure it's comfy enough, then we can go back over. I’m sure I’ll have cheered up by then. I just want to spend a bit of time with you first."

Casey was trying to figure out how she could be embarrassed working with technology. Even if he was a meat-head who didn't get it, he knew how important digital infrastructure was to the burgeoning New World. There was no reason for…
”You think working with Computers is lame. Like, what, it's not girly enough?”

His arms scooped her up rapidly, and suddenly Trisha was cradled in Casey's arms fully. He could feel the buzzing vibrations beneath her coat, and remembering the bees stopped him from wholesale tossing her onto the bed.
”Newsflash: There's only one computer person on this planet who I don't like. And, hopefully you don't like him either. Because otherwise, I'm afraid I'd lose you to him. Silly, huh?” he grimaced as his knees pushed up onto the bed.

Feeling the softness, he already knew this wasn't the mattress for him, but he let Trisha wriggle away so she could get a feeling for it herself.
”I'm a firm kind of guy… We have the cash; I'd like to look at those electric beds with all the crazy independent side shit. Have you ever used one? They looked like two separate beds in the advertisement, so that makes me leery. I want to sleep with you, not next to you.”

”Working with computers is lame," Trisha mumbled. There were all sorts of stereotypes, and guys always seemed to get the wrong idea about what she was like because of it. Sure, she knew it was stupid. Reyna, her ex and a software developer, said there were all sorts of people in it. She had horror stories, of course, mainly of men thinking they were better purely because of their gender. Reyna said to ignore it all, but she really couldn’t.

She leaned out of his arms to feel the mattress - at first with just a hand, then wriggling out properly to kneel on it. It sunk beneath her weight. Probably the kind of bed she’d never be able to get out of. Comfortable enough… but if Casey wanted firmer, she was fine with that. She’d never really thought that hard about what kind of mattress she liked. She just knew she preferred sharing it with someone else.
”Of course you want to sleep with me in a firmer bed," Trisha teased, finally smiling again. It was easy, for now, to shove away all of her annoyances when the source wasn’t currently around. She leaned from knee to knee just to test just how soft this one was. ”I’m fine with anything. Never tried an electric bed like that… I’ve never lived with anyone like that, so why would I? If it’s two mattresses or something it sounds a bit pointless… We’d either end up uncomfortably sleeping in the middle, or bundle on one side. No way am I sleeping on separate sides only holding hands or some shit like it's the 1900s. But we may as well try it out."

With a light laugh, Trisha spun on her knees to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned in and rested her head against his shoulder, face close to his.
”And that computer person you don’t like? I’m sure I won’t like him too. You definitely won’t lose me to him. I like you, not some smart computer guy who’s probably an asshole if you don’t like him."

”Well… Junior’s pretty charming around people who don’t know him… Little fucking sociopath…”
Casey thought about his menace of a younger brother. There was no respect between them; frankly Junior didn’t respect anyone. He figured that may actually be a bonus here, seeing as how if she didn’t really buy into it, he’d probably just make himself look like an asshole.

Looking back for a moment, Clarissa had moved off the couch and was walking around in a further part of the store on her cellphone. He felt a little bad, having invited her only for her to say something dumb… He had to put her on time-out, right? Even if she was an adult, there had to be some kind of reflection on the action.
He’d been listening to the Base’s Shrink too much.
”C’mon. This ain’t it.”

Getting up, he began to saunter around between other beds. One hand slipped into his pocket, grabbing ahold of his glove before he stopped. He knew he could solve the issue right away with a simple trick… But did he want to? Was it worth cutting out the time he was spending with the person he-
Liked… A lot… Liked enough to move in with her pretty well instantly.
His fingers released the glove, and he simply slipped onto the next bed. It was nearly the same, which actually pissed him off a bit until his head scanned and looked up at the wall.
”Oh, shit! Look!”

Casey pointed up at the wall. There were these blue and white signs informing the customer of the firmness and texture of the mattresses that were there. He looked left, looked right, and finally realized.
[color=577d06]”I guess we’re in the soft section!”
He sat up, looked around again, and saw nobody in the immediate area to stop him from reverting to childhood.
”Think you can bounce across more beds than I can?” he looked at Trisha with a wicked grin.

Trisha looked at Casey, then the signs, then at the beds.
”Like… bounce from bed to bed?" She pointed to the mattress he was currently on, then her finger moved to the next one in an arc. They were pretty close together. It wasn’t something she’d ever done… since she hadn’t exactly gone bed shopping ever. Was it a normal thing? It did sound fun. Could you even bounce between beds like that? She was thinking too much about this, wasn’t she.

”You’ve got, like, an extra foot on me, doesn’t that give you an advantage? You could probably just bounce-shuffle between them." She snorted, laughing at the image of that. She leaned over the mattress he was sitting on, hitting it with one hand to test the springiness of it. Maybe she was thinking about it wrong… she was smaller and lighter, which meant she could probably bounce more easily.
”I don’t think I can, I know I can. I bet I’ll be an expert from the first bounce."

She stepped back, folding her arms and tilting her head back a bit as if she was a judge at an olympic trampolining contest.
”I’ll let you go first. Obviously we can’t go at the same time, or you’ll launch me across half the store."

”Bee careful. I don’t want anyone getting squished, maybe you should take your coat off.”
Ever the worrywort, Casey was still thinking about safety and security despite the growing feeling of enthusiasm building up. He rolled back on the bed, pulling his shoes off and standing up into a squat. At first his long legs pushed into the mattress, bouncing him up and down until he was hopping around like a long frog.

Laughter. It filled him, and he couldn’t help but find his inner child again as he slowly hopped toward her.
”RIBBIT!”
And then his legs and arms all pressed down at once, shooting him across the beds. He cleared one fully, landing across the way on the bed beyond. Due to his overall size, the entire ordeal proceeded to skid across the tiled floor, making a loud scratching noise.

Clarissa looked over, reaching into her purse with her free hand until she saw what’d happened. Casey was already laughing hysterically, and she started up half way across the store.
Now it was on Trisha to follow suit.

Trisha slapped a hand over her mouth as she burst out in laughter. What the fuck? She hadn’t expected him to jump between the mattresses like a frog. It was stupid, it was funny, and it was far more endearing than it should be.

But there was no way could she jump across a whole bed like that! She wasn’t even sure if she’d make it between the first two! She shook her head, carefully pulling off her coat and lying it across a bedside table. The bees clung to her sleeves silently until she commanded them to go back over to her coat and inside it.
”Alright… now watch a master at work."

She pulled off her shoes and climbed onto the first bed. She shuffled right onto the middle of the bed before standing up. She bent her legs and straightened them a few times before actually bouncing on the mattress. She couldn’t do what he did, with the hands and legs- it was just too embarrassing. She was really glad she’d worn shorts underneath her skirt as she began to bounce up and down, loose skirt swooshing up and down with her movements. With each hop closer to the other leg she bent down further and jumped up higher, going from a proper squat into a straightened jumping position.

Then with one final crouch, she jumped across the two beds. She landed on the next one over, two feet together and bending like she was doing a proper gymnastics landing… only to wobble and fall back on her ass. She let herself properly flop back, legs kicking in the air and landing on the bed. After lying there for a moment, she rolled onto her side and started laughing.
”Alright… you won this one… it’s harder than it looks!"

Casey was laughing like it was the Scottish Comedy Festival. However, that wasn’t enough to prevent him from getting back into position and leaping vertically, so that he crashed down into the bed next to Trisha. It caused her to bounce upward in turn, and he took the chance to swing his arms up and suck her into his full embrace.

And now they were cuddling in the middle of this unmade bed in a very public place. Thankfully there just weren’t many people on this floor. Not that Casey would’ve cared, if someone had something to say about public displays of affection he figured he’d give them a public display of aggression.
But it was bliss. Frenetic peace, energy and calm all at the same time. His face buried into Trisha’s hair and he squeezed her as tight as he could without it being painful.
”You make everything way more comfortable… Everything.”

”Everything?" Trisha grinned, practically melting in his arms. Her heightened heart rate from being bounced up into the air started to slow down again. A giddy laugh escaped her lips. She pressed herself closer to him, curling inwards and closing her eyes for a moment. She could just stay here forever. It didn’t matter that it was a furniture store and there were other people aound. In his arms, held so tightly, she could just forget about everything.

”So even if you were lying on hot coals, or nails?" she asked, not quite sure why. Maybe because she wanted to see how far he’d go. No, that was silly. She didn’t really want that, not like- like what? She didn’t remember. It wasn’t important. She tilted her head up to kiss his chin, then again, before smiling with a radiant joy that lit up her entire face.
”I’m comfortable too. More comfortable than I’ve been in a long time- maybe ever. I wouldn’t just cuddle anyone in the middle of a store, you know."

She didn’t want to move on to looking at more beds yet - even though this one was barely firmer than the last, and clearly still not right. They had time. Plenty of time.
”I can’t wait to move in with you and do this every night and morning. The cuddling, obviously, not furniture shopping. I hope you don’t need much space, because I’ll be in yours all the time. Except when you’re working. I’ll be like a little koala, constantly hanging off you. I really can’t wait. I don’t think I’ve looked forward to something like this in… a while." She didn’t really want to think too hard about that. ”I’m really glad we’re doing this."

Casey nuzzled tightly into Trisha, baring in mind that besides his sisters and Mother, he'd never actually been this close to a woman. Not in a relationship where he could bring them close and cuddle them. He could think of one time in the Reserve where this Eltee was having problems and she asked for a hug, but…

He only really knew what this looked like from television. From whatever media he'd seen. And now he didn't want anything to take it away from him ever…
”We'll get you stronger too… So you can come to work with me if I ever have to leave. I'll wear you like a backpack, you can be my dangerous insect dispenser.” he giggled, thinking of the mental ramifications of being drone-striked by a few thousand bees.

But there was a vague sadness to it. The idea that at some point she would have lonely nights. She’d deal with the ramifications of his devilish deal, and he wondered then what would happen if she never found the spirit of it.
Furio and Clarissa worked because they were both conditioned to it. They were both used to ridiculous requests and unbelievable working hours supervised under tremendous scrutiny. There was going to be a time where she was going to make him choose… How could he trust Her? How couldn’t he?

She was God’s Voice. What else could she be? He couldn’t just turn…

”That… Makes me nervous. Thinking about that. The things Furio and Clarissa do for my Mom aren’t normal. And now I’m taking his place, but you’re not taking hers. Part of me knows that’s why she picked Lena: Because she’d fill the role expectedly. But you won’t… You won’t hurt people for her. You won’t break into a State Representative’s house for her, you won’t hurt someone because she asks you to.”
Casey’s eyes slowly blinked.

”But she will ask me. I’ll do it for her. And maybe you’ll suffer because of my actions… It’s a lot to think about with you talking like that… Like I’m… Not who you should be with, I guess.”

For a moment, Trisha felt cold. Even in his arms, she felt a chill. It wasn’t because of the thought of whatever ‘role’ there was that Clarissa had filled, and Lena would have filled. The mention of Lena again was part of it- she’d do it, she was better suited. It was that her talking about wanting to be with him made him nervous, made him think they shouldn’t be together. A rejection? Not a rejection… No, it is. It’s fine. It’s fine.
"Who should be with me, then? Someone with no-one else," like her, "who somehow likes me and can put up with me. The perfect person doesn’t fucking exist. I’m not that fragile. I won’t hurt anyone for her, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t for you."

She forced herself to take a deep breath, curling inwards so her head pressed into Casey. Don’t spiral again. You can’t blow up twice- no, three times, in a day. He’s just concerned. It’s alright. Calm down. Once she looked past the perceived rejection, she could understand. It was a lot she was getting into. Moving in with him, risking the control of a cult and watching him do things for them. But what was it that she had in her life otherwise? The bees. What else?
"I don’t care. I want to be with you- me, not Lena. I won’t fill that role, but if I have to direct my bees to kill someone trying to hurt you? I’ll do it. Maybe, one day, I will help. Or maybe we’ll have moved away somewhere else. We won’t know until we try."

Her hands came up to grasp Casey’s hoodie, crumpling the fabric in between her fingers. It was difficult to see her face, hiding against him as she was, but her suddenly quieter voice held a hint of vulnerability to it. Closer to the true Trisha, perhaps?
"I don’t think I’ve ever felt that it’ll work out like I do with you… I… don’t give up before we even start, please?"

He had a tear in his eye, and he pulled Trisha close. There was nothing else but them. One hand pulled her waist close, the other wrapping around the back of her head and gently rubbing it. He didn’t want her to see him cry after that. With her so close to his chest, she couldn’t look up and see him struggling trying to keep from weeping like a child whose parent tried to take his favorite stuffy away for a wash.
His breath was hitching, little movements causing panicked vibrations between deeper breaths as he tried to contain himself at least a little bit. He’d spent entire years not crying, or doing so quietly in places nobody could see.

Sometimes the panic overwhelmed him. Like being stuffed into a trash can that someone starts hitting with baseball bats. The noise, the violent jostling… And then the sledgehammer usually hit, leaving him crippled in that quiet place for a long time until someone or something came to force him onward in the march.

The Endless March.

“E-excuse me? Sir?”
Interrupted by a strange voice, Casey nearly jumped out of his skin. He probably would’ve if the bed hadn’t gotten the brunt. There was a fighter’s speed and precision present as hands holding Trisha deftly swapped to flat, planted positions from which his arms could power his body feet into the air.
When he landed, one leg was hanging off the bed and both hands were pressed behind him, reaching over Trisha as if to block her and keep her safe. His wrists even pressed into her, almost pinning her down like he was protecting the President from an active shooter.

