Hedgehawk

Westpoint High - A High School RP

@Sapphic Pigeon

Woo!

Westpoint High - A High School RP

Please Note: The final OOC post will have Aesthetics and more. This is simply just a starting point!

Welcome to Westpoint High! The one and only high school in the fictional town of Westpoint Ridge. Founded in the 1890's on the site of a former goldmine, the town has steadily grown into a nice little slice of American town living. At least that is what the brochures said. In reality the town has been on the decline since the 2008 finical crisis. Most of the towns infrastructure hasn't been updated, and public services, including the school has been underfunded.

Hello Everyone! Welcome to this my High School Slice of Life RP! Nothing like a bit of teen drama to read in the morning! This RP is set in the fictional town of Westpoint Ridge, which gives us a nice clean slate to make our town. I want this to be collaborative experience. Think of what a run down, small town might have and pitch it to the group. Given that this is a Slice of Life RP, much of the plot will come from out characters and their interactions / relationships. Please bear this in mind as we go into this RP! I am more than happy to help and facilitate conversations between players and create everything we need to make this RP awesome!

In terms of posting, I know that many players like to make collabs for posts, however, I also don't want to put pressure on players that are new or not used to that style. So we are happy to work with players to ease them in. I don't want to impose posting deadlines as it tends to disrupt the flow of the RP and drains the creativity out of people. It would be nice if everyone could post at least once every three weeks so that we try to maintain a consistent flow. If you can't post and need to take a break, do please let us know, and we can figure something out! Please don't go on posting several replies back to back and move the scene forward without everyone else!

Once enough people have submitted some interest, I will create the OOC and a discord for us to use and collab with!

Rules!

• Standard Guild Rules - The usual stuff
• IC and OOC are different things - Please be able to differentiate between them.
• If you have any issues please bring them to Me or the Co-GM. Please bear in mind that we live in different timezones and might not reply right away. We do have lives.
• If there is going to be any reason you can’t post, do keep us updated. I don’t need reasons, just an indication of when you will return.

Character Sheet - Kindly created by @HaleyTheRandom - Orignal Post

Name // Grade

[center][h2][color=???]Character Name/Header image[/color][/h2]
[sub][color=???][i]Nicknames[/i][/color][/sub]
[img]Character Image/Aesthetic/Gif. Real Life FC's please[/img]
[sub][color=???]((Faceclaim: Name // Color Code: ???))
[i][b]Character quote - who said it[/b][/i][/color][/sub][/center]

[color=???]Name:[/color]
[indent]Info.[/indent]

[color=???]Age & Grade:[/color]
[indent]Juniors are 16-17, Seniors are 17-18. Your character may be a year or two older from flunking a grade, but please don't create a massive age gap.[/indent]

[color=???]Gender:[/color]
[indent]Info.[/indent]

[color=???]Sexuality:[/color]
[indent]Info[/indent]

[color=???]Label:[/color]
[indent]Jock, dancer, art kid, stoner, etc. [/indent]

[color=???]Occupation:[/color]
[indent]What does your character do for money? Do they work on campus? Of campus? Side hustle? Maybe they do nothing.[/indent]

[color=???]Appearance Details[/color]
[list][*][b][color=???]Hair:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Eyes:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Height:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Body Type:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Clothing Style:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Makeup Wise:[/color][/b]
[*][b][color=???]Scars, Tattoos and/or Piercings:[/color][/b]
[/list]

[color=???]Personality[/color]
[indent]Paragraph or bullet form is accepted[/indent]

[color=???]History[/color]
[indent]Paragraph or bullet form.[/indent]

[color=???]Extras:[/color]
[*][color=???][b]Extracurricular Activities:[/b][/color] Is your character a part of any after school programs, sports, or clubs?
[*]Feel free to add anything else such as what classes they are good at, their hobbies and interests, allergies, etc. [/list]

[/indent]

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

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_{A collab between @Hedgehawk, @HaleyTheRandom & @SouffleGirl123 - Staring Carlisle Aston, Lilith Montgomery & Miles Price}

Carlisle had been really nervous asking Miles and Lilith to go along with this plan that he, Mary and Violet had devised. The big issue was he needed a trap to get Amanda in and Lilith, Miles and Himself were the bait. He had texted the duo to meet him in the coven dining room, he had also asked Mary to be ready on standby just in case things were to go south. He knew convincing Lilith would be hard, and normally Miles would be down for it, but with Lilith being pregnant, it's going to be a tough ask.

Carlisle was sitting on the same chair he was at all the way back in early September, as he awaited to see if Lilith or Miles would show up. He had asked Violet to not be involved as to be honest, Carlisle could barely stand her and having her around would just make this much harder than it needed to be.

It took a bit of convincing but somehow Miles managed to encourage Lilith to come along to the meeting with him. In truth Miles was unsure if that was the right call to make but that was a potential problem for future Miles. Instead he loaded Lilith into his car, muttering about the fact he'll have to trade it in for a 7 seater in the near future but absolutely refuses to get a minivan, and took off for the coven house. He'd made an effort in recent days to be more careful when he drove with Lilith in the car. Not that he'd become the perfect road rule follower but he'd ease at the curves while shooting his girlfriend glances here and there.

After parking the car and slipping out of it the pair wandered up to the coven household hand in hand. He'd enter the mansion then hold the door open for Lilith to step through before making his way to the dining room. "Afternoon, Car," Miles would greet his friend as he dragged out a chair for Lil before taking the spot next to the head of the table, strategically sitting between the pair.

Carlisle gave off a meek smile as they entered. He was happy to see Lilith again, even if the pair hadn't really talked after the party a few weeks ago. Carlisle had been extremely busy dealing with coven things. Plus he didn't really know how much Lilith could deal with him, and he didn't want to get shouted at and chewed out.

"Thank you both for coming. I promise I won't keep you for long. I know you have alot more important things to do"

That’s a very polite way of putting it, Lilith thought, taking her place beside Miles. Resting her hands on her ever growing stomach, she couldn’t help but notice how there was another presence near - just not in the room with them. It didn’t take long for her to decipher that it was Mary somewhere close by. Rather that was because she was here on Coven business or because Carlisle had called her here to plead his case, only time would tell.

”So what’s up,” the brunette asked, clearly having no time for sugar coated words or beating around the bush.

Hearing the directness of Lilith, Carlisle could feel his stomach sink. This was going to be tricky. He pulled the edge of his collar as he figured out how he was going to explain all of this. He then took a breath before starting again.

"So well, I am not sure how much you know, so let's start from the top. Turns out I have an older sister. And she wanted to kill me and take control of the Coven herself. Well now she has gotten involved with mother, and my mother wants all three of us dead" Carlisle started. He sighed as he rubbed his arm.

"However, Violet has had a change of heart and now wants to help us deal with mother. The only issue is that we need to make a trap for her. And we need to be bait"

Miles shot Lilith a small glance as she sat down before retraining his eyes to Carlisle as he spoke. "Absolutely not,” Miles replies almost instantly. The word fell from his mouth before he really processed that that was his first thought. He taps the table a couple of times before speaking again. "You and me, sure. I’ll go be bait but we’re not sending LiLi in there with us.” He shoots her another glance, sure that speaking for her might land him in hot water later. Miles had decided that he was making himself president of the ‘attempt to keep Lilith from doing stupid things’ club. He knew the irony in that considering he was by far the more reckless of the two of them but he also knew Lilith would be deadset on being as independent as possible for as long as possible. "I don’t know if you noticed, Car, but she’s pregnant. I can’t be letting her put herself at risk like that right now.”

Lilith watched as Carlisle fumbled with the collar of his shirt for the hundredth time, unable to ignore the waves of nervousness that projected off of him. She listened quietly as he spoke, a mixture of emotions flashing across her face. How many people knew of Carlisle's sister? Why was she not one of the first to know? What sort of plan did Amanda have? How was Carlisle planning to go against it? What was his sister like?

She tried to think of a way to respond before Miles had done it for her. The young woman shot him a look of ‘hell no’ in response to putting himself at risk. Most people's assumption would be that she was glaring at him because he had spoken for her, but Lilith had actually enjoyed Miles being the mouthpiece for the pair of them over the last few weeks. On the other hand, she was mildly upset with Carlisle already. The young woman had gotten a lot better at rationalizing her emotions and trying to not respond to situations as quickly. That still didn’t help the disappointed expression she looked at Carlisle with.

”No,” she responded cooly to them both. ”I won’t have any members of my family puttin’ themselves in harm's way. If my situation was different, we’d be having a completely different conversation, but I digress.” Sighing and rolling her eyes, she continued. ”I know I said to call on me for help with Coven matters - and I’m glad that you did - but I’m also disappointed that the thing you’re asking for my help with is putting all of us in danger. Including you. Just because I’m mad at ‘chya doesn’t mean I don’t care if you’re runnin’ around tryin’ to get yourself killed. Besides, we don’t know your sister. I know your mother, and that’s going to be one hell of a fight. Who’s to say your sister isn’t on Amanda’s side?”

"We don't. I don't trust her. I have a plan, but Mary is convinced she will be okay. It was Mary that kicked all of this off. She just wants me to run with it, cause you know. It's my problem and I am supposed to be in charge now, even if it doesn't feel like it." It felt nice but also awkward talking to Lilith again. After he moved out he went out of his way to give her and Miles the space they needed to adjust to their new lives. He had taken on pretty much all of the Coven responsibilities for the whole council, and while he might complain about it from time to time, he knew that at least he was helping take the load off in some way.

"I didn't want to put you two in danger, but My mother wants us all dead. I can't do it alone. This is the plan: we have a little birthday party in a couple of weeks, just us three. Violet and Amanda will strike. Violet will attack me to make it look real and while that happens, Lilith will spring a crystal trap we would have prepared to trap mother forever. It's a stronger version of my mental prison spell, and it doesn't require any upkeep on my end. But I need the power of a second abjurer to seal it, otherwise it always breaks." At speaking of his lack of ability to do it on his own, there was a sense of both sadness and frustration at himself for not being good enough to do it on his own.

Miles couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips as Carlisle brought up his mother. He should’ve known she’d get involved with Violet somehow. As much as he wanted to say it changed things it didn’t. Not one bit. His hand closest to Lilith finds its way onto her stomach until it finds her hand. He slips his over hers before responding. "Well we’re gonna have to make a new plan then, aren’t we? Have Lil hid outside or abjure from afar or, even better, not there at all. I’ll come with you-” he shoots Lilith a stern look before turning back to Carlisle, "-but I’m not letting you put her and our kids in danger like that.”

Wrapping Miles’s fingers through her own, Lilith began to rub the back of his hand with her thumb. This plan was sounding more and more sketchy by the second. ”I don’t care who came up with it, or why - I don’t think it’s a smart plan,” she stated sternly. Returning Miles’s look with one of her own, she couldn’t fight it as the anger seeped into her words. ”I’m not letting you put yourself in harms way either,” the young woman retorted. ”I might be pregnant, but my opinion still counts, but there’s no way I’m letting you use yourself as bait in a plan where part of it is to be attacked by Amanda. You’ll be right where she wants you. She might have disdain for Carlisle because she views him as a disappointment - but she just outright hates you, Miles. I’m not okay with any of this.”

Miles gave a sigh. Lilith was right, she usually was. "We just need a different plan then.” he mutters, squeezing Lilith’s fingers gently. "Why don’t we just kill her? I mean, if she’s going to try and kill us anyway we just return the favour.”

"I don't know if I can do it" Carlisle responds meekly. He hated his mother, but she was still his mother. "Violet wants to kill her too, but Mary thinks trapping her will be a better idea. According to her divination the plan will work so long as I get some help" The color had escaped parts of Carlisle's face as he spoke, clearly he wasn't comfortable with outright murdering his mother.

”I know it’s a big ask for… permission to kill your mother, but none of us are asking you to actually do it yourself, Car. On one hand, isn’t being trapped in a tiny cage for the rest of your life, all lonely and goin’ batshit crazy and even worse fate?”

Miles looked between his two friends. He knew it was a hard thing he was asking of Carlisle, even if the man didn’t have the same connection to his mother and he and Lilith had with theirs, but he couldn’t help but think it was necessary. "You know what my ma is like, Car. She’s gonna wanna go with the safest option that spares everyone, I just don’t know if it’s worth all that. You don’t have to be there, we can work around that.” He turns to Lilith as he runs his thumb down the back of her hand. He then purses his lips before saying, "Honestly, babe, I don’t think you should be there for it either.” He then turns to face the wall before him, not facing Lilith nor Carlisle as he presents his final conclusion, his voice barely above a whisper. "It’s gonna have to be me.”

" I have to be there. If there is anyone who can protect everyone it is me. It's what I do. I can counterspell my mother and cast enough barriers to protect anyone else there" Carlisle said, trying to power through his emotions. He wasn't comfortable with it, but he would have to power through. "I will do it. I will kill her. I have to. It's my family. It's my problem. You two don't have to be there. You can be away from everything in safety somewhere"

”I understand everyone’s concern,” Lilith began, trying to choose her words wisely. ”And I’m not saying that I want to be there, but I’m also an abjurer, Carlisle. My shields may not be as strong, but they project. And if I’m not mistaken, I do have the strongest defensive spells. I want to help. Being there is no worse than sitting at home and stressing myself sick over the whole situation.”

Miles bit his bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment. He already didn't like this idea but even less so did he like the thought of Lilith being involved. ”Li… please.” he begs gently, turning to the woman ever so slowly. "You're right, Amanda straight up hates me. If I know the way that woman works, and unfortunately I do, she works more to torture those around her. If we're both in that room and she's aggressive I don't think I'm the one she's aiming to kill. It's the people I love most and by walking in with her you're presenting most of my family on a silver platter.” he tries to meet her eyes before continuing. "I can't let you put yourself in danger like that. Especially now. The doc said you're meant to be taking it easy, not rushing into battle.”

The man turns to Carlisle with a sigh. "I'm not asking you to do it. I know it's a lot, man.” Miles once again bit into his bottom lip with his teeth. He was sure he hadn't thought so much in his life, at least not in recent years. "Would Violet help?”

”Violet doesn't want to break her cover, she wouldn't turn against Amanda incase she comes back” Carlisle said with a sigh. He didn't want Lilith to be in the line of fire, but she was right, she was a bloody good abjurer. ”I can cast barrier around Lilith, and I have been working on a stronger version. If she wants to be there I will make sure she is safe.”

”I said no, Carlisle. You're a good abjurer, sure, but I've seen your spells fail too. And wear you down too much. I just- it's not a risk I want to take.” He squeezes Lilith’s hand once more. He knew he was risking trouble talking about her as if she was fragile and breakable. Lilith was a tough woman, she always had been, but right now she was more fragile than ever. He knew she was still strong but he'd also seen how much the pregnancy beat her around between the fatigue and the morning sickness. What if she needed to vomit halfway through a spell? Not to mention the 3 kids were the most fragile of them all.

He turns to face Lilith again. "You know as well as me that in any other situation I wouldn't care. You're a strong woman, Li. I know that. But you gotta save a lot of your energy for them. You're capable of surviving danger but they're not. I just-” he expells a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just don't see a situation where you're completely safe.”

Lilith’s facial expression told on her once again, going from sour to disappointed in mere seconds. ”No, I get it,” she sighed. ”My duty right now is to be a human incubator.” Her eyes shifted from Miles to Carlisle and back again. ”I’m not trying to be a bitch,” the young woman continued, her voice as soft as she could manage. ”But I don’t understand why I was talked into coming here if I was going to just be told I couldn’t help anyway.” With a roll of her eyes, the brunette finished saying her piece. ”A Montgomery witch reduced to… this.” Waving her hands vaguely, she sighed again. ”Cordeila is laughing her ass off right now.”

Carlisle ran his hand across his forehead as he listened to Lilith. ”I am not doubting your ability at all. Far from it. I need you here. Just. Well… I am not going to go behind Miles back to do that.” Carlisle let out a soft but frustrated sigh, he was being asked to balance a really big responsibility, and while he was trying to take Mary’s advice about asking others to help with things and trying not to just do it all on his own, he remembered why he didn't like asking people for help. Miles and Lilith both meant well. Carlisle himself was apprehensive about putting the duo in danger. He could protect them, but against his mother, that was all he could do. He couldn't attack. He needed someone else for that. ”Mary is confident that we should succeed as long as we all go in on this. And I can't think of many chances where her divination is wrong. I am sorry that I have called you into this. I didn't want to put anyone in danger, but I will look after you. I promise”

Miles gave a deep sigh as Lilith spoke. He expected this, at least he should have. ”I'm not saying you can't do anything, Li. I just didn't expect Carlisle's request to put us in a firing line like that. I just-” he gives another sigh, clearly defeated. "What would you have us do?” he asks vaguely, unsure himself who he was asking.

”I’m not trying to be difficult,” Lilith reiterated. ”But if it’s not me, can you guys at least have someone there that has more defensive powers to aid you?” Brow furrowing, she looked at Miles. ”I’m not mad at either of you, I’m just worried. And if I’m not there, I can’t guarantee any of you are going to be fine.”

"So who would we want there? Your ma's abjuration, right? What if she came? Unless you can think of a way that guarantees you'll be safe.”

”Mom would be a good choice,” Lilith began, trying to strategize and come up with a plan. ”She can help Car abjurate, and she also has necromancy like gramps and I. If all else fails, she can just fry Amanda from the inside out.” Her eyes shifted to Carlisle, realizing what she had said only after it was out in the open. ”No offense, dude.” Running her spare hand through her hair, the young woman huffed. ”There’s one loop hole that I’ve thought of, and that’s Astral Projecting myself into the battle - but my astral form still takes damage, and I haven’t tried going into any other dimensions since being pregnant. So I guess if the sidelines is where you want me, that’s where I’ll be.”

Carlisle listened and gave his own huff. He was going to have to prove his point. He got up from the table and walked over to the kitchen, coming back a moment later with a blue leatherbound book that was covered in golden circles and symbols. Both Miles and Lilith had seen Carlisle's Grimoire before, but he rarely used it. Flicking through its pages he looked at the various incantations and motions he had scribbled down. ”I can make you both invulnerable. I am not making this shit up. I can”

Stepping back he began to perform an spell unknown to the others, creating a large cube in the entrance between the dining room and the hallway. The cube flickered the colors of the rainbow, shimmering between each of the colors. ”Ironically it took getting Claire’s memories to help me figure out the piece I was missing. I call it a prismatic cube. A force field magnitudes stronger than the Tanner barrier. It is resistant to every field of magic and even an antimagic field won't shut it down. With you two in there. No one can touch you”

"This Astral projection- does it taking damage hurt you?” he asks Lilith earnestly, fiddling with her fingertips. "You know I wanna fight alongside you, I just want you to be safe. Especially now.” It was soon after Carlisle came back with his own solution. It was in that moment Miles was reminded how powerless he was in comparison to his friends. While he wasn't the weakest magic user he knew in the trio he was. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd have any cooler tricks up his sleeve had he been trained as an enchantment magi rather than a warlock. "But can we touch them? Honestly I'd really like to clock Amanda in the face- uh no offense Car.”

””None taken. I can move the cube if you want to walk upto mother and smack her in the face. But I can do this. No need to Astral Project. Worse case scenario was can Astral Teleport you into the Astral plane where you would both be safe” Carlisle rubbed the back of his head ”If you do see a guy there, with white hair, glasses. Calls himself Charon, you haven’t heard of me”

”Projecting is…. complicated,” Lilith tried to explain to Miles as Carlisle slipped out of the room. ”I assume the kids' consciousness would stay here. But any damage that my Astral form takes, I would to - it just wouldn’t affect me until I came back to the human realm - and then it would hit all at once. So in a way, it could just be worse.” Sitting there looking at Miles, she was struggling for words once again. What sort of situation had they landed themselves in this time? It was a redundant question. Lilith knew full well what was being asked of them both, but she couldn’t help but wonder how much more weight Miles could carry on his shoulders.

She watched and listened quietly as Carlisle explained another part of his plan. ”My only worry is what happens with the spell if something happens to you. If Violet is lying and doesn’t fake her attack, will the barrier still stay up with you under fire?”

”Well, in theory the cube exists even if I was killed as it is a transfer of energy rather than me constantly projecting it. So once it is up you are safe enough. Only issue is that I can’t stand inside it. Otherwise it shatters” Carlisle laughs nervously. ”If Violet betrays us I will counterspell as best I can to give you time to get out and retreat. I need you Lilith, but at the same time, I am not going to put your future children in too much risk. If I can’t protect you both, I will find a way to get you out of the area.”

Miles purses his lips as Carlisle and Lilith conversed for a moment. He wasn't so keen on the astral projection plan, he was sure all attacks impacting her at once would be worse for both her and the babies in the long run. ”If you can't protect us both, you save her. Okay? No arguments. No ifs and buts- from either of you- you get Lilith out of there as fast as you can. Mental prison her or something until you can get her somewhere safe.” Miles instructs.

He didn't like the risks, not at all, but what risks were they posing by staying idle? Surely Amanda may try to kill them in their sleep or of the likes. Miles was never a strategy man. Hell, if this situation were different he'd have happily run in guns blazing to Carlisle's plan but there was so much to consider now it was near nauseating. Is this how all council family members felt? He couldn't help but recognise if it came to it Miles could do little to protect Lilith despite stall for time by disarming someone temporarily, taking attacks meant for her and grabbing the woman and running. He'd have to rely on others for that.

Lilith wasn’t trying to be cocky, but she knew the extent of her powers, as well as their limitations. Things had slowed down a little magically as of late, but that didn’t mean that she still couldn’t help her friends. Regardless of the fact she knew that she could protect them both, the young woman couldn’t help but notice the look on Miles’s face. Listening to him speak her face grew red hot, unable to describe the exact emotion she was feeling at the time. Lil knew it was futile to try and argue against him, and she didn’t need to speak to let him know she felt the same way. Even still -

”If Miles says no, then the answer is no,” she stated firmly, gripping on to his hand for dear life. ”I don’t want to say no, but at this point it seems like me bein’ there would be more of a distraction than it would be a help.” Watching their confused faces, she sighed. ”I can astral project there and shield you from the outside of the house. Amanda wouldn’t know I was there. Or the most responsible thing to do would be to go home and make you both potions to use.” Silence filled the air as they all tried to think of what to say next. ”If I get word that anything has happened to either of you, I’m kicking both your asses,” she tried to joke. ”And after this is all over, we’re throwing you a proper party Carlisle.”

Carlisle listened to them both and quietly nodded. In reality he didn't want either of them there with him. He would prefer that the pair stayed at home on the ranch than risk their lives, but Mary had been adamant that the divination magic stated Carlisle needed help. Though that was to capture Amanda, not kill her. ”In that case I want you both to stay away. I am not going to be responsible for splitting you up. Miles stays with you. Me and Violet will deal with this. Just. On that day. Please stay at the ranch. Don't go out anywhere. I don't want you becoming targets”

As Lilith gripped his hand tighter, Miles couldn’t help but look down at their hands clasped together. He watched as Lilith’s knuckles became a whiter shade of pale. He rubbed her fingers with the palm of his other hand as she talked. As Lilith mentioned not wanting to say no he opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. It wasn’t that he wanted to take away Lilith’s choice, he was just concerned. But he knew she knew that better than anyone, she could feel it coming off of him. In truth Miles had been finding it almost too easy to slip into that protective role. He forces a laugh at her joke. ”I think you’ll find a way to kick our asses regardless,” he jokes, giving her hand a small squeeze.

