In certain environments, such as places with extreme elemental conditions like high heat or corrosive atmospheres, her chains can decay rapidly, losing their effectiveness and becoming easier to break.
RIP to any chains that come near Luca (or Linqian)
Linqian was still pretty fucking tense about the whole shadow creature thing, but the alluring smell of pizza and other food wafted into the room. Her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl and she pursed her lips. Fuck. She basically hadn't eaten since last night, outside of a few snacks, but really?
At least everything seemed under control for now... Her temperature raised up back to normal, and she dropped her hands into something more relaxed. Aryin dropping her guard when Greenwood walked in really helped. If her friend trusted them, then she did too. She knew exactly what that look was in her eye too… and it made her smirk.
She just nodded to Greenwood and went over to one of the pizza boxes, grabbed a slice of something covered in vegetables, and started munching. Fuck, it was nice to eat someone she hadn't cooked for once... Without being so drunk she threw it up.
Of course, Layla started shit as she made her way back over to Edict and Britney, leaning against the bar with a scowl. At least Jack shut shit down pretty quickly, just moving on… but Layla had some thing against Jack, from what Linqian had seen, so she figured she’d shut it down too. She didn’t want to deal with more of the fucking whining. Who gave a fuck about the Void?
”Layla,” Linqian said in a tired, warning tone - much like an exhausted mother would take with an unruly child. She was too fucking tired to get truly pissed about it. Really, she just wanted some pizza. And if these Greenwood guys could help them find Father Wolf and get revenge? She wanted that. ”Alizee got herself killed. From what Bea- Bianca told me she fucking kidnapped one of their members. If anything they should be pissed at us. Fuck, we all got fucking shot because of her. Thanks, by the way.”
She glanced over at Kashmira. ”A bunch more of us would be fucking dead if it wasn't for their healer. So step the fuck back.”
Linqian leaned in towards Edict, lowering her voice. ”Can you mind drug her again? She’s a real fucking pain like this. Or would that piss off Leon’s cult?”
Honestly, she was beginning to tolerate Layla, in part thanks to her getting along with Henri, but now? Absolutely not. She was going to do something fucking stupid and there was no way Linqian was letting her brother near that again.
”Fuck does he love himself,” Linqian muttered to Edict and Britney as Jack started up a thankfully slightly shorter speech. She didn’t have a problem with Jack, really, but his constant talking was really grating on her already thin nerves today. Fuck, she hadn’t slept enough for that.
”You work with the Temple? Fuck the Temple- heh, literally, that seems to be the trend,” Linqian looked over at Aryin with a smirk. ”If you've gotta alliance with them, keep the cult bullshit away from us. Sure, we've got fucking Leon over here, but we're cool with him not his fucking religious family bullshit.”
”I’m Linqian Han. She then said, after getting her complaining in. I'm not gonna go on like Jack did. Red-green adept, temperature magic primarily. I was on the frontline against the Snake, but I've spent the last ten years working outside of this shit till fucking Father Wolf killed my brother. I want him fucking dead.”
Her tone was neutral, and her emotions mostly lacking. She didn’t feel much at all today beyond a constant, gnawing irritation threatening to burst out. So close to snapping, with apathy being the only thing stopping it from happening right now.
”I’ve already introduced myself, but I suppose I should go into some more detail, to get to know each other,” Anya started with that fake smile of hers that always rubbed Linqian the wrong way.
Linqian rolled her eyes with a groan, complaining quietly to Edict and Britney, ”fuck, speaking of someone else who loves herself.”
”I’m a pink-purple-orange-gold Adept.”
”And don’t we all fucking know it,” Linqian whispered.
”I can physically enter dreams and manipulate them when I’m within them, along with observing whatever is happening. I can infuse objects so that they induce dreams and ward away nightmares. We were just discussing the possibility of our meetings being held within dreams, so we can’t be tracked or attacked. I’m hoping to develop a spell in case we decide to go that route.”
”Fuck, I don’t want her pulling my fucking dreams into other people’s- why did you suggest that shit, Greyson? I’d rather get fucking stabbed.”
”I can also summon from dreams - my own and other people’s. Creatures of all shapes and sizes, which I can command. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do this when we fought the Stygian Snake.”
”Fuckkkk, she can summon from dreams now?” Linqian was getting more irate the more Anya went on, whispered bitching to Edict and Britney getting just a little louder and more aggressive. She just really fucking wanted to get past this getting to know each other bullshit and to the important shit - beating 8th down, and killing Father Wolf. ”If she summons from mine… oh fuck, that’d be so fucked. Nobody wants to fucking see that.”
”Hopefully, we can help each other take out current threats, and maybe us Adepts can work with and learn from each other. Like Sloane, I wasn’t at the previous meeting, so I’m unsure how much you know about us as a coven. We’re recently reformed, so there’s still some teething problems.”
”Asshole member problems more like,” Linqian muttered under her breath. Fuck, she really couldn’t take this anymore. When was Anya going to shut the fuck up?
”Most of us left after fighting the Stygian Snake. Only some of us stayed in the city, working in ways we could to clean up the mess left behind. We don’t have the same companionship you do, unfortunately. Our primary accomplishment as a group was defeating the Stygian Snake. We knew each other as teenagers, but many of us lost contact. Went away. Left-”
”Oh shut the fuck up,” Linqian jumped up, temperature beginning to tick up again. She really couldn’t stand it. This bitch was just going on and on, and Linqian may be fucking stupid, but she wasn’t so stupid she couldn’t read the subtext. Everyone else abandoned the city, nobody stayed behind like their saviours Sloane and Anya who were always protecting it- fuck! ”Stop the bullshit, just fucking say it. You think we all fucking abandoned some shit cause, and we don’t have any fucking achievements like they do.”