It was a woman in some nice clothes: She had a nametag and a clipboard, and some glasses on. Casey’s heart was still beating like a bomb had gone off.
“While we do want you buying the right bed for you, we do discourage customers from using our facility like an Inn…”
Still wide-eyed, face covered in tears and hair, Casey wiped his nose on his sleeve and cleared his throat.

”J-jesus, I’m so sorry…”
He slipped from the bed fully.
”C’mon, Babe.”

They were both fully shoeless, and the beds were all slid about from where they’d jumped about. The woman smiled.
“It’s alright, don’t rush too much… Was this what you were looking for?”
”We were… Discussing that, something else came up. It’s nice, but I’ve got some lumbar issues from the War?”

Her eyes widened. Her name tag said “Kathy”.
“Oh. My. God. Thank you for your service, Sir, I’m… Of course! Something firmer. Can you both come with me? We’ll take you upstairs to the tester, we can get some exact metrics for you…”

Having let Trisha up, Casey waggled his eyebrows at her.
”Pays to get shot at I guess.”
His hand did reach for her hand, squeezing knowingly… As if the conversation wasn’t done.

---

The two of them spent around twenty five minutes with Kathy the saleswoman, a welcome reprieve for Casey who was going to look pretty stupid if he started blubbering about how he always felt so lonely.
No place lonelier than a bomb-hole next to the corpse that was once your friend… Except maybe a bed where your other half once slept. He knew he didn’t want to do that to her, and knew for certain it wouldn’t happen to him. Not her.

Coming back down the escalator, Casey turned back toward where they’d left Clarissa; by the big green couch that he only had a moment to get used to before things went sour. The loyal woman was still sat on it, blabbering away on her phone. She didn’t stop as they approached, but did let her free hand snap out a bit of sign language.
A man of many skills, Casey read and understood, nodding at her and signing his own. He and Trisha had, after getting a recommendation and testing one of the beds, found a suitable fit that had some modern adjustable features built in.

They were satisfied, and let the woman take the sale on the bed and the rest of the furniture they intended to buy. The store had a funny beeper system, with them having a buzzer that allowed them to summon Kathy from wherever they were. She’d also given Trisha a funny clipboard with a pen and a sheet of paper. It was a purchase form, and had a bunch of small sections for putting different information found on the furniture’s tags.
Once they filled it out, all they had to do was approve the sale. Since no loans were coming out, they didn’t need to talk to the financing office or anything.

Then was the matter of finishing what had been started, which meant coming back. Back to Clarissa. Casey hoped that Trisha felt a little better, and equally hoped that they’d be able to simply explain to Clarissa what the problem had been without any other issues.
But for now, she was busy on the phone. She slid to the end, patting the big cushions with her empty hand.

”-know that! You think I ain’t done everything in my power to get that shit runnin’ smoothly, then you can take it up with the Boss. She knows my style, she knows that when things click they click. Now, I think I deserve a bit more respect than that.”

Casey leaned into Trisha as they walked.
”She’s doing the Boss Bitch thing. It’s kinda cool, she does a lot of like… Engineering? Stuff having to do with machines, I don’t know. Above my paygrade type things, but they’re magic and they do things that require math. Just ignore her.”
He flopped back down on the big green couch.
”Ohhhh God… Yeah, this’ll be something to come home to. Veg out on it in front of a big ass television. Nothing on it, just a video of a nice fire. Read a book, watch the rain fall down the glass windows.”

By the time they got back, Trisha felt a bit more prepared to see Clarissa again. There was still that cold resentment in the back of her mind, covered up by nagging anxieties brought forth by the unfinished conversation with Casey. But the warmth she felt from just being with him, how comfortable it was as they chose furniture for their home, meant she did feel better. Better enough to listen to Clarissa's apology without telling her to fuck off, and to probably accept it. For her that was a big deal - not that people often apologised when they wronged her, which just further fueled her resentment. She was willing to hear her out.

The mention of engineering - magical engineering - caused her to pause. Like her mom. No, not the same. It wasn't like her mom actually worked with machines (or knew about magic). She just wrote papers filled with complicated mathematics and did other things Trisha could never understand, being well liked among the people she taught while simultaneously managing to make Trisha feel like she was the stupidest person in the world.
Not the same.
“That is kind of cool. I know a bit about math, but not that kind of stuff."

She perched on the couch, just looking at Casey enjoying it with a smile for a moment. Then she put down the clipboard and got more comfortable, legs pulling up so that they were crossed over each other and turning to face him properly.
“That sounds pretty perfect. Just us, and our books, or whatever we want to do. Relaxing in our own space." Trisha smiled softly at him, eyes filled with a warm light. It was really nice to think about. She'd never really had a space outside of her bedroom to just relax in. Her life, rich as it was, was always constrained to the one space that actually felt like her own.
“Maybe I can set something up so that we can play video games on the television together. Nothing too serious… I'm not really a gamer, I just enjoy it occasionally. One of my college friends, Sal, dragged me into it. There's some relaxing games that I enjoy playing, and a couple of two player ones I've always wanted to play through but haven't been able to. I tried with him but he's impossible to play with… there's nothing less fun than shouting at each other over a game. But I think it would be fun with you, if you'd like to try."

Casey had some experience with gaming; mostly the Reserve barracks, where the college atmosphere of the entire facility could be felt as a quiet undertone. Most of them were respectful, but they were allowed their hobbies and free time in a way you just didn’t see on a frontline.
Well… He had met a few dedicated gamers in North Africa. The FOB he’d been in had a working television and an old Gamestation that they played an old shooter together on. At that point, Casey hadn’t cared. In all actuality, it made him mad how they could just forget that war was going on all around them…

Now, he understood. One simply needs to get out of that moment.Living in the red zone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, was impossible without seriously fracturing one’s psyche. Since then, he’d become more accepting of the hobby, and didn’t hold such a grudge against it.
”I’m always willing to learn. At worst, I’ll still watch you play whatever you want. Sometimes I catch myself getting lost watching the younger guys at the Base playing. Usually it’s football games, but some of them play this shooter game… It’s bubblegum colored.”

He called it “The Candy Game” or “Bubblegum Game” because of all the colors and effects happening on the screen at once; someone deciding to build a massive tower or odd cover structure in the middle of a gunfight.
”They build shit. It’s nutty, but then I think about how actual magic fights go and then I remember we’re not so different.” he laughed. There was a slight readjustment on his part, mostly to grab Trisha by the sides in order to drag her down onto the couch fully.

”You can’t escape meeeeeeee-”

”Maribel Worthurs, you’re fuckin’ done for. Do you hear me? Yeah. Yep, go ahead! Call the police, they won’t be able to figure out what the fuck happened to you!”
A violent pause. Casey was surprised to hear such a thing. His eyes got wide, and he stopped playing around, now looking at Clarissa.
[color=e0c4ff]”It’s my fucking business Mary! The fucking machine doesn’t work without my spell, Mary! So I guess it’s all [i]mine, isn’t it Mary!?”[/color]

Clarissa was getting visibly frustrated, free hand gripping in and out of a fist until she finally lashed out. In the action, there was no tension. She simply stood, let the phone down to her side, stepped, and hucked the phone across the store, watching it smack into the escalators and fall down to the first floor of the building with a clatter. She cleared her throat and smiled at the duo.
”My my, today is just… One of those days, ain’t it? How y’all feeling, better?”

She sat back down on the couch, a warm smile filling her face in stark contrast to her last few motions.
”Trisha I’m so sorry sweetheart. Forgoing any desire to overly explain myself, I’ll simply say that I understand what the problem is, and I’ll take steps to prevent it in the future… Can you accept that from me?” she asked, holding out her hand.

Trisha had been trying to figure out what game Casey was talking about, expression scrunched up cutely and easily allowing him to pull her properly down onto the couch. Before she could guess, or snuggle up to him again, Clarissa absolutely lost it beside them. Trisha automatically flinched at the aggressive tone. It didn’t necessarily set her off, but it was just… incredibly different to the Clarissa she’d seen so far.

And the switch back to warm and smiling was just as jarring.
“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit better." Trisha then looked at Clarissa’s hand, then over at Casey. As far as apologies went, it was fine. Not that Trisha knew what a good apology was. She hardly got one towards her, and she certainly didn’t apologise very often herself. But there were no excuses. What had been said couldn’t be taken back, and the way Trisha had started to open up wouldn’t resume, but it was fine.

“I can accept that," Trisha said, a bit awkwardly, sitting back up and reaching over Casey for Clarissa’s hand. She didn’t smile, but she wasn’t frowning either. A neutral expression.
“I don’t care if you bring up anything to do with what happened during the Stygian Snake, or my magic. It’s my mundane life I don’t want mentioned… Especially not my family. I’m sure you can both understand why."

Of course, the real reason why was that she didn’t want how bad her relationship with her family was all round. A mother she had no contact with, siblings she barely tolerated, a father she’d hated right till the day he died… It wasn’t good. Not that Casey’s was either, and he’d introduced her to them, but at least there was a relationship there at all.
“But we’re fine as long as it doesn’t happen again."

Clarissa nodded along.
”We just… Don’t keep secrets. Not among the Crones and the Closest. Lynette hears us, every single one. And she listens, and we know. So we don’t act like she doesn’t know, we just…-”
The bright expression she usually carried softened to something like sadness. Fatigue.
”-We just live with it. It may seem like they’re all reading your mind, but it’s the wheel of gossip that releases your business to others. Like that… That stupid fucking nickname that you don’t deserve.”

She shook her head.
”I’ve never felt so ashamed meeting a newcomer. Ashamed of us, our people. For being how we are.”
None of this was what Casey expected to hear, and his brow furrowed. He sat up, pulling Trisha tighter.

”Because it’s not right…” he intoned gently.
Clarissa simply nodded, fingers playing with themselves in a nervous fashion.
”You are part of the Sycamore… For most, it doesn’t mean anything. They don’t really know what you kids were doing. But I watched. The whole time, I watched, just like I would watch Leon and Elise when they went out, I’d watch you all and just think about… Everything, I guess. I’d think about what y’all were gonna do with your lives, if we’d have to step in ever, what things would be like after the smoke cleared. There were a lot of times I… I probably could’ve helped.”

She sighed, shaking her head again.
”I’m sorry. It ain’t about how I feel. Your privacy is yours as far as I’m concerned; but I can’t stop the others. You’ll do the dance again and again.”
Casey rubbed Trisha’s arm. He had a strange feeling that Trisha was just going to leave, that he’d wake up one morning and find her and the bees gone. Or that they’d get outside and she’d be too put off by the prospect of having to keep going through this that she’d just say fuck it.

But he couldn’t imagine what would happen if she asked him to leave. Leave them all… He thought about all the faces he loved, and about all the faces who gave him love despite the pain he’d been through with his closest family. He didn’t want to leave someone like Clarissa, who was a good soldier and did what she was told.
He still had a great deal of respect for that aspect of her life. The loyalty and willingness to do her duty.
”She’s got me… We’ll get through it, Clarissa. Right Bee?”

“Right," Trisha nodded. After Casey had explained what Lynette was like - and this morning - she expected it. She should’ve expected it with Clarissa too. Did she like her privacy being invaded? No. Did she care about most of Lynette’s ‘closest’ knowing? Not really. She disliked certain things being brought up- being used against her- but at the same time she didn’t give a fuck what they thought.
It was a strange conflict.

“I’m not going to pretend to be happy about it, or that I won’t get pissed off. I’m not that nice or forgiving. But I was more bothered because…" Because Clarissa’s warmth had caught her off guard and began to break through the walls Trisha had up. She’d started relaxing around her, after such a short period of time, and it had been more of a shock. She hadn’t been on edge like she had at the Temple. “Well, Casey’s close to you. I care more about what you know… Because I want to be able to be around someone Casey likes."

A partial truth. It was fine for now. Her want to be with Casey outweighed the rest right now. She was used to people saying shit about her that was based on assumptions or what they thought they knew. Everyone from the old coven she’d met since, her half-siblings… She could handle it.
“If you were around Sycamore a lot, you know what I’m like. I can get through that, I can get through anything."
Even if there were patches in her memory from the time that weren’t quite complete, facing the petty coven drama along with a world ending creature was a lot worse than this. She leaned into Casey with the hint of a smile.
“And I have Casey. I’ve already seen how much he’ll defend me, I probably don’t even have to lift a finger."

”Whatever I may hear, sweetheart, has no bearing on how I see you as a person. You are who you are, understand? Don’t let anyone you meet among us make you feel like you’re anyone other than exactly who you are. Because we’re a big group of rejects. People nobody else wanted. Lynette knows we’re important, and that we have purpose.”
Her head bobbed from side to side as she considered what to say.
”Judgemental people may feel bigger, or better, but they’re only hiding their own insecurities.”

Casey nodded.
”Like Lena, and her parents being in Sonnenrad.”
Clarissa pointed at him.
”What?”
”Your girl’s sitting here talking about how she doesn’t want her private bits getting thrown in her own face.”
Casey looked at Trisha and frowned, then put his hands up.
”Hey, she already made Trisha feel like shit. As far as I’m concerned, my girl deserves some payback.”
He waggled his eyebrows at Trisha.