That was when Carlisle spoke up. For as much as Miles wanted to follow his instructions and pour his energy into caring for Lil, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t also concerned for Carlisle. ”Honestly, man, I can’t let you do this alone. What if Violet’s working against you? Or even if she’s on neutral ground your mum is powerful, I can’t let you face her alone.”

Lilith's expression softened as she looked at Miles. ”I hate to say it, but I agree. I'd like for you to have some sort of protection, Car. At least we'll all know Miles has your back. I'd recommend finding a third person somewhere - my mom, Serena, literally anyone else you think you might be able to trust.”

Carlisle sighed as everyone replied. Tapping his fingers against the table. ”I am not going to be responsible for the fact that your kids might end up fatherless. No. I agree that I need to find someone else. I will look around and possibly ask your mother a Lilith and maybe Lucas and his skills would help. Heck, you are right I could ask Serena, or even Kolby” Carlisle visibly shuddered at the thought of having to ask Kolby for help.

Miles sighs as he looks over at his friend. Why was he so resistant to all attempts to help? ”I'm tough, Car. We're gonna make sure that that's not going to happen. You give me the time and the place and I'll be there. Someone's gotta make sure Kolby attacks the right person,” he replies, finishing in a half joke. ”Just- we need to make a final decision.”

Finally - something that Lilith was good at and could actually accomplish at the moment. She couldn't make the decision for Miles or Carlisle either one, but she could look at it from a diplomatic and well rounded problem solving sort of view. ”As if you both don't know I already have fail safes for Miles in place,” she half joked, waving her hand dismissively. Lilith continued speaking without missing a beat. ”If the plan is to stage your birthday party, it would make sense to invite people that it looks like might normally be there. The whole town knows you and Kolby have beef. You can play some of the connections off by saying it's your right to build bonds as a Coven Leader - but no one is going to believe you invited Kolby or any likes of him to anythin’. Ever.”

”Fine, fine. I won't invite Kolby. Sadly I am not exactly liked by most of my coven mates, so convincing people to show might be an issue. I could make it a open party a bit like at we had in September” Carlisle said with a shrug. Having it open would mean anyone could turn up and it would boost numbers if things went bad. It just meant more people in the firing line.

”It’s your decision,” the brunette responded, shrugging her shoulders once more. ”Just keep in mind that more people means more that you can’t control. Meaning that we’re leaving more room for error.”

”More people makes it more believable, but it also means that more people could get hurt. I don't think anyone could want to help my mother, but I get it.” Carlisle gave a small smile. He was grateful that his friends were hearing him out and not just leaving him on his own. He did want to protect them though, and putting them in danger never sat well with him.

Miles bit his tongue on the first thought that floated to his head. Would more people actually be believable? It was no lie that Carlisle was at odds with a lot of people in the coven, and somewhat distant from more. He toyed with Lilith's fingers as he thought through his words, more out of habit than anything else. ”What about Willow?” he asks. ”I think a party of you, me and her is somewhat believable. We'll just say Lilith is sick or something, maybe keep my ma around for good measure?” he suggests.

Carlisle shifted in his seat somewhat as Miles mentions Willow. ”It could do, but I don't want to put her in the firing line for the same reason I don't want you or Lilith in danger” Carlisle ran his hand along the table while he thought a bit more. ”I can make it an open party. If we get anyone else we will just have to keep them to the side, plus if things go south, at least we will have witnesses that it is all self defense”

”Would your mum attack us in front of an audience though?” Miles points out. ”She's not that stupid is she?”

”Depends if she thinks the odds are in her favor or not. She knows that I am not well liked, I am guessing she is banking on no one trying to help me, and she can get you both in the crossfire” Carlisle said with a shrug of his shoulder. He didn't know exactly how ballsy his mother was feeling now. She was normally fearless of anyone, so he was pretty confident she would attack regardless.

Miles didn't like that answer, not at all. Less of what it'd mean for this whole planned event but just the weeks to come. He squeezed Lilith’s fingers as his stomach dropped. In the past month Miles had felt more weight drop on his shoulders than he ever had before and this now just felt like one more. ”So what's to stop her attacking now?” he mutters, his voice barely above a whisper. ”What's to stop her from breaking into the Ranch or your townhouse?” Miles swore could feel himself become pale as his mind flicked through all the possibilities. He wasn't used to this, being so deep in fear, thoughts and worries. He missed not having those burdens though they seemed to plague him now. He bit the inside of his cheek waiting for some form of reassurance.

”Honestly nothing. If it's any help, I seem to be the more important target. She thinks she can install my sister by removing me. The ranch would be safe as she wouldn't want to risk a direct confrontation with the rest of the Montgomery clan” Carlisle calmly remarked.

Miles sighs, dragging his free hand against the grain of the wooden table. His other hand loosened it's grasp around Lilith's fingers. Maybe Carlisle was right, she might just get him and leave Lil and him alone. The idea of Amanda claiming the life of his friend wasn't particularly comforting but at least his family were safe. A thought crossed his mind, causing him to tighten his grip around Lilith's hand once more. ”And while she's so bold- what's the chance she goes after my ma?” Miles hated how much of a golden opportunity this sounded. He knew Amanda hated his mother, he couldn't help but wonder if his father coming back might ignite all of that. Not to mention her now living alone made her too easy a target.

”I couldn't rule it out… If I am being honest. She is more unhinged than ever. I think she sees my sister as a second chance to secure the family legacy and make up for her past mistakes. Really it should only concern me and her, but I am sure she will drag everyone else in with it” Carlisle let out a soft sigh. He wasn't comfortable with the idea of putting anyone else in danger himself.

Lilith remained silent, listening to the conversation around her as she watched Miles toy with her fingers. They had sat and discussed so many variations of this plan that she was lost on what path they had decided. ”The best thing would be for Mary to come and stay at the Ranch. I can’t force her into anythin’, but the offer still stands. It’s not a well known thing, but the house has extra protection - Amanda would have a hell of a time getting in there.” Silence fell over the room again while she tried to sort her thoughts. ”If you’re inviting the whole Coven, I’m not staying home. I’m not putting everyone at risk for some wack plan.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them, trying to read their expressions. ”Pregnant or not, I am a Council member, and I will not sit idly by while the whole Coven is put at risk for our issues.”

”You can be the one to have that conversation with her,” Miles replies with a light chuckle as Lilith discusses having his mother move into the Ranch. Miles' face seemed to suddenly harden as Lilith announced that she was going to join the group. He didn't have to tell her that was one of the last things he wanted to hear; he knew she knew that. Soon a sigh escapes the man. ”I'm not talking you out if this one… am I?” he asks, looking back at her. In truth Miles knew Lilith had skills that would serve the group well through this whole escapade but he couldn't shake the nervousness that came with the thought of her being there. If Amanda Aston was really out to torture him or his mother, Miles knew Lilith was her first target.

The brunette shook her head, a disappointed look appearing on her face. She didn’t want to hurt or stress Miles anymore than she already was, nor did she want to over insinuate her importance. However in Lilith’s mind, her sitting at home just didn’t make sense in either scenario. Carlisle had a target on his back - none of them could deny that - but they also couldn’t deny that Lilith and her children were the ones Amanda was truly after. Killing off Carlisle and reinstating her long lost daughter only did Amanda so much good when Lilith was about to give birth to so called ‘super babies’.

”No,” she responded quietly. ”You can’t.” She could have sworn as soon as she said the words that Miles aged five more years. ”I promise I’ll be careful, and I won’t put myself in harm's way - but you can’t seriously just both ask me to stay at home.”

”Wasn't really asking,” Miles mutters, running his free hand through his black hair. He knew regardless of what he said or did, Lilith would do what she wanted. ”By being there you're putting yourself in harm's way. Even without the whole hating me thing she knows you're carrying superbabies, I don't think that's something she'll take kindly to.” He sighs once more. ”Just get someone to turn you invisible or shapeshift you or something. And have some way to get out fast. Li, I can't-” he seems unable to finish his sentence, expelling a breath instead.

”I was fine with not being there until Carlisle decided to open it to the general public,” Lilith tried to explain, now feeling a little defensive. ”It’s not like you’d stay at the Ranch if I asked you to either, Miles. Believe me when I say that I understand the gravity of the whole situation, but you can’t ask me to be okay with putting everyone we know in danger. You, Carlisle and a few others that we all trust - I was willing to swallow that pill. But putting you both in a situation where we have no idea how everyone would react? Not to be a bitch - but am I the only one here who remembers that half the Coven basically hates Carlisle?” Despite her emotional state, Lilith managed to keep her tone level and full of concern. She didn’t want Miles to feel like she was mad at him, but she had and would always have responsibilities to the Coven - rather Miles and the babies were here or not.

Miles huffed at Lilith's response claiming he wouldn't stick back either. She wasn't wrong but their situations were vastly different, weren't they? ”You know I wouldn't be pushing this any other time, Lilith.” Miles argues back, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. This whole situation was frustrating. He swore he'd age 10 years in the past hour alone. ”Half the Coven might hate Carlisle but most of ‘em like me just fine,” he claims in turn. Miles was over this whole meeting and he knew it showed between his sour attitude and his scowls.

”I know you wanna be some big strong warrior and in any other situation I'd be all for it but you've got other things to consider right now. Namely them-” he nods toward her stomach. ”Just-” he gives an exaggerated sight. ”Just if you come, promise me you'll do everything- I mean everything to stay alive.”

Lilith heard what Miles had to say - right up until the point she felt like she was being mocked. She didn’t have the desire to be a big strong warrior, she just wanted people to remember that she was a Montgomery witch. Over the years with their numbers dwindling and Claire being Claire - it was easy to see why some people doubted Lilith due to her last name alone, but she had worked hard to clear it. She didn’t want to run into battle with guns blazing, but she was tired of being written off as weak and fragile - tired of feeling like people had forgotten what she was capable of.

”Fine,” she nearly snapped. ”If what you want is for me to be locked up with potions and paper work for the rest of my life, then that’s where I’ll be,” the young woman stated, getting up from her chair. ”I have other things to consider, but you just get to run out there and get yourself potentially killed and I get to say nothing. Cool. Great. Fine. If what you two want to do is make me feel like I’m stuck in the fucking fifties, than you’ve succeded. Figure it out yourselves.” Pushing the chair back under the table Lilith stormed off to find Mary.

”That's not what I meant and you damn well know it, Lilith!” Miles growls after his girlfriend as she starts walking off. When she leaves the room the young man gives a frustrated growl, resting his head in his hands.

Carlisle was about to say something and protest about what Lilith was saying. But given her tone and the way Miles was reacting, he simply stayed quiet and keep his head down.

Miles eyes glanced at his friend as another sigh expels from his lips. John would have his ass for this one. In truth he didn't mean for it to fly so off the rails. He knew even while pregnant Lilith was far from breakable but the thought of putting her and their unborn children at risk unlocked a kind of concerned fear in Miles he'd never felt before, and he was quickly learning how things went south when that fear won. He tapped his fingertips on the table.

”I- I don't want her behind a desk forever. Hell, even for now. If it was werewolves or something I wouldn't care but Amanda- I know Amanda's aiming right for her,” Miles was looking at Carlisle as he untangled the thoughts at the forefront of his mind but even he was unsure.if he was actually talking to Carlisle.

”It's my fault. I should not have asked either of you to get involved and just solved this myself” Carlsie remarked as he stood up from his chair. ”You should probably catch up with her”

”Nah, man. I'm glad you asked for help. This isn't something you can’t do alone.” Miles gives a sigh, swinging himself around to face Carlisle. ”It's better I give her a moment to cool off. We'll be fine, it's just all getting to us. I feel like I've been hit by a truck the past few weeks and I don't think she feels any better.”

”You need to unwind a bit. I know it's not easy. But you two are going to be together for a very very long time, I know this isn't helping, but you are going to have to bridge it together” He didn't want to sound rude, but Carlisle knew that this relationship was going to take some work.

Miles couldn't help the dry laugh that came out of him at Carlisle insistence he unwinds. ”With what time? I get out of bed and John puts me to work until I go to my actual job and if there's daylight back when I get home I'm on the fields again.” As Carlisle keeps talking Miles shakes his head slightly. Carlisle was always a little too clueless and overdramatic for his own good sometimes. ”Couples fight, Carlisle. If you haven't figured that out with Willow you will soon. It isn't relationship over because we had a spat.”

”Thankfully me and Willow don't really argue or fight. We just vibe with each other. I get you can have arguments. But I am pretty much the reason for this one.” Carlisle took a moment to look around the room and then back at Miles. ”Look, I appreciate you both doing this. I know that you don't want Lilith to get hurt and neither do I, but she is capable and strong. Fairly sure she could floor the two of us… “ Carlisle gave off a nervous laugh. ”Go catch up with her, make sure she doesn't stress too much. I need to get back to work and continue unpicking all the crap my mother left behind”

Hedge's Testporium

Polstjärnan Magical Academy

No one can really pinpoint the time since magic came into existence. Some are convinced that magic has always existed. That it was the catalyst that created our universe and that is why it is buried deep into the fabric of reality. Regardless of how magical essence came to become a thing, select humans have been able to access this deeper layer of reality, bubbling away beneath the surface. These humans became mages, and have spent their whole lives trying to understand the nature of reality through their new perspective. The mages quickly realised that they couldn't reveal the existence of magic to the wider world. They had tried several times before. But for those that could not see magic, it was something that they couldn't quite comprehend, and in some cases, felt threatened by.

This pertained the need to be able to train Mages in secret while also giving them the space to be able to be able to learn without threatening or endangering the mundane. The solution was quite simple in retrospect. Their were many realities beyond the one seen on earth, and since mages could create doorways between them using their magic, it made sense to hide them away in pocket realities. This worked for a while, but it was always seen as an inconvenience.

In the late 1950's a new idea was trialled. A island archipelago in the sea between Sweden and Finland was purchased and a whole new town was built: Polstjärnan (Meaning Polaris or North Star in Swedish). The town then had a magical academy built on its outskirts. In order to protect the magic users in the town

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

^{A @Hedgehawk & @SouffleGirl123 post
Featuring Miles Price, Aloysius Leighton}

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Still in his work attire Miles once again arrived at Husker's bar. Once upon a time it’d be his prime spot for getting drunk and finding an overnight lover but these days it seemed more apt for meetings. Aloysius had left a number with his mother in case she ‘wanted to get in contact’. At the time the pair both scoffed at the man, Miles never expected he’d be the one to use it first. He’d moved into the Montgomery household a couple of days ago and figured it was better to tie off as many loose threads and unknowns as possible so he could focus more single-mindedly on Lilith and their unborn children. So here he was, at the bar already with a drink in hand awaiting the man who did none for him par contributing in his creation. A queasy feeling swept over him. Miles was very rarely nervous, he could probably count all the times he was on one hand but this was one of those times. He took another sip of beer, already ready for this to be over.

Aloysius was equally nervous if not more so than Miles. Their last interaction had not gone well at all, and Salem had well and truly made him look like a fool. She was doing everything in her power to make sure he couldn’t get a single bit of happiness. Thankfully she had left for New York, but Aloysius still felt out of place. Seeing that message from Miles confused him: was the man getting in touch just to let off some more anger at him. The fact they had chosen a bar was both a good and bad omen.

Entering the bar, Aloysius took a second to look around, pulling at the collar of his long overcoat as he scanned for Miles, see him over at the bar, Aloysius moved in, sitting on the stool next to him, debating whether or not to order a beer. ”Hey, Some places never change.” Aloysius remarked.

Miles felt himself tense up as the anger that had visited him each time his father was in his vicinity washed over him. He was curious as to whether it was still around, or as to if it would ever go away. Maybe it never would. Regardless, this time he made like a true Price and pushed it down. Miles held a lot of repressed rage for a lot of reasons but he never expected the thing to piss him off most this year to be the resemblance he held to his father. No matter how this whole situation went, even if it ended on the worst of terms and the man disappeared into the abyss for this whole situation to become only a memory of a weird thing that happened that one time Miles would have to hold the knowledge of that resemblance forever. As the man speaks, Miles gives a small huff. ”Is that so?” he asks gruffly, seems like suppression could only hold in so much. ”’Spose I haven’t seen anything change ‘round here except more housing. Think they tried to open a second Mickey D’s but it was kinda pointless.”

Aloysius tensed up slightly at Miles' reply. He clearly was suppressing something. Still, at least he hadn’t been punched in the face. Maybe he had brought him to flog him infront of everyone. Still Aloysius needed to act like an adult. He ordered a Gin and Tonic and looked over to Miles as he awaited his order. ”I must admit, getting a message from you was something I did not expect. Your mother maybe, but not you. How is she doing?”

Miles sighed as his mother was mentioned, swirling his beer in its glass bottle. His eyes were yet to actually look at the man next to him and they still failed to. Instead they flickered from the beer bottle to the TV. ”I think she’s struggling with this whole thing more than she’d ever admit but that's my ma for you. I would say you know what she’s like but I don’t know if you do.” Miles shrugs as he takes another sip of his drink. In all truth that line wasn’t as much of an attack as an admittance Miles was unsure what she was like before he came along, or before his memories started at that but he knew there was a chance Aloysius may take it the wrong way.

”Mary is a strong soul. She is capable of bearing so much. I know that me arriving considering everything else is going on is far from ideal. But if I am being honest, I don’t really have anywhere or anyone I can go to.” It was a sad admission from Aloysius, but it was true. His sister was no longer interested in him, and there was no way he was going to stay within Salem's clutches. ”So why did you get in touch? I am curious. If not a little scared at what your intentions are” Aloysius proclaimed as his hand clasped around the newly presented gin and tonic glass.

The smallest of smiles played on the younger man’s lips at Aloysius’ first statement. ”Stronger than you’ll ever know. Honestly I don’t know the half of it and probably never will.” he replies. There were times he was convinced she could hold the whole world on her shoulders and still live her day to day with such grace and there were times he was convinced that was exactly what she was doing. Miles paid no mind to the second half of that statement, he’d get back to that soon enough. At the man’s question Miles raised an eyebrow, finally giving into the temptation to turn and look over the man. For a moment his soul felt ignited once more with every little resemblance the man held to him, Miles was sure he looked much more like his father than his mother and he hated that. Getting his emotions under wraps once more, he sips his beer again. ”My attention needs to be elsewhere real soon, guess I’m just trying to wrap up some loose ends while I can. Get some answers, y’know. I read a handful of your letters. Ma read every single one but 300 is a lot. I mean, I know you never got responses cus she never got them but why didn’t you stop writing. I mean, it woulda been pretty fair to assume she was ignoring them on purpose.”

Aloysius let out a sigh, taking a stiff drink as he looked back at Miles. "It's going to sound cheesy. But your mother meant the world to me. She still does, even if things have changed. She is all I have left of my life that hasn't completely gone into free fall" Aloysius knew his answer was very selfish in his regard, but he really wasn't lying. Mary had been the one thing he wanted to protect all along.

”How does not replying to your letters for 25 years then attacking you on sight count as ‘not going into free fall?” he asks curiously before taking another drink. Aloysius was right. It sounded cheesy, completely cheesy. Miles obviously got it from somewhere but hearing it about his mother almost felt odd. ”I mean you had nowhere to be so you could start all over. You didn’t have to come here, you still chose to. You coulda set yourself up anywhere, you obviously had the money. You actively chose here. So why did you really come?”

"Because when someone doesn't reply to your letters for 25 years you start to wonder if something else had happened. I wanted to come here. Make sure that everyone knew the truth. As it was clear Amanda had been hiding it. I also wanted to see you. Selfish of me I know. But I wanted nothing more to see you grow up. But more than that, I wanted you to be safe." Aloysius was clearly not as adept at hiding his emotions as others. He clearly looked hurt as he spoke about wanting to see Miles. Being separated from them both was the most painful experience in his life.

Miles sighs, taking another sip of his beer. ”Well she’s alive and doing- well she’s alive and here I am grown up. Ta-da, all done. But you’ve seen that a few times already. What do you want from us Al? What do you want from me and what do you want from her?” For a few reasons Miles was glad he got to Al before his mum did. She was indeed a strong woman but Miles did want to scope out the man beforehand. He supposed it was a way of pretending he was doing his part of protecting her even if he knew it was equivalent of him being 5 years old attacking box dragons with a plastic sword to protect her in his world of fantasy once again. Unlike Aloysius, Miles seemed an expert in keeping a straight and blank face, only the slightest clues shining through his eyes.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet in all honesty. I know realistically it is far too much to ask anyone to let me into their lives given the extreme length of time…" Aloysius would then take a deep drink and finish off his gin and tonic, shaking his head as he looked away "Despite how much I really want it. It's selfish of me to be able to ask for that"

Miles gave a sigh, playing with the glass bottle in his hands. ”Ma said something to me last week that I guess kinda stuck. That as much as you wanted to be here it doesn’t change the fact that you were never around to be my dad as it’s unfair for you to expect that. She kinda has a point, y’know,” Miles replies before downing the rest of his beer. ”You really left a mess behind with us, y’know that right? Even more so for her than me. By coming here and justifying you’re kinda taking away the crutch we had in having someone to blame.”

"I get that. It is far easier for everyone to blame someone that just admit that life is grey and complicated" Aloysius sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Right now Miles I don't know what I want. Or even need. This is the first time in like 25 years I have actually had the freedom to go somewhere. It's strange" Aloysius rubbed his shoulder before looking over at Miles. "I know I left shit behind, caused alot of damage. None of it was intentional. I was doing it to keep everyone safe. I wanted to be a part of both your lives. That's why I kept writing letters."

”Not that I’d get myself in that position of my girlfriend being clueless about what I am, cus funnily enough as soon as I knew I was magi she was the first person I told, but if something like this happened I’d walk through the nine hells to get back to her. Would rather die trying than waste away waiting for permission or whatever to go home. But that’s just me I guess.”

Aloysius buried his head on the bar. Clearly he was either upset or frustrated "And what would that have achieved? Yeah I could have broken away from Salem. But in doing so I would have revealed where you and Mary were when I came running back. Then you both would have been killed. In all honesty, I didn't think I would be under guard for this long. Normally Salem would get bored and just walk away. Not this time though"

Miles sighs, not completely sure how to respond. ”I at least woulda warned her about who I was, at least then they'd have a clue. We always assumed you were just living the high life in England or Korea." Miles flags down the bartender, ordering another beer. ”Woulda at least saved a few of my current problems honestly." Miles fell back into silence for a moment, playing with the empty beer bottle in his hands. ”How many times have you done this? Do I have siblings floating around somewhere?"

Aloysius shook his head "No, no one else. I had things before your mother, but after her. No. I wouldn't have dreamt of it" Aloysius replied. He knew that Miles had a low opinion of him, and this conversation was just helping dig that grave deeper and deeper. "I had planned to tell your mother about the real me before you were born. Amanda put a stop to that. She pressured me into having her child and then when I said no, called Salem on me. I intended to get somewhere safe and then send a letter explaining everything. Obviously that letter never arrived to your mother"

Miles took his new beer bottle and held it toward the bartender thankfully before taking a drink. ”Y'ever think that maybe my ma moved on? 25 years is a long time." Miles was somewhat toying with Al at this point, he knew what he was doing by bringing this possibility up. In truth he'd never seen his mother in love, if he thought about it hard enough he was sure he'd never seen her go on a date.

"Well yeah. I had considered it. Alot actually. Was one of the things that kept me up at night y'know. Everyone always looked at me as a bad person. Always judged me, always speaking about me behind my back. Your mother was never like that. I know she didn't know who I was. But it was such a breath of fresh air." Aloysius would order another drink, casually looking at Miles, trying to get a read on the younger Miles intentions. Was he trying to get under Als skin?