Anya’s smile widened, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Linqian only got more pissed at that. ”That wasn’t what I was saying, Linqian.”
”Sure it fucking wasn’t. Fuck, why bring up that any of us left? Sorry we had fucking lives. Fuck off with you’re above us bullshit, some of us had to work to not fucking starve,” she rolled her eyes, turning to Ruby with sneer. ”Sorry, we’re not a fucking ‘companionship’ coven or whatever. Some of us can help beating up the assholes, but we’re not a fucking team - half of us hate each other.”
Before anyone could say anything, she threw up her hands. Heat, not quite high enough to burn, radiated off her along with anger and distress. Linqian blowing up wasn’t unusual - but Linqian blowing up over something that wasn’t even directed at her, a speech she’d generally just ignore, was a bit off. She felt off. A frustration had been boiling under the surface since she found Jinhai’s spellbook, an intense rage at the whole fucking world, and Anya was just the one that had opened the lid.
”Why the fuck hide our shit, they’d find out eventually. Most of you are only here to save your own fucking skins anyway, and the rest of us are here to kill that fucking bastard. That’s it. Fucking self protection or revenge.”
Anya carefully, silently, kept up with everything that was going on. The talk of the pit was stupid. Suicidal, as multiple people pointed out. It was so idiotic she didn't even deem it important to respond to. If those four decided to throw away their lives? That was on them. Natural selection, in a way. Weeding out those without the intelligence to survive. Nobody she cared about - which was to say, Sloane - was involved.
”Bé? What a pleasant surprise.” She too was surprised to see him - though it made sense, if he wanted to preserve his life. She offered him a smile and a nod, not saying much more. There wasn’t the particular need for words between them, both similar enough to understand that they weren’t here for pleasantries.
The topic had moved forward anyway, with the boy - Clancy - bursting in. Or what was left of him, that was. Anya's lips parted in an expression of mock surprise, eyes widening. Really, it just confirmed suspicions. After all, she couldn't access Clancy's dreams. All humans dreamed, even if rare thanks to frequent alcohol intake.
”Luca, don't- Sullivan!” Anya jumped to her feet as one of their weaker members passed out, face morphing into the picture of concern. Sloane already had it under control - Chalice back to Sully, the oaf doing something useful for once. It was a shame they'd lost their less irritating healers.
She gave Clancy her complete attention when he spoke, committing it to memory. Her mouth opened to ask more.
But then Luna opened her mouth to say something so unnecessary, something that firmly pushed her into the liability category of coven members.
Anya's gaze turned to her as she mentioned other threats. It was actually difficult to keep her expression neutral at that. How stupid could she get? Of course she knew exactly who Luna was talking about.
And they were dangerous.
Too dangerous for everyone else to know about. They were already talking about jumping into the Pit! Knocking down the Elite's doors! They'd do the same for this group too. Then they’d all die.
Don't mention them. Anya's voice spoke directly into Luna's mind. It would be obvious to Luna that it was telepathically transmitted, transplanted right past her emotional field. It wasn't an ability Anya had ten years ago. It wasn't one she used very often, either. Previous to this only one person knew of it - Greyson, who had talked to her while developing his own spell to transplant messages into people’s minds. Hers had taken a different route. More simple, but one not visual. She could, after all, use the channels opened in dreams to get right to a person’s mind. Tell the coven and they kill us all. Hold your tongue. The only threats are Father Wolf, 8th Street and the Wolfpack..
Then, a moment later. We can talk later.
Out loud, she said. ”Of course there are others after us, Luna. The St Portwell magical scene is filled with groups that want to get rid of the rest. There's no point chasing anything beyond the immediate, so let's concentrate on those.” Hopefully it was enough to stop others from questioning it, and Luna would hold her tongue. If someone asked, she could lie. She was a spy. It was part of the job.
Anya really didn't want to get killed because of one person's loose lips.
Thankfully, their future allies had finally arrived. It was a good way to move the conversation forward from risky business, and onto what they should actually be concentrating on. Immediate threats, things within their current capabilities.
"Greenwood, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Anya smiled warmly at them, before looking at the chaos that had unfolded. ”The cousin of our former leader,” she gestured to Clancy, ”was injured and came to us for help. People reacted defensively and another helped him, hurting himself in the process. Everyone is healing and calming down now.”
It was a good enough explanation of the situation without taking all day with it - one given before Jack could go on another spiel.
”Calming down including not bringing things up from eavesdropping, and ruining the mood further.” She glanced at Lila, still smiling, almost unnervingly.
”I suppose we should do proper introductions, as started by Jasper. Perhaps describe a little about what we can each do? This is to discuss a magical alliance after all." Anya smiled. "I'm Anya Baksh. I specialise in dream magic.”
Interactions: Jasper @NoriWasHere, Sully & Sloane @Atrophy, Stormy @Blizz, Everyone Present The House on the Hill
As the elixir got into his system, Luca began to wake up. His eyes slowly cracked open. His vision was blurry… Everything hurt. The agony in the arm that had rotted away, his whole body feeling like he’d been thrown off a building. A different weakness from normal. Magically weak.
The Rot itself was too weak to leave Luca right now, but with Phantombane in effect the rotting touch across his skin was minimised. Barely existent.
His mind was a bit delirious. He could tell this was real, but his thoughts were sluggish, and his body didn't quite do what he wanted it to. As his vision finally came into focus, enough to recognise what was immediately around him, the first thing he saw was Jasper.