“Yeah, she already knows and said a bunch of shit about me, it’s only fair," Trisha shrugged, smiling at Casey - a slightly smug, devious smile. Trisha wasn’t exactly some kind of amazing person who just let things go… She was the opposite. And she wasn’t nice enough to care that it was hypocritical that she was fine about Lena’s privacy being broken but not her own.
“No wonder she was so nasty to me - she’s just jealous. If there’s one thing my parents have going for them, it's their good reputation."

Aside from the whole having many children with different women on her dad’s side.
“As long as she never says shit to me again, I’m not going to bring it up, anyway." Though she was fairly certain if she ever saw Lena again, she would. While she wasn’t above petty revenge for the sake of it… she’d rather just never see Lena at all.

---

Barker Brothers > Claire’s

It was another few hours the three of them spent in the furniture store. Accents were picked out, massive curtain rods, even a new wood stove for what would, presumably, be a more formal entertaining area. Clarissa had shown off various pictures of the interior, and there was a side with enormous floor to ceiling two story windows. Lots of natural light and a clear enough skyline that it's the tallest thing around; no chance of people watching through them outside of a hot air balloon or… Oh, I don’t know, magic. Still, curtain rods were purchased, and massive drapes (which would need to be cleaned of dust regularly) were purchased.
Clarissa seemed to know half a dozen of the employees, many of them joking about “When her next shift is” and acting friendly by name. It seems the store had some experience with the property as well, having furnished the very same apartment before the war when Clarissa and Furio had moved in. They even kept some pretty specific styles and patterns required for quirks of the design.

In the end, Clarissa was satisfied with the thoroughness of the new couple. At the billing, she said her goodbyes and expressed her apologies a final time before leaving off with a “Can’t wait to see you on moving day.”
She disappeared into the store, and after sorting out logistics for the deliveries, there was the inevitable bill. Twenty-five thousand dollars. Even Casey had to think about whether or not he had to worry about it or not; but for the moment, they wouldn’t go hungry even if they were broke. Too many tributary deltas to fish from.

So the papers were signed, a card was swiped clean, and they had a lovely bill of sale that they could frame and put up in the house, or let rot in an organizer somewhere. Casey checked his account as they were leaving and nodded. By then, it was after noon, and the perfect time for some food.
As they were leaving, the storefront was getting busier and more boisterous with families and window shoppers lining the street and coming in for the warmth and the coffee. Stepping back out into the cold, the two had a moment to themselves again. Casey had a wide smile on his face.

”Spending money is pretty fun… I liked getting rotated back and hitting the vendors at the base… Oh shit…” he bit his lip, looking at Trisha, then shaking his head. ”Never mind. I have like three apartments downstairs I can put stuff in. Are you hungry, Baby Girl?” he tucked her in his arm, rubbing her shoulder lovingly.

“Yeah, shopping’s hard work," Trisha smiled softly up at him. Honestly, she didn’t actually feel that hungry. She’d accidentally trained it out of herself a bit as a teenager - studying for so many hours without eating, and no one bothering to make sure she did. Nowadays she just tried to keep to a schedule of eating. It worked, even if she didn’t really feel it physically.

Trisha shuffled in close to him, shivering slightly at the cold and trying to steal a bit of his warmth. A shorter skirt hadn’t been the right decision for the weather, with the slight breeze chilly against her bare legs. It would be fine when they were actually moving.
“What do you want to do? Find somewhere to sit in, or get something to take away and eat it… well, my place, maybe? Since our place won’t be ready." That was nice to say. Our place. Maybe, eventually, it would become somewhere that truly felt like home to her. “I’m happy with anything. I don’t really get the opportunity to eat out often."

”There’s a cool place up the Shore a bit. We’ll drive, but in the summer it’d be a great walk. Hopefully it’ll be a peaceful little lunch. First peace we’ll get since getting glitter bombed.” he laughed.
”So how does it feel? Happy to be a little bit safer at least? If nothing else, at least now you have the interest of the entire Temple watching your back. Not a moment alone for you to get movie murdered.”

He shuffled her in front of him a bit, letting her control the pace at which they walked to the car while holding her around her shoulders to keep her as warm as possible. Knowing the bees were in there, he felt a desire to keep them just as warm.

“That’s one way to look at it," Trisha laughed, though… Yes, it was nice to not have to worry about getting stabbed at any moment. She walked at a moderate pace, not feeling a particular rush, but not going especially slowly either. His arms around her shoulders helped keep the chill away, anyway. The bees had gathered together on her upper arm, a small ball of fuzzy warmth.
“It is nice to feel safer. Saves me from trying to explain it to my non magical brother so he’ll fund a security team… It’s like a weight’s been lifted, because I spent most of my time alone. I half expected- Anyway, that’s not the case anymore, right?"

She tilted her head back to smile brightly up at him.
“I can’t believe getting beaten up led to me being safer!" She laughed, seeming to be joking… but it had. She bet Adora would be pissed if she found out that she’d inadvertently helped Trisha. Really, Trisha should thank her. “I guess I was lucky it was you who came along… Like some kind of weird fight caused fate."
Trisha didn’t actually believe in fate, but it was a nice thought.

Casey nodded.
”It means a lot that I can help. But it means a lot more that you like me. So, thanks for that. And for being ready to put up with it.”
He kept her safe from the wind all the way back to the car, and opened it like a pure gentleman would before politely pressing the door shut. He got in on the other side and rubbed his hands together.
”Give me the desert heat any day. I’m already done with winter.”
He shot Trisha a smirk, started the car and flicked the heat on again. It was stone cold after being outside so long.

But they were off and gone, and before it got any warmer they were at the place Casey intended them to be.
”This other guy my brother knows took us here once for lunch. They’re just good sandwiches, and they do an eggplant parmesan that I think about a lot.”
It was a little hole in the wall, some Italian sub shop that had the kind of mom and pop look you’d expect in the neighborhood. They catered to the workers at the docks, and he mentioned they had a great selection of fried fish affairs as well as the typical staples.

---

Walking into the little storefront smelled like fresh bread and french fry oil with tomato sauce bubbling away over an open flame burner. There was an old man at the front of the line, and it seemed like he had a big order to fill. They’d probably be there a while, which meant time to chat about the little things.
”What’s your favorite kind of pizza?” Casey asked Trisha with a cheeky smile.

“Well… You have to agree to not hate me for it first,” Trisha smiled back.

Casey’s eyes widened and his nose scrunched.
”You’re… Lucky I’m French. I mean… I still don’t really want you to say it. But go ahead… Tell me about what there is to like on Hawaiian Pizza, Ms Controversial?”

“It’s just-” Trisha made a large gesture with her hands as if it would somehow explain it. It was, after all, a discussion she’d had many times. “It’s nice, okay? The different flavours and textures… It was what mom used to always order when I was round there, so fond memories too, y’know?”
It was one of the rare times her mom would actually spend with her. Nights when she drank a little, relaxed a little, and ordered in food for them both rather than leaving Trisha to fend for herself. That was probably more why she liked it.

Casey went from being skeptical and cautious to mournful.
Emotional connections… Shiiiiiii-
”Alright, alright. I guess we’ll have to get two if we ever get pizza though, ‘cuz I’m not eating it.”

There had been a ding behind them while Trisha was talking. Casey hadn’t bothered to turn and check on the person who happened into the store behind them, so it wasn’t troubling him at first.
”There’s zero percent chance you have a soul in your body.”

Casey’s brow furrowed. He assumed the voice wasn’t talking to them, but there was no way it wasn’t familiar. Like a voice he knew through a phone.

”There’s no such thing as Hawaiian Pizza, Pewtrisha.” the voice taunted.

Trisha didn’t need to turn around to recognise who was talking. Even after ten years. That slick tone and needling words were unforgettable.
“Wow, what a surprise, no one’s shot you yet, Greyson?” Trisha sneered out his name, twisting around to properly glower at him. Perfect. Exactly who she wanted to bump into while on a nice lunch date- not that she wanted to bump into any of Sycamore, but he was up there as one of the worst. Back in the day Trisha had voted for him to be kicked out - not because she cared if he’d stolen any of the shit, but because she didn’t want to even breathe in the same room as him at that point.

Her feelings hadn’t really changed much there.
“I’d say it's nice to see you, but it really isn’t. Don’t you have better things to do than police my taste in pizza? And you know, if liking that means I don’t have a soul, where does that leave a criminal like you?”

Edict had a wide grin across his face, those same sunglasses from so long ago still wrapped around his head like they grew into the skin. He wasn’t wearing anything flashy, save for a shimmering watch that slipped out from under his sweater sleeve. Casey was trying to figure out who he knew named Greyson, which totaled out to zero people. But, there was only one way to know for himself who it was.

He spun around to feel shock.

”Edict?!”
Casey’s eyes were wide, and he looked between the man he knew as Edict and Trisha.
”Wait… Greyson? Greyson Devola!? Edict! You never fuckin’ told me you were part of the Cov-”

Edict held up his finger to his lips.

”Easy, Cowboy.” he grinned, lifting a hand to point at the two of them as he rested the arm against the other that crossed his chest in skepticism.
”Now… What’s going on here? They try’na make a superhuman over in that Temple of yours? I’d choose a fresher cow.”

There was a shift in the energy around them at that moment. Casey wasn’t happy to see Edict anymore; not after he said something like that. But, he wasn’t ready to be done with it yet. In his mind, Casey believed everyone deserved a chance to explain themselves before judgement could be passed without bias.
His massive body shifted forward, almost tucking Trisha behind him.
”You’ve got a few seconds to explain what you Sycamore have against Trisha. Honestly. Because I’m getting sick of meeting you assholes when none of you have anything good to say about my Girlfriend.”

Edict didn’t flinch. He wasn’t concerned about the Richoux or their size or strength; it was business. And he did business with the only one that mattered directly. The friendliness was a formality.
”She’s a bit of a whip, Casey. Little Miss Too-Good, can’t be bothered to do anything but yap and sting people. She doesn’t feel any better about any of us, and honestly I don’t blame her. But, we’re all adults here, so a little verbal jousting isn’t an excuse to get a raised temper. Trisha?” Edict finished, as if to ask her to call her dog off, or at the very least agree with him for once.

“At least I didn’t spend all my time forcing my way into people’s heads,” Trisha hissed, glaring at Edict around Casey. She put one hand on Casey’s arm, fingers curling into the fabric of his sleeves both to comfort herself and him. She was pissed. She’d been pissed from the moment Edict opened his mouth, and it got worse the more he said. But there was also a hint of fear there. What if Edict said something that made Casey reconsider?
“Don’t fight him here, Case, he’s not worth it… you can beat him up outside later,” she said softly, still glaring at Edict.

“You’re right that I don’t like any of you either, but at least I tried. Nobody gave me a fucking chance then- and they still don’t. You said all that knowing how I’d react, so save the shit about it being ‘a little verbal jousting’, E-Dick. Mind your own business and stay out of ours.”

”I said that to you to see if you still didn’t have a sense of humor. Good to know! Jesus Christ, you say a little something, all of a sudden you’re the bad guy.”
Casey took a deep breath, frustration filling him.
”Y’know, we’re gonna be working together a little more closely if everything is staying the same way… Don’t make it difficult man. Just apologize.”

Edict’s ears perked up at that. He lifted his glasses up, staring at Casey.
”You? What uh… The whole-?”
Casey shook his head.
”Quitting time. The program is set up, they either want me in deeper, or not at all. So, taking on more responsibilities here.”
The gangster’s nose crinkled up, looking between the two of them.
”Furio’s moving on?”
”Yeah.”

His face became thoughtful. Edict took a deep breath, looking at Trisha.
”You’re right. I didn’t give you a chance. I’m sorry.”
It sounded sincere. Of course it did; it was Greyson Devola.

Trisha didn’t trust the apology one bit. She trusted Greyson as much as she trusted someone who’d just lied to her face. But… right now she didn’t want to make things too difficult for Casey. Not that she would in the future, either, but if she kept snapping at him Casey might realise that some of what Greyson had said was true.
“Apology accepted,” Trisha said tersely. Unlike him, she wasn’t such a good actor, and her reluctance was written across her scrunched up face and tense shoulders. She was going to do what she always did - remember this, and hold it against him. It wasn’t like he was actually sorry, he just didn’t want to ruin whatever business he seemed to do with the Temple.

She tried to force herself to relax a bit, but it was difficult with all that resentment she held onto towards the coven coming up to the surface. Her fingers dug into Casey’s arm enough that even as her expression seemed to lighten it would be obvious she wasn’t exactly happy about the whole thing.
“So…” she looked between Edict and Casey. “The Temple does business with him? Any other surprise coven members hanging around?”
She shook her head, taking a deep breath. Calm down. She forced a smile up at Casey. “Maybe I need to send out a memo too, something like ‘please don’t bother me and my boyfriend’, to stop this from happening.”

Edict laughed aloud, if not a little nervously on reaction.
”Trisha, listen… As far as I remember, being around you was difficult. But, like you said, I spent all my time trying to get into people’s heads. So, who am I to judge you? But, you know… This is gonna happen with everything going down. This city is bustling with Sycamore coming home, the chances of interactions like this are highest now.”

Casey nodded, lip curling into a frown. He didn’t like to hear the truth like that, but he had to agree.
”Honestly? He’s probably right… Aah-about it happening again, I mean. But, we’ll try to keep it minimal after this, eh?” he turned to Trisha, nudging her gently in comfort.
”Business is business. And, if you’ve gotta know? It ain’t my “Family” benefitting from our deal. My “Company” buys interesting materials and ingredients for distribution from their organization. The money goes around, and everyone’s happy with the product.”