”And maybe that wouldn't be the way she acted if she knew who you were?" Miles spits back, looking up at the man. He knew that wouldn't be the case. There were very few people his mother lacked sympathy for, even for Al's shortcomings she'd find some good in him but he was banking on Al not knowing that. Maybe that's why her and Claire were always so close, Mary would be a reminder of kindness and Claire would make sure the other woman wasn't getting herself into dangerous territory. At this point Miles wasn’t quite sure what he wanted anymore. He wasn't sure how this would go. He wanted answers but he honestly wasn't sure what answers. Maybe he just enjoyed toying with the man.

It was clear that Aloysius was hurt by Miles remark. He wasn't wrong. But alot of Aloysius's mental state relied on him believing that at least one person didn't hate him. "I would like to think she wouldn't. Everyone else does. Even your leader chewed me out after the dinner. Was dressing me down about being lucky I wasn't getting kicked out" Aloysius took his new drink and took an opening sip "I am sure you want to ask something. So just ask. Don't hold back"

”I dunno," Miles mumbles, finding a sudden interest in his beer bottle. He had questions, so many questions, but in the heat of the moment and his emotions he couldn't catch any of them. ”I guess I just want to know you really did hurt knowing what you did. And not because my ma screamed at you or hit you in the face or whatever. I want to know you spent 25 years understanding the state you put us in. To be honest, Al, she can give you all the speeches under the sun and I don't think she'd truly tell you what she went through to keep me alive. Y'know she used to send me to Korean lessons? Every Saturday or Sunday for 15 years she shuttled me to and from Seattle to pay the little we had so I could learn what she thought was your heritage. "Miles Price", she'd say," Miles tries his best to mimic her voice. ”"You can hate your father all you want but this is still part of who you are, it's important you learn this." She wanted me to be so much in spite of you." His voice drops as he raises his bottle to his lips, "And it turns out we're not even Korean."

I took a lightning bolt from Salem, at maximum power. The whole state of New York power grid shot into a single shot. It was excruciatingly painful. But that was nothing compared to knowing what I had left behind. I would rather get hit by that bolt again. I am sure Salem would be happy to oblige" Aloysius finished his drink and placed down his glass. "My biggest regret was being away from you and Mary. Even though it protected you. It destroyed me not being here"

”Not like it didn't destroy us either." Miles grumbles, taking another swig of his beer bottle. ”You say you wanna make it up to us but how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well I originally planned to use my wealth to make sure you and Mary were at the very least set up for the rest of your life. I am guessing by the fact the house is exactly the same as how I left it, the money I kept sending each month was taken by Amanda." Aloysius shook his head as he carried on " But your mother is stubborn, and wouldn't accept it even if I offered it. So I don't quite know how I am going to make it all up. I guess by being here incase either of you need anything"

It seemed there was only so much Mary had changed through the years, the woman was still as stubborn as a mule. It was a trait Miles had undoubtedly inherited from her. ”And what could either of us possibly need from you?" the man asks venomously. Who did Aloysius think he was pretending he'd be needed. Miles and his ma did fine for 25 years without him. What could the man add now?

Aloysius could hear the venom in his voice. It was clear that Miles clearly didn't want his help. He didn't want him around. "Look if you don't want me around, I can leave. You just have to say. I can take a train to somewhere and be out of your hair." Aloysius wasn't happy about bringing it up, mostly because he was sure that Miles would simply tell him to get lost.

”Honestly, Al? I want you to leave my ma alone." Maybe this is the reason he dragged Al out, the reason he got to the man first.

Aloysius let out a long, drawn out, depressed sigh. It was clear the words had stung him. Shuffling in his seat he pushed his glass away. " If that's what you really want Miles. I can do that. It's going to hurt to do it"

Miles could see his words stung the man but he honestly couldn't care less. Part of Miles knew it wasn't his place to be making calls like this for his mother but he had made her life hard enough, he wanted to do something to make it easier. In a way Miles was a little scared she might fall for him again. Miles wasn't against his mother finding love but he was against her finding it with his estranged father. ”And you've hurt her more than enough for a lifetime. Call this karma," he shoots back before taking another sip from the bottle.

Aloysius looked down "Don't you think I know that, I know how much pain I caused and how much I fucked up. But you have I understand Miles. I did it to protect you and Mary. I didn't do it because I wanted an affair, or I wanted to cause harm to Mary. I am sorry I am not this big evil bad guy that you want me to be"

Miles narrows his eyes at the man. ”Oh please," he snaps. ”Don't pretend you're completely innocent in this. You may not be as guilty as we thought but your hands are still stained red. You're not this perfect victim. Well I'm sorry I can't suddenly decide to be your son after 25 years of abandonment and I'm sorry my ma doesn't love you anymore." Miles throws back, his voice becoming increasingly louder at every word. He finished his line with a slam of the beer bottle on the table.

"Really now?" Aloysius states as Miles began to raise his voice. "I am far from perfect and it was my past that ripped Mary and you from me, but that didn't mean I never stopped loving or caring Miles." Aloysius hit back. He wanted to build bridges with Miles, but also he wasn't going to let himself be entirely stepped over. "I never expected you to just suddenly want to be my son again, and I never expected Mary to just take me back. It would have been nice. But I am a realist. I knew it was going to be a long term thing. You are just getting mad because I am guessing you blamed alot of your failures on the fact you had a deadbeat dad. But now you have seen said dad, that theory no longer fits, and you can't make peace with yourself"

”Well congratulations, dad," Miles replies sarcastically. ”What do you want? A medal? A trophy that says 'World's number one dad'? Good job caring about your son. You must be the best of men." Miles huffs, folding his arms over his chest as he looked his father squarely in the eyes. Nothing the man was saying seemed to help calm him. Quite the opposite actually. Miles could feel himself ignite, he swore he was redder. ”No, Aloysius, last I checked you were absent in my life. As much as you wanted to be here and wrote letters or whatever you were absent. Last I checked, that covers the definition of a deadbeat dad right there!"

"And it's not like I did by choice Miles. I get that I did wrong but maybe, just maybe, I could have a little bit of understanding, rather than just being mentally tortured by you by thinking I am being strung along." Aloysius huffed. Miles was starting to grate on him. Miles was just not trying to understand Aloysius at all. " I can't believe I let myself think that you invited me here to actually get to understand me and maybe lay down some foundations"

”Just be grateful that I didn't bring you here to knock you out." Miles growls, knocking back the last of his drink. ”I feel like I'm really coming to understand you. The real you who sits up on his damn high horse thinking he's above other's experiences. I never said I was here to build foundations."

"Knock me out? Really. So that's the kind of person you really are?" Aloysius retorted. This was going nowhere now. He gave a deep sigh to center himself before speaking, trying not to let the anger get the better for him. "I don't sit on a high horse. I admit that I did terrible things, but I didn't do them for shitty reasons, I did them for noble ones. I did them for you. As I said, growing up without you was the single most devastating and painful thing in my life"

”You wanna go, old man?" Miles growls at his first response. That was when Al kept speaking. Miles couldn't help but curiously cock his head. ”"So are you not on that high horse or do you still think you're a noble person?" Miles shoots back. This time his works were more menacing, almost waiting for a mistake to be made.

"I might be an old man, but I could floor you with a flick of my wrist" Aloysius sighed, trying not to go for the bait. "I am far from noble Miles. I have done terrible things in my past. Stuff I have to love with every single day of my life. Some days are easier than others. But leaving to protect you and Mary was a good decision. No matter how much I wanted to escape and drive back.

”And I can disarm you with a single word, looks like were at a stalemate," Miles threatens, lowering his voice as he leans in. Miles could feel his eyes sting as hot tears threatened to rise to the surface. He was unsure if they were angry tears or sad tears for a life lost. Maybe even frustrated tears. He pushed them back, stoic as ever. ”Well I've should get back to the Ranch before Lilith starts to worry. But I am my mothers son, I'm not her but she's given me some of her heart. I'm not forgiving you or whatever but I'll give you this. Do you have any questions for me?" Miles knew he was exploring dangerous territory putting himself out there like this but he had there was part of him who couldn't leave the man without something. Maybe it was curiosity or kindness that forced those words. He'd never know.

"I do have some questions. Why did you actually call me here? Because I don't think you called me here to have a go at me" Aloysius decided to ask. He didn't know what answer he was going to get. But this might be the only way to get closer to Miles.

To be honest Miles was slightly taken aback with this question being the man's first. He was expecting more along the lines of Al asking if the pair had a chance of getting closer, if Miles would ever call him son or his mother would ever not shutter and shake in his presence. ”Honestly? The other week made my life a whole lot more complicated for a lot of reasons." Miles gives a sigh fidgeting with the empty glass bottle. ”To put things simply, my girlfriend’s pregnant, I guess I'm trying to wrap up and sever as many loose ends as possible so I can focus on looking after her."

" Ah, well. I remember finding out about the pregnancy. Mary had to stop me from trying to just to attack Salem and try and stop her getting near your girlfriend" Aloyisus mentioned. He wasn't quite sure what to ask next, but settled on another question. "So, your girlfriend… Do You love her?"

Of course Aloysius knew. Why did everyone seem to know? Miles didn't press that though, instead he simply gave another sigh, rubbing his eye. Al's next question surprised him more. What was the man playing at? He wanted questions about his life, not so much this but he obliged regardless. ”Lilith and I have- a precarious history," he replies, carefully thinking through every word. ”But of course I love her. More than anything."

Hearing the final sentence, Aloysius smiled rather proudly. Seeing Miles admit he loved someone somehow made Aloysius feel happy. "It's good to see passionate. I want you to be everything I never was" Aloysius said with a sigh.

”And that's exactly what I plan on being," Miles replies almost instantly. ”I don't really know how to be a dad, honestly don't really have anyone to ask about that, but I can at least try and be better." He takes a moment, his eyes drifting back to the TV. ”Look, I know you were only there for the start of it but what was ma's pregnancy like? I've tried asking her but she gets weirdly guarded about it. I guess I just wanna know what to expect."

" It was sweet. Mary wouldn't slow down. So I had to get creative to get her to unwind and actually rest up. So nothing really changed." Aloyisus let out a soft sigh and then carried on asking questions of his own. "I know the answer, but I have to ask. Did you ever consider trying to locate me?"

Sweet was far from the way Mary seemed to describe it in her short form answers blowing off his questions but he knew Aloysius missed a lot, maybe it all got bad after he left. Still, he couldn't stop himself from mumbling, ”Sweet for her or sweet for you?" more to himself. Not slowing down indeed sounded exactly like her. At his next question Miles gives another sigh. ”For the most part? No. I guess I kinda just accepted you weren't here. But there was a time when I was in college I got curious and did try to find you. Turns out Johnathon Park's a pretty common name in England. I know ma tried, as much as she didn't want me to know. Overheard Claire talking her out of getting plane tickets to London and Seoul to try and find you when I was like 5 or something. I don't know what she would have done when she did."

Aloysius gave a nod as Miles responded. It was a perfectly acceptable response. Aloysius decided to try and ratchet up the intensity of his questions, pushing himself into questions that Aloysius didn’t exactly want the answers to, but needed to ask anyway. ”Okay, So what do you know of the Magi rebellion at the end of the millennium? How much do you actually know about the real me, I guess is what I am asking.”

”Very little, honestly. Magi 101 didn't really hold my attention much despite how entertaining Ty is, didn't think it needed to. I know the main players and that it happened. I've read a handful of letters, that you think your ma primed you for it. Why, is there something I should know despite the fact Salem probably wants me more dead."

Aloysius was half way through ordering a drink when he heard a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. He almost froze. Spinning back to Miles with a slightly concerned look on his face. ”Ty… as in Tiberius DeLamar?” Aloysius asked, hoping to god that Miles had misspoken in some way.

Miles' brow furrowed at the man's response. Did he know Ty personally? The information Ty gave seemed textbook, he never weighed in with his own stories or thoughts, never mentioned Al as if he was any more than a figure in a story. Miles' generation made bets on where he fought, honestly Miles thought he sided with the guild. ”You know him?" he asked.

" More than know him." Aloysius remarked as he grabbed his fresh drink and downed the whole thing in one. " We have a complicated history from when I was younger" Aloysius finished. Placing the glass back on the counter, he looked back over at Miles. "Is he doing okay?"

Miles raised an eyebrow in response. "Fine I guess. He was on the council until Serena stepped up. I guess he's why ma thought I and Lil's and my babies are fine in the magi's eyes." Miles continues to toy at his bottle for a moment. ”Why, is he your ex-boyfriend or something?" he jokes

Aloysius didn't quite know how to respond to Miles joking comment. Mostly because actually it was true. With a rub if his head, Aloysius decided to tell the truth. " Actually yeah he was. Back in the war. Well kind of. We were never official. More casual. I wanted more. He didn't. Was my second in command during it all. Always thought Salem killed him in the final battle since he went quiet in the aftermath."

A simple ”Oh," was all that escaped the man's lips. It was honestly an unexpected answer but Miles wasn't sure if he was more shocked at his mother and Ty sharing a connection in his father, especially that sort of connection as Ty and his mother were two very different people, or that Ty was indeed in the Dark Shadows. ”Yet you're not chasing Ty around like a lost puppy. The magi war was only a couple of years before I was born, right? Ty wouldn't have been much longer ago than my ma."

"Ty was an interesting person, but over the time of the war it became clear that while I saw him as a friend, he was more interested in going drinking with Emily than me." Aloyisus sighed, he didn't expect to dredge up old feelings tonight. "Yeah the war was a few years before I met your mother. As I said before. Mary was different. We clicked. We had genuine connection. Unlike Salem and Ty where it kinda felt like I was trying and they weren't."

Miles pursed his lips, unsure who this was quickly becoming more awkward for. There was only so much about his parents’ love life he could handle hearing. ”Of course you dated Salem too," he mutters. Picking around his fingernails nervously.

"Salem was my first love actually. It was us breaking up that actually led to the starting of the Magi war. In a nutshell, the Magi elders decided that it would not be wise for two great families to date and eventually have children. Super babies and all that. So they asked Salem's father to split us up. I guess that was the point not where my mother started getting her tendrils into me. Enchantment magic is the worst at times" Aloysius remarked. He hadn't actually spoken about the past for a long time. Lola, his sister, simply shut him up whenever he mentioned it as she couldn't give a damn about family history.

”And here I am, making crossbreed superbabies.” Miles muses, his eyes catching the bottles on the bar, the TV on the wall, the bartender rushing around doing her job. Anything but Al. He then picks up on another line Aloysius said. ”Enchantment magic-” Miles never knew his father was magi, not until last week. All his mother had told him was that his dad was a warlock, that his power type wasn’t important as he likely inherited enchantment from her side of the family as if it wasn’t a random draw most times. ”Are magi powers hereditary?”

Aloysius listened to Miles question and then nodded. "There are certain powers that are more likely to appear in certain families. Our family gets Aero and Hydromancy alongside the world's most powerful enchanters sprinkled in" He was curious to know how much Miles knew about his Magi powers and Magi society. Maybe it was a way for the pair to bond?

Miles simply nods, he wasn’t sure if he’d call himself powerful. He didn’t bother telling Al about his powerset, he didn’t ask. ”And what are you?”

"Aeromancy. I am the strongest Aeromancer in the world. In theory. In practice, well I am a little rusty" Aloysius mentioned, he wanted to be direct and ask Miles precisely what his power was, but he didn't also want to be too direct about it.

”Aren’t you meant to be in your prime at your age or something?” Miles asks, resettling his gaze on the man.

"Yeah I am. Thing is, I haven't really used my power in a while. I could still wipe the floor with anyone else, but I couldn't push it to the same level as Salem could" Aloysius sighed and looked down at the bar.

Miles sighed, he’d gotten all the answers he’d wanted and he didn’t want Lil worrying when he returned home later than expected. ”Well, If you’re done I should get back home to Lilith. Can’t have her worrying too hard with the babies I guess. Reckon it’ll almost be as hard as getting my ma to slow down.” He starts slipping off of his seat.

"Sadly there isn't any magic that makes raising babies any easier. Well. I suppose you could enchant them to calm them down" Aloysius remarked as he saw Miles turn on the stool. "Look after yourself. I don't think Salem is going to come after you now. The fact she has left I think pretty much means you are all safe. I know you won't accept it, but if you need anything, you can just ask."

”I have a hunch Lilith wouldn’t be a fan of enchantment on the babies. What would you know anyway? Have you been around many babies?” At Aloysius’ last words Miles huff, fishing his keys out of his pocket. ”Yeah, probably not. And Aloysius? I meant what I said about ma. Leave her alone. The poor woman’s been through enough already.”

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

^{A @Sadie, @Hedgehawk and @SouffleGirl123 post
Featuring Mary Price, Carlisle Aston and Violet Parker}

---

Meet me in the kitchen was an ominous text, Mary knew that, but she wasn’t so hot on the texting thing to really know a less intimidating way to call someone over on it. Stood once again at the bench, the woman had another pot of coffee brewed and was awaiting Carlisle to respond. Violet was due to come in 15 minutes or so and Mary wanted to make sure Carlisle wouldn’t jump straight to attacking his sister. Violet was in a vulnerable state at the moment. Although Mary knew she genuinely didn’t want to do the full extent of Amanda’s wishes she wasn’t quite sure she’d convinced her away from Amanda's plan in its entirety so it was best to play it safe and not give her a reason not to trust them.

Carlisle was happily flicking through paperwork in his office. While it had been a couple of weeks since his nice discussion with Salem, that paperwork onslaught never seemed to end. If anything it got worse. It was almost as if the other coven leaders and Salem were testing Carlisle to see if he could cope. He was expecting it. Whenever you got a new teacher in school you always tried to push your luck to see if you could get away with new things. This was no different. Putting his down he glanced at his phone when he got a text. Looking at it he frowned. Why was Mary sending such a strange text?

Getting up off his seat he almost immediately left the office and went downstairs to the kitchen. Entering he saw Mary there and smiled as he sat on one of the breakfast bar stools. "So what's so urgent you called me down? We ran out of food?"

As Carlisle approached the bench Mary gave him a small but warm smile, placing a mug in front of him. "And when have you known this place to be out of food?” she scoffed, taking a sip of her own. "So I had a talk with your sister yesterday.”

Carlisle picked up the cup and had a look inside. Having a small sip of the drink he let out a chuckle at her scoffing comment. He had meant to be jokey about it, clearly he had I landed that correctly. Taking another sip, Mary finished her sentence and Carlisle nearly choked on the coffee. Did she just say she spoke to Violet? "You spoke to her? Why did you do that!?" Was this revenge for Carlisle getting involved with Miles and Lils baby? For inviting Salem to the dinner?

"Oh, cool your jets, Carlisle. She was out here causin’ a ruckus so I just had a talk with her.” The woman gives a sigh, sipping at her coffee. She couldn’t quite place why the man was so offended by her just talking to Violet. She knew what she was going to tell him soon would not go down great but it was necessary. "“Look, Car, she ain’t pure evil. Poor girl’s gotten herself wrapped up in Amanda’s lies. Did you know what your ma’s asked her to do?”

" Yeah I do. Mother asked her to kill me. She even said she was going to do it. She even threatened to kill Miles just for the hell of it. She isn't right in the head." Carlisle buried his head in his hands. This wasn't good. He was already having enough trouble with Werewolves and tracking down the possible den location, that this was the last thing he needed.

Mary sighed, leaning deeper into the bench before her. "Amanda wants her to go after Lil and Miles’ babies,” Mary says gently. Verbalising those words hurt, the reminder that her future grandbabies were already at risk before they were born, the woman couldn’t imagine what it’d be like after they were. "It’s making the girl question things. Look, she asked for help keepin’ your ma at bay. She’s startin’ to understand the trouble she’ll get herself in for following through. She just needs-”. Mary gives a sigh, internally bracing herself. "I invited her over this afternoon. I think you two need to talk.”

Carlisle looked shocked, almost on instinct he cast shield on himself. " I knew she was going for the kids too. But my mother wanted both. She wanted control of the Coven through Violet and then kill the kiddos. She wanted you to suffer more than me Mary" With a small sigh he looked back up and took a sip from his cup. "What she needs to do is go back to whatever hole she came from and stay there, out of Tanner"

"Carlisle!” Mary chastises, pulling her reading glasses off of her nose. "Your sister is not your ma. Look, I got her mainly on board with leaving the lot of ya alone, she could prove a powerful ally. But she’s alone, and she’s scared. She needs someone who’s done this before. I can yak all I want about how much effort your mumma went through to make my life hard but the person she’ll relate to the most is you. Trust me.”

Carlisle couldn't believe this. He knew that he on occasions got involved with things that he shouldn't. But he always did it because he either had the power to fix it or just had to for his job. But this was just out of line. Violet was his problem to deal with. The fact that people were taking it out of his hands was just not right. "I wouldn't trust a word she says. She is devious. As your son. He knows about being sketchy and devious. And the way she spoke to him. You don't fake that." Carlisle let out a deep sigh. "I love you Mary, but you have a big heart. And that is why Violet spoke to you. She is trying to get away from Amanda and get closer to us. It's all a ruse"

Mary huffed at Carlisle’s response. He may be the coven leader but she wasn’t going to stand there and get lectured by a child. "And are you gonna tell the divination that it’s wrong or should I? I’m no spring chicken, Carlisle, I checked if she was being genuine,” Mary snaps back, sighing into her coffee. "I never said she’s been a model witch but the way I see it is she’s gonna stay whether you like it or not. We’re better off with her as an ally rather than an enemy.”

" Why does she have to stay though? She has a family back home. She can go back to them. I pulled up her information from the coven leader down there. Right piece of work. The coven think I am doing them a favour by getting her out of their hair. Carlisle wasn't pleased, but he was acting more aggressive and assertive to hide the fact that he was scared of Violet and scared of the way that she spoke to him during the ceremony.

"Whether she stays or goes isn’t our call,” Mary points out, downing the rest of her coffee. "Carlisle, I get that you’re scared but if you want to be a successful coven leader you have to do scary things, you can’t go and take it out on everyone else. Now you’re gonna be nice and respectful and hopefully we can disrupt your ma’s plans.”

"I can disrupt her plans simply by sending her away. That way when she turns out to betray us, she won't be here to actually do anything. I am being a leader. It's a tough call to decide to banish someone from a coven" Carlisle clearly wasn't getting anywhere with Mary. Her stubbornness made her such a difficult woman to argue with.

"Just- Give her a chance. What if everyone else just pushed you away because of what your ma asked you to do?”

" Whenever my mother asked, I said no. That's why she had to start enchanting me. But fine. I will at least listen to her" Carlisle huffed.

"That’s all I’m asking,” Mary replies, eying the clock on the wall. Violet was due any minute now.

The cab had dropped her off just ten minutes ago, but Violet stood in the driveway for what felt like hours. She didn’t know what was going to happen when she walked inside. Part of her wanted to just turn away. But, she had made a promise to Mary. And she knew the woman would probably hunt her down anyway if she didn’t show up today.

Huffing out a breath, she slowly walked up the drive and entered through the main door. She looked around the front hall and heard voices coming from the kitchen. Violet cleared her throat and walked into the room, her eyes darkening for a moment as she took in the sight of Carlisle. She let out a breath and looked over at Mary. ”I’m here. So.”

Mary looked up from her coffee to see Violet standing before them. "Oh Violet. Welcome, my dear. Please, sit,” Mary pours a cup of coffee and places it before her then slides the bottle of creamer in the younger woman’s direction. She then shoots Carlisle a warning glance before nodding her head at his sister.