He reached up, good hand cupping Jasper's face. ”Heyyy, did I die and go to heaven?”
There was a smile on his lips, laughter bubbling weakly from them, his voice hoarse. He dropped his hand as his mind started to get clearer again, blushing a bit, hoping it was taken as a joke. It mostly had been. He turned his head to look at Stormy then Sully.
”Waking up surrounded by you three… really is the dream… Sully, can I get some more of that good stuff?” Luca croaked out, weakly raising the arm that had practically rotted to the bone. What he'd been given from the water gun was enough to regain consciousness, his heartbeat speeding up from the sluggish pace it'd been barely pumping blood around his body with. But it didn't repair all of the damage.
He looked past the three near him to Sloane, staring so intently at him. He raised his good hand to form a thumbs up, and smiled, hoping to convey that he was alright. His eyes as they met hers were clear, dark brown. Not a single tendril of putrid green. Entirely Luca… as far as anyone could tell, at least.
Luca hadn’t been awake for Greenwood entering, but he heard Anya say who they were and call for introductions.
”I’m Luciano Alves Oliviera,” he said on instinct, like this was some sort of job interview. His brain still wasn’t quite functioning right. Then he laughed. ”Sorry, just Luca! I’ve got a ghost attached to me that makes me rot things, so don’t come too close… it’s dormant for now, though.”
"Jesus, Linqian, were you fuckin' a bull mastiff or something?"
”Close enough, what, you fucking jealous?” Linqian teased quietly, before laughing. Her gaze went past Edict to Leon and that just made her laugh more. Blushing, really? Where was that bravado from last night?
Sadly, she didn’t have the opportunity to offer up some of her own gay spit for Sully to use against Emily. But Thankfully Edict had filled her in via a recollection so she didn't have to get a Jack long winded explanation of the plan... Which honestly she wasn't sure about but hey. She'd never been the planner, she was just pointed towards something and she beat it to shit.
Just like she wanted to beat Lynn to shit right now for even daring to open her mouth. Linqian’s hands dropped to her side, clenching into fists. Her temperature started to tick down until she was radiating cold without being dangerous to touch. Yet. She’d planned to ignore Lynn. Pretend she didn’t fucking exist. But she had the fucking gall to bring up a suicidal plan, and rope other fucking people into it.
Fucking bitch.
”Fuck you, Evelynn, throw away your own worthless fucking life, but keep others fucking outta it,” Linqian snapped, lips twisted into an ugly scowl. It was very obvious to anyone that knew Linqian well or who’d been at the other end of her temperature, which was practically everyone here, that she was well on her way to being pissed. Pissed and slapping Lynn again. ”You’ll just all fucking die. Fuck, Jinhai has a book on the Pit. Y’know what it says on the first fucking page? ‘Don’t enter it.’ Fucking hell, you-”
Linqian’s angry tirade was cut off by another unwelcome visitor. While Linqian’s memories of her brother’s younger years had made her feel positively towards Clancy. But this shadowy version? Not so much. Not when she still held memories of the Stygian Snake and the shadows it controlled.
As Edict stood up Linqian did too, already cooling temperature plummeting. She took a few steps forward, putting herself between Clancy and some of the weaker members of the coven, stance shifting into a clearly aggressive one.
”Aaron,” she said, gesturing to beside her. With Leon running forward she didn’t feel the need to go on the attack, but the two of them could easily hold the line behind him… if needed.
”Ken…” Luca frowned, interrupted by so many people coming in that he didn’t have the chance to say anything else. He understood his friend’s denial, he really did. But it wasn’t something that could be denied. He’d been part of 8th Street for so long it felt more like his coven than Sycamore ever had. Emily and Vashti were the exception, not the rule, just they ran the show.
It was unfortunate. Maybe his heart was too big, but there were people there that he loved and cherished just as he did his close friends here.
Speaking of friends… more and more people turned up. Luca was glad to see Lynette, who he hadn’t seen since she left 8th properly, and Todd - he gave both a bright smile and wave. No opportunity to actually greet them, however.
Luca pressed his lips together as the Pit came up. He knew about it. He knew what inhabited it. Cynthia’s kind, for one. He’d seen what she could do…
”Nobody’s going into the pit… Like Ken said, it’s a suicide mission. None of us are prepared for what’s in there… please, Lynn,” he turned to his friend, expression pleading. ”Don’t throw away your life like that.”
But there was no chance for Lynn to respond, because Clancy came crashing into the room. Luca was shocked to see him in such a bad state… how? From what Luca had gathered he was… like him. Difficult to properly hurt. But where Luca rotted most weapons away and was damaged by the mundane, Clancy didn’t seem hurt by anything. He was something else.
Don’t go near the crystal, the Rot whispered in his mind.
Which told Luca all he needed to know.
”Everyone, calm down, he’s not going to hurt us,” Luca said, making his way towards Clancy. Unlike the others, he’d gleamed something of his true nature when they touched previously. When they’d talked, before Miranda and Jacqueline arrived. This was the same Clancy.
His outer shell had just been destroyed.
And because of it the others were treating him like a monster. Of course they were shocked. How would they react if they knew what Luca was on the inside? The horror he fought against letting out. Badly, he assumed. Hoped. But he wasn’t letting anyone get hurt in this situation.
”I’m sorry, Layla,” Luca said as he got close enough that the rotting aura around him would start prickling at her. A gentle scratching pain. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pushing her out of the way. It wasn’t a strong shove, because he wasn’t particularly strong, but just the touch would be enough to rot through her clothing and begin to damage her skin.