Casey cleared his throat.
”If we started selling your honey outside of St. Portwell, it’d uh… It’d be him distributing.”
Edict’s face became wide.
”You’re gonna sell the fuckin’ honey!? Do you remember when we were sixteen and the Club was starting? And everyone said you should do that, and you got super pissed off!? I’m actually so glad you’re coming around to it! That’s a shit ton of money just sitting around not doing anything for you!”
For a moment, he was childlike again. The same sixteen year old Greyson.

“I was fourteen,” Trisha rolled her eyes, unnecessarily honing in on a small, incorrect point. She did remember that. Back then her honey production hadn’t been what it was now, and her view of where her life should go wasn’t the same either. Everyone had assumed she was pissed off because she was from a rich family and didn’t need the money. It hadn’t been that. Selling the honey would mean going down a path her mom wouldn’t approve of. Less time to study, less chance of going to University. It had felt like they were telling her she wasn’t good enough to do anything else.

She regretted it a little. Not the getting pissed off part, but not even considering trying.
“I’ve matured. Ten years ago it seemed like a stupid idea when I could finish school and go to college and get a job. Do you know how much work goes into that honey, without trying to sell it?” Why was she even explaining it to Greyson of all people? She just felt that she… had to. Maybe it was more for Casey, or for her own benefit. “I didn’t have the time with, y’know. What was happening. Things are different now.”

Then she looked up at Casey, smiling at him - genuinely, and almost sickeningly sweet.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it by myself anyway.”

Edict grinned again, but this one wasn’t so malicious. Truthfully, he was a romantic at heart.
”Well… Either way, y’know? I guess I just hope you’re happy.”
Casey grinned as well, but was directed down at Trisha with warmth in his eyes. Inside, all he wanted was another moment in the car without anyone around.

Like God parting the clouds to reveal Heaven in the sky, the old man who had ordered what looked like an entire catering order finally waddled up to the door to push past Edict. The counter was open.

”Hey, look at that… Let me get you guys your food, eh? There’s uh, no pineapple in this place. I checked.”

“Just cause it's my favourite pizza doesn’t mean I want pineapple in everything,” Trisha glared at him, though it wasn’t half as sharp as the earlier ones.

”And me letting you spend your money on my lunch doesn’t mean I forgive you for being a dick.”
Edict laughed aloud, holding his stomach slightly as the other hand waved them forward.
”Marcooooo, I’m back again. Get these two lovebirds whatever they like, on me Fratello.”

---

Trisha’s (Sabrina’s) House

After a delightful encounter with Edict, Trisha really didn’t want to stick around and eat there. What if another Sycamore member ambushed them? She just wanted to have lunch and spend time with her boyfriend, was that too much to ask?

So she suggested they take their food back to her place, since they needed to go anyway. Sabrina should be at work, and her other two sisters were out of town. The place should be empty with no risk of someone ruining it.

In the time that they’d been away, someone had been in and cleaned the mess that had been in the living room. No more empty pizza boxes or alcohol bottles, just pristine white couches in a cold space. Trisha didn’t particularly like being in the living room, but eating in her room meant the smell would linger and the bees would swarm.

“You mind eating in here? I know it’s not super friendly but… I don’t want to stink up my bedroom. Nobody’s around, so it’ll just be the two of us, don’t worry,” Trisha asked with a smile, gesturing towards the couches. At the same time she headed towards the attached kitchen, looking out some plates and cutlery for them both. She came back out and put them on the table in front of the ring of couches. They could sit at the dining table but… that felt a bit too formal for her. Bad memories.
“Plus, out here you don’t have to fight the bees for your food. It’s worth risking the blinding white, I promise.”

She sat down on the couch, assuming he wouldn’t disagree, and patted the space beside her.

Casey had seen a lot of bright places. Mostly the desert, since there was really nowhere to go. The closer to the coast you got, the whiter the sand got. Blinding. Like this. Like she said.
”Christ! How does it stay clean?”
He knew what was wrapped up in his sandwich; a thick slab of eggplant fried and smothered in cheese and red sauce. It wasn’t going to be good if any fell…
There were at least paper towels readily available, and he ripped a yard of them off the roll to insure there was enough space for the desolation that was coming. But he sat down, the low sofas kinking his legs up until he was practically in the fetal position.

It didn’t matter… It just made an amphitheatre of carnage. He didn’t even say anything else. The paper unwrapped, and a quarter of the sandwich was gone in an instant. After a day of dealing with people and furniture ordering and patterns and anger and love, it was a perfect remedy. Just good warm vegetables and milk byproduct.
As he crunched down on the first bite, letting it fill his mouth to pull the saliva directly from his cheeks. He smiled, laughing with the food still in his mouth, and swallowed before speaking again.
”I know, I know… I missed you too, sweet fuckin’ sandwich. I don’t know why I’m not over there more, ugh… So good!”

The ascent into Sandwich Heaven lacked only the quiet strum of harps, yet it was not sweet angelic music that soon reached the ears of the young lovers. No, instead it was the awful sound that had been plaguing couples seeking a moment of privacy for eons, the terrible rattling of metal and wood as a key wrestled with a lock., the noise like the wail of a banshee, echoing through the foyer and cutting into the living room to kill the mood. Still, surely they could rest easy. Sabrina had most likely just come home early, but she was the kind of housemate who was savvy enough to not intrude too long when someone brought a guest over to what should’ve been an empty home. A quick hello, a nice to meet you, a playful quip, and then a proper fuck off to her own floor of the house so she wouldn’t be a bother.

Then all hope was shattered by a shrill, bloodcurdling,“Knock, knock. Helllllo, darlings~”

The clunking of block heels towards the living room did not give Trisha enough time to grab Casey and flee before a statuesque woman appeared in the threshold. She was nearing middle age, the fact mildly hidden by pounds of makeup on her pale porcelian skin, and dressed in a vintage, dark green houndstooth dress. Her blonde hair was preciously curled with rollers to mimic that of an actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age and kept in place with so much hairspray that striking a match within several feet of her was a good way to cause a firestorm. In her hand was a large, half gallon water bottle, partially filled with brownish-green sludge. Blue eyes brightened with joy as they fell upon Trisha, her ruby red lips parting in a wide smile made perfect through thousands and thousands spent on dentistry work and whitening treatments.

“Ohmigosh, Patricia, I am so happy that my favorite baby sister is here today!” squealed Tansy Vanburen, Trisha’s oldest half-sister and personal tormentor, the look of joy a thin veil for a precisely calculated cruelty.

Tansy continued talking, ending her sentences with an upwards inflection and affecting a kind of cutesy accent some adults naturally fell into when speaking to young children or a particularly cute dog. The room was filled with her chatter, the words crashing out of her mouth like a rushing river breaching the dam. Tansy sounded truly excited to see her young sister, yet every once in a while there was an offness to the way she said something, noticeable only if you were like Trisha and had been conditioned by years and years of dealing with Tansy to translate the passive aggressiveness.

“You weren’t here the last couple of times I came to visit, even though I gave you plenty of notice ahead of time to clear your very busy schedule. I was absolutely devastated. I had to spend my entire day listening to Brooke, I mean, she doesn’t shut up you can hardly get a word in, I can’t imagine how you stand to live under the same roof as her, I just can’t. But seriously, if I didn’t know any better it almost felt as if you were avoiding me. You look…well…”

Tansy squinted in a look that could only be disapproving and then acted as if she had suddenly noticed Casey instead of having chosen to just ignore him, “Ohhhh, Jamie! I’m even more surprised to see you here. With the long hair I almost didn’t recognize you. Very cool, it looks good on you.”

The moment Trisha heard the key in the lock, she felt tense. The prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato filled ciabatta that had been raised to her mouth for a second bite, after the first tentative one, was immediately put back down. It was probably just Sabrina. Of all her siblings, Sabrina was the one she was most alright with meeting Casey - she was reasonable and would leave after polite greetings.

But it wasn’t Sabrina. Instead, it was the worst option possible.

For just a moment Trisha considered jumping over the back of the couch and fleeing, with or without Casey. But she couldn’t do that to him - or herself. That would only give Tansy the opportunity to fill his head with lies, to try and turn him against her while pretending to just be a caring older sister.

“I was avoiding you,” Trisha said harshly, not even bothering to play along. Her whole expression tightened, eyes narrowing into a venomous glare and lips curved down into a nasty scowl. Tansy’s voice was grating enough without the words that came along with it. “You look just as fake as normal.”

“Just like a doll, I know! Impossibly flawless from head to toe. Aww, you’re too sweet, Patricia!” squealed Tansy.

But the mention of Jamie made Trisha visibly flinch towards Casey, fingers digging into her thighs. Tansy wasn’t stupid enough to mistake one man for another. As with everything, she was doing it on purpose.

Jamie was someone she’d dated for a few weeks almost eight months back. It had started as most of her relationships did, with an intense physical attraction at a club, and ended just as quickly. The in between had quickly turned toxic, escalating from two way explosive arguments to physical aggression. She’d been far too lonely then to even consider ending it. Then he broke up with her because he ‘couldn’t handle her’ even though he was the one that had slapped her across the face and he didn’t even know about magic so he couldn’t blame her for the thousands of bees that stung him afterwards.

Tansy knew all of this because she’d barged in the day after and seen Trisha.
“Is your eyesight going in your old age, Tansy? Or are you going senile?” Trisha sneered, quickly pushing down the hint of panic as she glanced at Casey. She was going to have to introduce them. She really didn’t want to, but if she didn’t Tansy would do it and that would just be worse. She reached out to rest a hand on his knee, expression lightening a little bit as she looked at him. “This is my boyfriend, Casey. Casey, this is my oldest half-sister, Tansy. I mentioned her this morning - the one with the ‘special’ water that she clearly hasn’t moved past.”

Casey had long ago lost the mindset of standing up and saluting, or stopping whatever the fuck it was one was doing to address someone in a proper and respectful way if they had some kind of rank or authority. In the beginning, they teach you that your officer is the most important thing, and you must acknowledge them or face wrath.
Nobody in the PSS was like that. It was too much of a clusterfuck of Warrant Officers and Specialists for someone to pull rank in the middle of a meal because he felt like he didn’t get a good enough welcome. So, here? To stop eating because someone’s addressing him? It didn’t even register.

But around the time the boisterous and screechy woman called him Jamie, he slowly put his sandwich down as he finished the bite. He didn’t know Jamie, but that certainly wasn’t his name. Hearing “special water” made him giggle.
”Oh, the Alkaline Water Wonder. I would’ve got you something too if I knew you were here.”
Casey stood up, sliding the paper arena he’d made onto the glass coffee table, a paper towel sliding between his hands to wipe the errant grease off.
”Chief Warrant Officer Casey Richoux, Ma’am. A pleasure to meet you.”

He was going to do his damndest, at least, to try and get familiar with these people. She was doing the same for him, and with a braver face.

“Oh, no, please, it is an honor to meet you. Thank you for your service,” said Tansy, putting a hand to her heart before giving Casey a slight curtsy. Her nose wrinkled ever so slightly at the sight of the food. “I appreciate the gesture, but I’m actually on a juice cleanse right now anyway. It turns out that alkaline water is made from the same stuff they put in batteries, can you believe it? Honestly, I don’t know how they’re allowed to sell that stuff in the store. I’m trying to get it banned.”

She jiggled the cup of sludge and took a sip, making an mm sound with her throat as she winced at the taste.

“Patricia you simply must try it. It’d do wonders for your skin,” said Tansy. She put her hand on her hip. “And why didn’t you tell me that you were dating such a handsome hero, Patricia? How long have the two of you been together?”

“Are you saying there’s something wrong with my skin?” Trisha glared at Tansy, not bothering to stand up. Why would she? Honestly, seeing Tansy curtsy made her want to gag. She wanted to tell Casey to sit back down too but… if he was standing maybe he could make a run for it and at least save himself. “I’m not drinking that sludge.”

“Nooo, I’d never say that,” lied Tansy, the Why, do you think there is? lingering on her lips, held back only because Casey was in the room.

But there was the question to answer. Not that any answer to how long she’d been with someone would get a good reaction. This was Tansy.
“I didn’t tell you for the same reason I don’t tell you about anyone in my life. You always come in and try to fucking ruin it… We’ve been together for a day. So congratulations, you’re the first to meet him.”

Casey wasn’t used to the kind of openly hostile pushback that Trisha was giving her sister. He wasn’t put off by it necessarily, but it certainly wasn’t what he was expecting. In his experience, there was always a kind of friendly back and forth, two parties well and good knowing their positions without having to make it so real so fast.
He was probably better off that she was like that. It’d be better for the honesty in their relationship if she didn’t hold back like that around him.

He laughed and raised both his hands, wiggling them a little bit.
”Yaaaaay. Surprise! Best part is you can’t make things any more awkward than my family can, so… Here! Sit down! Let me try that juice you’ve got; I doubt it's any worse than what my Dad used to give me.”
Casey looked at Trisha with a smirk. He couldn’t quite convey “Lets have fun with this.” into a look, but he did his best.
”Do you know anything about Boxing, Tansy? Like the sport, not the things shoes come in…”

“Me? No, I’m afraid I don’t know a single thing,” said Tansy, jumping at the invitation to sit down.