Taking the creamer and ignoring the fact that the woman remembered how she liked her coffee, she fixed up her cup before moving to take a seat. She bristled at the fact that she was so close to Carlisle, but she had to get over that, didn’t she? Violet wrapped her hands around the mug, clearly ignoring her brother.

Carlisle didn't bother saying anything either l. He hadn't asked for this meeting. He couldn't care less what Violet had to say. He made his kind up about her at the ceremony. He simply looked over at Mary as she looked at him.

Mary narrowed her eyes at the boy before turning her attention to Violet. "So how are you finding Tanner?” she asks the girl. Lame question she knew, but she was hoping that it’d get some form of conversation going.

Clearing her throat, she wrapped her hands tighter around her mug before nodding to Mary. ”Well, it’s definitely different than Florida.” Violet took a sip of her cup and continued to not acknowledge her brother next to her.

"To be honest I don't know why you don't fuck off back to Florida? Would be doing everyone else here a massive favour" Carlisle muttered, moving his coffee cup away.

Violet’s eyes immediately darkened as she finally looked over at him. She remembered the promise to her mother to kill this piece of crap next to her. She could very much still make that happen. Her hands tingled with the thought of unleashing pain upon him. It was very, very tempting. ”Really? Cause what I’ve heard, it’d be a massive favor if you suddenly left the Coven.”

This was not the direction Mary wanted this to go, but it was also the exact direction she expected it to. At each of their lines she in turn chastises them by name but it all seems to fall on deaf ears as they were locked in their own battle. "Alright!” she snaps, slamming her mug down on the kitchen bench. A loud bang infiltrated the room as she did.

"You!” she turns to Carlisle. "You are gonna give your sister a proper chance. I don’t care what she’d been asked to do or how much you don’t want to be here. You’re gonna listen and give her the time of day before I hear anymore backhanded comments. And you,” she turns to Violet. "You’re gonna give your brother some damn respect. You might not think very highly of him but he does have the power to get you kicked out of here and walkin’ home to Florida.” She takes a loud sip out of her mug. "We’re gonna play nice otherwise Imma force you to play nice.”

" As if you could force me to play… " Carlisle stopped himself from finishing the sentence as he looked down. " Fine, I will give her one chance to explain to me why she came here and why she became so hostile towards me without even getting to know me!"

Biting the inside of her cheek, it took everything in her to not roll her eyes. She didn’t give respect, people had to earn it with her. And Carlisle had done everything but. Violet shifted in her seat and looked at Mary as she spoke to her brother. ”Because of our mother, you half-wit. I was promised the Coven and you were in my way.”

"Oh really? You believe everything mother says? You could have just been polite and learnt a bit a out me before running to mothers side. But no. You threatened to kill me and my best friend. So why should I even begin to trust you?" Carlisle snapped. If anyone else but Mary had set this up, he would have told them where they could shove it. He was only even entertaining listening to this conversation because of his respect for Mary.

”You shouldn’t.” She finally turned in her seat to look at her brother. She raised a brow at him and shrugged her shoulders. ”Mother still very much wants you, Miles, and the triplets dead. I’m her weapon. And you know how our mother is. If she wants something and she doesn’t get it, it doesn’t turn out very well for everyone involved. So no, you shouldn’t trust me. She still believes I’m going to follow through with her orders.”

"You might have managed to dupe sweet Mary, but I fully believe that you are still going to do just that. I can solve this so quickly by just banishing you back to Florida. So why shouldn't I do that huh?" Carlisle questioned Violet.

Her fingers tingled with the magic she so badly wanted to unleash on him. She let out a slow breath before tilting her head at the man. ”Because you’ll still have our mother out there with her missions. If it isn’t me, she’ll just find someone else or do it herself. You have this one chance to turn me against her, and work as your spy. If I were you, I’d take it.”

"I don't need a spy. I have my own plan to deal with mother." Carlisle said as he huffed. In all honesty he had been coming up with a plan. He knew what he needed to do. It was just upto to Carlisle to see if he had the guts to do what needed to be done. " I don't need a spy. More so, a spy who is my long lost sister who thinks I am weak"

This time she did roll her eyes. She looked back over at him and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms against her chest. ”If you had a plan and had what it takes to stop mother, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be on this mission to kill several people if you just took care of her from the very start.” Violet looked him over and shrugged. ”You might not be weak, but you’re sure as hell scared.”

"I am not scared alright!" Carlisle shouted at Violet, pointing his hand at her. "I am not scared" Carlisle said in a lower tone this time "My mother is a nasty woman yes. And she did terrible things, and still does. But she is my mother. But she is threatening to kill my friends. And I can't have that. So no Violet. I am not scared. I am just trying to rack away my conscience"

Another roll of her eyes. ”Aw, cute. You’re worrying about your conscience. I have none.” She leaned towards him. ”I can do what you cannot.”

At this point Mary had her face buried in her hands. The more they talked the more it should have been obvious that both had something the other needed. She wondered how much more smoothly this would have gone if Carlisle had just bit his tongue, Violet even stated she was open to being turned against their mother but instead the boy was so set on just going it alone he straight up failed to see reason. Astons were the worst.

Mary slapped her hand on the bench in front of Carlisle to get his attention. "She is quite literally offerin’ to help. Her being in your corner at least means one less powerful adversary. Do you have a death wish, Carlisle? Cus the way you’re actin’ right now tells me you got a death wish. And when you’re puttin’ yourself at risk in this you’re puttin’ my family at risk. Y’know what puttin’ others in danger and acting like you can and will do it alone like this does? It makes you just like your mumma.” Mary paid no mind to what they were hinting at needing to be done, that was a conversation for later. For now she just wanted Carlisle to actually make use of his resources. Why were so many of these kids so damn set on physical battle when it was hardly the best option?

Carlisle sighed and rubbed his head. Why was everyone so insistent that he needed help? His mother berates him for being weak, and, then others always imply that he needs help dealing with problems. "Look Violet, you do you. It's not like I can stop you apparently"

Scoffing, she shook her head and tilted her chin up to the ceiling in annoyance. She let out a frustrated harumph from her throat before looking once more at Mary. ”Do you see why I still want to kill him? He’s making it pretty damn easy to want to right now.”

Tugging at her hair by the roots Mary let out an exasperated groan. She massages the top of her head with her fingertips a couple of times before looking between the Aston kids. After the multiple threats on Lilith’s life, Miles’ father coming back and refusing to leave her alone and the risk of Salem breathing down her neck, the most frustrating thing she’d dealt with all month was trying to get these siblings to talk. Actually talk, not snip at each other. This should have been easy. Carlisle should have been at least retrained, Violet should have been receptive and all the way willing to help and like that, Amanda was much less of a threat. But that would be too easy. "You two are impossible, y’know that? I don’t know if it’s the Aston in you or what but you’re both being as bad as each other right now.”

"Look, it's alot. Asking me to trust someone who hasn't earned it." Carlisle sighed heavily "But alright. For you Mary. I will trust her. I will work with her"

"And how is she gonna trust you?” Mary asks Carlisle before turning to Violet. She was interested in what she might have to say.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. ”Look, I still want to kill him. Just for him being so damn annoying, not because of our mother. But I guess that’s how siblings usually feel or some shit. So.” Violet shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her mug, sipping from it. ”And there’s no way in hell I’m trusting Carlisle. But I’m trusting you can keep him in line.”

"I am not the one that needs to be kept in line. I haven't threatened to kill anyone or overthrow them. I have just been trying to do my job. I saw your file. I have read how you basically terrorised your fellow Coven members down there" Carlisle was really starting to get annoyed. "If you are willing to back stab mother then fine. We can work together. But that doesn't make anything different between us. We aren't friends"

Violet sneered her nose at the man and raised a brow as she looked over at him. ”Who in the hell said anything about us being friends? I’m just agreeing not to kill you.”

"You are never becoming Coven Leader at all. So don't even think about trying to take this away from me. Once mother has been dealt with you can have the money and the property and then you can leave me the hell alone" Carlisle retorted. He placed his head in his hands. He could feel himself losing control.

"Carlisle,” the woman warns. Unlike the earlier chastising she spoke his name calmly, imbuing her words with enchantment magic to calm him. She was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, she knew she’d get an earful from the boy later for it but she’d rather not watch Amanda use the poor girl to kill those she loved most, or at least die trying.

Looking over at her brother, she rolled her eyes before looking back at Mary. ”Is he always like this? No wonder mother wants him gone.”

Carlisle simply sighed. This was something. "Look. I just want things to be simple and normal. My friends are in danger. I don't care about me. I don't care if I die. I just want to make sure that Lil and Miles are safe. I was even willing to go toe to toe with Salem if things went south. But thankfully I navigated that one quite well." Carlisle looked up from his hands towards Violet. " But, if you have a plan to deal with my mother that doesn't involve me killing her. Then I am all ears. Just tell me what you need."

She scrunched her nose as he continued to talk about being a martyr and she shook her head. There was no way she was going to get along with the man. Sitting back once more in her seat, she shrugged her shoulders at Carlisle. ”I just need you to not be in my way, and for nobody to so much as bat an eye when I kill Amanda.”

"Is that really necessary?” Mary asks, furrowing her brows. She wasn’t stupid, she knew that was what they’d been hinting at for a while but she’d left her feelings on the matter behind until now. Sure, her and Amanda didn’t get along even in the loosest meaning of the word but killing her felt a bit far fetched. "I’m not gonna stop you, I just need to know if we have any other options here?”

Huffing out a breath, she looked over at Mary. ”The woman knew what she was doing when she got me involved. My magic brings pain. Every bit of it.” She leaned closer to her. ”Amanda wants your son and his children dead. If I don’t do it, she’ll find someone who will.”

Mary slowly let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in. "So be it,” she drawls gravely, her eyes directing themselves on her coffee. "Do what you need to do.”

Carlisle shifted in his seat " I am still not entirely comfortable with her being killed. I had planned to create a mental prison for her, but rather than using my brain for it, using a crystal to hold it instead"

Shaking her head, she looked over at her brother. ”You didn’t see her when she was in your head. She’s just biding her time. She’s dangerous. She’ll just find someway to get out, or someway to contact someone on the outside, and the hit will still be done.”

"Well to be fair. I had to maintain that spell twice. It wasn't my best use of the spell. Using an enchanted object would make it far more secure. And if she ever wanted to escape, shattering the crystal would destroy the prison, her with it"

"I do like that crystal idea,” Mary muses. "If it’s gonna work it is better than outright killing her, just-” Leaving the second half of her sentence hanging in the air, she fixates on Carlisle, at least that’s how it appears. Really she was disassociating, her mind severing from the rest of her for a moment, as she reached in to ask her divination for answers.

Is this crystal mind palace a good idea?
Yes
Is Carlisle capable of making a strong enough crystal to contain her?
Maybe
What if he gets help from another abjurer?
Then yes
What are the chances Amanda would break out?
Very unlikely
Could she contact the outside world
No

With a sigh, Mary returns back to the real world, blinking a few times as her eyes adjust. "A crystal mental prison actually ain’t half-bad. Very unlikely for Amanda to escape, she can’t contact the outside and we avoid a murder. Just one thing, Carlisle. You can’t make this mental prison alone.”

Blinking as she looked between the two of them, she bit back a growl and sat back. She focused on a nearby wall and tried to calm her breathing. Sure, a crystal prison could work- but if Amanda ever got out? The woman would not blink at killing her daughter for turning on her. Violet bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head quickly. ”There are too many variables. We have to get rid of her. For good.”

"And what’s to say she won’t come back from the dead, cus that’s happened already this year. It seems like both bets are as safe as the other honestly.” Mary points out, taking another sip of coffee.

" If she gets out we put her back in. We did it once. And we can do it again. I wouldn't worry bout it too much." Carlisle dwelled on Mary's last sentence. "I can do it. I know I can. I just have to focus. Don't make me ask Lil for help again. Our friendship is barely holding it together as is. Asking her for help again is going to make it even worse"

She was biting the inside of her cheek she knew she was bleeding. She would have a sore there later. Violet didn’t know anything about coming back to life bit, but she also didn’t trust this crystal. Now fear was full blown in her eyes as she looked at Mary, her voice trembling slightly. ”If we do this crystal, and she gets out, she’s going to know. She’s going to know I turned into a double agent. What the hell do you think she’d do to me?!”

"Not exactly. I have a plan for that too. She won't even know you are involved, because all I need you to do is help her. It's my birthday this month. I am going to have a little party. Me, Miles and Lil will be there. Perfect time to kill us. Just help my mother plan an attack. Once she is there, I will trap her. Carlisle said with a small smile. He was confident in his plan, he knew it could work.

As Carlisle begged Mary to not get Lilith involved she narrowed her eyes at the young man, a clear indicator she wasn’t impressed with his response. A discussion for a little later when Violet had left. As Violet spoke up Mary leveled her eyes at the young woman, giving her a gentle smile. Mary shakes her head. "Not on my watch, darlin’. Say what you need, I enchanted her plans out of you or somethin’. Look, the divination doesn’t lie and it does say this is a good shot.”

Violet blinked at her brother and tilted her head. ”You want every single person she wants dead in the same room, and you want to chance her doing anything when she arrives.” Running a hand through her hair, she looked over at Mary and shook her head. ”I’m as good as dead if Amanda finds out anything.”

"She doesn’t have to. Look, the chances of her breaking out are next to nothin’ anyway. We’ll have an enchanter, maybe Miles, charm it to alert if it ever breaks so we can get to her real fast. And have a second crystal for back up. If it doesn’t work the first time we can- take the next step.”

"I can cast shield or even barrier around everyone at the party. She isn't breaking my shield. I can counterspell too. I was trained to be an anti-witch, I can contain my mother if she tries something" Carlisle said with a smile. "I might not be the flashiest or the most confident guy, but I am a council member Warlock. My specialisation… my abjuring, no one is going to be better at it than me."

She blinked and folded her arms across her chest as she looked at her brother. ”An anti witch? Actually, no. I don’t want to know.” Violet shook her head and looked between the two of them. While she had just saved Carlisle and Miles, she felt as if she just put her own head on the chopping block. She didn’t trust this plan at all. ”So, what? We’re just going to forever contain her? I’m going to be the first one she kills, you two know that, right? My head is on the line here just by speaking to the both of you.”

”Yet here you still are,” Mary muses, cocking her head slightly. ”To be honest with you Violet, I don’t even think she’ll come for you first if she gets out. Knowing Amanda, chances are she’ll go straight for Carlisle or Miles herself. I wouldn’t be for this plan if I thought there were other ways to make those boys more safe. We can get you someplace safe to stay and all that jazz. I think we have a teleporter or 2 in your generation if things go awry,”

”Someplace safe.” She snorted and rolled her eyes. Violet shook her head and looked at Carlisle. ”You said you saw my files. Did you look at my adoption papers? They were supposed to be closed, with no information available. And yet Amanda still found me.” Violet looked back at Mary. ”Nothing will stop her.”

"That is because she knew your parents. Without being leader of the Coven, she is a sad little woman who craves power and attention" Carlisle replied, looking back at Violet. "This will work. She has already fallen for the prison once. And I was in a weakened state that time"

”Right! She fell for it already! Don’t you think she’d be a little more on guard?” Violet shook her head and scoffed. ”I still say we kill her. Get it over with.”

"I don't know if I could go ahead and kill her. At least not yet. She can't guard against the spell. She would have to kill me before I cast the spell"

Violet laughed a bit and shook her head. ”Oh, good. Considering that’s exactly what she wants to do. And if we show up at the party, and I don’t kill you myself, she’s going to have questions. Questions that I don’t have the answers to ‘cause I still don’t understand why I’m on your side instead of hers.”

"Well, I was going to say, you can attack me at the party. Or perhaps Miles would be the better target as I need to be able to concentrate for the spell. Don't have to go full power, just enough to make it look painful" Carlisle replied to her.

She blinked at him and rose a brow. ”Make it look, painful? It’s going to be painful. No matter which of my powers I choose. So I think you better talk to Miles and make sure he’s willing to go along with all of this.”

"Don't worry. I will run it past him. It's fine. I can cast wards on him beforehand, make it less painful, all he has to do is act the part. Or if you really want to use me, you can" He asked back. He was unsure exactly how Violet would take it.

Violet watched him for a moment before she slowly grinned. ”She wouldn’t expect me to take Miles out in front of his mother. But you? She’d definitely be on board with me causing you some pain.”

"So would you though. You would like to see me struggle in pain. And I have got to trust you that you will stop when it is time to perform the spell?" Carlisle would say with a worried look on his face.

She rolled her eyes and nodded slightly. ”It’ll be difficult, considering how extremely annoying you are. But I’ll stop. I hate mother more than I hate you.” Violet lifted a hand and wiggled her fingers. ”Want a little taste so you know what to expect?”

”Alright,” Mary interjects softly, slowly guiding Violet’s hand back down with her own. ”Maybe let’s not right now.”

"Yeah. I am not so sure on that bit" Carlisle sighed "But I am happy to work with you to deal with mother. Even if you threatened to kill me in the past"

”Always bringing that up.” She scoffed and looked over at her brother. ”Why do you seem the type who always holds people’s past against them? You just can’t let anything go.”

"I can let things go… but threats of murder to me and my friends. Yeah. No. That takes time" Carlisle snapped back.

Violet huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes. ”Whatever. When are we doing this?”

"Well, I would say on my birthday would be the best time to do it. It presents too good of an opportunity for mother to miss. She gets to kill me on the day I am supposed to be happiest"

She groaned out and looked back over to him. ”Your birthday. Okay. Awesome.” Violet leaned forward on the table and raised a brow. ”And when is that?”

"November 22nd" He replied, running a hand through his hair.

With a slight nod, she sat back against her chair. She looked between the two. ”Gives us plenty of time to iron out a plan, but I’ll need to come up with reasons why it’s taking so long to kill all of you.”

"Say i have shielded the pair of them and I am never left alone" Carlisle said with a small nod

Violet shrugged her shoulders and nodded. ”Then do that. Amanda will check. You need to make sure you’re never by yourself, and Lilith definitely needs to be shielded during her pregnancy. Don’t just say it, but actually do it.”

”Better still, they’re too surrounded by too many people. She would want Carlisle alongside them all the time; kill 3 birds with one stone, but I doubt she wants an audience. Amanda is a lot of things but stupid isn’t one of them, the last thing she’s gonna wanna do is tussle with Claire, John and myself. Killing Miles at his job would be witnessed by 30 or so people, killing Lilith at hers would be seen but at least another witch or warlock on top of another 5 to 40 people. Carlisle’s birthday gives a good open, they're all together and all alone.”

”Fine.”She pushed her chair back and stood. ”November 22 it is. Don’t do anything to make me want to kill you before then, “ she joked. Violet nodded at Mary before looking back at Carlisle. ”Seriously, though. Stay alive and out of mother’s crosshairs.”

Carlisle simply nodded. He didn't want this meeting to go longer than it needed to be "I have enough work to keep my busy until then"

”Good.” Taking a step away from the table, she nodded her head. ”Keep an eye on that girlfriend of yours, too. If Amanda can’t get to you, she’ll find a way through you.” With another nod, she turned and walked out of the Coven house.

Mary nods the girl a farewell in return, watching as she walked to the doorway and left. Mary was glad a conclusion was come to that wasn’t an attempted bloodbath, she was not in the mood to clean blood off of the wooden floor. As Violet left the woman turns back to Carlisle. ”Don’t you run away just yet, we need to talk,” she says matter-of-factly, sipping her coffee.

Carlisle was just about to walk off, getting up off the seat when Mary spoke. Almost like a moody teenager, Carlisle let out a soft groan and felm back into the stool. "What is it we need to talk about?"

Mary couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the groan Carlisle gave her, waiting until he sat back down before continuing. ”You need to stop trying to do everything alone,” she sighs. Mary keeps her voice calm, keeping her eyes fixated on the young man. ”You have a whole coven for a reason. You’re not a leader to deal with all the problems, you’re a leader to lead everyone to fix the problems.”

"It's my job to protect everyone. That is the oath I swear. Plus I do work with others. I just draw the line at people who side with my mother and threaten to kill me, my friends and my girlfriend" Carlisle said with a soft sigh.

”Carlisle, the past two weeks I’ve watched you plan and plan alone. Your coven is good for more than running into a fight kicking and screaming. Do you even know the potential your covenmates hold? Aurora is a wise kid, smart too- she’d make a good strategist someday. Clara has good relations with people in a lot of covens and Willow is a therapist, not to mention they’re best friends; they’d be good for negotiations with other covens and keeping good relations with them. Daniel’s strong, there’s your front liner. Lucas is very easy to underestimate with his disability- good for espionage. The list goes on. It is not a reflection on you needing help with coven issues, they’re coven issues.”

"I know you are trying to say" Carlisle said in a softer sigh. "I don't mind working with others. Honestly. It's just more a case of wanting to work out what needs to be done before leaning on people"

”Then you’re using your coven wrong,” Mary says simply, taking another sip of coffee. ”You have people there who aren’t primed for fighting for whatever reason but are useful in other ways. Or what about when people get injured or start havin’ babies, they need to be good for more than cutting up wolves every few weeks. When they’re involved it give ‘em something to work toward. At the moment this coven doesn’t look like a coven, it’s a one man show with occasional hired help. That’s really not productive long term.”

"I get that. I do Mary. I need to settle into the position. I haven't even settled into the job yet" Carlsie said with a soft smile. He understood what Mary was saying. But at the same time, Carlisle was still learning and doing his best given the situation.

”I know, kiddo,” Mary responds with a sigh. She knew the poor man had a lot on his plate and for that she felt sorry for him but she didn’t want him getting caught out badly. ”This is just one of those things you need to learn early on and better you do from me than from a near death experience.”

"It's a lot to go through" Carlisle said with a short sigh "I don't think that any other coven leader has been through so much at the start of their job. I have been trying to keep control"

”I know, I know,” the woman sighs, ”But ignoring doing the one thing that’ll make your job harder is gonna cus you some trouble. Stop makin’ excuses. A simple ‘you’re right’ and ‘I’m sorry’ would go a long way.”

"I am not making excuses. It's infuriating. I am trying to help and get things done. And people keep having a go at me" Carlisle sighed.

Mary gave a deep sigh at the boy's words, it was almost as if everything she had just flown over his head. ”I know you're trying to help but you just need to slow down and assess what everyone else involved needs."

" I plan to. Honestly. I gave you the position, I need to go through everything" Carlisle sighed. It felt like he was always being attacked "Look, I know the family dinner didn't go particularly well a few weeks back, but I don't want it to hang over me like a cloud over the top of my head"

”And who said it was hangin'" Mary asks in response. A couple of moments of silence falls upon the pair before she speaks up again. ”Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you, Carlisle. You invited someone who's a potential threat to my house with only an hour's warning, you can't just do that. All you had to do was run out by me earlier. You can't treat everyone and everythin' like yours to use like that. You're gonna get yourself in trouble if you do." Her words were soft as she looked over at the young man. Part of her expected him to blow up in response.

"Look. I didn't intend to drop her on you like I did. I wanted to try and mend the gap between everyone." Carlisle wasn't going to argue with Mary anymore. He was tired. He simply slumped on the stool and sighed heavily. "Being a leader is alot of work, and it feels like everyone wants to make my life harder rather than easier."

Mary sighs once more, holding back the words on her tongue. In truth Carlisle was far from helping himself in that field but she doubted he'd listen to that reason. ”You got a good heart, kid. You've just gotta learn how to be a good leader."

"Honestly, when it comes to Violet, I would rather go twelve round with Kolby than trust her. But hey that's neither here or there" Carlisle said with a soft laugh.

”I know. I'm not saying don't be wary just- trust me on this, 'kay? I know what I'm doin'."