He let go as soon as she was out of the way. The crystal was the problem. It was lodged so deep into his sternum but… like everything, it could be destroyed. Yes, it could be destroyed.
It was so cold. Like he was in a freezer, uncontrollable shivers wracking his weak body. But he pushed through it like he would any pain. Reached out to grab the Crystal.
As soon as Luca’s hand touched it, it latched on, beginning to fuse with his skin, pushing deeper into his flesh. Weakening him, hurting him. But it didn’t weaken him enough. The Rot was still active across his skin, focusing in on the region where it was connected. For once, host and parasite worked together.
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts.
The pain was excruciating as the Rot fought against the crystal’s weakening. Flesh peeled away from Luca’s hand to reveal the muscle below, festering as they too started to rot away. The crystal started to disintegrate bit by bit. With it more skin turned purple, decay rapidly spreading up his arm as his magical defences weakened - his defence against his own magic included.
It was pain unlike any he’d felt before, unlike the pain he suffered from daily, the rotting he’d grown used to. It was like his whole body was on fire, as he was stabbed over and over again. Luca curled forward, biting down on his lip to suppress an agonised scream. Blood dripped down his chin, turning brown before it could drip onto the floor.
Just… a little… more…
Black fizzled in the corner of his vision as green flooded brown irises. His hand moved forward as each layer of the crystal disintegrated, deeper into Clancy’s sternum. The icy cold was but a drop in an ocean of agony.
It felt like he was dying. No, he was always dying. Dying was… less painful…
The last bit of the crystal rotted away, and Luca fell towards Clancy, passing out from pain that he shouldn’t have been able to handle in the first place.
Anya pursed her lips at Greyson’s comment towards Sloane, hitting him with a look that screamed ‘really?’ As if things weren’t difficult enough without him inciting something. Honestly, she was hoping for a peaceful meeting, as far as Sloane damage control went.
Seeming less and less possible.
”That is a great plan, Greyson, except I can’t bring multiple dreams together… yet,” Anya brought out her fountain pen, spinning it in her fingers. It was certainly possible. She had a spell for it written down. But she was yet to practice it properly. It was something that was difficult to practice. The risk for errors, for hurting herself while bringing the dreams together. ”I can develop a spell to merge dreams together, but it’ll take a few days, and I’ll need volunteers for dreams to practise with. If I succeed, it will be much safer than in person meetings. Practically untraceable.”
She considered the rest, nodding. Luca and Adora working to get 8th Street members on their side made most sense, since they were the two with ties there. Just the two should be enough, seeing as it was a diplomatic job rather than something that required brute strength.
”I agree with the rest, bait aside. That… is up to the two in question. I can’t agree or disagree without their opinions,” Anya said neutrally, though not without surprise that Edict was even suggesting Britney be used as bait. Perhaps love didn’t hold him back as much as she thought it did.
Thankfully, all the latecomers dragged themselves in around the same time. The muscle, in Anya’s mind - at least, half of them were that. Surprisingly, Lynette appeared too. Interesting.
When Jack started talking, it was difficult even for her to pay attention. He just went on so many tangents during it that she had to concentrate to parse out the important information. Knowledge on the Pale Horse and the High Priestess, Sunshine Jones… who Anya wasn’t particularly worried about. Nothing in the dreams had pointed to her escaping the Pit.
”While I agree, Jack, that we aren’t equipped to handle the Pale Horse and the High Priestess right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t start researching them,” Anya pointed out with a smile. ”As a third priority. Ah, actually, fourth. Put gathering power and resources as our third. Artifact gathering would greatly benefit us all, especially those of us without offensive abstractions. I won’t go with you, because I’m needed here, but I hope you’ll keep me updated with your progress.”
”I’m not sure if I want rid of the Rot just yet,” Luca spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck, and smiling at Jack. ”I can’t help without magic, can I? But when this is all over, and we’ve gotten rid of Father Wolf… definitely.”
Anya raised her eyebrows before continuing with what she’d wanted to say. ”I’ll let the group decide whether we use your pocket reality, or dreams, for future meetings.”
Of course, Luna started going on again. Even Anya wasn’t able to keep up her well practiced smile. Was this really necessary? Even idiots like Linqian knew when to stop digging a hole deeper. A hand raised to the bridge of her nose, pinching it. She tilted her head towards Sloane, whispering, ”I take back what I said earlier. She’s both untrustworthy and incompetent…”
Then, louder, she said, ”do be careful, Luna. It would be such a shame if we didn’t see you again at the next meeting.”
Before going inside, Linqian blasted herself with a quick self fix spell to remove the obvious dark bags under her eyes. Another on the way in, grinning thanks at Britney, made her skin look just a little less pallid. Overall, she no longer looked like someone functioning on only a couple of hours sleep.
”Yup, sorry we're late! Important shit, y'know.”
Linqian had dressed more 'conservatively' than normal with an off the shoulder, red fuzzy jumper tucked into wide legged black jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a bun at the top of her head, a few stray coils falling out of it and across her face. But as she took off her coat, her bare shoulders and neck were more than enough to show off the myriad of marks she'd gotten last night. Circular purple and blue bruising, and multiple, very obvious bite marks. She looked like she'd been mauled by a werewolf.
Which was a pretty accurate assessment.
She looked around... Almost everyone seemed to be here. Her gaze was naturally drawn towards Leon - he was so fucking big, for a start. But he was talking to Layla, and she didn't particularly want to draw her attention, so she didn't bother with a greeting. They'd seen each other that morning anyway... But then there was fucking Anya and Sloane. Feeling nice, Linqian ignored them. But after that was even worse.