She squeezed herself between Trisha and Casey, turning her back completely on her half-sister, accidentally on-purpose flipping her hair in Trisha’s face. She pinched the straw between her manicured fingers and pulled it a bit further out of the cup, offering it to Casey. However, before he could take a sip she turned back towards Trisha, her eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Wait, one day!?” Tansy threw her head back and laughed. “No, you silly billy, I mean how long have you two been actually dating? Like how did you meet and when, etcetera, etcetera. I don’t care how long you’ve been hanging out for!”

Trisha’s expression went from bad to worse when Tansy not only sat down with them, but in-between them. She leaned back to not get a face full of curls, not so subtly shifting so there was a good gap between them. She… half got what Casey was trying to tell her with his look, but the thought of having to spend any more time with Tansy outweighed any fun she could get out of the situation.

“One day,” Trisha intoned, hitting Tansy with a flinty stare as her voice turned near monotonic. She was trying her best not to be as scathing as she normally was for Tansy, that slight fear Casey might find it distasteful at the back of her mind. “We met yesterday at the festival.”

”She’s super right, and honestly it’s been a pretty fun day so far. I’m thinking of actually doing a second one. Probably a third too? Trisha, what do you think, are we likely to keep stringing days together like that? ‘Cuz y’know, that’s how they work.”
He quickly plucked the straw into his fingers and sucked the opaque green sludge into his mouth. But it wasn’t like he was being polite, rather he was taking massive gulps from the straw like a man determined to suck the ocean from the planet.

Thankfully he could tell right away it wasn’t alkaline water. She struck him as the type of ditz to get something banned and still use it. He wondered how badly she’d burned her throat from the third party water filters.

“Yeah, we are, these days will just keep going until we lose track of them,” Trisha said, though the words coming out hadn’t exactly been well thought through. Since she hopefully still had Tansy’s attention while Casey finished her vegetable slop, she attempted to turn things around a little.
“Didn’t you always say, when I was younger, that if you find someone you like you shouldn’t let anything hold you back from getting together? At least, that’s the reason you gave every Christmas when you brought home a new boyfriend. How is Charles, by the way?”

“He’s dead,” said Tansy, all too casually. Socially dead, anyway, like all of the other men she had dumped or that had dumped her. She didn’t flinch as Casey drained her drink, pushing the cup even closer to encourage him to finish it, backwash and all, giving him a playful wink before turning to Patricia. “Honestly, I’m so happy to hear that you took what I said to heart. What else is a big sister for? Seriously. I think it’s great that you’ve known each other for only a day and aren’t only comfortable enough to call one another boyfriend-girlfriend, but to even introduce yourselves as such. That’s just so, so incredi—”

She coughed.

“So incredibly you,” said Tansy, giving Trisha a fake smile.

As Tansy looked back at him, he felt a shock of fear go up his spine. Instantly he backwashed the last bit he had in his mouth and sat back up stiff on the couch. He’d met this archetype before; a pair, actually. Two Warrants in Europe who were both so unhinged and over their service that they no longer showed fear of the unknown. It was like they were equipped with shields of ignorance so thick they could block artillery shells.

On base, there was a long standing tradition of fucking around and subsequently finding out. And those two were the Kings of it. For a brief moment, he felt like he was looking at the equivalent Queen. Feeling equal parts fear and disgust, he did the only thing he felt like he could do at that moment.
Holding his gut gently, he felt the kombucha base bubbling, and held it in for a moment before releasing the loudest, most protracted belch he possibly could. The scent of ginger and spinach was mixed with the marinara and garlic from the sandwich, forming a potent weapon of biological terror in the form of a gaseous cloud that now hung between himself and Tansy.

And to top it off, he blew the last little bit.
”Damn, thanks. That shit was pretty good.”

Trisha’s scathing retort to Tansy dressing up questioning their relationship in flowery language died on her tongue. She turned around and away, hand covering her mouth and nose both to avoid the smell and stifle laughter. Normally, she’d find something like that disgusting… but in this situation, against Tansy? It was just hilarious. Her hatred for her half-sister outweighed everything else.
“You’ll have to let me know where you got it, Tansy,” Trisha said, still trying not to laugh. “Since he’ll continue to be my boyfriend for a long time, and he enjoyed it so much.”

A little curl of Tansy’s hair wilted as it came in contact with the chemical bomb released by Casey, but the woman stayed resilient with her phony, polite smile. Her eyes watered as she carefully set the empty drink down on a coaster, taking the moment when the two couldn’t see her face to silently bleh in disgust, and sat back up with a smile on her face yet again, hands folded in her lap, shoulders in perfect posture.

“O-of course,” said Tansy, her guard slipping ever so slightly as she was hit by a second wave of the belch that had lingered in her spot.

It was typical for Trisha to have a boyfriend who lacked manners. Charles, the worthless, stupid, balding, fat, lazy, ignorant, incompetent piece of shit, at the very least knew how to excuse himself. She turned her head ever so slightly, her lip puckering as if she had just bit into a rotten lemon, and she steadied herself. She had one goal and one goal alone: get Casey to adore her more than Trisha. A fun little “game” she played with all of her family’s partners, winning more than any of them would ever admit.

“That’s actually a sign that it’s working. It’s your body releasing its toxins,” said Tansy, turning her back once more on Trisha to give Casey all of her focus. “I posted a blog about Eastern medicine before—you know, with how multicultural my family is I just love to learn about all kinds of foreign traditions. Better out than in is their theory. I’ll have Trisha give you my number and I’ll send it to you to read. Oh, but you were saying something earlier? Something about boxing?”

Ding ding! They were about to enter into a new round. Tansy moved to grab Casey’s bicep, “Are you a boxer? You’re definitely built like one.”

”Oh, right! Right, no, I was wondering if you know my brother? “Timberwolf” Richoux? Leon to his friends…”
Casey was frankly impressed by her sturdy constitution, but he couldn’t let her see that it affected him. If you gave these types the fear response, that was a victory. He had to keep up, for every Marine and Airborne crazy fucker he’d ever met. The entirety of the United States Armed Forces was riding on this performance.
”Trisha didn’t tell me if you were a globetrotting slag or just a regular local one. I figured if you stayed local he’d probably tried to fill that kalehole of yours at least once. But if you’re not a sports groupie, you must be into fashion.”

“She’s both,” Trisha snickered, still covering her mouth. Honestly, she didn’t feel the need to say anything… she could just sit back and watch the show. She was worried for a moment when Tansy started on her fucking flirting, the very thing that led to more than a few ruined relationships, but it didn’t seem to faze Casey at all. Thankfully.

There was a second where it looked like the annoying_sister.exe crashed as Tansy stared at Casey unblinking, the mirthful shine in her eyes suddenly dull and dead like the fresh catch of the day. Her body tensed. It seemed at that moment as if the plastic pleasantness was about to reveal itself to have been covering a mold made out of some slightly more volatile plastique. Then, the corner of her eyes crinkled in a look of amusement as her kalehole twitched until she was able to fully reboot and offer him a fake smile again.

“ I see that you must not have served with a lot of women. Did Patricia snag you up as soon as you returned from deployment? That explains so much. You’re so brave. Reintegration takes some time,” said Tansy ever so politely before cocking her head and twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger. “Since you’re curious about fashion, I’ll give you this tip for free: slutshaming is no longer vogue.”

The piece of hair popped perfectly back into place as Tansy returned her hand to her lap and grinned, ready to shut up Trisha’s snickering with a fearsome knockout punch, “Or was it my body count that you were actually interested in, soldier boy? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Casey could do nothing but laugh aloud at the sheer power. The strength, the poise, the rebound potential put her in the top scoring players throughout the entire WNBA and probably the regular one as well.
”Trisha? I’m… So fucking impressed. Are you gonna be like this when we argue? Am I in for, like, the worst stone face I’ve ever gotten?”

His nose crinkled in a mix of shock and disgust as his focus shifted back to Tansy.
”You took the Kalehole line like a fucking champ. My Dad, and my Brother, are both professional boxing champions. Like, world recognized. I’ve seen sturdy motherfuckers, Tansy Vanburen, and you’re one. I’m just… I’m at a loss.”

Tansy turned to look at Trisha, the smugness of her smile unable to be masked as the ref signalled to ring the bell.

Trisha's laughter very quickly stopped. Tansy, the bitch that she was, had completely stepped past Casey calling her a slag. While she hadn't expected it to actually bother her horrible half-sister she'd hoped it would make her back off. She only seemed to double down.

That explains so much. You’re so brave. Trisha's lips pulled down into an even uglier scowl than before. It wasn't hard to tell what Tansy was implying… no she was openly saying that Casey was only with Trisha because she was the first woman he'd met since, and that he didn't know many others. That he'd leave her when he realised how awful she was in comparison. Tansy was probably right, and that was what made it so infuriating. The smug smile, and Casey being impressed, was just the nail in the coffin.

“I’m nothing like her. Just because we have the same shitty dad doesn't make us anything alike- don't even compare us." Trisha jumped up, standing in front of them both while glaring daggers at Tansy. It was very clear that she wouldn't be stone faced during any argument - her anger written across her face and slightly shaking arms. Her voice was still low, rather than exploding into a shout, but it was harsh and heated.
“Piss off, Tansy. Stop flirting with my boyfriend, before I ruin that perfect face of yours and you won't get anyone again- I mean it this time. Do you know how desperate it is to try and steal your sibling's partners? Your life is so sad you have to come here and ruin mine too. You're just a bitch that everyone in the family hates… And nobody gives a fuck about your body count- its so high we can all see it."

“She’s just kidding. This is how we show affection.”

Casey put his hand up, finger rising high.
”That was beautiful Babe. I’d like the record to clearly reflect that I was not flirting with this Botox Beast, I just… Think it’s impressive that she would fit right in with a barrack full of Infantrymen on a six month deep deployment. Mostly as entertainment.” he cleared his throat and grimaced thinking about the implication of that. However, the darker thoughts he had queued up were probably just going to send him back to a place he didn’t want to be.

”And don’t speak for women you don’t know, Hon. It’s also suuuuper not chique. Past tense, even. Most of the women I met in the service were proud slags, since active combat attracts a different breed, y’know? Harder than you. Thicker than you. Stronger than you. I could still get you enlisted, there’s plenty of border conflicts you can go fight in.” he stared, the grin vaguely fading from his face until he matched Tansy’s previous cold, dead and fish-eyed expression.

But Tansy had turned her attention to Trisha, hand up to block Casey from seeing her lips move as she mouthed: he’s talking about prostitutes. Her eyebrows raised ever so slightly, as if in concern for her younger sister, like she was some kind of protector instead of tormentor.

“Unfortunately society would collapse if I left, so I’m afraid the borders will just have to fight themselves. Speaking of entertainment,” said Tansy, smoothing her dress as she stood up and turned to Trisha, “I’m hosting a little charity gala next weekend and came to see if Sabrina could whip together some of her magic and help me find a dress. Do you know when she’ll be home? Oh, funnily enough, it’s for Veteran’s Day. You two should come! By then you’ll remember each other's name.” She nudged Trisha with her elbow. “What do you say, babe?”

”Oh, Babe, she’s so right. I can call General O’Keefe, I’m sure he’d be happy to show up and bring the Command Staff from Lewis-McChord! Just the kind of guy to give your event a bit of real star power, Tansy.”
He shot Trisha a knowing glance.
”I think you’ll really get to see what kind of soldier I am at that point. And amazingly, it has nothing to do with licking boots!”

“No way, I'd rather die the slowest, most painful death than suffer one of your galas," Trisha said tersely, expression only getting worse. Tansy knew just how to get under her skin - digging down into the insecurities she tried her best to hide. She knew Casey wasn't talking about prostitutes, and she knew they knew each other's names… but the implication under it all rattled her. “Fun as it would be to ruin it and see how you deal with real soldiers at an event you're hosting to pretend you actually care about anyone other than yourself. I don't think you'd enjoy it- and maybe then everyone would know what a fake bitch you are!"

Trisha jerked away from Tansy, sitting back down and immediately pressing into Casey's side. She looped her arms under one of his and hugged it tightly, still glaring at her sister.
“And no, I don't know when Sabrina will be home. You have a phone, don't you? Fuck off and come back another day. I won't be here anymore to ‘entertain’ you… hopefully you can finally leave me alone rather than acting like some obsessed stalker."
Hopefully it would be harder for Tansy to track down a temple owned apartment in the same city than it was Trisha's accommodation at university.

“Oh, boo, you’re no fun,” said Tansy, giving a playful pout, not even flinching at the insults thrown her way. Trisha lacked the eloquence needed to pierce through her armor. “Come on, even Casey sounds like he wants to go. Brooke and Izzy came to the last one, but do you know what they said when everyone asked why you weren’t there? They said you were throwing one of your patented pity parties. Pity Party Patty they called you the entire night. Honestly, it was awful. They wouldn’t let it go. Really, you should reconsider coming. People are starting to worry about you.”

“I mean it. I’m worried about you too. I was only playing around earlier, Patricia,” said Tansy, her voice taking a serious and somber tone. It was well-practiced, bullshit gilded to glisten like genuine concern. “You’re my baby sister. I’ll never leave you alone. So when you say things like, I won’t be here anymore, I…I…I get really scared!” Her eyes watered on cue. She wiped one with her finger. “That’s not something funny to joke about!”