" I trust you. Implicitly. But I don't trust her not to stop attacking me at the party. She is going to back stab me and actually try to kill me." Carlisle sighed sitting back up in the stool " And the way things are now. I am not even sure Miles and Lil would actually step in and try to save me."

”I 'spose we'll find out," the woman muses. ”Don't think I go into these situations without being prepared. You should tell Miles and Lil though. And Carlisle, for the love of all things on this Earth, don't make this crystal alone."

"I won't. I will speak to them. This is going to be fun" With a small sigh he pulled out his phone. Opening his messenger app he sent them both the same message Can we meet at my office this afternoon… I need some help RE: my mother"

”Good. Now if you excuse me, I've got some rose bushes to dig up," Mary says, placing her mug back on the bench. She ties her hair back before making her way to the garden, humming as she leaves the scene.

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

A collab between @Hedgehawk & @SouffleGirl123
Featuring Carlisle, Mary & Miles

Carlisle was probably one of the few people in Tanner who didn't have extensive hangovers from the ceremony the night before. Though right now he was ontop of the world. The previous night had gone rather well for him, despite the fact that he was ambushed with a slew of revelations. It was all alright though. Carlisle had even managed to start dealing with them. He wanted his official leadership of the coven to start on the right foot.

He had decided that he was going to move out of the Ranch. Given the revelations from last night, he was only just going to get in the way, and himself and Lilith still weren't exactly on best friend terms still. It was making life awkward, so it was just better if he left. He drove upto the ranch and quietly slipped out of his car, locking it as he began the short walk upto the front porch. Just before he got into his stride he got a text on his phone. With a brief glance at the notification he saw it was from Miles asking him to meet at Huskers. Strange. He figured with everything going on, Carlisle would be one of the last people Miles would want to vent to. Carlisle didn't exactly have a great track record. He simply responded that he would be in his way, just had to load some stuff up from the Ranch.

Hot off her argument with Miles, Mary was still in a sour mood and was very much sure seeing her parents wouldn't help. Mary had a decent enough relationship with her parents, sure but she did straight up assault 2 people last night. She knew her actions were somewhat justified but she also knew her mother would have at least some passive aggressive words to say about the evening as if Mary was a rowdy teen rather than a 49 year old woman. She was also curious about how they felt about their only grandchild becoming a father.

As she turned the keys off in the ignition she noticed Carlisle walking toward the ranch's oak door. "Carlisle!" she greets the young man, hiding the frustration of 20 minutes or so ago. "How you holdin' up?"

Stopping his tracks he turned to face Mary with a small smile on his face. He didn't want to look too happy, it just put people off at times. "Hey Mary, didn't think you would be out here. I'm good. Better than I thought I would be given the events of the ceremony. How about you, that's more important"

"Miles gramma and pawpaw are staying in town until tomorrow, I've just come to take them out for the afternoon," she says with a warm smile, locking her car. At his question she gives a chuckle. "Now, don't you go worryin' 'bout lil old me. I'm mighty fine though," she lies. It was times like these she was glad the other person in her conversation couldn't read her thoughts and feelings, she didn't need essentially a child knowing her issues.

"And you telling me not to worry bout you is the exact reason I do Mary. Last night was, well, alot. It's okay to say that it rubbed you the wrong way, or that it has affected you in a unexpected way" Carlisle wasn't Lil, but he had a built in bullshit detector, and while it wasn't great, it was good enough to try and see through some of the masks. "Ironically, Miles just texted me to go and meet him as well"

Mary's brow furrowed slightly at his words. "I got my people, kid. Really, you got enough on your plate to be worrying about your friend's mamma," she replies. As Carlisle messaging Miles' messages she gives a nod, she was glad he was getting out of the house. Although Carlisle had come up in their fight she was sure Miles wouldn't try anything against the boy.

As they walked Mary was reminded about one of their earlier conversations. "So, I thought about your job offer."

Carlisle simply nodded. He knew Mary was a tough woman. But he worried about that at times. She was a rock to be sure, but everyone needed some help. "Mary, I know you. You are the rock for alot of us. But you can only be that rock if you are strong yourself. If you need anything, just ask. I don't care what it is, I will get it done. So anyway. The job. What do you think? Got any more questions?"

"Carlisle," Mary prods reassuringly but firmly. "You're very sweet but I got my people, 'kay? I'm not goin' 'round spilling my dramas to all you kids."

Mary had thought long and hard about the job. It was good money to be sure and she already played a role in some of those responsibilities anyway but she did enjoy her current job. The night before the realisation hit her, the 30 hours a week Carlisle was offering left more than enough time in her week, she could easily do a couple of shifts at the hospital on top of that. Mary didn't know how to slow down anyway, she could hardly remember ever taking it easy even before she was pregnant with Miles and she wasn't stopping now. "It's a really generous offer Carlisle. I'll take it as long as I won't be stepping on your, Miles or Lilith's toes."

"That is fantastic! And trust me, you won't be. Miles and Lilith are going to be away from it all for a while anyway. They have a life to build. Serena will most likely leave me alone, so I could use all the help I can get" Carlisle said with a soft smile "Plus it gets you out of the hospital and let's you enjoy life a bit more. Be there for Miles and Lil when everything kicks off proper with the triplets. Lil is going to need the help. And while I can't help directly, I can at least help the best people around her so they can help her."

Out of the hospital Carlisle didn't really think she was going to just up and leave her job did he? She shook her head, brushing that off. "When do you want me to start? I think I need to give my job a bit of notice to cut back my hours."

"I am in no rush. So if you need to give them notice, just let them know and let me know when you can start. Simples" Carlisle was glad that Mary had decided to take the job. He needed someone he could trust to look after the household, he was going to have way more stress in his life, and worrying about if the cupboards were stocked was at least another weight off his shoulders.

---

Miles had set himself up at Huskers only half an hour or so after messaging his friend. Carlisle had told him he had to stop by the Ranch first so Miles went ahead and got them a seat at a booth. Cradling his beer in his hand, his eyes became fixated on the wooden table. Miles wasn’t quite sure what had him more shaken at this point. The prior night or the fight he’d just had with his mother. He also couldn’t help but wonder what Carlisle needed to go to the ranch so badly for. On second thought, Miles was reminded it was Carlisle’s official home, maybe he was overthinking it all.

The thoughts of the ranch reminded him of Lilith, he should probably touch base with her. Miles was trying to get into the habits of the routine good morning and good night texts but the days always escaped him. He pulled out his phone, sending a quick message asking how she’s feeling and offering to go over to the ranch later before the weekly family dinner. He figured it'd be worth giving his ma some more space. With a sigh he dropped his phone back on the table before taking another sip of beer.

After finishing up his business in the ranch, Carlisle briefly dropped the car back at the coven and walked over to Huskers. Entering the bar he had a quick look around and saw Miles in one of the corner booths. He was shocked that Miles wasn't at the bar directly. Sliding on across, Carlisle slid into the booth, with a small smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling? Or is that a bit of a loaded question" Carlisle said with a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

”Loaded question is putting it lightly,” Miles replies with a sigh. He was curious if Carlisle would let up his knowledge on Lilith’s pregnancy on his own. ”Ma and I had a fight,” he adds on, taking another sip out of the bottle.

Sitting down comfortably, Carlisle shifted in his seat as he listened to Miles. He felt sorry for the lad. While Carlisle had an interesting night, Miles had it far, far worse.

"What? After everything last night. What the heck did you two fight about?" Carlisle asked, looking towards him.

”I don’t know, Carlisle,” Miles sighs looking back at his friend. ”Everything and nothing. I guess we’re both a bit on edge. I’m curious about what you mean by everything though?”

"Well, you know with the whole father thing and Lil and the triplets" Carlisle spoke, leaning back into the leather booth and placing his hands on the edge, his eyes looking directly at Miles. Why did he get a feeling he just stepped into it?

If Miles was being honest, he didn’t expect Carlisle to give up his knowledge on the situation so freely. He fully expected Carlisle to tell him, yes, but more as a half stumbled, accidental slip of the tongue. Miles sighed. Part of him wanted to slam his fists on the table and demand answers but he didn’t have the energy, not to mention that aggression had got him nowhere today. ”Yeah, I thought you knew about Lilith. Who told you?” He was awaiting the response, so sure he knew the answer.

"I actually can't fully remember who said what. There was alot of conversations last night. But I kind of worked it out after everything people were saying." Carlisle scratched his head, trying to think about where exactly he had heard everything. "I mean, Your father, the triplets, Violet, my mother being herself. It's enough to make you bang your head on the table"

Miles was taken aback by it all. He was fully expecting Carlisle to tell him his mother had clued him in but the fact Carlisle knew it was triplets took away the last of the suspicions he had. Mary had known there was a baby, yes, but it was after the party she was informed on how many there were. Part of him felt bad for that fight earlier with her, or at least some of the rage that came with it. Seems he owed her part of an apology later. ”I’m not quite sure what it makes me want to do. It’s just a bit too much, y’know?”

"Tell me about it. When I found out, we were talking with Salem. She wasn't happy by the looks of it. Once she figured out that Aloysius was your father… Well, things got a little tense" Carlisle knew that things were getting a little tense for Miles. Alot of stuff was going on. "Well, all we can do is just move forward and figure it out as we go along"

”Yeah,” Miles chuckles sourly. ”How am I supposed to be a dad? I mean Lil, she’ll be fine but we don’t really have many paternal examples between us and I’m, y’know, me.”

"You would be surprised at how many people say that and then actually turn out to be pretty damn good. I mean, to start with, you are going to be here, which is a massive improvement compared to how you and Lil were raised" Carlisle said, trying to cheer him up

”Pretty low bar to have,” Miles points out, pointing his beer in his friend’s direction before taking a swig. He grabs a napkin at the table and starts picking at it to keep his hands busy. Honestly Miles didn’t really know how to feel about Lil being pregnant. He was sure he’d cycled through every emotion under the sun over it in the past 12 hours. How was he meant to feel? Maybe if he knew the answer to that question it’d be easier for him to process it all emotionally.

”I guess I’ll be moving into the ranch when grandpa John isn’t so hot on my case. I would say we could be bunk buddies but I think he might actually live with me having a place in Lilith’s bed after this little stunt,” he muses, attempting to lighten the mood. Any hiding of his own emotions was a happy side effect.

"Well, if it is any help, I am moving out of the Ranch, that was why I was up there this morning. I am going to move into the household proper. Mostly because I am afraid that if I don't stay there all the time, Violet and my mother might actually start moving in" Carlisle could tell that Miles was trying to mask his emotions, but Carlisle wasn't always the best at wording sympathy.

Miles’ brow furrows at Carlisle’s comment. So caught up in his own issues he almost forgot about Carlisle’s sister showing up out of the blue. ”Oh yeah, how's that going, man?” he asks.

"I honestly couldn't say. Kicked them out of the party towards the end. Who knows what she is upto." Carlisle was nervous about Violet being in town, but right now, he had bigger issues to deal with and people to support. He could deal with her later. " Tell me how you really feel. Without masking it"

Miles shrugs at his friend's question, draining his beer bottle. He really wasn’t one for introspecting feelings or D&Ms with his friends. His flowery language and charming smile often covered up a lot of suppressed emotions. Seemed he and his mother had some things in common after all. The constant stream of alcohol seemed to help with that too. ”I don’t know, man. Like, really, I don’t know. I think I’ve felt every single emotion I’m capable of about it.”

"I mean it's alot to process. Finding out you are a Magi as well. Damn. I am sorry. You had so much happen last night" Carlisle let out a sigh and called a waitress over to get a new beer for Miles.

”I think the fact my ma knew and lied to me about it hurts more than the whole being magi thing.” Miles admits. Nodding in appreciation to his friend as he orders him another beer. ”I just… I don’t really have any control over my life anymore, y’know? Turns out I was trained wrong for my power type, my pa won’t leave my ma alone and for the next 8 months there’s really nothing I can do for Lil and these kids except watching her go through the whole pregnancy thing, y’know?”

"Well that strictly isn't true. Lil is going to rely on you to be her support for the next 8 months. She is going to want you there to look after her and reassure her. As for your Father and power type, well, I don't have a solution to that. But I think Salem might be the deciding factor on whether or not he stays" Sliding the newly arrived beer towards Miles once it arrives.

”Thanks,” Miles says, swiping the beer from the table and taking another drink. ”I think she’s gonna have a say on a lot more than that. Called the babies an ‘issue’ to Lilith according to her. I don’t know much about her but with what I do I’d be surprised if she let us get away with having them.”

"You don't have to worry. It's been sorted. Salem won't be an issue for you or Lilith. Nor will other Magi. I have made sure of it" Carlisle said, his tone lowering somewhat. The talk last night went well, but Carlisle knew that Salem could be temperamental and unpredictable. He was just thankful nothing kicked off last night. "As for the other coven leaders round the world. Leave that one to me"

”We could just keep this hush hush. I don’t need the whole magi world knowing I’m Aloysius Leighton’s son. Would hate nothing more honestly. As far as they all need to know, I’m a Price and nothing more.”

"Salem is going to keep a lid on it, but you know how people gossip. But to me, you will always be a price. Forever and always"

”The bastard had the audacity to call me ‘son’ as if he was around long enough to be seen as any more than a sperm donor,” Miles grunts, taking a swig of his beer. ”I want nothing to do with him or this whole magi world, I don’t care how high and mighty his name is in the magi world. I hope he has a sibling or something to take over ‘cus as far as I’m concerned the Leighton name ended with him.”

"Yeah, everything is complicated on life. I don't know much about the Magi war as I should, but Salem seemed to suggest they had a complicated history. I am guessing he is just lost. The impression I got was that he didn't want to leave. Shock horror, turns out it was all my Ma's fault again. If she hadn't got involved, your father would be here" Carlisle sighed. Why was it always his mother that was responsible for ruining people's lives?

Miles gave an exasperated sigh. Why was everyone so willing to see his father as a ‘good man’? That fact that he had a reason to run told Miles enough. ”Don’t tell me you’re defending him to.” he responds, his voice low and sharp. It seemed no one appreciated the damage the man had caused. ”Is he also an enchantment magi? Cus the way everyone’s wrapping themselves around his pinky finger and making him out to be the good guy is suspicious.”

"I am not defending him. Not at all. And he certainly isn't a good guy. Not the stories I heard anyway. He caused damage. But things in life are rarely clear cut and black and white" Carlisle said with a soft smile. He didn't want to dismiss Miles thoughts, but deep down he was thinking that Miles was being a little bit too dismissive.

Miles scoffs, leaning back into his seat. ”This is ridiculous,” he complains. ”First my ma, now you, maybe when I see Lilith tonight she’ll tell me if we have a son she wants to name him Leighton and let Al be called pawpaw!” As he spoke his voice had become louder and louder. He couldn’t understand why after 25 years everyone had decided a man who lied about himself then disappeared without a word had the right to enter Miles’ life or walk right back into his mother’s.

"Miles, no one is saying that you should name your children after him. Not at all. I am not even saying you should hang around with him. But, all I am suggesting… And this might wind you up, but I think you should at least hear his side of the story" Carlisle knew he was about to get a mouthful from Miles, but someone had to say it.

Miles could feel himself becoming more and more mad as his friend spoke. ”Look,” he growls. ”I’m glad that you got to see that friend’s doting mother who hid you away when your ma was pushing your buttons but you don’t know what our lives were really like. Hell, I don’t even know what her life was like fully but even with her masking as much as she I saw her struggle. You didn’t have family friends finding ways to help out sneakily because your ma’s as stubborn as they come but it’s too obvious she’s struggling. And most of all, maybe I don’t want him to be a dad now because, quite simply, he wasn’t there. Purposefully, maliciously or not, he never acted as a father to me so why should I pretend he is now?”

"Again, I am not saying that you should let him be a father, or even pretend that he is. All I am saying is at least let him say his piece. He clearly wants to say something. Let him clear his mind and he could move on."

Miles shook his head once more, boiling anger seemed to burn behind his eyes. ”Well I have 25 damn years of somethings. You know what, maybe he shouldn’t move on, Carlisle. Because maybe he deserves to feel that guilt, at least he’ll understand a fraction of the pain he caused my ma and me!” As Miles talks he stands up, banging his fists on the table and leaning over them.

"I get it. But at the end of the day it's your choice and no one can blame you for what you want to do. We can only say what we would do in your situation. I personally would just speak to him so you can understand your powers a little more. I mean, Magi level enchantment. That's some pretty crazy strength right there" Carlisle leaned back as Miles stood up and leaned in, only Carlisle was blocked by the booth seating.

”There’s other magi. And honestly, maybe I’m just fine with the power level I have right now.” Miles mumbles, his voice growing considerably quieter.

Carlisle gave off a small sigh, looking over at Miles as he gave a glare to a couple of people who were watching. "I honestly thought that Lil having triplets, and Salem would have been the things that irked you more than your father if I am being totally honest with you Miles."

”Are you trying to start something, Carlisle?” Miles asks forebodingly. Honestly, Miles had wanted to meet up with his friend and update him on his life, tell him about his future children and all that. He didn’t intend on starting a fight but Carlisle was pissing him off. Everything was pissing him off. ”It’s all irking me, you’re just not rubbing my kids or Salem in my face right now.”

"No but Miles Price, you need to get a grip" Carlsie said as he stood up a bit himself, showing that he wasn't about to let Miles scare him into submission. "You had a shittynight last. I get it. We both had some fucking bad stuff happen last night. While you were finding out about your kids, I had to go and stop a fucking war from starting. I had to make sure both you, Lil and your children were going to be safe. I had to go into the conversation, knowing that if it went south, I was willing to fight to the death to make sure you were safe." This voice of Carlisle's wasn't his normal wimpy voice. This had some anger, frustration and authority behind it.

" I didn't go through all that, so you could just be edgy and Emo over your father. Yes. He is a dick. You want him gone, I will have him back in Salems arms tomorrow. But you have a whole new life to enjoy and spend with Lil. Don't waste your time over the small things, cause you have far bigger fish to fry."

If this were any other situation Miles might have been proud of Carlisle’s assertiveness but unfortunately this was not one of those situations. ”And I didn’t ask you to do that!” Miles spits back angrily. He takes another swig of his beer before slamming the bottle back on the table with a loud thud. ”You know what Carlisle? You’re a bad friend. You just jump in and do something ‘in my honour’ or whatever that I never asked you to do then you get a big head about it! Whenever I defended you against Zach or any of those other guys did I go around reminding you of what a great friend I am for doing that for you? No. I did it because you’re my friend and I care about you, not because I wanted to pose some ‘high and mighty better than thou’ image that you want to. I don’t think you even do those things because you’re my friend, I think you do them to prove how much better you are than me! Fine! You, Carlisle Aston, are more powerful and brave and considerate than me. Happy now? Got what you want?”

Carlisle looked over at Miles as he spoke, looking hurt. Once again everyone locked in on the fact that he was doing all this because he wanted to look good. When it wasn't the case. "I did want I did because I wanted to protect you. I wanted to protect you because you are my friend. Trust me. If I wanted to, I could have offered you and Lil to Salem and walk away from the whole thing. Carlisle wiped his eye a little bit, the tough man facade cracking slightly.

"I don't want recognition Miles. I just didn't want my friends to be the firing line. And if that meant I had to be, then so be it. Thankfully it never came to that. Thankfully it was resolved peacefully. I never wanted to prove I am better than anyone. You have known me for a long time, proving myself kinda isn't my thing."

”So why are you out here making a big deal about it, hm?” Miles asks, his eyes leveling at his friend’s. Carlisle might have been breaking but Miles was not backing down. ”I’ve just had the most overwhelming 24 hours of my life and all you can do is just gather intel and talk about why you are oh-so-good. For once can’t you just feel bad for me or something?”

"Of course I fucking feel bad for Miles. I didn't think it needed saying out loud!" Carlisle barked at Miles, clearly getting wound up. "That's why I did what I did. Not for fucking recognition, but because I could see how bad things were getting and wanted to take the pressure off you. But apparently I am a bad friend for actually doing that. So in all honesty Miles, I don't know why I try. It seems that no matter what I do, people seem to think I make bad decisions"

”The problem, Carlisle, is you stick your nose into issues it doesn’t belong in. You try and fix things it’s not your time or place to fix. In a weird way you start controlling our lives and the earth knows I have so little control over my life already. For once in your life just be a friend rather than a participant.”

"Miles, I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't spoken to Salem, she could have just attacked you or Lil. No warning. Nothing. You would have died. Plus, like it or not, I do have a responsibility as Coven leader to protect everyone. What annoys me is your locking onto the wrong thing here." Carlisle let out a frustrated sigh, lowering his head and his arms to yield to Miles. Clearly he wasn't going to get through to him, no matter what he said. "You do what you think is right Miles. You always do" Carlisle said as he slid back into the booth.

”And what should I be locking into? I get mad at my dad and I shouldn’t be, I get mad that you’ve had this massive stake in Lil and my children’s lives and thrown it in my face and it's also the wrong thing? What’s next? Wanna tell me off for fighting with my ma? Or you wanna find a way to get me mad at Lil and ruin that relationship too? You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Miles leans back to stand upright, no longer in Carlisle’s face but he doesn’t sit.

"No, what I was going to say was that you should be locking onto the fact that you are going to be a father and you are going to have a great relationship with Lil. That's what is important. Fuck everything else." Carlisle waved his hand dismissively. Miles was alot of work at the moment. Clearly he was so enraged that anything Carlisle said seemed to enrage him further. " Honestly, I don't care about ruining you and Lil. I have no need to. I hadn't told you yet, but I found out my mother had been enchanting me to fall in love with Lil. That's why we had been best friends for two years and then all of the sudden, bam! I fall in love with her." Carlisle was waiting for Miles to blow up again. " Sides, I have Willow. And it's going fantastic"

”Well I’m glad your life is going so well,” Miles mumbles, falling into his chair. He was exhausted. Between the party and the fight with his mum and this he was worn out. He knew next he’d go to the ranch where he’d have to put on a brave face for Lilith that his enchantment will only convince her is real for a solid few minutes. He gave an exasperated sigh before echoing ”So happy for you,” as he swirled the rest of the beer in the glass bottle.

"Look, I know things seem overwhelming now but they will level out. You and Lil will make great parents. Honestly. It's a learning experience. You will make mistakes but you will also learn to love it. I can see you being a great father."

”That makes one of us,” the man muses, his eyes remaining locked on the bottle and away from his friend. He couldn’t bear to meet Carlisle’s eyes at the moment.

" It will be fine, you will be surrounded by people that love you and want to look after you. Don't be like your mother and not ask for help. There are plenty of people who will happily give it"

”Mm-hm,” he muses, downing the rest of the bottle before tossing it between his hands. His eyes remained fixated on the bottle. It was evident he had been disassociating from their conversation. ”We’ll be fine.”

"Of course you will be fine. You are Miles Price. If the babies ever get out of hand just use enchantment on them to make them suck their thumb or something. Parenting on easy mode"

He chuckles slightly at Carlisle’s words, placing the bottle back on the table softly. ”If enchantment made child raising that easy my ma would have a lot less gray hairs.”

"Yeah that is true. Look. Sorry if I sounded like a dick, but I wasn't trying to be. I don't care about glory or being better. I just want to see my Friends alive so I can grow old with them" Carlisle said with a sigh, his mind going back to the conversation with Salem. "The upshot is, you have nothing to worry bout. No one will no you are a Leighton and even if they did, they would get put in line"

Miles leant back into his seat with a sigh. ”Look, I appreciate your concern, Car, you know I do. Just, maybe touch base before you have a conversation that might impact my or my family’s lives… please?” he asks softly, meeting his friend's eyes this time. He was hoping to not set the man off again but had some magical calming on standby for if he did.