Evelynn. The fucking bitch. Linqian couldn't believe she was still fucking showing up. How had she not died in a ditch somewhere? Fuck. She didn't want to deal with her today either, so she completely glanced over her as if she didn't even exist.
To Linqian she fucking didn't.
Linqian's gaze then moved to the back, noticing the drinks both Luna and Greyson had in hand. Her eyes narrowed as they passed Luna - not a particular fan of her, but Greyson was acting all buddy buddy with her, so what could she fucking do?
"Shit, the bar's still stocked?"
She patted both Aryin and Britney on the shoulder before making her way towards the bar.
”Sully, you look fucking ridiculous, what's with the water fight cowboy look? Gonna shoot some lava at Emily or shit?” Linqian laughed as she went behind the bar, passing by her friend who looked insanely fucking stupid with all the water guns strapped to him.
Obviously it wasn't fully stocked - just the shit that kept, bunch of spirits and the like. But she quickly found what she wanted and poured herself a shot of a coffee liqueur, knocking it back with a grimace. The buzz of the coffee would help keep her awake enough to offset the alcohol... And fuck did she need the caffeine.
She popped back up as Jack started talking and as soon as he didn't explain what the plan was and went into other things she stopped paying attention. Smart people shit. Not for her. That was for people like Jinhai, he'd-
Well, he wouldn't. But someone else would do the thinking.
She moved around to Greyson's other side, hand coming up to loosely rest over his shoulder. She used the leverage to push herself up, getting close enough to his ear to be able to talk quietly into it.
”Don't dock my pay for being late, alright? Or shit, charge me when I gotta catch up cause I'm not understanding shit that Jack's saying... I was working hard in other ways.” Improving her magic benefitted them all, after all. Easier to fight off 8th when they came from Britney again. She lowered herself back down, but left hand still draped over his shoulder. She held up her other hand with a grin. ”See?”
One finger turned into a vine, with sharp spikes all along it. She curled it inwards, still grinning. As she did her sleeve slipped down, revealing a forearm covered in grazes, from all the explosive punches she'd diffused across her skin over and over again. Even more obvious were the harsh red lines around her wrists - from hot metal pressing into them, maybe? They were incredibly suggestive of her being tied up in some way, at least. Her arm was close enough that Edict would be able to get a really good look at it. There was also at least one bite mark on her arm, matching the shit ton on her shoulders and the visible section of her upper torso.
”But you should see what we can do together now.” Her finger went back to normal and she dropped her hand to her side, turning her body to look more towards the group. Jack had finally stopped going on and on. Fucking hell could he talk.
”You gonna explain what that plan you mentioned is, Jack, or just leave us latecomers in the dark? I won't take any shit if I fuck up a plan I don't even know. Unless it's just beat 8th's asses, I can do that with my eyes closed.”
Linqian once again dragged herself home in the early morning, with even less sleep than she'd had on Friday night (basically none). Last night had been really fucking good, and she was covered in the marks to prove it, but it had also been fucking exhausting. She had pretty fucking good stamina, but she was pushing herself to her limit right now. After three nights of little sleep... It was starting to take its toll. And she didn't even have time to nap.
Thankfully, this time, Henri was still asleep... Or not home, it seemed, judging by his open door as she went past into his own room. Hopefully he'd just slept at Louis' or something.
He was an adult. She had to trust him a little bit.
The bed in her tiny room was so tempting, but all she did was get changed out of the clothes she’d been wearing since yesterday, pulling on some comfortable leggings and a baggy hoodie. Then back out of her room and down the corridor, to the door past Henri’s room.
The master bedroom - originally her parents, but it had been a long time since they’d used it. Since the house had been rented out and it had seen a couple of people, before returning to a state of disuse.
It was where she'd put all of Jinhai's things - unable to bear going through them when she moved so close to his death. Instead, everything was thrown into boxes to transport in her car, and shoved in here to go through when she was ready.
She wasn't ready. But she needed to clear the room for Aryin to be able to move in.
Going through Jinhai’s belongings meant facing the reality that he wasn’t there to use them anymore. Each piece was some kind of memory. A reminder of him. It was difficult enough seeing him in her brother’s face, in all the memories the coven brought back up, his face smiling back at her from her phone lock screen.
But these weren’t things she had to sort out and possibly throw away. They weren’t clutter taking up a room she could no longer store them in. She could hold onto them. But she couldn’t hold onto all of his belongings, as much as she wanted to.
Linqian took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to what was once her parents bedroom, many years ago.
The bed itself was neat, stripped down after the last tenant they had moved out. The floor was covered in stacked boxes. Linqian bit her lip, and stepped around them. She stopped in front of the wardrobe against the far wall, hand hovering over the handle. She didn't want to open it. She really didn't want to.
She had to.
The door was pulled open, revealing a mostly empty inside. A couple of Jinhai's jackets were hung up, but it wasn't what she was looking for. She squatted down, reaching out to touch the simple wood box at the bottom. 韩进海 was burnt into the top messily.
It was all she had left of Jinhai.
It was difficult to look at. With a shaky breath she carefully lifted it up, backing out of the room. She couldn't leave it right next to where Aryin was going to sleep. She needed to... Treat him as well as she could before he could be buried. Before the funeral was paid for. Down the hall, she went into her own bedroom. It was the smallest room in the house, cramped with a small desk at one end and a single bed at the other. The rest of the space, what little there was, was taken up by a wardrobe and cupboards. She opened up the wardrobe, grimacing as she placed Jinhai on the bottom. She gently covered the box with a looser skirt he'd gotten her for a birthday one year that she could no longer bring herself to wear.