Casey clung tightly to Trisha, not wanting to cause her any more undue stress.
”As much as I'd love to ruin your event, Tansy, Trisha's really got enough on her plate after meeting my family. Business, a home, safety, peace of mind. Things that you and yours can't seem to provide her properly, she's poised to achieve on her own. And I'm there for her every step. So, with all confidence, fuck off and come back tomorrow after we've properly moved her out. Oh, and one more thing?-”

Trisha could feel him lean back slightly, and both women would be able to hear his guts rumbling before a louder, nastier burp erupted from his throat.

”You're not seeing any results because you're actually not putting enough fruit into the mixture. I suggest less Kambucha, more natural juice. Maybe it'll cleanse the dirty fucking soul you seem attached to. Now don't make the fucking Wizard angry and be a good Kalehole.” he finished, his free hand coming up to shoo her off like a giant bug.

“Thank you, Case,” Trisha said softly, smiling at him and leaning into him more.

A hint of color was able to fight its way through the layers of powder and concealer and appear on Tansy’s cheeks as her eyes widened. At first it seemed as if she finally appeared insulted, having her “concern” so easily deflected, the crocodile tears in her eyes holding steady. Then loud, wicked laughter burst out of her as she clutched her stomach and doubled over. Her poise shattered and her face wrinkled, making her look like a hag whose glamour was failing. She laughed so hard that her side felt like it was about to cramp and actual tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“After we’ve moved her out? As in, you’re moving in? Together? With Harry Potter?”

Tansy threw her head back in another fit of laughter at the idea of Trisha moving in with her boyfriend of one day. She was in full hysterics as she stumbled away from the stupidest couple she had ever met and fell onto the couch while rolling with laughter. She struggled to breathe. Anytime she looked up at the two she broke into fits again, slapping her forehead and kicking her legs. This was hands down the single greatest thing Tansy had ever heard. Only through sheer force of will was she able to finally calm herself down enough so that she could speak.

“Oh, I’m just…pfft...I’m just so happy for the two of you, hehehe. I fully endorse this union, r-r-really. Wow, this is great. This is just great,” said Tansy, descending from her full blown guffaw into a giggle fit. Her eyes almost exploded out of her head as she sat up. “I cannot wait to tell EVERYBODY!”

Trisha was completely speechless. She just stared at Tansy with wide eyes, shock momentarily overwhelming how pissed off she was. She’d never seen Tansy like this. For as long as she could remember, she’d never seen anything genuine about her apart from the times a younger Trisha had gotten a proper, angry reaction out of her. But laughing? Laughing so hard she was flailing about like she was having a dying fit (which sadly she wasn’t).
“I’ve never seen her like this… she doesn’t normally show real emotion,” she whispered to Casey, going back to a narrow eyed glare at Tansy as she seemed to collect herself. Honestly, it was a bit terrifying. More so than the faked care.

“I’m sure you’re totally happy for us,” Trisha rolled her eyes, returning to a scowl. Because she knew that Tansy was mocking them. Was moving in with Casey after a day fast? Yes. Did she want her worst sister to find it so hilarious she actually proved that she was a human because of it? Not really, no. “Tell whoever you want, it’s not like you can tell anyone I care about. And I won’t have to deal with it, anyway, because you won’t be able to barge into my life anymore! Oh, but if you tell Ezra, make sure he knows I’m not actually leaving the family yet, but that I won’t depend on him for much longer.”
She still needed that allowance for now… just in case.

“Oh, of course, I’ll be sure to tell him just that,” said Tansy, still chuckling. “I’m sure Maria will be excited to hear the news, too!”

“Don't you dare tell her." Trisha's expression only worsened, tone lowering with a cold rage. She jerked forward, only stopped from jumping up and scratching her half-sisters eyes out by Casey's arm around her. But she still pushed against it in her anger. She couldn't have her mom finding out right now. That would only end in another judgemental phone call, hours of being picked apart and then thrown away again once she was deemed damaged enough. Or worse, there would be no call at all. Her mom simply wouldn't care, and that would be much harder to bear than disappointment.

“She probably won't even pick up, Mom's too busy to listen to people like you, she's not one of your vapid rich ‘friends’-" Trisha gritted her teeth, whole body tense. Pretend it doesn't bother you, don't make it obvious. A slight banana scent started wafting off her - Casey would recognise it as her pheromones, different from the ones he'd been hit by before, and not strong enough to do anything to him at all. But she couldn't handle it. The risk of it going to her mom, the risk of it not being a bluff - because why the fuck was Tansy in contact with her - and the risk of her mom not caring at all. Panic and anger clutched her equally.
“Tell her before I do and I'll- I'll make you regret it."

“Oh, of course, you would want to tell her yourself. I know how close the two of you…” Tansy’s nostril flared, her eyelids fluttered, and her words died in her mouth. Her breathing grew short and staccato as she leaned forward, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, appearing as if she suddenly felt unwell, tugging at the collar of her dress to fan herself. “Mmph…sorry, I just…um…”

Casey immediately pointed at her, his unhinged nature growing as his emotional field was walloped by magical pheromones.
”Oooh! Not so tough now, you… Blind…”
Clearly he was looking for the words to use to insult her for lacking any sort of magic, but in his head none of it sounded intelligible. He knew she wasn’t magical from the moment she started cracking up under the pressure.

It barely tickled him.

But he knew this wasn’t going to be what he wanted to be remembered for.
”Don’t piss the Warlock off!” he barked, both arms wrapping tight around Trisha.
”Hey, easy… Don’t hurt her, you’ll regret it later. Trust me.” he quietly and calmly spoke into Trisha’s ear, hands rubbing up and down her biceps as he held her there.
”You win, you’re stronger, she’s not a threat.”

His voice was a quiet mantra that echoed in her ear as he attempted to calm her down and appease her as best he could. He was just reaching for whatever he thought would be comforting.

Trisha curled in towards Casey, legs pulling up to her chest so she was a tight ball in his arms. She took a deep, shaky breath and tried to push back the panic rising in her chest. Tansy wouldn’t actually tell her mom. If she did, then it would be fine. She was used to her mom berating her. And she would. She wouldn’t just ignore it. Deep breaths.

“I’m not doing it on purpose," Trisha mumbled, trying to pull the pheromones back in. It wasn’t anywhere near the full blast, but they started increasing the more she panicked. She shook her head, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on everything else. Focusing in on the sound of Casey’s voice and the feeling of him holding her tightly. Slowly, but surely, the scent began to fade. The tension in her shoulders faded, and she uncurled slightly. Her arms snaked around Casey and she rubbed her face against him a few times.
“I’m alright. I shouldn’t let her get to me…" Trisha said softly. It made her look so fragile, but Tansy just knew what to say. There was so little she didn’t know. “She just pisses me off so much. She does this all the time, I should be used to it, but some things just get to me more. But I’m alright now, it’s fine."

Meanwhile, Tansy had bolted out of the room in a flash, babbling what might’ve been a panicked apology for the sudden departure, stumbling only momentarily as her leg banged into the coffee table and knocking her water bottle onto the carpet, the remnants of whatever kale nightmare concoction dribbling out and staining the white rug. The sound of heels clacking in an off-rhythm followed by the front door slamming open against the wall confirmed her exit from the house. The faint sound of a young man, her driver perhaps, calling out to her—”Miss!Ms. Vanburen!”—could barely be made out through the front door that Tansy had left open in her flight.

Casey did indulge in a smirking giggle as Tansy vacated the premises. He didn’t want that type of thing happening to Blinds, but sometimes they were just too uppity. They had to learn. But, that was also his upbringing seeping into his mentality; the inherent bigotry that families like his exuded toward those without magic was almost always palpable in a private setting.
Like any other hate, it propagated in privacy, small numbers of close people giving into their biases and insecurities. They made themselves feel insular, safe, and ultimately on a pedestal above those without their gifts.

The capacity within him filled his mind with shame, but that sense of pleasure still came with it. The snickering, greater-than judgement… He was disgusted and fascinated by himself simultaneously.
But he didn’t want to dwell. It wasn’t right… Even if she deserved it.
”It’s okay… We all let things get past our walls sometimes. She’s been doing it for years, right? Forever? When you meet Junior, he’s not gonna be like that. He’ll flirt, try to get you to think he’s charming and funny, and that he’s not a sociopath. When he hears you’re into computers and stuff, he’s-”
He stopped, clearing his throat. Why was he thinking about Max Junior?
”-I guess, the same person. Just a dude. And he does shit like that to me. So, I understand. Okay?” he offered the reassurance again.

“I’m glad you understand,” Trisha said softly. She was, in the way it made her worry less about him reacting badly to her reaction. To those who weren’t used to people like Tansy, everything she said seemed to be nice. She’d fooled most of Trisha’s university friends when she ‘visited’, aside from Reyna, thanks to her ability to read auras. It had been frustrating. It was the same for past partners of hers.
“She didn’t used to be like that- well, she was always fake. Since she’s the oldest girl, she was always trying to act like our mom. But I have a mom, so I always pushed back on it.” A bit of an understatement. “Eventually it turned to this. All the hidden jabs. She’s only like that to me.”

Trisha laughed without much joy to the sound, fingers digging into Casey’s back as she tried not to think about all the things Tansy had said over the years.
“You can see now why a bit of crying doesn’t affect me, right? She does it all the time. At least… we can both see through it. Silver linings and all that,” she smiled slightly. “I won’t get charmed by any partner stealing siblings of yours either.”

Casey nodded.
”Good, because I’d have to kill him at that point, and I’d hate for you to have to deal with that.”
He didn’t mention the familial ramifications. It was, of course, implied. Regardless, he cuddled Trisha a bit tighter and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
”At least hopefully she won’t be back tonight. She doesn’t live here, right?” he asked with a nervous tone.

“She doesn’t, thankfully, she’s just an unwelcome guest,” Trisha smiled, twisting around to look at her practically untouched sandwich. “... but let’s finish those in my bedroom, just in case.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

[@Punished GN] As promised, Caelea & Rien as NPCs...

One new wolfpack NPC and one new 317 NPC!