"I wish I could have. Lil didn't know and neither did you. Couldn't exactly have just walked upto you and said 'Hey, Lil is pregnant and by the way you might be killed' could I? I was hoping to keep it all quiet so neither of you would have to know. These babies are going to be the first ever children of both Council witch members and Magi great families. Everyone is terrified of what the result might look like." Carlisle sighed. He knew that Miles wouldn't exactly understand where or why he did what he did. But he knew that he made the right choice regardless.

”I’m honestly more scared about what a combination of Lil and I is gonna look like. Can you imagine a Montgomery woman with my penchant for debauchery? And we’re having 3 kids at once. Sounds like Lil and I are asking for trouble at this point.” he chuckles slightly trying to lighten the mood. While Carlisle did have a point Miles couldn’t help the hurt that tugged at him. ”This wasn’t how this was meant to go. I mean, kids were never part of our plan, even when we were in high school, but it shouldn’t have been like this. We were meant together longer before this happened. And be living together, maybe in our own place. I should have been the first to know. I should have come home from work to, like, baby boots on the counter or something dumb like that cus as much as she won’t admit Lil gets a kick out of cheesy things like that. And I should have known before everyone else we love.” Miles sighs once more, sinking into his seat. ”But life can’t be that simple, can it?”

"Sadly you and Lil are special in that regard. No one blames you. Well. Except my mother. She thinks you are a curse send by Satan to ruin her life. But everyone else understands these things happen. Most of us are conceived by accident, they all talk about planned parenthood, but it never works like that" Carlisle ran his hands along the table. At least it seems like Miles had calmed down. "Trust me. I didn't wanna know. I would have preferred you know. I had to keep my mouth shut while we talking before Violet"

Miles gives Carlisle a forced tight-lipped smile. ”I ‘spose you’re right. The Price and Montgomery special it seems.” His hands move to tear at the napkin he’d been toying with either in their conversation. ”I never really understood how much your mum hated me. Like, why is a woman in her 40s beefing with a middle-schooler, y’know?”

"Well ironically, your father coming back finally gave me the final piece of the puzzle. She dislikes you because she wanted your father and her to get together. She wanted to do what you and Lil have done and mix bloods, but deliberately. Your father apparently turned her down repeatedly, saying he was in love with your Ma' and that was that. So out of jealously my mother called Salem and revealed where he was hiding. You are a reminder of what she should of had. I am a reminder of the failure she got instead" It was a strange duality the pair inhibited. Both were held in such disdain by his mother. "Us becoming friends was the thing that broke her I guess."

”Ha!” Miles retorts with a snort. ”Could you imagine your ma having me for a son? Reckon she might have had a heart attack. Honestly, Car, my ma probably deserved a son like you. Sometimes I wonder if she wished I were you or Lil instead.” That was something Miles had never confessed before. He knew he wasn’t the easiest child, he also knew his friends both held more restraint, respect and a better temperament. He knew if he ever asked his mum she’d adamantly deny it and go on her usual spiels on how lucky she was to have him and how his trouble made her life more fun sometimes but he was sure at least some part of those statements were covers.

"Nah, I have alot of issues, trust me" Carlisle started, stopping himself before it turned into a therapy session. "But that's my mother for you. She had no qualms about splitting your mother and father up because she couldn't get her own way. During the party she even laughed about it. If you asked her about it, she would probably gloat, even after Mary and Salem hit her."

”Hmm,” Miles muses thoughtfully. Maybe this is what Carlisle meant by listening to his father’s story. Regardless, Miles wasn’t open to knowing more. Nothing changed the fact the man hadn’t even tried to see them once. ”Not something I feel strong enough about to hit her over, honestly. I’m sure my ma would all over again though. Apparently they’ve always had issues.

Carlisle gave off a soft sigh. He supposed he better come clean about something else. "So I was clearing out mothers office last week. Moving in properly. All the usual boring stuff. Finally got access to the safe the day before the party. She hadn't told me the code. I had to get it broken into just to see what was inside" Carlisle shifted in his seat. He knew what he was about to say, would possibly, trigger Miles again. "You know you said he never tried to be a father, or be in touch… Turns out he tried. Alot. I was clearing the safe out and well. My mother has been intercepting every single letter he ever sent and hiding it. From what I gather, he kept sending money too. Not sure whether she actually gave it to your Ma or not…. I didn't read them all. Only a couple to see what they were about."

Carlisle’s news caught Miles off guard, something that was obvious by the state of shock on his face. He was conflicted. Part of him was still stuck on the fact he never had connection with his dad, he knew part of him would be stuck with that forever no matter what the man’s excuse was, but a bit of logic called out to counteract those feelings of abandonment from his dad. He wasn’t fully convinced by them, not at all, but there was undeniable physical proof. ”I- What did they say? Actually, do I want to know? I don’t want to read a bunch of cheesy love letters to my ma.”

"They aren't cheesy love letters at all. They are the musings of a man desperate to get back to the person he loved and to see his baby." Carlisle let out a long sigh. He had read more of them than he let on. "He kept trying and trying to return to Tanner, but Salem was having none of it. He kept your existence quiet as well, scared that Salem would have you killed if she discovered the Leighton line had carried on. I.. It's heartbreaking. You can see how much he loved your Ma' but because he was never getting responses back, he assumed that your Ma' hated his guts."

”I can’t see ‘musings of a man desperate to get back to the person he loved’ not being cheesy but sure” Miles replies with a sigh. ”In all fairness, I think she did hate his guts, not that she would have told me that. I would have wanted to see her side of the story too. It sucks that Al’s heart broke for us but she walked through hell and back to keep me alive and I probably don’t know the half of it. Guess I will soon.” Miles sighs, trying to process it all. ”You don’t have them on you by any chance do you? My ma would want to see them. And before you ask, I’m not gonna hide them from her or anything to keep her away from him. She’d catch me out real quick.”

"Well…" Carlisle reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded letter, the paper looking a little old and worse for wear. "This is only the first one. The rest are still in the office. There is alot of them. Try one every fortnight for twenty five years" Carlisle slid the piece of paper across the table to let Miles read it.

Miles slid the rest of the paper closer to him but he didn’t dare look at it. ”He never stopped? How much can someone write after the hundredth?”

"The last one arrived last week. I found it strange that a letter for Mary's address ended up in the coven office post. I just never got around to handing it to Mary. I guess he never gave up hope" Carlisle concluded

Miles sighed. He lifted up the letter and turned it in his hands. ”I- I don’t think I’m ready for this Car. Not here, not now. So much in my life is changing. As bad as it sounds, my da being a scumbag who abandoned me was a constant, and I don’t know how many more constants I can lose.”

"You don't need to read it now. You can read it whenever you like. I have the rest in my office if you ever wanna go through the rest. I couldn't really decide whether to give them to you or your mother" Carlisle tried to force a smile. He felt sorry for Miles, he truly did. But he kind of hoped that Miles would at least listen to what his father had to say before dismissing him.

”You should give them to her," Miles replies, handing back the letter. ”All of them. I don't need clarity, not now. My issue is my pa was never present, no matter what that paper says doesn't suddenly mean he was but my ma…" Miles falls silent a moment. Speaking anything hopeful about the man felt odd on his tongue. ”The man she loved ran away from her. This letter changes her outcome a bit more than mine." More so than talking about Al without flames of anger boiling inside of him it was odd talking about his ma loving a man. He'd never seen her date, never seen her be in love. If he thought hard enough he never saw her make any new friends beyond new coven members, Miles' friends' parents and workmates. It stung a bit, knowing the extent of what she missed out for him.

Carlisle picked the letter back up and slid into his jacket pocket once more. "Understandable. I will let Mary know. In fact I might drop them off later so it is out of the way. Carlisle looked over at Miles and could see his confused and somewhat silent demeanor. " As I said before, life is rarely black and white. It's messy and convoluted for silly reasons. That's why we have to have each others backs. Sometimes that means taking a blind leap of faith, others it means trusting others to do things even if you have no say in it. It works on occasions, on others it doesn't. That's life. You can't beat yourself up for things that are way out of your control man"

”It just all feels out of control though," Miles muses, rubbing the napkin between his thumbs and forefingers. ”Guess it's kinda fitting for me, huh? Play fast and loose and not get any control."

"Control is a state of mind. It will come to you once you take it. Yes the events that have happened to you have been random, but what happens next is in your court. You have the power now to change things" Carlisle said with a small smile as he watched Miles play around.

”In what way. My ma and Salem will dictate what happens with Al and Lil and Salem will the kids." Miles couldn't help but chuckle slightly as a realization hit him. ”Seems like Salem has more control over my life than me. Is this what being a magi means?"

"That's not strictly true Miles, you have me in your corner. If you want Al gone, I can banish him. Simples. Salem isn't going to get involved with the kids. I basically took all responsibility for it. If it goes wrong, it's on my head with the Magi. So you are able to do whatever you want" Carlisle gave a weak smile. Being a leader means having to protect everyone under you, and while Amanda was never going to do that, Carilse was going to make a point of making sure he did.

”Car," Miles sighs. He didn't want to set his friend off again but was sure his next comment may. ”I need you to remember that Lilith's babies are mine. I get you're the big strong leader and all that but the sacrificing and life dictating and all that, that's my place. Not yours."

" Normally I would agree with you. However these babies are bigger than both of us. They could start a war if we aren't careful. I bought us time, but we still are walking on eggshells." Carlisle might have sounded a little clinical and harsh, but it was the truth. These babies could end up starting a whole war between Witches and Magi if things went awry. While it was unlikely to happen at the moment, Carlisle had the responsibility of making sure it never got to that point.

Miles remains silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. Carlisle had a point but Miles didn't want him overstepping in his family's life. Maybe knowing Carlisle wanted Lilith so badly a month ago made Miles more paranoid and protective than he needed to be? ”We just need some sort of boundary rules. I know what you're like Carlisle, you go overboard and while I get that you have a duty to the coven I need to be allowed to be their dad."

”I don’t want to get involved in parenting Miles. They are your kids. I have done most of my work already. I will be mostly in the background. As long as they don’t grow up to be teenage superpowered demons, I think we are all good” Carlisle said with a small chuckle.

Miles chuckles in response. ”Well watch this space, who knows what Lil and I will produce but I get the feeling they’re gonna be a handful.”

”Well I will keep everyone off your backs so you can all live a good life. Worst case I will just reinforce the barrier and we can just tank it all out ” Carlisle looked over at Miles with a smile. ”I don’t think anything will happen. I am sure Salem won’t kick up a fuss, and if she does, she has to bring it up with me, so you and Lil are unaffected.”

”Just promise me that if there’s any running into the fray to protect these kids you bring me with you? If at any point those negotiations go wrong or a fight’s gonna happen, you call me. ‘Kay?”

”If something kicks off like that, I won’t be around to call you in, then it will be upto you and Lil to carry on. But you and Lil will always be in the loop. I am trying to foster a good relationship with the Magi, mostly so things don’t go wrong. I know it isn’t your fault, and no one is blaming you or Lil. None of you were to know. We just have to be a little delicate.” Carlisle nodded and looked over at Miles. He knew Miles would want to get involved, but these kids needed their father, he wasn’t about to let them become fatherless like the current generation.

Miles sighs once more, eying the napkin now torn to shreds. This wasn’t what he wanted. If Lil had changed her mind and decided she did want to try for a kid he didn’t think it’d become this convoluted. ”I don’t really know who is to blame anymore.” he muses.

”If you want someone to blame, blame my mother. She was responsible for all of this. By keeping everyone apart for her own gain caused all of these issues” Carlisle sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration.

”Won’t say no to blaming your ma but I don’t know if she’s the only one to blame.” Miles sinks deeper into his seat. ”Talking about mas, I should go and check in on Lilith. I haven’t seen her since last night.”

”No one else is really to blame. Really. Everyone else did what they thought was best. My mother however didn’t. She did things out of spite and for personal gain” Carlisle was furious at his own mother. She had caused so much damage to Tanner. ”Well, I would say it would be wise to check up on her. She needs you. Only you can help her through this. She needs you. I will go see your mother, and drop these letters off. I feel uncomfortable holding onto these”

”Sounds like a plan,” Miles replies, standing up and swinging a hand to clap Carlisle’s. ”I’m sure I’ll see you soon enough. Thanks man. And sorry for snapping earlier.”

”It is fine. Everything is new and tense right now.” Carlisle said as he got up and clapped Miles' hand. ”In totally different news, Me and Willow slept together last night.” Carlisle said with a chuckle.

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

A collab between @Hedgehawk & @SouffleGirl123
Featuring Carlisle, Mary & Miles

Carlisle was probably one of the few people in Tanner who didn't have extensive hangovers from the ceremony the night before. Though right now he was ontop of the world. The previous night had gone rather well for him, despite the fact that he was ambushed with a slew of revelations. It was all alright though. Carlisle had even managed to start dealing with them. He wanted his official leadership of the coven to start on the right foot.

He had decided that he was going to move out of the Ranch. Given the revelations from last night, he was only just going to get in the way, and himself and Lilith still weren't exactly on best friend terms still. It was making life awkward, so it was just better if he left. He drove upto the ranch and quietly slipped out of his car, locking it as he began the short walk upto the front porch. Just before he got into his stride he got a text on his phone. With a brief glance at the notification he saw it was from Miles asking him to meet at Huskers. Strange. He figured with everything going on, Carlisle would be one of the last people Miles would want to vent to. Carlisle didn't exactly have a great track record. He simply responded that he would be in his way, just had to load some stuff up from the Ranch.

Hot off her argument with Miles, Mary was still in a sour mood and was very much sure seeing her parents wouldn't help. Mary had a decent enough relationship with her parents, sure but she did straight up assault 2 people last night. She knew her actions were somewhat justified but she also knew her mother would have at least some passive aggressive words to say about the evening as if Mary was a rowdy teen rather than a 49 year old woman. She was also curious about how they felt about their only grandchild becoming a father.

As she turned the keys off in the ignition she noticed Carlisle walking toward the ranch's oak door. "Carlisle!" she greets the young man, hiding the frustration of 20 minutes or so ago. "How you holdin' up?"

Stopping his tracks he turned to face Mary with a small smile on his face. He didn't want to look too happy, it just put people off at times. "Hey Mary, didn't think you would be out here. I'm good. Better than I thought I would be given the events of the ceremony. How about you, that's more important"

"Miles gramma and pawpaw are staying in town until tomorrow, I've just come to take them out for the afternoon," she says with a warm smile, locking her car. At his question she gives a chuckle. "Now, don't you go worryin' 'bout lil old me. I'm mighty fine though," she lies. It was times like these she was glad the other person in her conversation couldn't read her thoughts and feelings, she didn't need essentially a child knowing her issues.

"And you telling me not to worry bout you is the exact reason I do Mary. Last night was, well, alot. It's okay to say that it rubbed you the wrong way, or that it has affected you in a unexpected way" Carlisle wasn't Lil, but he had a built in bullshit detector, and while it wasn't great, it was good enough to try and see through some of the masks. "Ironically, Miles just texted me to go and meet him as well"

Mary's brow furrowed slightly at his words. "I got my people, kid. Really, you got enough on your plate to be worrying about your friend's mamma," she replies. As Carlisle messaging Miles' messages she gives a nod, she was glad he was getting out of the house. Although Carlisle had come up in their fight she was sure Miles wouldn't try anything against the boy.

As they walked Mary was reminded about one of their earlier conversations. "So, I thought about your job offer."

Carlisle simply nodded. He knew Mary was a tough woman. But he worried about that at times. She was a rock to be sure, but everyone needed some help. "Mary, I know you. You are the rock for alot of us. But you can only be that rock if you are strong yourself. If you need anything, just ask. I don't care what it is, I will get it done. So anyway. The job. What do you think? Got any more questions?"

"Carlisle," Mary prods reassuringly but firmly. "You're very sweet but I got my people, 'kay? I'm not goin' 'round spilling my dramas to all you kids."

Mary had thought long and hard about the job. It was good money to be sure and she already played a role in some of those responsibilities anyway but she did enjoy her current job. The night before the realisation hit her, the 30 hours a week Carlisle was offering left more than enough time in her week, she could easily do a couple of shifts at the hospital on top of that. Mary didn't know how to slow down anyway, she could hardly remember ever taking it easy even before she was pregnant with Miles and she wasn't stopping now. "It's a really generous offer Carlisle. I'll take it as long as I won't be stepping on your, Miles or Lilith's toes."

"That is fantastic! And trust me, you won't be. Miles and Lilith are going to be away from it all for a while anyway. They have a life to build. Serena will most likely leave me alone, so I could use all the help I can get" Carlisle said with a soft smile "Plus it gets you out of the hospital and let's you enjoy life a bit more. Be there for Miles and Lil when everything kicks off proper with the triplets. Lil is going to need the help. And while I can't help directly, I can at least help the best people around her so they can help her."

Out of the hospital Carlisle didn't really think she was going to just up and leave her job did he? She shook her head, brushing that off. "When do you want me to start? I think I need to give my job a bit of notice to cut back my hours."

"I am in no rush. So if you need to give them notice, just let them know and let me know when you can start. Simples" Carlisle was glad that Mary had decided to take the job. He needed someone he could trust to look after the household, he was going to have way more stress in his life, and worrying about if the cupboards were stocked was at least another weight off his shoulders.

---

Miles had set himself up at Huskers only half an hour or so after messaging his friend. Carlisle had told him he had to stop by the Ranch first so Miles went ahead and got them a seat at a booth. Cradling his beer in his hand, his eyes became fixated on the wooden table. Miles wasn’t quite sure what had him more shaken at this point. The prior night or the fight he’d just had with his mother. He also couldn’t help but wonder what Carlisle needed to go to the ranch so badly for. On second thought, Miles was reminded it was Carlisle’s official home, maybe he was overthinking it all.

The thoughts of the ranch reminded him of Lilith, he should probably touch base with her. Miles was trying to get into the habits of the routine good morning and good night texts but the days always escaped him. He pulled out his phone, sending a quick message asking how she’s feeling and offering to go over to the ranch later before the weekly family dinner. He figured it'd be worth giving his ma some more space. With a sigh he dropped his phone back on the table before taking another sip of beer.

After finishing up his business in the ranch, Carlisle briefly dropped the car back at the coven and walked over to Huskers. Entering the bar he had a quick look around and saw Miles in one of the corner booths. He was shocked that Miles wasn't at the bar directly. Sliding on across, Carlisle slid into the booth, with a small smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling? Or is that a bit of a loaded question" Carlisle said with a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

”Loaded question is putting it lightly,” Miles replies with a sigh. He was curious if Carlisle would let up his knowledge on Lilith’s pregnancy on his own. ”Ma and I had a fight,” he adds on, taking another sip out of the bottle.

Sitting down comfortably, Carlisle shifted in his seat as he listened to Miles. He felt sorry for the lad. While Carlisle had an interesting night, Miles had it far, far worse.

"What? After everything last night. What the heck did you two fight about?" Carlisle asked, looking towards him.

”I don’t know, Carlisle,” Miles sighs looking back at his friend. ”Everything and nothing. I guess we’re both a bit on edge. I’m curious about what you mean by everything though?”

"Well, you know with the whole father thing and Lil and the triplets" Carlisle spoke, leaning back into the leather booth and placing his hands on the edge, his eyes looking directly at Miles. Why did he get a feeling he just stepped into it?

If Miles was being honest, he didn’t expect Carlisle to give up his knowledge on the situation so freely. He fully expected Carlisle to tell him, yes, but more as a half stumbled, accidental slip of the tongue. Miles sighed. Part of him wanted to slam his fists on the table and demand answers but he didn’t have the energy, not to mention that aggression had got him nowhere today. ”Yeah, I thought you knew about Lilith. Who told you?” He was awaiting the response, so sure he knew the answer.

"I actually can't fully remember who said what. There was alot of conversations last night. But I kind of worked it out after everything people were saying." Carlisle scratched his head, trying to think about where exactly he had heard everything. "I mean, Your father, the triplets, Violet, my mother being herself. It's enough to make you bang your head on the table"

Miles was taken aback by it all. He was fully expecting Carlisle to tell him his mother had clued him in but the fact Carlisle knew it was triplets took away the last of the suspicions he had. Mary had known there was a baby, yes, but it was after the party she was informed on how many there were. Part of him felt bad for that fight earlier with her, or at least some of the rage that came with it. Seems he owed her part of an apology later. ”I’m not quite sure what it makes me want to do. It’s just a bit too much, y’know?”

"Tell me about it. When I found out, we were talking with Salem. She wasn't happy by the looks of it. Once she figured out that Aloysius was your father… Well, things got a little tense" Carlisle knew that things were getting a little tense for Miles. Alot of stuff was going on. "Well, all we can do is just move forward and figure it out as we go along"

”Yeah,” Miles chuckles sourly. ”How am I supposed to be a dad? I mean Lil, she’ll be fine but we don’t really have many paternal examples between us and I’m, y’know, me.”

"You would be surprised at how many people say that and then actually turn out to be pretty damn good. I mean, to start with, you are going to be here, which is a massive improvement compared to how you and Lil were raised" Carlisle said, trying to cheer him up

”Pretty low bar to have,” Miles points out, pointing his beer in his friend’s direction before taking a swig. He grabs a napkin at the table and starts picking at it to keep his hands busy. Honestly Miles didn’t really know how to feel about Lil being pregnant. He was sure he’d cycled through every emotion under the sun over it in the past 12 hours. How was he meant to feel? Maybe if he knew the answer to that question it’d be easier for him to process it all emotionally.

”I guess I’ll be moving into the ranch when grandpa John isn’t so hot on my case. I would say we could be bunk buddies but I think he might actually live with me having a place in Lilith’s bed after this little stunt,” he muses, attempting to lighten the mood. Any hiding of his own emotions was a happy side effect.

"Well, if it is any help, I am moving out of the Ranch, that was why I was up there this morning. I am going to move into the household proper. Mostly because I am afraid that if I don't stay there all the time, Violet and my mother might actually start moving in" Carlisle could tell that Miles was trying to mask his emotions, but Carlisle wasn't always the best at wording sympathy.

Miles’ brow furrows at Carlisle’s comment. So caught up in his own issues he almost forgot about Carlisle’s sister showing up out of the blue. ”Oh yeah, how's that going, man?” he asks.

"I honestly couldn't say. Kicked them out of the party towards the end. Who knows what she is upto." Carlisle was nervous about Violet being in town, but right now, he had bigger issues to deal with and people to support. He could deal with her later. " Tell me how you really feel. Without masking it"

Miles shrugs at his friend's question, draining his beer bottle. He really wasn’t one for introspecting feelings or D&Ms with his friends. His flowery language and charming smile often covered up a lot of suppressed emotions. Seemed he and his mother had some things in common after all. The constant stream of alcohol seemed to help with that too. ”I don’t know, man. Like, really, I don’t know. I think I’ve felt every single emotion I’m capable of about it.”

"I mean it's alot to process. Finding out you are a Magi as well. Damn. I am sorry. You had so much happen last night" Carlisle let out a sigh and called a waitress over to get a new beer for Miles.

”I think the fact my ma knew and lied to me about it hurts more than the whole being magi thing.” Miles admits. Nodding in appreciation to his friend as he orders him another beer. ”I just… I don’t really have any control over my life anymore, y’know? Turns out I was trained wrong for my power type, my pa won’t leave my ma alone and for the next 8 months there’s really nothing I can do for Lil and these kids except watching her go through the whole pregnancy thing, y’know?”