Now, she just had to start going through his things. Some of the boxes could be moved into Henri's bedroom, or downstairs, but there wasn't enough room for all of them. She'd decide what to keep and what she could throw away, donate, or possibly sell.
She really didn't want to get rid of any of it. But what use did she have for all of his clothes when Henri was taller than him, and she was much shorter? Perhaps she could keep some of the jackets...
The process of opening the first box was more difficult than going through it. Soon it became very methodical. Everything was sorted into piles, some reboxed to donate as soon as she had time. What she decided to keep was minimal. If she let herself get sentimental, she'd keep everything. But she couldn't. There wasn't the space, and what would she do with it all? It was easier to fall back into that state of emotional numbness and remain detached from what were generally just material goods.
Only items she felt genuine attachment to, things that reminded her of Jinhai, were kept.
She paused as she opened one of the last boxes. It was smaller and heavy - containing books that she knew Jinhai had cherished. They had always been too much for someone like her. Law books that she could sell were put in a pile, until half way through she paused. Her breath hitched and she bit down on her lip at the emotions trying to push through the numb veil she cast over herself.
It was an old leather bound book. Linqian knew that Jinhai had written down his spells in it - those he'd developed and was developing - because he was a fucking nerd. There were a few more underneath it, spellbooks he'd collected and other tomes on magic, but she knew this one was his. She'd seen him writing in it so often.
Teased him about it, too. She’d never bothered with something like this. Even if she’d had time to develop more spells, writing them down wouldn’t help her. She probably wouldn’t be able to understand half the stuff in here but…
She didn’t care. She just wanted to see what Jinhai had written. It was like a little piece of him left. Words from him she hadn’t heard before, even if they weren’t from her.
It was all she’d get now.
She quickly flipped through it. The spells she knew he had, some she hadn't heard about, ones he'd been actively developing. It was all there, written in incredible detail, going through all the steps he went through to develop each one. Her finger ran across the delicately written words. It was a barely existent connection to Jinhai. Written by him so carefully, now with no use. Maybe she could give it to Henri to study from.
The pages were packed with dense, but neat, cursive. As expected, she couldn’t understand much, so she went through them quickly. She only paused here or there on a side note that made her laugh - written frustrations about spells he was struggling to develop, the side of Jinhai very few got to see leaking out.
The brother she knew and loved, who’d worked so hard to not waste his natural intelligence, and pushed through everything that stood in his way. But he’d gotten frustrated too. Sometimes she’d come home from a night shift to him still awake, studying in the kitchen with tired eyes and a pen cap held between his lips. He would always pull his tight curls in frustration, messing up the perfect style he spent far too much time on in the morning just to put on a show. But there was no show around her. They knew everything about each other, and only she got to see these little moments.
And now they were gone. All that was left was the spellbook he’d put so much effort into. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. She raised a hand to wipe away the tears threatening to fall, tears that she couldn't afford to let ruin Jinhai's hard work. Then she kept going.
She stopped at a page when she saw her name.
'Spells for Linqian.'
Her chest clenched uncomfortable, breathing becoming more difficult.
There was a note in the top right corner, reading 'for when I can support her and she has time to develop her magic again.'
Linqian bit down on her lip, hard, corners of her eyes burning. She didn’t know Jinhai had been doing this. The whole time… he’d been thinking about her magic too? When she’d essentially abandoned it for them, he had plans to help her when she could get back to it? He…
Her head tilted back and she took a deep, shaky breath. She missed him so fucking much.
But she had to keep reading. He’d written this for her… it would be like shitting on his memory to not even try.
Self-Healing.
I tried to teach Linqian my self-healing spell during the fight against the Stygian Snake, but she was never able to use it. I think part of the problem is that she doesn’t care about herself as much as she pretends to. Mine came from my own desire to survive for myself, but hers can’t. I think that she needs to channel her desire to protect. Perhaps her want to survive to protect Yi-er.
Additionally, she struggles with using her lux separately. Her strongest spell comes from a combination of both. I believe if she combines the self-healing with heat or cold (heat would be best) she’d have an easier time developing the spell. I’m not entirely sure how this would work. Perhaps channelling the temperature for healing rather than damaging? (side note: possible use to heal others? Would likely hurt others before succeeding with it.)
Will work on this one first.
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
Temperature Enhancement.
A spell I believe Linqian could develop to make the most of the unique properties of extreme heat and cold, further enhancing her speciality spell. I have a few thoughts on this… And it would require to have more control over which way she goes, dependent on what she’s wanting to get out from it. At the moment whether she goes hot or cold tends to be influenced by her emotions. Maybe when she’s matured. We’ll work on it.
For heat, she could use it to enhance her speed and flexibility. Heat makes things more malleable, and the atoms vibrate faster. It would be easy to turn what is merely used for damaging into something that also strengthens her, by further combining our two lux types. Perhaps she could even change her own density.
For cold, she could make herself stronger or more ‘brittle’. Enhance her skin to be harder, perhaps. This could be used defensively or offensively, I think. There’s a chance the cold would slow her down, as it lowers her thermal energy, but I know she’d find a way to use this to her advantage. A slow, hard hitting attacker compared to the faster, lighter blows of her heat. .
Temperature Manipulation - Others
This is an idea that I doubt will work, but I’m writing it down anyway. Perhaps when working with Linqian we’ll figure it out. The idea is to manipulate the temperature of other people, as opposed to her own. I primarily see this as a way to manipulate their kinetic energy inline with temperature. Emotional Fields would be a problem when it comes to this spell. It would probably only work on Blinds, or consenting people.