NPCs

Caelea.Baird
26 | Caelea Muireann Baird | She/Her "Call me cute one more time and I’ll fuck you up so badly you’ll regret being born."	Description: Caelea is someone who’s known violence her whole life. A mistake born nearly ten years after her older brother in St. Portwell, Caelea was just another mouth to feed in a poor family. She spent her early years experiencing her mom’s heavy mood swings before she ultimately abandoned them when Caelea was five, leaving her dad to support both kids while blaming her for it. She was neglected at best, beaten more often than not over the smallest of things. From a young age she spent her time on the streets - tussling with other kids and learning how to fight (and how to fight dirty). Her only solace was school gymnastics classes, and the ones she was able to attend with money she stole. Caelea was relatively young when she kindled - a fight that went wrong with a much larger boy at twelve resulting in her blasting him across the street with air. From there she only used her abstraction to fight more, and to beat every piece of shit that thought she made fun of her and thought she was weak. She no longer had to take any shit from her dad, either, because he couldn’t win against her anymore. In school Caelea was viewed as a bully - which she was, but she wasn’t the typical kind picking on nerds and the like. That was boring. Instead she beat up all the boys that thought they were superior just cause of what they had in their pants, showing them that they weren’t all that great. It was this fighting that led to her making one friend - Hagan Rosefey. Then the Stygian Snake attacked. At first, Caelea ignored it, beyond finding off the apparitions she came across. She couldn’t care less that other people were dying. But then Hagan was nearly enthralled by it, and was dragged into the Sycamore Tree Coven. It seemed like a fun way to kill time and avoid being at home. Caelea wasn’t well liked in the coven - she was abrasive, standoffish, and a general asshole to everyone else. She started fights with other members almost every day. So when the Stygian Snake was beaten, Caelea was voted (and chased) out near immediately when she violently fought with multiple members. Quite simply not giving a fuck, Caelea went back to her normal life - skipping school, occasionally attending gymnastic classes and beating people up on the street. Eventually this progressed to a ‘career’ of beating people up for money - first essentially mugging, then for tiny groups in St Portwell. The criminal underworld of St. Portwell was a tough place for a woman to be, but with her abstraction Caelea didn’t lose fights to the Blind and just thrashed anyone who tried something on her. Eventually she joined the Wolf Pack… practically fighting her way in after a confrontation between the group she was with, and the Wolf Pack. Jumping ship was aided by Hagan’s presence in the Wolf Pack. She has been operating in the most violent capacity she can in the group since. Caelea is tiny at four-eleven with a slight build. She has longer blond hair often tied back, very pale skin and light blue eyes. She’s incredibly flexible thanks to years of gymnastics used to aid her fighting. She often gets mistaken for a child - something that pisses her off to no end. Her appearance may be cute, but her personality is far from it. Caelea is incredibly cold towards other people, caring about very few of them, and harsh. She solves things with her fists and is aggressive to the point of brutality. Abstraction: Adept - Red & Purple Lux. Channeler: worn hand wraps Air Blast: Caelea’s primary spell, she controls air to create powerful blasts of air out of her hands or feet. This has the range of about a foot, but is honed to a high level of power, allowing her to knock over almost any object or person while also causing a lot of damage. Air Strike: Caelea’s primary spell in fights with the Blind, where she uses air to enhance her strikes by using the air in a field around whatever she uses to attack. This makes her strikes hit much harder, while not appearing much different than normal. This is combined with her Purple-Lux to make her air enhanced attacks super fast, while also being incredibly hard hitting. Fly: using a combination of her Purple and Red lux, Caelea can launch herself around using air blasts combined with purple lux enhanced movement. This allows her to practically fly through the sky (without actually traditionally flying), get up to places she normally couldn’t, and travel around a battlefield incredibly quickly. It makes her very manoeuvrable and near impossible to pin down. Crush: Caelea uses her Red and Purple lux to put a large amount of pressure on one person, essentially trying to crush them with an incredibly heavy weight of compressed air combined with telekinetic weight. Air Burst: Caelea forms a dense shield of air around her and, combined with telekinesis, launches it outwards. This knocks back any objects (and people) coming towards her - being able to stop and propel back even bullets. Breathlessness: An incredibly brutal spell, and one she doesn’t use often, Caelea can suck the air out of a tiny area around someone’s head to create a vacuum that will cause suffocation. She has to be close to the target to do this, and it has similar effects on her, making it something she only uses if really needed.
Rien.Driessan
25 | Marijn “Rien” Elian Driessan | They/Them "If you're looking for someone who cares, keeping looking. You won't find that here."	Description: Born and raised in the Netherlands, Rien spent their early childhood shifting between foster homes along with their twin sister, Katja. As a result the two were incredibly close - they were practically all they had. Things got easier when they were adopted at ten. Both were incredibly artistic, with Rien leaning towards painting and Katja towards music. But as they both got older Katja got more sickly, before being diagnosed with a terminal, degenerative illness. At fifteen, just a few weeks after their birthday, she passed away. This caused Rien’s kindling event - suddenly they’d lost the only person that mattered to them, and were thrown into a world of magic they hadn’t known about. Using their black lux Rien desperately tried to find some kind of remnant of Katja… but she’d moved on. A year later, their adoptive parents decided it would be best to get a fresh start, and moved to St. Portwell, USA (just a year after the Stygian Snake’s rampage). While studying art at university, Rien joined 317. It was a place were they found some solace and understanding. However Rien is generally a detached and uncaring individual, fearing growing attached and losing someone again. They take carefree to the extreme, to the point of seeming to not care about anything. Rien is five-four with dyed hair and multiple piercings. They also have various tattoos - most importantly to them, a treble clef on their chest (above their heart) that curls into a K. Rien acts as 317’s sealer, when the need arises… and when they’re not getting high. Abstraction: Adept - Black & Gold Lux. Channeler: an old, fraying friendship bracelet. Rien is a Black and Gold Lux adept who primarily specialises in trapping and sealing Apparitions in paintings, before summoning them back out of the paintings. They have four primary spells. Seek: Rien can use their painting to hunt down nearby Apparitions. They essentially channel their black lux as they paint, pointing them towards any Apparitions in the nearby area. Enrapture: Using their black lux, Rien is able to manipulate Apparitions to make them easier to seal. They use the painting they plan to seal the Apparition into for this, luring them towards it and forcing them to be enthralled by it. Trap: Using their paintings and black lux, Rien has a much easier time sealing Apparitions. This spell enhances their sealing, making it much more likely to succeed. It reduces the size of sigil needed for sealing, allowing them to use smaller canvas even for powerful apparitions. Pull: Rien pulls a sealed apparition out of the canvas they sealed it in. Using a combination of their Gold and Black lux they’re able to control it to do their bidding. Once they’re done with it, they can easily put it back inside the canvas. They can only summon two apparitions at a time, and to summon another after that they must put one of the active ones back in a painting. current apparitions Some of the most notable Apparitions that Rien has in their collection of sealed paintings. Amanita Description: A small, unassuming Apparition that appears harmless but is actually one of Rien’s strongest. Amanita was one they sealed early on, when they just moved to the States. They are… somewhat attached to this apparition because of it. Rien always carries Amanita’s painting with them, thanks to its surprisingly small size (it can fit in any backpack, or a large front pocket). Amanita is very intelligent and seemingly friendly when talking to Rien… but she definitely harbours some dangerous intentions. Amanita’s abstraction comes in two parts. Deadly Spores: Amanita spreads spores in an area around her. These spores can be carried by the wind, and spread naturally. There are three types of spores she can spread - paralytic, toxic and hallucinogenic. The paralytic spores cause paralysis. This starts at the extremities before spreading to the whole body. The toxic spores cause a series of effects the longer they’re inhaled. This starts with delirium before moving to sickness, vomiting, intense pain and thirst, then convulsions, and then death by liver and kidney failure. The hallucinogenic spores cause vivid hallucinations - random and uncontrollable, just like drug induced ones. Emotional fields offer some defence. Mycelia: Aside from her spores, Amanita can also spread Mycelia out through the ground. These allow her to find anything touching the ground and can be controlled to wrap around things. She can use her mycelia to inject the same toxins as with her spores. The mycelia have to penetrate the skin, but completely bypass emotional fields. This is incredibly potent, and a much more effective and deadly use (speeding up the process greatly) - what truly makes Amanita so dangerous. Panoptes Description: Panoptes, or Pan as Rien often calls her, is an apparition born upon the death of a controlling, scorned woman who lost everything. Rien sealed her seven years ago, the second strong apparition they sealed after Amanita. She was a malevolent apparition that’s somewhat ‘settled’ down after sealing. Pan has a powerful psychic and sight based abstraction. She has multiple abilities under this. Telekinetic Control: The primary part of Pan’s Abstraction, Pan has an incredibly strong form of telekinesis. While its raw power seems weak, it is incredibly well controlled. She can use it to control multiple objects to go in different directions or do different things, to act as if it was a hand and, most devastatingly, to control a human body. This isn’t mind control - the person is completely aware, the control of their body is just taken away from them. Or, she can control just parts of a body. Against blinds, she can do this on a mass scale - against those with emotional fields it is more difficult, but possible with how strong of an apparition she is. All-Seeing Eyes: She has supernatural eyes all over her hair and body that she can see through. She can psychically “detach” one of her many eyes, sending it a long distance from herself as a form of clairvoyance. She can see through this eye as if it were still attached. Psychic Beam: Technically part of her all-seeing eyes, Pan can shoot a raw beam of psychic power out of any of her eyes. Telepathy: Pan has a more rudimentary form of telepathy. She can ‘talk’ with another person in their mind, placing her thoughts into theirs and reading the thoughts directed back to her. There needs to be a specific link formed - someone she’s touched, or knows - for this. The Terror of.The Night Description: The Terror of the Night, or just Night as Rien tends to call it, is Rien’s strongest apparition and one they only sealed a year ago. He’s an apparition born out of nightmares and the collective fear people have of the night and the dark. He has a powerful, and varied, abstraction. At a base level he is physically very strong with sharp claws and teeth, durable enough to take a lot of magical hits and can fly. He’s large enough that Rien can ride on his back and could easily level a small building. Night Terrors: The ability that gave him his name, the Terror of the Night can cause mass hallucinatory nightmares. This is most effective at night but can work during the day. It can do this on a wide, “weaker” scale or more targeted - where the more targeted, of up to ten individuals, completely bypasses emotional fields. It forces people to witness their worst nightmare… though it is possible for them to escape. Night Teleportation: At night, he can teleport long distances. This is enough to get from one end of a city to another… but only at night. It doesn’t work during the day. Shadow Breath: Like the dragon he looks like, the Terror of the Night can breath out a deadly beam of shadow. This is incredibly cold, freezing anything it hits, while also being life draining. Anyone without an emotional field hit by it will quickly perish, and those with it will suffer greatly. Kludde. Description: An apparition born of Dutch and Belgium folklore, Kludde was an apparition that Rien captured and sealed just before leaving the Netherlands. He was a malicious, tormenting Apparition who moved through rivers, lived under bridges and pulled unsuspecting Blinds in. He can be one of the harder to control Apparitions, and only listens to Rien when they command him in Dutch. He has various magical abilities, inspired by the legends about Kludde. In his natural form, he’s a large wolf-like creature with scaled wings. He can fly, but not particularly quickly, but on the ground has supernatural speed. His sharp bear claws and fangs easily rip through non protected flesh. He does have one, strange weakness inspired by the legends: if he sees a handkerchief he has no choice but to carefully rip it apart. Shapeshifting: Kludde can shapeshift into a few other animals: horses, ravens, snakes, cats, frog, bats and even trees. In these forms he’s still very fast, but has reduced strength. Weight Increasing: Kludde can increase his weight exponentially at will, from his normal weight to heavy enough to crush someone. His favourite thing is to jump on someone’s back and weigh them down. Fire Breath: Kludde has a short ranged fire breath, which he can use infrequently. Grash Description: Grash is a malevolent Apparition that Rien sealed a couple of years ago. It was going on a mash rampage in a small town before they sealed it, and subsequently made it an apparition they could summon. While it has a relatively simple Abstraction, it’s a strong physical fighter. Grash has supernatural speed, with the ability to form its own body in a variety of different ways. It can lengthen its fingers into incredibly sharp claws, separate its body to avoid getting hit. It can turn into a shadowy mist to move from one place to another very quickly. It’s a strong and formidable foe.

@FernStone

Some of Rien's current apparitions! (Also added to their sheet if you want to update Ghost)

current apparitions

Some of the most notable Apparitions that Rien has in their collection of sealed paintings.

Amanita
	Description: A small, unassuming Apparition that appears harmless but is actually one of Rien’s strongest. Amanita was one they sealed early on, when they just moved to the States. They are… somewhat attached to this apparition because of it. Rien always carries Amanita’s painting with them, thanks to its surprisingly small size (it can fit in any backpack, or a large front pocket). Amanita is very intelligent and seemingly friendly when talking to Rien… but she definitely harbours some dangerous intentions. Amanita’s abstraction comes in two parts. Deadly Spores: Amanita spreads spores in an area around her. These spores can be carried by the wind, and spread naturally. There are three types of spores she can spread - paralytic, toxic and hallucinogenic. The paralytic spores cause paralysis. This starts at the extremities before spreading to the whole body. The toxic spores cause a series of effects the longer they’re inhaled. This starts with delirium before moving to sickness, vomiting, intense pain and thirst, then convulsions, and then death by liver and kidney failure. The hallucinogenic spores cause vivid hallucinations - random and uncontrollable, just like drug induced ones. Emotional fields offer some defence. Mycelia: Aside from her spores, Amanita can also spread Mycelia out through the ground. These allow her to find anything touching the ground and can be controlled to wrap around things. She can use her mycelia to inject the same toxins as with her spores. The mycelia have to penetrate the skin, but completely bypass emotional fields. This is incredibly potent, and a much more effective and deadly use (speeding up the process greatly) - what truly makes Amanita so dangerous.
Panoptes
	Description: Panoptes, or Pan as Rien often calls her, is an apparition born upon the death of a controlling, scorned woman who lost everything. Rien sealed her seven years ago, the second strong apparition they sealed after Amanita. She was a malevolent apparition that’s somewhat ‘settled’ down after sealing. Pan has a powerful psychic and sight based abstraction. She has multiple abilities under this. Telekinetic Control: The primary part of Pan’s Abstraction, Pan has an incredibly strong form of telekinesis. While its raw power seems weak, it is incredibly well controlled. She can use it to control multiple objects to go in different directions or do different things, to act as if it was a hand and, most devastatingly, to control a human body. This isn’t mind control - the person is completely aware, the control of their body is just taken away from them. Or, she can control just parts of a body. Against blinds, she can do this on a mass scale - against those with emotional fields it is more difficult, but possible with how strong of an apparition she is. All-Seeing Eyes: She has supernatural eyes all over her hair and body that she can see through. She can psychically “detach” one of her many eyes, sending it a long distance from herself as a form of clairvoyance. She can see through this eye as if it were still attached. Psychic Beam: Technically part of her all-seeing eyes, Pan can shoot a raw beam of psychic power out of any of her eyes. Telepathy: Pan has a more rudimentary form of telepathy. She can ‘talk’ with another person in their mind, placing her thoughts into theirs and reading the thoughts directed back to her. There needs to be a specific link formed - someone she’s touched, or knows - for this.
The Terror of.The Night
	Description: The Terror of the Night, or just Night as Rien tends to call it, is Rien’s strongest apparition and one they only sealed a year ago. He’s an apparition born out of nightmares and the collective fear people have of the night and the dark. He has a powerful, and varied, abstraction. At a base level he is physically very strong with sharp claws and teeth, durable enough to take a lot of magical hits and can fly. He’s large enough that Rien can ride on his back and could easily level a small building. Night Terrors: The ability that gave him his name, the Terror of the Night can cause mass hallucinatory nightmares. This is most effective at night but can work during the day. It can do this on a wide, “weaker” scale or more targeted - where the more targeted, of up to ten individuals, completely bypasses emotional fields. It forces people to witness their worst nightmare… though it is possible for them to escape. Night Teleportation: At night, he can teleport long distances. This is enough to get from one end of a city to another… but only at night. It doesn’t work during the day. Shadow Breath: Like the dragon he looks like, the Terror of the Night can breath out a deadly beam of shadow. This is incredibly cold, freezing anything it hits, while also being life draining. Anyone without an emotional field hit by it will quickly perish, and those with it will suffer greatly.
Kludde.
	Description: An apparition born of Dutch and Belgium folklore, Kludde was an apparition that Rien captured and sealed just before leaving the Netherlands. He was a malicious, tormenting Apparition who moved through rivers, lived under bridges and pulled unsuspecting Blinds in. He can be one of the harder to control Apparitions, and only listens to Rien when they command him in Dutch. He has various magical abilities, inspired by the legends about Kludde. In his natural form, he’s a large wolf-like creature with scaled wings. He can fly, but not particularly quickly, but on the ground has supernatural speed. His sharp bear claws and fangs easily rip through non protected flesh. He does have one, strange weakness inspired by the legends: if he sees a handkerchief he has no choice but to carefully rip it apart. Shapeshifting: Kludde can shapeshift into a few other animals: horses, ravens, snakes, cats, frog, bats and even trees. In these forms he’s still very fast, but has reduced strength. Weight Increasing: Kludde can increase his weight exponentially at will, from his normal weight to heavy enough to crush someone. His favourite thing is to jump on someone’s back and weigh them down. Fire Breath: Kludde has a short ranged fire breath, which he can use infrequently.
Grash
	Description: Grash is a malevolent Apparition that Rien sealed a couple of years ago. It was going on a mash rampage in a small town before they sealed it, and subsequently made it an apparition they could summon. While it has a relatively simple Abstraction, it’s a strong physical fighter. Grash has supernatural speed, with the ability to form its own body in a variety of different ways. It can lengthen its fingers into incredibly sharp claws, separate its body to avoid getting hit. It can turn into a shadowy mist to move from one place to another very quickly. It’s a strong and formidable foe.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: Sloane @Atrophy, Ken @AtomicEmperor, Lynn @NoriWasHere

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”Luca,” Luca said quietly, grimacing at the raw pain in his throat when he tried to talk.