"Well that strictly isn't true. Lil is going to rely on you to be her support for the next 8 months. She is going to want you there to look after her and reassure her. As for your Father and power type, well, I don't have a solution to that. But I think Salem might be the deciding factor on whether or not he stays" Sliding the newly arrived beer towards Miles once it arrives.

”Thanks,” Miles says, swiping the beer from the table and taking another drink. ”I think she’s gonna have a say on a lot more than that. Called the babies an ‘issue’ to Lilith according to her. I don’t know much about her but with what I do I’d be surprised if she let us get away with having them.”

"You don't have to worry. It's been sorted. Salem won't be an issue for you or Lilith. Nor will other Magi. I have made sure of it" Carlisle said, his tone lowering somewhat. The talk last night went well, but Carlisle knew that Salem could be temperamental and unpredictable. He was just thankful nothing kicked off last night. "As for the other coven leaders round the world. Leave that one to me"

”We could just keep this hush hush. I don’t need the whole magi world knowing I’m Aloysius Leighton’s son. Would hate nothing more honestly. As far as they all need to know, I’m a Price and nothing more.”

"Salem is going to keep a lid on it, but you know how people gossip. But to me, you will always be a price. Forever and always"

”The bastard had the audacity to call me ‘son’ as if he was around long enough to be seen as any more than a sperm donor,” Miles grunts, taking a swig of his beer. ”I want nothing to do with him or this whole magi world, I don’t care how high and mighty his name is in the magi world. I hope he has a sibling or something to take over ‘cus as far as I’m concerned the Leighton name ended with him.”

"Yeah, everything is complicated on life. I don't know much about the Magi war as I should, but Salem seemed to suggest they had a complicated history. I am guessing he is just lost. The impression I got was that he didn't want to leave. Shock horror, turns out it was all my Ma's fault again. If she hadn't got involved, your father would be here" Carlisle sighed. Why was it always his mother that was responsible for ruining people's lives?

Miles gave an exasperated sigh. Why was everyone so willing to see his father as a ‘good man’? That fact that he had a reason to run told Miles enough. ”Don’t tell me you’re defending him to.” he responds, his voice low and sharp. It seemed no one appreciated the damage the man had caused. ”Is he also an enchantment magi? Cus the way everyone’s wrapping themselves around his pinky finger and making him out to be the good guy is suspicious.”

"I am not defending him. Not at all. And he certainly isn't a good guy. Not the stories I heard anyway. He caused damage. But things in life are rarely clear cut and black and white" Carlisle said with a soft smile. He didn't want to dismiss Miles thoughts, but deep down he was thinking that Miles was being a little bit too dismissive.

Miles scoffs, leaning back into his seat. ”This is ridiculous,” he complains. ”First my ma, now you, maybe when I see Lilith tonight she’ll tell me if we have a son she wants to name him Leighton and let Al be called pawpaw!” As he spoke his voice had become louder and louder. He couldn’t understand why after 25 years everyone had decided a man who lied about himself then disappeared without a word had the right to enter Miles’ life or walk right back into his mother’s.

"Miles, no one is saying that you should name your children after him. Not at all. I am not even saying you should hang around with him. But, all I am suggesting… And this might wind you up, but I think you should at least hear his side of the story" Carlisle knew he was about to get a mouthful from Miles, but someone had to say it.

Miles could feel himself becoming more and more mad as his friend spoke. ”Look,” he growls. ”I’m glad that you got to see that friend’s doting mother who hid you away when your ma was pushing your buttons but you don’t know what our lives were really like. Hell, I don’t even know what her life was like fully but even with her masking as much as she I saw her struggle. You didn’t have family friends finding ways to help out sneakily because your ma’s as stubborn as they come but it’s too obvious she’s struggling. And most of all, maybe I don’t want him to be a dad now because, quite simply, he wasn’t there. Purposefully, maliciously or not, he never acted as a father to me so why should I pretend he is now?”

"Again, I am not saying that you should let him be a father, or even pretend that he is. All I am saying is at least let him say his piece. He clearly wants to say something. Let him clear his mind and he could move on."

Miles shook his head once more, boiling anger seemed to burn behind his eyes. ”Well I have 25 damn years of somethings. You know what, maybe he shouldn’t move on, Carlisle. Because maybe he deserves to feel that guilt, at least he’ll understand a fraction of the pain he caused my ma and me!” As Miles talks he stands up, banging his fists on the table and leaning over them.

"I get it. But at the end of the day it's your choice and no one can blame you for what you want to do. We can only say what we would do in your situation. I personally would just speak to him so you can understand your powers a little more. I mean, Magi level enchantment. That's some pretty crazy strength right there" Carlisle leaned back as Miles stood up and leaned in, only Carlisle was blocked by the booth seating.

”There’s other magi. And honestly, maybe I’m just fine with the power level I have right now.” Miles mumbles, his voice growing considerably quieter.

Carlisle gave off a small sigh, looking over at Miles as he gave a glare to a couple of people who were watching. "I honestly thought that Lil having triplets, and Salem would have been the things that irked you more than your father if I am being totally honest with you Miles."

”Are you trying to start something, Carlisle?” Miles asks forebodingly. Honestly, Miles had wanted to meet up with his friend and update him on his life, tell him about his future children and all that. He didn’t intend on starting a fight but Carlisle was pissing him off. Everything was pissing him off. ”It’s all irking me, you’re just not rubbing my kids or Salem in my face right now.”

"No but Miles Price, you need to get a grip" Carlsie said as he stood up a bit himself, showing that he wasn't about to let Miles scare him into submission. "You had a shittynight last. I get it. We both had some fucking bad stuff happen last night. While you were finding out about your kids, I had to go and stop a fucking war from starting. I had to make sure both you, Lil and your children were going to be safe. I had to go into the conversation, knowing that if it went south, I was willing to fight to the death to make sure you were safe." This voice of Carlisle's wasn't his normal wimpy voice. This had some anger, frustration and authority behind it.

" I didn't go through all that, so you could just be edgy and Emo over your father. Yes. He is a dick. You want him gone, I will have him back in Salems arms tomorrow. But you have a whole new life to enjoy and spend with Lil. Don't waste your time over the small things, cause you have far bigger fish to fry."

If this were any other situation Miles might have been proud of Carlisle’s assertiveness but unfortunately this was not one of those situations. ”And I didn’t ask you to do that!” Miles spits back angrily. He takes another swig of his beer before slamming the bottle back on the table with a loud thud. ”You know what Carlisle? You’re a bad friend. You just jump in and do something ‘in my honour’ or whatever that I never asked you to do then you get a big head about it! Whenever I defended you against Zach or any of those other guys did I go around reminding you of what a great friend I am for doing that for you? No. I did it because you’re my friend and I care about you, not because I wanted to pose some ‘high and mighty better than thou’ image that you want to. I don’t think you even do those things because you’re my friend, I think you do them to prove how much better you are than me! Fine! You, Carlisle Aston, are more powerful and brave and considerate than me. Happy now? Got what you want?”

Carlisle looked over at Miles as he spoke, looking hurt. Once again everyone locked in on the fact that he was doing all this because he wanted to look good. When it wasn't the case. "I did want I did because I wanted to protect you. I wanted to protect you because you are my friend. Trust me. If I wanted to, I could have offered you and Lil to Salem and walk away from the whole thing. Carlisle wiped his eye a little bit, the tough man facade cracking slightly.

"I don't want recognition Miles. I just didn't want my friends to be the firing line. And if that meant I had to be, then so be it. Thankfully it never came to that. Thankfully it was resolved peacefully. I never wanted to prove I am better than anyone. You have known me for a long time, proving myself kinda isn't my thing."

”So why are you out here making a big deal about it, hm?” Miles asks, his eyes leveling at his friend’s. Carlisle might have been breaking but Miles was not backing down. ”I’ve just had the most overwhelming 24 hours of my life and all you can do is just gather intel and talk about why you are oh-so-good. For once can’t you just feel bad for me or something?”

"Of course I fucking feel bad for Miles. I didn't think it needed saying out loud!" Carlisle barked at Miles, clearly getting wound up. "That's why I did what I did. Not for fucking recognition, but because I could see how bad things were getting and wanted to take the pressure off you. But apparently I am a bad friend for actually doing that. So in all honesty Miles, I don't know why I try. It seems that no matter what I do, people seem to think I make bad decisions"

”The problem, Carlisle, is you stick your nose into issues it doesn’t belong in. You try and fix things it’s not your time or place to fix. In a weird way you start controlling our lives and the earth knows I have so little control over my life already. For once in your life just be a friend rather than a participant.”

"Miles, I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't spoken to Salem, she could have just attacked you or Lil. No warning. Nothing. You would have died. Plus, like it or not, I do have a responsibility as Coven leader to protect everyone. What annoys me is your locking onto the wrong thing here." Carlisle let out a frustrated sigh, lowering his head and his arms to yield to Miles. Clearly he wasn't going to get through to him, no matter what he said. "You do what you think is right Miles. You always do" Carlisle said as he slid back into the booth.

”And what should I be locking into? I get mad at my dad and I shouldn’t be, I get mad that you’ve had this massive stake in Lil and my children’s lives and thrown it in my face and it's also the wrong thing? What’s next? Wanna tell me off for fighting with my ma? Or you wanna find a way to get me mad at Lil and ruin that relationship too? You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Miles leans back to stand upright, no longer in Carlisle’s face but he doesn’t sit.

"No, what I was going to say was that you should be locking onto the fact that you are going to be a father and you are going to have a great relationship with Lil. That's what is important. Fuck everything else." Carlisle waved his hand dismissively. Miles was alot of work at the moment. Clearly he was so enraged that anything Carlisle said seemed to enrage him further. " Honestly, I don't care about ruining you and Lil. I have no need to. I hadn't told you yet, but I found out my mother had been enchanting me to fall in love with Lil. That's why we had been best friends for two years and then all of the sudden, bam! I fall in love with her." Carlisle was waiting for Miles to blow up again. " Sides, I have Willow. And it's going fantastic"

”Well I’m glad your life is going so well,” Miles mumbles, falling into his chair. He was exhausted. Between the party and the fight with his mum and this he was worn out. He knew next he’d go to the ranch where he’d have to put on a brave face for Lilith that his enchantment will only convince her is real for a solid few minutes. He gave an exasperated sigh before echoing ”So happy for you,” as he swirled the rest of the beer in the glass bottle.

"Look, I know things seem overwhelming now but they will level out. You and Lil will make great parents. Honestly. It's a learning experience. You will make mistakes but you will also learn to love it. I can see you being a great father."

”That makes one of us,” the man muses, his eyes remaining locked on the bottle and away from his friend. He couldn’t bear to meet Carlisle’s eyes at the moment.

" It will be fine, you will be surrounded by people that love you and want to look after you. Don't be like your mother and not ask for help. There are plenty of people who will happily give it"

”Mm-hm,” he muses, downing the rest of the bottle before tossing it between his hands. His eyes remained fixated on the bottle. It was evident he had been disassociating from their conversation. ”We’ll be fine.”

"Of course you will be fine. You are Miles Price. If the babies ever get out of hand just use enchantment on them to make them suck their thumb or something. Parenting on easy mode"

He chuckles slightly at Carlisle’s words, placing the bottle back on the table softly. ”If enchantment made child raising that easy my ma would have a lot less gray hairs.”

"Yeah that is true. Look. Sorry if I sounded like a dick, but I wasn't trying to be. I don't care about glory or being better. I just want to see my Friends alive so I can grow old with them" Carlisle said with a sigh, his mind going back to the conversation with Salem. "The upshot is, you have nothing to worry bout. No one will no you are a Leighton and even if they did, they would get put in line"

Miles leant back into his seat with a sigh. ”Look, I appreciate your concern, Car, you know I do. Just, maybe touch base before you have a conversation that might impact my or my family’s lives… please?” he asks softly, meeting his friend's eyes this time. He was hoping to not set the man off again but had some magical calming on standby for if he did.

"I wish I could have. Lil didn't know and neither did you. Couldn't exactly have just walked upto you and said 'Hey, Lil is pregnant and by the way you might be killed' could I? I was hoping to keep it all quiet so neither of you would have to know. These babies are going to be the first ever children of both Council witch members and Magi great families. Everyone is terrified of what the result might look like." Carlisle sighed. He knew that Miles wouldn't exactly understand where or why he did what he did. But he knew that he made the right choice regardless.

”I’m honestly more scared about what a combination of Lil and I is gonna look like. Can you imagine a Montgomery woman with my penchant for debauchery? And we’re having 3 kids at once. Sounds like Lil and I are asking for trouble at this point.” he chuckles slightly trying to lighten the mood. While Carlisle did have a point Miles couldn’t help the hurt that tugged at him. ”This wasn’t how this was meant to go. I mean, kids were never part of our plan, even when we were in high school, but it shouldn’t have been like this. We were meant together longer before this happened. And be living together, maybe in our own place. I should have been the first to know. I should have come home from work to, like, baby boots on the counter or something dumb like that cus as much as she won’t admit Lil gets a kick out of cheesy things like that. And I should have known before everyone else we love.” Miles sighs once more, sinking into his seat. ”But life can’t be that simple, can it?”

"Sadly you and Lil are special in that regard. No one blames you. Well. Except my mother. She thinks you are a curse send by Satan to ruin her life. But everyone else understands these things happen. Most of us are conceived by accident, they all talk about planned parenthood, but it never works like that" Carlisle ran his hands along the table. At least it seems like Miles had calmed down. "Trust me. I didn't wanna know. I would have preferred you know. I had to keep my mouth shut while we talking before Violet"

Miles gives Carlisle a forced tight-lipped smile. ”I ‘spose you’re right. The Price and Montgomery special it seems.” His hands move to tear at the napkin he’d been toying with either in their conversation. ”I never really understood how much your mum hated me. Like, why is a woman in her 40s beefing with a middle-schooler, y’know?”

"Well ironically, your father coming back finally gave me the final piece of the puzzle. She dislikes you because she wanted your father and her to get together. She wanted to do what you and Lil have done and mix bloods, but deliberately. Your father apparently turned her down repeatedly, saying he was in love with your Ma' and that was that. So out of jealously my mother called Salem and revealed where he was hiding. You are a reminder of what she should of had. I am a reminder of the failure she got instead" It was a strange duality the pair inhibited. Both were held in such disdain by his mother. "Us becoming friends was the thing that broke her I guess."

”Ha!” Miles retorts with a snort. ”Could you imagine your ma having me for a son? Reckon she might have had a heart attack. Honestly, Car, my ma probably deserved a son like you. Sometimes I wonder if she wished I were you or Lil instead.” That was something Miles had never confessed before. He knew he wasn’t the easiest child, he also knew his friends both held more restraint, respect and a better temperament. He knew if he ever asked his mum she’d adamantly deny it and go on her usual spiels on how lucky she was to have him and how his trouble made her life more fun sometimes but he was sure at least some part of those statements were covers.

"Nah, I have alot of issues, trust me" Carlisle started, stopping himself before it turned into a therapy session. "But that's my mother for you. She had no qualms about splitting your mother and father up because she couldn't get her own way. During the party she even laughed about it. If you asked her about it, she would probably gloat, even after Mary and Salem hit her."

”Hmm,” Miles muses thoughtfully. Maybe this is what Carlisle meant by listening to his father’s story. Regardless, Miles wasn’t open to knowing more. Nothing changed the fact the man hadn’t even tried to see them once. ”Not something I feel strong enough about to hit her over, honestly. I’m sure my ma would all over again though. Apparently they’ve always had issues.

Carlisle gave off a soft sigh. He supposed he better come clean about something else. "So I was clearing out mothers office last week. Moving in properly. All the usual boring stuff. Finally got access to the safe the day before the party. She hadn't told me the code. I had to get it broken into just to see what was inside" Carlisle shifted in his seat. He knew what he was about to say, would possibly, trigger Miles again. "You know you said he never tried to be a father, or be in touch… Turns out he tried. Alot. I was clearing the safe out and well. My mother has been intercepting every single letter he ever sent and hiding it. From what I gather, he kept sending money too. Not sure whether she actually gave it to your Ma or not…. I didn't read them all. Only a couple to see what they were about."

Carlisle’s news caught Miles off guard, something that was obvious by the state of shock on his face. He was conflicted. Part of him was still stuck on the fact he never had connection with his dad, he knew part of him would be stuck with that forever no matter what the man’s excuse was, but a bit of logic called out to counteract those feelings of abandonment from his dad. He wasn’t fully convinced by them, not at all, but there was undeniable physical proof. ”I- What did they say? Actually, do I want to know? I don’t want to read a bunch of cheesy love letters to my ma.”

"They aren't cheesy love letters at all. They are the musings of a man desperate to get back to the person he loved and to see his baby." Carlisle let out a long sigh. He had read more of them than he let on. "He kept trying and trying to return to Tanner, but Salem was having none of it. He kept your existence quiet as well, scared that Salem would have you killed if she discovered the Leighton line had carried on. I.. It's heartbreaking. You can see how much he loved your Ma' but because he was never getting responses back, he assumed that your Ma' hated his guts."

”I can’t see ‘musings of a man desperate to get back to the person he loved’ not being cheesy but sure” Miles replies with a sigh. ”In all fairness, I think she did hate his guts, not that she would have told me that. I would have wanted to see her side of the story too. It sucks that Al’s heart broke for us but she walked through hell and back to keep me alive and I probably don’t know the half of it. Guess I will soon.” Miles sighs, trying to process it all. ”You don’t have them on you by any chance do you? My ma would want to see them. And before you ask, I’m not gonna hide them from her or anything to keep her away from him. She’d catch me out real quick.”

"Well…" Carlisle reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded letter, the paper looking a little old and worse for wear. "This is only the first one. The rest are still in the office. There is alot of them. Try one every fortnight for twenty five years" Carlisle slid the piece of paper across the table to let Miles read it.

Miles slid the rest of the paper closer to him but he didn’t dare look at it. ”He never stopped? How much can someone write after the hundredth?”

"The last one arrived last week. I found it strange that a letter for Mary's address ended up in the coven office post. I just never got around to handing it to Mary. I guess he never gave up hope" Carlisle concluded

Miles sighed. He lifted up the letter and turned it in his hands. ”I- I don’t think I’m ready for this Car. Not here, not now. So much in my life is changing. As bad as it sounds, my da being a scumbag who abandoned me was a constant, and I don’t know how many more constants I can lose.”

"You don't need to read it now. You can read it whenever you like. I have the rest in my office if you ever wanna go through the rest. I couldn't really decide whether to give them to you or your mother" Carlisle tried to force a smile. He felt sorry for Miles, he truly did. But he kind of hoped that Miles would at least listen to what his father had to say before dismissing him.

”You should give them to her," Miles replies, handing back the letter. ”All of them. I don't need clarity, not now. My issue is my pa was never present, no matter what that paper says doesn't suddenly mean he was but my ma…" Miles falls silent a moment. Speaking anything hopeful about the man felt odd on his tongue. ”The man she loved ran away from her. This letter changes her outcome a bit more than mine." More so than talking about Al without flames of anger boiling inside of him it was odd talking about his ma loving a man. He'd never seen her date, never seen her be in love. If he thought hard enough he never saw her make any new friends beyond new coven members, Miles' friends' parents and workmates. It stung a bit, knowing the extent of what she missed out for him.

Carlisle picked the letter back up and slid into his jacket pocket once more. "Understandable. I will let Mary know. In fact I might drop them off later so it is out of the way. Carlisle looked over at Miles and could see his confused and somewhat silent demeanor. " As I said before, life is rarely black and white. It's messy and convoluted for silly reasons. That's why we have to have each others backs. Sometimes that means taking a blind leap of faith, others it means trusting others to do things even if you have no say in it. It works on occasions, on others it doesn't. That's life. You can't beat yourself up for things that are way out of your control man"

”It just all feels out of control though," Miles muses, rubbing the napkin between his thumbs and forefingers. ”Guess it's kinda fitting for me, huh? Play fast and loose and not get any control."

"Control is a state of mind. It will come to you once you take it. Yes the events that have happened to you have been random, but what happens next is in your court. You have the power now to change things" Carlisle said with a small smile as he watched Miles play around.

”In what way. My ma and Salem will dictate what happens with Al and Lil and Salem will the kids." Miles couldn't help but chuckle slightly as a realization hit him. ”Seems like Salem has more control over my life than me. Is this what being a magi means?"

"That's not strictly true Miles, you have me in your corner. If you want Al gone, I can banish him. Simples. Salem isn't going to get involved with the kids. I basically took all responsibility for it. If it goes wrong, it's on my head with the Magi. So you are able to do whatever you want" Carlisle gave a weak smile. Being a leader means having to protect everyone under you, and while Amanda was never going to do that, Carilse was going to make a point of making sure he did.

”Car," Miles sighs. He didn't want to set his friend off again but was sure his next comment may. ”I need you to remember that Lilith's babies are mine. I get you're the big strong leader and all that but the sacrificing and life dictating and all that, that's my place. Not yours."

" Normally I would agree with you. However these babies are bigger than both of us. They could start a war if we aren't careful. I bought us time, but we still are walking on eggshells." Carlisle might have sounded a little clinical and harsh, but it was the truth. These babies could end up starting a whole war between Witches and Magi if things went awry. While it was unlikely to happen at the moment, Carlisle had the responsibility of making sure it never got to that point.

Miles remains silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. Carlisle had a point but Miles didn't want him overstepping in his family's life. Maybe knowing Carlisle wanted Lilith so badly a month ago made Miles more paranoid and protective than he needed to be? ”We just need some sort of boundary rules. I know what you're like Carlisle, you go overboard and while I get that you have a duty to the coven I need to be allowed to be their dad."

”I don’t want to get involved in parenting Miles. They are your kids. I have done most of my work already. I will be mostly in the background. As long as they don’t grow up to be teenage superpowered demons, I think we are all good” Carlisle said with a small chuckle.

Miles chuckles in response. ”Well watch this space, who knows what Lil and I will produce but I get the feeling they’re gonna be a handful.”

”Well I will keep everyone off your backs so you can all live a good life. Worst case I will just reinforce the barrier and we can just tank it all out ” Carlisle looked over at Miles with a smile. ”I don’t think anything will happen. I am sure Salem won’t kick up a fuss, and if she does, she has to bring it up with me, so you and Lil are unaffected.”

”Just promise me that if there’s any running into the fray to protect these kids you bring me with you? If at any point those negotiations go wrong or a fight’s gonna happen, you call me. ‘Kay?”

”If something kicks off like that, I won’t be around to call you in, then it will be upto you and Lil to carry on. But you and Lil will always be in the loop. I am trying to foster a good relationship with the Magi, mostly so things don’t go wrong. I know it isn’t your fault, and no one is blaming you or Lil. None of you were to know. We just have to be a little delicate.” Carlisle nodded and looked over at Miles. He knew Miles would want to get involved, but these kids needed their father, he wasn’t about to let them become fatherless like the current generation.

Miles sighs once more, eying the napkin now torn to shreds. This wasn’t what he wanted. If Lil had changed her mind and decided she did want to try for a kid he didn’t think it’d become this convoluted. ”I don’t really know who is to blame anymore.” he muses.

”If you want someone to blame, blame my mother. She was responsible for all of this. By keeping everyone apart for her own gain caused all of these issues” Carlisle sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration.

”Won’t say no to blaming your ma but I don’t know if she’s the only one to blame.” Miles sinks deeper into his seat. ”Talking about mas, I should go and check in on Lilith. I haven’t seen her since last night.”