But there’s still a use with someone who consents. She could use it to increase another person’s body temperature and thus their kinetic energy, allowing them to move faster, or just use the high temperature to hit harder. On the other hand, the cold would be useful against other people. With the right conditions, she could entirely halt someone's movement. Perhaps something we could work on as a joint cast, as- .
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
█ █
An alarm on her phone interrupted her reading, reminding her to get ready to go meet Britney and Aryin.
She’d made good enough progress. She put the spellbook back into this box - beneath it were various other magical texts Jinhai had collected over the years, likely useful for someone. She picked this one up and brought it out of the room with her, to her own. She’d look at it again properly.
For now, she had to get ready to train with her friends, and then for the inevitably useless meeting that followed.
Interactions: Luna @Estylwen, Ken & Edict @AtomicEmperor, Everyone Present The House on the Hill
Luca nodded as Adora spoke, smiling slightly. She was right that a lot of them didn’t like Emily or Vashti. There were a lot of reasons they went along with her - for some like Carol, it was false promises, for others it was the only place they felt they belonged.
But then Luna mentioned him directly. He turned his head to meet her gaze, eyes turning cold. Tendrils of rotting green flickered across the edge of his dark brown irises. A hint of what was inside, the rotten interior he normally kept hidden. Just as quickly, it was gone, and Luca smiled again.
Of course, for all of his positivity, Luca wasn’t stupid. He knew why Luna was (targetting) him. She was a spy, she knew he was part of 8th Street. It was an easy way to change the target. Make people suspect him, and Adora, for their friendships.
Unfortunately for Luna, Luca wasn’t someone to keep secrets… his own impending death aside.
”Yes, some of them are my friends. I’ll be open about it,” Luca turned to the whole group, smiling. ”Adora is right that a lot of them don’t like Emily and Vashti. Emily is lying to so many of them… a lot of them are good people. Some of them aren’t. I won’t excuse people like Emily, Vashti and George.”
He looked at Lila, and smiled.
”I can talk to the people I’m close to. I don’t want them to get hurt because of Emily’s actions. Maybe just me and Adora… they’re more likely to trust us. And I know who we have a chance with, and who to avoid.”
He didn’t mind if people questioned him for his friendships. He could defend himself, and there were people who knew he was only here to help others. There was no selfishness in his actions. After all, what was living another few years in pain over being killed instantly by Father Wolf.
"I refuse to be a part of plans involving the cooperation of 8th Street members. They all smell of Emily; even if their ideologies no longer align, they did at one point! Someone must be responsible!"
”Including former 8th Street members, Ken?” Luca turned to his friend, smile wavering slightly and gaze turning sad. He understood. Ken loved Kari, and 8th Street had ransacked her house after trying to force her to join them. Emily had bullied her closest friends. Luca understood better than most. He’d been close to Lisa, Ella and Saskia too. Kari had cut him off for it. It had hurt, but he’d understood. He’d understand if Ken did too. ”I was part of 8th Street too, for years. Longer than Sycamore existed. Our ideologies no longer align, but they once did. I tolerated Emily for a long time. Do you want to hold me responsible too?”
He held up his hands, arms spread slightly apart. ”You can if you want to. I don’t mind. I’ll take on the responsibility for all the other 8th members I don’t believe should.”
Anya raised her hand to receive the vision, although she trusted the information from the moment Greyson confirmed it. An act, a play just like half the things she did. Her lips pulled into a thin line at his jokes, eyes rolling, but the images proved that what was said was trustworthy. Blake Schmidt’s face, committed to memory… a shame she couldn’t just use that to get into his dreams. And Kari’s notes? Incredibly impressive. No wonder she was so in demand.
”I can easily get into Schmidt’s head- and his dreams. It’s the lowest risk solution. As Greyson says, keeps us out of 8th Street’s radar, and anyone else’s. Nobody else can come into the dreams. And then, when he’s convinced, we’ll be able to get her notes back for the coven.” Anya’s gaze turned to Ken, smiling again. ”Do not lump me in with those that would sell them for profit, Kenshiro. The notes would stay within the coven, be used for the coven, and then you can be the one to retain them.”
Of course, she would have to meet Schmidt first. But she had an idea of who to ask… After all, rich people all walked in the same circles.
Her smile turned more genuine when Sloane finally arrived, glancing over at the Chrysalis Staff. A busy weekend indeed. They would need to catch up later, if there was the chance. ”Correct assessment. Derailed before it even began.”
As Tayla said that she’d seen Luna’s mind - something Anya was sure she couldn’t do previously - Anya raised an eyebrow. It made sense she’d gone further with her Pink Lux. As Tayla spoke, Anya nipped any errant thoughts she may be having in the buzz. Her mind was coated in a light layer of static buzzing - simple pink lux covering up and making it more difficult for anyone to listen.
A precaution in case any stray thoughts couldn’t be kept away.
Anya let out a quiet laugh at Sloane’s comment, whispering back, ”I would rather untrustworthiness I can account for than incompetence I cannot predict.”
Another quiet laugh at Sloane’s final comment, Anya’s gaze moving to Sully. Of course, incompetence at its finest. It was a shame he was one of the few that could use the Chalice. Really, they could find someone better on the street to replace him. ”No, Sullivan, we weren’t discussing the dream - and the book that you’re definitely not supposed to have. But we should.”
Anya raised her voice, taking on a tone much like a leader’s.