Luca was unable to look away as Sloane was healed. He forced himself to watch the gruesome process of all her flesh regrowing, the sick feeling in the pit off his stomach barely dampened by relief. Then she looked at him with pained eyes filled with condemnation. She shook her head at him. He understood. It was all his fault. He should've been more careful. He shouldn't have gotten so close to her. If he hadn’t gone near her then she wouldn’t be hurt like this.

”I'm sorry,” Luca whispered again, voice hoarse. ”I'm so sorry, Sloane.”

His heart sunk further, to depths he didn’t even know were possible, when Jasper approached Sloane first. Of course. Of course. It all made sense. Jasper’s ‘hatred’ was just a coverup… he was straight, after all, and Sloane liked him too. They would be good for each other. Sloane, under all that harsh exterior, was a nice person. She wasn’t dying, like he was. They could have a future together. Luca would take his leave like he should’ve long ago.

He shouldn’t have come back. This - hurting someone - was always going to be the result.

Luca painfully pushed himself to his feet, arms flapping to the side to balance himself. It was like there was a heavy weight pulling him down, a constant burning against his skin… But it was fine. The physical feelings were normal, just worse again. It was what had happened that hurt more… and the hope for something more, something that couldn’t be.

He’d just need an hour alone to recover, then he’d be fine again.

Luca looked around, lips twisting into a pained frown as he caught sight of Lila. She looked… bad. In so much pain. She needed help - but he couldn’t help her right now. He’d just hurt her more. Maybe later, they could talk. Hopefully someone like Britney could actually help her, and Sully would at least help with the pain.

He took a step backwards, head tilting and catching Jasper’s gaze as it moved towards him. His heart thudded painfully in his chest… He couldn’t talk to Jasper right now. Not after all of that. Luca shook his head slightly, turning around and fleeing as quickly as he could towards the edge of the trees. He ignored the pain in his legs and the burning in his lungs. He needed to go home… to get out of the way.

With that in mind, he changed direction slightly… Approaching Ken and Lynn, still away from the group. He paused far enough away from them both that there was no chance of his aura catching him. Lynn was… crying. She wasn’t in a good state either. Luca bit his lip, before forcing what he hoped was a comforting smile. As if he was fine.

”Lynn…” he said softly, trailing off. He didn’t know what to say to her. He could only imagine what she’d seen in that hallucination. Right now, what was there he could say to help? ”If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Luca then turned to Ken with an attempted brighter smile. It wasn’t quite possible to cover up the distress in his eyes or the rotting green flecks floating across them, and the festering wounds across his bare arms. ”Ken, when you have a moment, can you take me home? I need… some time to get things back under control. It’s too risky for me to stay.”

Hopefully Ken would be able to do just that without hurting himself - he was the best option, in Luca’s mind, since he had ways of separating them physically with magic. He couldn’t go back in Jasper’s car. He might hurt any of the other three, and he really needed that time to himself.

”I’ll just wait over here!”

"You certainly won't. You'll not be crying without my company, dear one."
There was a ripple, and an unkillable, unrottable wall of nothing but pure pressure that Luca would've nearly slammed into were it not for its elastic nature errupted around him. The gentle stretching sensation turned into a hammock of air, with a calm and consistent stream blowing upward into the air. After that, all the voices would be a little bit muffled, but Ken still spoke to him through the thin veil.
"You will stay with me where you won't be consumed. I'll only be a moment."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: Sloane @Atrophy, Drake @Shin Ghost Note
Kari Wilson’s House

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”Sloane!” Anya was right behind Sully, hanging back so she didn’t get in the way when he shoved the Chalice into her friend's face. Normally she'd find his brutish way of going about it irritating, but in the case it didn't matter. Sloane needed the elixir one way or another. A soft sigh of relief escaped her slightly parted lips as the horrible rotting receded, muscle and skin reforming and her movements getting stronger. She was going to be alright, it seemed, as she got enough strength to push away Sully.

Good. It would be a shame to lose someone like her.

Anya waited until Sully stepped away to get closer, crouching beside Drake and Sloane with a furrowed brow and concerned expression. A genuinely concerned one, not hidden behind all the layers of false kindness she normally wore.

”Here, take this.” She took off her long, light grey wool jacket and draped it over Sloane. It was damp but not quite soaked through… It would do. She was glad she'd worn one that went down to her knees today, with the two of them being about the same height; anything shorter wouldn't do much for Sloane.

She then looked at Drake, almost smiling. ”This certainly is one way to apologise to Sloane.”

While Anya wasn’t particularly friendly with Jade, and thus didn’t have the (formerly) good opinions of Drake that Sloane did. But he had rushed over as soon as she was hurt… And helped Sully made sure she got healed.

”Anya,” she eventually replied to Auri’s request, tilting her head towards her, feeling it was a little ridiculous. Couldn't she manually count? Or ask Greyson to check that everyone was there?

Ah, he’d made a beeline right for Britney… of course. Anya’s lip curled up in disdain for just a moment as she watched him. Love really did make you weak.

Is that not what’s happening to you with Sloane? The more you care about her the weaker you get… Ah, but that’s not it. I didn’t care enough to sever.

She forced her gaze off Greyson, and her thoughts off that, skimming over other nearby coven members. Linqian, near naked, Aryin, near naked, Jasper… near naked. Sloane was right, what the fuck happened to everyone’s clothes?

”Maybe the winds blew them off,” Anya said drily, a delayed response to Sloane’s question. She bit her lip, continuing in a surprisingly soft tone. ”How did you get here, Sloane? I brought my care, so I can take you home? Maybe… you can come with us, Drake?”

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Interactions: Britney @Shin Ghost Note, Greyson @AtomicEmperor
Linqian’s Home -> A Place Where Her Home No Longer Exists

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Linqian was in the kitchen. She didn’t remember how she’d moved there - no, she did. The hallucination had shifted, changed. She was younger. Huanyi played on the floor a few steps away from her, pushing his toy cars around with dramatic sound effects. He looked to be only eleven… which would make her nineteen.

She remembered the tiredness of those years. Two full time jobs, with barely any time to sleep in between. But she couldn’t feel the tiredness. This wasn’t real.

In a way, things had been easier then. She didn’t have to think as much, and-

”I said I’d make dinner, Qian-er,” Jinhai’s voice came from right beside her, as he leaned against the counter with a smile.

Jinhai was still there.

”And let you burn the house down? I don’t think so.” Linqian rolled her eyes, bumping her hip against him to try and shove him away so she could cut the vegetables in front of her. He laughed, stepping slightly to the side but still leaning over her. Fucking… he really used those extra four inches of height he had to be a pain. ”I will shove this knife in your eye, Jinhai.”

A brief flash, Jinhai’s eyes lost all life. Blood stained his white shirt. A knife was in his chest. She shook her head, the image disappeared. It wasn’t real in here.

”You’d miss me too much,” Jinhai teased, but he still stepped properly back with his hands up. Linqian wanted to wipe the smug grin off his face, but she also wanted to take a photo so she could remember it forever. She wanted to remember his smile. Not… not the end. ”And who would make sure Yi-er does all his homework?”

”I can do that,” Linqian rolled her eyes, not looking away as she started cutting the vegetables. She did it perfectly - because this was a perfect world. What she wanted. ”Just cause I can’t help him doesn’t mean I don’t make him do it.”

”You never did your homework,” he grinned. "I remember you came up with the worst excuses, then stopped bothering altogether.”

”I'm not Yi-er, he's smart. I'd never let him-”

A smouldering smell overwhelmed the freshly chopped vegetables. Shouting… No. She shouldn’t be able to hear the outside.

No, no, no, ”no, no, no, please let me-”

Once again, Jinhai disappeared in front of her eyes.

'dreams I couldn't keep'

”- stay.”

But it was gone. He was gone.

Linqian didn’t even bother looking around. She didn’t care. She couldn’t give less of a fuck about whether everyone was alright. Jinhai wasn’t. Jinhai was dead. And she might as well be, with the fucking life she was living- ^{she wanted to be. Why couldn’t she be? Why must she suffer-} She wanted to go back. She’d give anything to go back.

There was a chill in the air that prickled against her skin, but she barely felt it. All she felt was numbness. Nothing.

She was still crying.

Linqian turned to look at Britney as she grabbed her shoulders, then at Greyson when he appeared out of nowhere. Had he been here the whole time? No, probably not. He was worried? Probably not about her… Ah, it didn’t matter. The tears didn’t stop, and she didn’t bother trying to stop them.

You couldn’t close to the floodgates when they were open, not without a bit of force.

She removed Britney’s hands from her shoulders to take Greyson’s jacket, pulling it on and closed to properly cover herself up. No snide comment, no eyerolls, none of the normal shit she'd give him.

”Am I okay?” Linqian echoed them both. Of course she wasn’t. It was obvious that she wasn’t. Who would be fucking okay after that?! After losing the only person she could depend on… one of the two people she had left. Then having to see him again, as if he hadn’t gone. She wanted to stay in that hallucination forever. Fuck, she wanted to see him again. ”Yeah, I’m fucking great.”

Linqian suddenly turned around and punched the vine wall beside her. She punched it again and again until her knuckles were scraped raw, blood sluggishly trickling down them. She then pulled her hands back, shaking them as the blood splattered onto muddy ground.

The pain gave her some clarity - and with it came the rest. An explosion of pain across her face where Vashti’s skull had smashed into it. A hazy dizziness still at the back of her skull. A dull ache in her whole body from falling to the ground, wrestling with Vashti in the mud. But it didn’t get rid of the pain that bothered her the most. The agony deep inside of her where it felt her soul had been ripped out. It would never come back. But it was enough to stop the tears, the weak things she hated shedding so much.

She turned back to Britney and Greyson as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t just been crying, and as if she hadn’t punched something until her hands bled. She raised a bloody hand to wipe away the tears, lips pulling up into a smile. It didn't reach her eyes.

It was an incredibly jarring shift.

”Well, that was a fucking bust,” Linqian grimaced, acting if everything was okay. She actively avoided looking over at anyone else, even as she finally replied to Auri’s stupid shout. ”Linqian.”

She then tilted her head up to properly look at Britney and Greyson. She should just go, make sure Huanyi was alright… but he’d said he’d be out again tonight, probably not back until midnight. The house would be empty. She couldn’t handle that emptiness. Not where there should be four other people- not where he should be. Not in that house filled with memories that was no longer a home. She couldn't. ”Either of you have plans for after this? I need to-”

What did she need? A drink, but she couldn’t have that, she had a ten hour shift tomorrow. It was a bad idea, anyway. Some fun? Sure, but that wasn’t really it. That would just be a want. No, this was a need, she-

”I need to not be alone.”

The words came out as a hoarse whisper that only Britney and Greyson would be able to hear. She bit down on her lip, eyes dropping to the floor. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to say that… or had she?

No, she hadn’t.

"Father Wolf is still around, y’know, and we don't all have a live-in ex boyfriend for protection." At least she assumed that was why Greyson was staying with Britney.

It was a pathetic excuse, playing it off as a joke, when she’d gladly welcome his knife. At least then, she’d know peace - either in the nothingness that came after, or joining Jinhai in the afterlife. Was there any point in delaying the inevitable sweet release? Why couldn't Vashti have given her that today?

Her smile dropped again, only making what she'd meant clearer.

There was a part of her that for once didn’t care if they saw just how broken she was. Vulnerability made her weak - but it was fine. Let them take advantage of it if they wanted to. Use her, kill her, she didn’t care. How could it get any worse?

The worst had already happened. Twice.

They probably had plans anyway. Britney would check on Lila, she assumed, and Greyson... Well he'd want to spend time with just Britney. There was always Aryin- Linqian caught sight of Aryin leaving out of the corner of her eye.

Nevermind.

”Don’t worry about it, you probably have plans.”

A lack of the usual confidence. She didn’t have the energy to keep it up. Not here, not now.

It was fine if she went back to the empty house.

Either she’d die quickly when Father Wolf finally came for her, or she’d suffer hours alone until her next shift, when she had to be fine again.

Just like always.