”As I see it, there are multiple things at play here. Immediate things. First, retrieving Kari’s notes from Blake Schmidt. In the preliminary stages, I’ll take care of this, as Greyson suggested.” With Jack backing her doing this, it was unlikely anyone would argue against it. Thankfully. She would be much more limited with others' involvement - she couldn’t bring them into dreams. ”Second, 8th Street. They may be reporting to him, they may just attack us because of a grudge. Either way, they’re dangerous. We have to be prepared as a group. Some of us aren’t fighters, unfortunately. Perhaps we need something in place to ensure everyone’s safety. The alliance with Greenwood will help greatly with this. But…”
She glanced around the room, eyebrows furrowing. ”Some of our ‘front lines’ members aren’t even here for this discussion. Amara, Stormy, Britney, Linqian, Aryin, Drake… It will be rather difficult without them. Hopefully just late, rather than…”
She trailed off, grimacing as she didn’t finish the sentence, subtly glancing at Greyson. It would be a shame if it turned out Britney had fallen victim to Father Wolf on the way to the meeting… She was an asset. But she also made him weak. Her eyes continued, falling back on Sully.
”Third, the dreams. I don’t think we should dismiss or ignore them. They’re clearly important. It’s not a coincidence we’re dreaming of a book written by a man who worshipped the Stygian Snake. Whoever showed us that dream said it themselves - we need to find and seal the Pale Horse and the High Priestess. To do that, we need to look into Raven Jones.” She held up a hand, three fingers held up. ”As a third priority.”
Interactions: Sully @Atrophy, Everyone Present The House on the Hill
Luca didn’t bother raising his hand - he didn’t trust Luna, but he believed her information. It would fit what Jacqueline and Miranda had told him.
But nobody seemed to understand how dangerous 8th Street could be - even after what had happened. But Luca knew what 8th Street was like. He’d been part of them, worked with them. Emily wouldn’t back down when she had a goal and everyone else, save a few, would just follow.
”I-”
Before Luca could say anything, Sully burst in… comically kitted out with water pistols strapped to his chest. He didn’t even need to ask, Sully already pinpointing him and shooting the healing elixir at him. Luca had to bend his knees a little bit to catch it in his mouth, but it was a routine they’d perfected ten years ago. The skill hadn’t left either of them.
It’d be needed. The elixir started to work his magic. Luca felt his broken ribs repairing, snapping back into place with a crunch that would be audible to anyone nearby, and the intense pain in his knees vanished. As good as new. Well, as good as he ever could be.
”Hey, Sully! Thanks!” Luca grinned, flashing him a thumbs up. He figured he might as well give him a quick explanation… ”We weren’t talking about the dreams… Tsukino told us where Kari’s notes are. Blake Schmidt has them.”
He then turned to the rest of the group, rubbing the back of his neck. ”Jack’s right about 8th Street possibly attacking us. We really can’t underestimate them. It’s not just Emily and Vashti that we need to worry about. George, Carol, Greta we all know… But all of their members are strong. They’ve worked together for years. We haven’t. Emily knows what most of us can do, but only some of us know what they can do.”
He waved a hand. ”Not to be negative! But we shouldn’t dismiss them. There is the possibility of negotiating… with some of them. But not with Emily.”
Anya raised an eyebrow, but otherwise her expression didn’t change. She knew the name Blake Schmidt - she made it her business to know the names of all the big financial names in the city. But she hadn’t heard of the Elite. Another thing to remember and look into. Perhaps she should ask Ezra… perhaps.
Something to put to the back of her mind for now.
”Long winded as it was, I agree with everything Jack said,” Anya nodded. ”Dare we forget that Luna’s ‘associates’ tried to pull teenagers into the criminal underground ten years ago? Perhaps they’ve changed, but it doesn’t scream trustworthy. It’s not a plan we can just accept. Nor can we just jump in guns blazing, as Ken suggests.”
She paused, smiling, before she continued. ”Adora is completely right. We need a solid plan and concrete information. Taking chances has already lost us too many.”
”I do believe you, of course, Luca,” Anya said smoothly, before turning her gaze to Luna and Greyson. ”But I would like to see this proof. Bringing up Layla’s problem is meant as a distraction, and it does make it harder to trust you, Tsukino. We need to properly verify this information and your trustworthiness. Cold, hard proof. You’d be willing to show that, wouldn’t you, Greyson?”
She spoke neutrally, with a hint of coldness. It was fake, of course - a projected frigidness to keep up the appearance they weren’t on good terms. It was best that way, in public. Made it much easier to work together behind the scenes.
Of course, she assumed- trusted- that Greyson had this proof and a reason for using it to bring Luna back in. She was giving him a solid in to show and use it for that end.
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/uUydHWE.png[/img]
[color=SeaGreen]They/He|UK(GMT)
[/color]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/162255-fernstones-character-archive/ooc][color=MediumSeaGreen]Character Archive[/color][/url][/center][hr][hr]
Mid 20s. Been here a long time, generally only join friend's rps. Constantly tired. Masc nonbinary, preference for they pronouns but he are ok too!
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/uUydHWE.png" /><br><font color="seagreen">They/He|UK(GMT)</font><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/162255-fernstones-character-archive/ooc"><font color="mediumseagreen">Character Archive</font></a></div><hr class="bb-hr"><hr class="bb-hr"><br>Mid 20s. Been here a long time, generally only join friend's rps. Constantly tired. Masc nonbinary, preference for they pronouns but he are ok too!<br><br></div>
Mixtape Ghost N,
Zombiedude101,
Atrophy,
Estylwen,
Blizz,
AtomicEmperor,
NoriWasHere,
Silly,
Snowdrops,
BlazingBark