”No one else is really to blame. Really. Everyone else did what they thought was best. My mother however didn’t. She did things out of spite and for personal gain” Carlisle was furious at his own mother. She had caused so much damage to Tanner. ”Well, I would say it would be wise to check up on her. She needs you. Only you can help her through this. She needs you. I will go see your mother, and drop these letters off. I feel uncomfortable holding onto these”

”Sounds like a plan,” Miles replies, standing up and swinging a hand to clap Carlisle’s. ”I’m sure I’ll see you soon enough. Thanks man. And sorry for snapping earlier.”

”It is fine. Everything is new and tense right now.” Carlisle said as he got up and clapped Miles' hand. ”In totally different news, Me and Willow slept together last night.” Carlisle said with a chuckle.

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

A Collab between @Hedgehawk & @SouffleGirl123
Featuring Aloysius & Mary

Aloysius had spent the night in a local hotel. The night before, had been a massive dramatic and strange night. Aloysius had managed to piece together so much about what had happened when he left. Mary moved on. Naturally, and his son wasn't even going to give him the time of day. His life had been ruined, and only got worse when Salem appeared. He wondered if he would ever catch a break.

Mary threw him a bone and managed to agree to let him pop around the old house to speak some more. She had made it clear not to expect a warm welcome. He got the impression that he was about to walk into another session of being berated and having his emotions toyed with. This wasn't exactly the Mary that he remembered. But still. He would take it. He had navigated himself to the house once more. Nothing seemed to change in all those years. It felt like he was walking in time.

He stood outside the door for a second trying to compose himself before eventually knocking on the door. He pulled on his jacket while he nervously waiting for someone to reply. He was expecting Miles to answer and just outright attack him. At this point his left cheek had started turning black and purple, from all the abuse he had picked up the night before.

Mary had been sitting at the dining table, her fingers incessantly tapping her coffee mug. Next to her sat a lidded cardboard box, one she never expected to see the light of day except the thinning number of times she’d add to its contents. Eventually a knock came at her door. She wasn’t sure if Miles was home but if he was she hoped that he’d be far too asleep to hear the knocking.

She pulled the box off the table and made her way to the entrance where Aloysius stood awaiting her arrival to the door. Tucking the box under her right arm she uses her left to swing open the door. As soon as she could she fixed up the box to be held in her arms before shoving it into Aloyius’ chest. "There,” she replies gruffly.

Aloysius couldn't help but smile slightly seeing Mary again. It was short lived however as he was shoved into his chest with a box taking up his arms. He looked quizzically. He peered into the box, trying to garnish an idea as to what was inside. "Umm… What is in here? He asked, not wanting to be rude and unpack it infront of her.

Mary gave a sigh at Aloysius’ question, leaning on the door frame. She glances back to make sure Miles wasn’t closeby before turning back to Aloysius. "’Bout a month after you left I had a breakdown,” she begins keeping her voice low, "I’m not talking the bawlin’ and shoving your face with icecream kinda breakdown…”. Mary exhaled half a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in. "I was in the hospital for 10 days- 7 of those in the psych ward. My parents found me a shrink who told me to write letters to you to process or something like that. I never thought you’d see these but I thought it'd give you some insight into what I was going through.”

Hearing Mary's words, an expression of worry and panic sores across Aloysius's face. Hearing about the consequences after he left only made his heart hurt. This was his legacy. What he left behind. Even if it was not done on purpose. "I am sorry. I didn't want you to breakdown. I didn't want any of this. I failed you and Miles. I deserve what I get" Aloysius let out a defeated sigh. Seeding these letters kind of hit home just home badly he had fucked up.

"Look, Al, I'm not unreasonable. The breakdown isn't fully on you. Sure, it probably played a role in it but.. uh… it was the pregnancy hormones that triggered it. They don't agree with all our minds sometimes." An awkward silence fell between the pair for a short while. Mary gently hit the door frame with the side of a closed fist, more as a distraction. "Just… uh… don't tell Miles what you read. I struggled when he was a baby, beyond the tight finances and dirty walls."

"You shouldn't have had to deal with that. I should have been stronger. I should have told Salem where she could stick it. And Amanda too. I deserved some happiness. But I lost it" Aloysius looked dishelved. He nodded at her request. "I doubt Miles will speak to me anyway."

"I woulda dealt with it regardless," Mary replies with a soft sigh. "I just shouldn't have dealt with it alone. I mean I wasn't alone, my parents visited and stayed with me at times, John and Lillan helped out more than I could ever repay and Claire came over a couple of days after he was born and stayed with us for a couple of weeks. I wasn't alone, just…" Mary stops herself before she says something she may regret. She hated how much help she needed in raising her son. Neither her parents nor the Montgomerys signed up for the burden she became but that didn’t stop them from carrying it gladly.

She thought through her words before continuing on. "Everythin' they did for me should have been your job as his father."

As Aloysius talked about Miles, Mary rolled her eyes. "Cut it with the self-pity. It never got anyone anywhere."

"I can't help the self-pity. Right now it feels like I am the only one who can comfort myself" It was a bizarre sentence, but it rang somewhat true. Aloysius was trying his best to soldier through as act tough, but in reality, he couldn't help but feel sorry for himself. No one else was going to after all. He had left behind such a destructive vortex behind that it had consumed Mary. While he had his entire life forfeit at the behest of Salem, Aloysius hadn't really love life. "My entire life has been littered with mistakes and regrets. It is sometimes hard to try and find the positives. I did one thing wrong and ended up losing any chance I would have for finding happiness for the whole of my life. Coming to Tanner has kind of proved that I don't really belong anywhere"

"Pity doesn’t bring comfort. It’s funny, the more you pity yourself the less other people want to pity you or whatever. You just want someone to say that you did absolutely nothing wrong. You want me to stand here and tell you every choice you made was right, Miles and I weren’t hurt by your circumstances, that you did the absolute best you could in the circumstances. That we eagerly awaited 25 years for you to return home even when that didn’t look like a possibility. You’re not looking for comfort Al. You’re looking for justification. Unfortunately for you, I ain’t no liar,”

"It's not that. Honestly." Aloysius said with a defeated sigh. He hadn't really needed to verabilse his internal monologue before, so he took a few moments to think before speaking. "I don't want justification. I know people were hurt. I can't even begin to imagine how it feels like. No. What makes me self-pity is that I made a mistake when I was young. I got punished for it. I nearly died. And I have spent my whole life now suffering for it. People who have done far more heinous things have had lesser sentences. Everything I try to do to make things right, or try to settle down, never work. I don't even have a family anymore." Aloysius's Voice dropped, his eyes lowering to the insides of the cardboard box and away from Mary. Shame preventing him from looking her in the eye.

Despite Aloysius’ averted gaze, Mary kept hers straight on him. She was a bit confused on how to feel. Part of her did feel bad for Al but she struggled to shake the hurt brought on by his actions. "Yet you are here on my doorstep. Don’t you have a sister? Grovelin’ to her probably would’ve earned you less black eyes. Or was she a lie too?”

"No. She exists. I am not allowed to be around her. She has made it clear that she doesn't want me in her life. I screwed that relationship as well." Aloysius bought his gaze back up to Mary, her eyes still locked onto his form. "I want to be here though. I want to fix this somehow. I just haven't figured it out"

"I don’t know what to tell you, Al. I don’t know how you can fix this. There’s no magic wand you can wave and just undo all the damage. And let’s face it, if there was I’d get mad at you for using it.” Mary sighs, beating on the door frame once more.

"I don't expect you to say anything." Aloysius let out a soft sigh. He could tell that he was overstaying his welcome. Mary had clearly made up her mind. She wasn't going to forgive Aloysius. And Miles made it perfectly clear the night before that he was simply nothing more than a sperm donor. "I just wanted to come and tell you that I didn't leave because I wanted to. It was important to me that you knew that. I didn't expect you change your mind"

"I know,” she says softly, slowly nodding her head. "And I never said I won’t ever forgive you it just… it’s gonna take some time Al. There’s a lot of scars there.” Both figuratively and literally she wanted to add but she bit her tongue. "It’s important to me that you understand that.”

"I do understand it. Time isn't exactly an asset I have. It's hard to be told I have to wait even longer. But that's a me problem to deal with" Aloysius tried to keep it together but his body language betrayed him. It was obvious he was hurting and he didn't know how to control it.

Seeing Aloysius’ slumped, saddened figure hurt Mary. Less because it was Al, but because it was another human in pain. Mary was the type to bake cookies for her worst enemy on the worst day of their life, to put herself dead last no matter what those around her did. No matter who they were, seeing another human in pain always broke the woman’s heart. With a reluctant sigh she wraps her arms around Al’s shoulders.

Feeling her arm drape around his shoulder, Aloysius tenses up. He had been so used to having people touch him only when they were going to hurt him. He let out a deep sigh. "Everyone just assumes I am a bad guy because of my past. They don't understand what was happening at the time. What I was going through and the tiny details. They just see me as the big bad guy who attacked the Guild"

"Look, Al.You still did those things. They alone don’t make you who you are, I get that, but you do have to face those consequences. I get it, you were dealt a bad hand, you’re not a monster but you’re still a very flawed human.” Mary honestly wasn’t quite sure how to respond, her internal thoughts fighting between the want to comfort a sad friend and avoid a man who hurt her.

"I get I made a mistake, but when will people move on. Salem still to this day makes sure that my life is hell. Anytime I think I am recovering she swoops in and causes chaos" Aloysius huffed a little bit before lowering his arms. "I never wanted to hurt you. I adore you. I was so looking forward to being a father, having a family. Having a white picket fence life"

Adore. Not adored. Mary couldn’t help but pick up on that subtle word choice, it felt anything but inconsequential. She sighs, releasing the man from her grip and stepping back. "So was I once upon a time but I ‘spose reality hit me a lot faster.” Mary remained silent for a moment, pursing her lips. "My life wasn’t all bad. Sure, I struggled and worked my fingers to the bone but there were good moments too. Even if there weren’t, for that boy I’d do it all over again. I don’t regret what I went through. I’m hurt by it, sure, but hurt and regret aren’t always the same thing.”

"You shouldn't have had to though. I failed you. I failed Miles. I really want to make up for lost time" Aloysius stepped back a bit, putting the distance between them. "I know you won't take to me at all. And there is no chance we will get back together, even if my heart really yearns for it." Aloysius looked down at the box he was holding, looking at the bits of paper stacked inside. He wanted to read them, but part of him was afraid to do so.

Mary remained silent as the man talked. A single sigh soon escaped her lips. "You should read that somewhere you can be alone. Some of it's heavy." She decided to not respond to Al's statements of yearning to get back with her. She'd gotten past that a couple of decades ago.

"Yeah I should. Suppose I should go back to the hotel. Need to try and find somewhere slightly more permanent to stay if I plan on staying around for a bit longer." Aloysius had noticed how distant Mary was being. He didn't know if it was because of how much she did like him, or if she was trying to protect herself from getting hurt again. " I don't really know alot that is going on. But if Miles ever wants any help with Magi things. I am more than happy to help. I might be a piece of shit, but magic is one thing I am good at"

"Talk to Carlisle, I'm sure he can get you a room in the coven house or somethin'. Usually the other option is the ranch but between John and Claire I'd be surprised to not find you riddled with stab wounds and bullet holes by tomorrow mornin'. Not to mention my ma and pa are there for another night," Mary could help but chuckle slightly at the idea of Al trying to enter the ranch considering its current inhabitants.

As Al talks about training Mary forces a small half smile. "That'll be up to Miles, you should ask him. You're both adults, you don't need me to play message bearer. He only found out he was magi last night so, y'know, he's still adjustin'"

"The last time we spoke he threw a pretty strong punch at me" Aloysius gave off a slight chuckle, highlighting his bruised left cheek. "I know he is an adult, but I missed 25 years, it's taking time to adjust to that kind of thing." Aloysius noticed how Mary had dodged the statements about him staying in Tanner for longer. He wondered if she really wanted him to hang around. He wanted to be blunt about it, but at the same time, he was afraid of the answer.

Mary noticed her hand subconsciously raising toward Aloysius’ face to assess the bruise but diverted it to scratch the back of her neck. The last thing she wanted was the man picking up signals that weren’t there. "Yeah, we’re all trying to adjust to a lot of things. He’s an enchantment magi, if that means anything to you. Part of me was convinced he actually was a warlock for a few years there.”

"Enchantment runs in my mother's side of the family. Downright dangerous people. It was Enchantment magic that got me in all this mess in the first place" Aloysius sighed deeply once more. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. Memories about his mother flooded in and he did his best to push them out. It was a part of his life he was trying to forget. "Hopefully Miles has a good moral compass. That kind of magic in the wrong hands can well…cause rebellions and wars."

At Aloysius' comment about enchantment magic getting him into this mess Mary raised an eyebrow. "This mess as in the runnin’ away or the having a son? ‘Cus I didn’t use any of my enchantment magic on you. Didn’t even have to bat an eyelid to have you following me around like a lost puppy, didn’t need enchantment magic even if I was wantin’ you like that,” she replies, crossing her arms.

"Him being magi explains a lot about his teen years I ‘spose.” she muses in response to his last statement, not quite giving an answer that would quell his concerns. "I mean, it wouldn’t change how he acted but the rest of it…” She trails off, looking past Aloysius. She soon remembers she was yet to respond to his concern and clears her throat to redraw Aloysius’ attention. "I mean, he’s got his flaws but his heart’s in the right place most of the time. May have already started a war though, don’t think the enchantment magic played a big role in that one though.”

" I know you didn't enchant me. Far from it. More so my mother. She used it to get into my head, convince me that my insecurities were bigger than they were. Filled my head with ideas of glory and self gain. I may have been the gun that started the war, but my mother, she was the one who pulled the trigger" Aloysius remembered that he hadn't actually discussed his mother with Mary before. Back when he was here he had dodged the questions and gave dismissive answers.

At his comment Mary couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as she joked "Oh, I enchanted you alright, I just didn’t use magic to do it. Or intend to, honestly.” At the mention of his mother Mary leant against the door frame once more "I’m seeing a theme among enchantment mothers using their magic on their kids it seems.” she sighs

" Enchantment is possibly the most dangerous form of magic. Even more so if you use it and no one detects it" Aloysius would watch Mary for a second before carrying on "I just hope Miles uses my mother's powers for something useful, rather than ruining lives"

"Yes, you know us enchantment wielders, big bad life ruiners," Mary muses sourly. Now she had to come to terms with her little addition of enchantment mothers using their powers on their children the night before the guilt was starting to eat her alive more than ever. Her hands fiddled with the charm of her necklace as she continued to talk. "Look, I'd be amiss if I said Miles' wouldn't use it for his own gain. But at the end of the day he is a Price, war starting is barely our style. Ruining lives though… I mean not usually but, y'know. We have our gripes. You might not be safe but it seems like I beat him to the punch anyway."

"It's a good power to have. You can do alot of good with it. But sadly, if used with bad intentions, it's dangerous. I know you wouldn't use it for your own gain" Aloysius gave off a smile trying to disarm Mary a little bit and comfort her at the same time. "I will admit, I have missed Tanner. I always kept dreaming of coming back to this place. It is so much more peaceful that New York"

I know you wouldn’t use it for your own gain but she had, hadn’t she? Admittedly it was more than just Miles she had to enchant to hide his magi status, although that was the most impactful. She knew magi could sense other magi, someone had to keep Ty off of Miles’ case from even his earliest days in Tanner. And someone had to make sure Amanda’s suspicions never became serious. Sure, it was partially for Miles’ safety but Mary knew she could have realistically managed the situation if she was open on her suspicions from the beginning. Instead she wanted training her son to be easier rather than more effective. With the new information on Miles’ father it turns out it probably was to his benefit his magi status was so hush hush but that didn’t change her intentions at the time. "I guess you really don’t know me all that well, ha?” she responds softly, her hand clasping around the pendant it was toying with.

At Aloysius’ musings about Tanner, Mary gave him a half smile. "I can imagine. Well I guess you’ll be happy to know nothin’ really changes ‘round here. John Montgomery’s still leveling guns at boys looking at his girls the wrong way, the forest has seen more beer bottles than anywhere else in Tanner and the diner still needs that new lick of paint,”

"It's scary how it doesn't change. But it also means that everyone here will still despise me. That ain't going to change. People made up their minds about me. I spent so long dreaming of coming back. I guess I built a picture in my head that this would all be different. Adjusting to the reality of it is jarring" Tanner had been Aloysius's escape from his past. While he hadn't enjoyed using the Jonathan persona, it had allowed him to feel normal for the first time in his life. Those memories had stayed with Aloysius and held far more weight than he would have liked to admit.

"You could've at least left a letter. Somethin', anythin'." Mary replies simply. "Turns out the people around me seem to like me. Y'know what though? Amanda doesn't, you might find some sympathy in her."

"I should have left a letter, yes. I sent one a week after I left explaining it all. But clearly someone intercepted them. Amanda was the one who caused all this mess. She was the one responsible for Salem pulling me away. I wouldn't go anywhere near that hag. She can rot in hell for all I care. And I doubt people don't like you" Hearing Amanda's name had made Aloysius's blood boil.

Mary sighed, leaning deeper into the doorframe. "Sounds like Amanda,” she muses. "Doesn’t change the fact you should have told me who you really were earlier. You’re a jerk, y’know.” Despite her words her tone came off as more gentle, maybe even slightly defeated.

" Amanda wanted me to be with her. Give her a power child to call her own. I wasn't interested. I only had eyes for you. When she discovered you were pregnant, she began to blackmail me, trying to get me to yield. But I still refused… Then, Salem appears from out of nowhere." Aloysius let out a regretful sigh at Mary's last comment "I planned to tell you before the baby was born. I hadn't quite worked out how to have the 'Sorry I am a fugitive with the whole of the Magi world on my back' speech."

Mary huffed, that wasn’t quite the answer she was hoping for. At every turn Al failed to admit his shortcomings, even getting a sorry rather than a justification the night before was harder than it should have been. It was funny that although the pair hadn’t crossed paths until the prior night Miles still picked up some of his father’s traits. Part of her wanted this conversation to be over, for Al to leave and read through the reflections of her past, but curiosity won instead. "Do you remember what it said? The letter I mean.”

"I pretty much know it off by heart. Sometimes it gets a bit harder to recall, but it comes back vividly at times. Sometimes feels like it is mocking me" Aloysius lowered his head slightly, the letter had been the hardest thing to write. "Had to write it twice. The first one was too covered in tears to be readable. Sad. I know." Aloysius attempted to chuckle, trying to deflect some of the visible pain, but instead it just emphasized how isolated he had been.

"Well good luck with some of those,” Mary replies, nodding at the box. "Don’t mind the frustrated ink splotches.”

" I wonder if Amanda kept any of the letters that she intercepted? Might have to go take a look around the coven house when no one is looking" Aloysius pondered. His eyes dropped to the box of letters, wondering just how many of them were like how Mary described.

"Well if you find them, let me know. I’d be interested to read.” Mary replies. "But I’ll leave you to it, it may take a while to get through those.”

Aloysius nodded as he once more looked at the box. " Yeah… I should get going… Before Miles appears in the door and kicks me over the fence or something"

Mary gave an amused chuckle. "He’s just protective. And angry. Can you blame him?”

"I can't blame him. But I wish I could stop him and make him see reason" Aloysius simply lifted the box under his arm ready to go "I suppose I should see you around then?"

Mary scoffs, shaking her head. Who was Aloysius to talk about reason? "And you need some perspective, Aloysius Leighton. I will see you around,” Mary replies, waiting for him to turn before closing the door.

The Witches & Warlocks of Tanner 2.0

A collab between @Hedgehawk & @HaleyTheRandom
Featuring Carlise & Salem

Carlisle had an interesting evening to say the least. From his mother and her revelations, to the fact that Lilith was pregnant. And that was the simple part of it. Suffice to say, there was enough drama to give him an aneurysm. But he couldn’t quite afford one right now given that he was having to focus on containing two of his family members within his mind. As much as Carlisle wanted to give off the aura of a strong leader, his body was betraying him. Violet seemed determined to get out, and by this point in the night he was a white as a ghost.

Still, he had managed to get the dance out of the way and managed to do the ceremony. The last thing on his itinerary was to speak to Salem, leader to leader. He knew how important maintaining relations were between Witches and Magi. He didn’t exactly want things to get worse on his watch. Still, It seemed Amanda had done a good job of denting relations just by being her power hungry self. And Carlisle would be lying if he said that Salem did not scare him. He had seen her attitude when they had met next to Amanda at the start of the party.

Discussions between leaders at events like these were a given. Though Carlisle wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was for these kind of things, and given that Amanda was currently locked up, he couldn't exactly ask anyone. No one seemed to be able to give him a straight answer. So he decided to try and initiate the conversation himself, though that meant finding Salem. He scoured the floors of the party, looking around he found Salem mingling with a group of people who he was certain were possibly leaders of some of the other covens. He walked on over waiting for Salem to finish talking before smiling.

"Hello Salem, hope you have enjoyed the evening so far? "

All that Salem really wanted to do right now as reach out and kill Aloysius Leighton. The fact of a demi-witch being born was one that Salem was having a hard time wrapping her mind around - much less the possibility of three. Resisting her urges, Salem had ventured off to mingle with the crowd. With her newly found glass of champagne in hand, Salem turned around at the sound of Carlisle's voice.

"It's been an interesting one," she replied before taking a drink. "I'm assuming the same could be said about yours?"

Seeing that Salem had a champagne in hand, Carlisle let off a small smile. He was remembering everything that Willow had spoken to him about during the dance, as well as concentrating on the spell. "Yeah. If I am perfectly honest I didn't anticipate my first official day as leader to be this chaotic!" Carlisle would let out a sigh, running his forehead as he removed a bit of sweat. "Found out my mother was more devious than I thought, Miles' father turns up. Turns out he is Magi. Now he And Lil are pregnant. And to top it all off, I found out I have an older sister who is just as unhinged as my mother. So I have placed them both in a mental prison. Which is why my colour is so, off, right now"

”Really,” Salem responded quizzically. ”I just thought you always looked like that.” Shrugging her shoulders, Salem took another drink from her glass. ”Apologies. I don’t think we’re quite friendly enough for me to make comments like that,” she joked. ”Go on ahead and cut to the chase for me, kid. I don’t think you walked all the way over here to vent.”

Carlisle tried to let out a laugh at her comment. He was honestly a little too exhausted to carry on as normal. "Well. No. That much is true. I mean, we are going to be working closely together as leaders, plus, we have some issues we need to discuss regarding some of what we have learnt tonight" Carlisle wasn't trying to push hard, but given how the night had gone, he needed to be sure that Mary was right, and that Salem wasn't actually going to be a threat to the Coven, but also, what the long term outlook was going to be.

Looking him up and down, Salem pursed her lips. The thought of Amanda having another child was interesting, but all in all didn’t really concern her. The Guild Leader was more than sure that Carlisle was hinting at his friend's situation, but it wasn’t Salem's responsibility to pull the words from his mouth. With a curt nod of the head she asked ”Do you have the strength to walk through the garden, or should we find somewhere to sit?”

"The garden will do nicely. Reminds me I do need to get parts of it redone" Carlisle politely stood aside so the duo could walk side by side to the garden. "Forgive me for prying, and you don't have to answer, but this Aloysius guy. What's the deal here? I can't ask my mother for context, so I figured I might as well get some from someone in the know" Carlisle asked as he stepped down the veranda steps into the garden.

”Indeed you do,” Salem chuckled. ”We used to be able to walk out back and see lilies, dahlias, irises, carnations…. Lillian Montgomery took a great pride in this garden, but I think your mother took an even greater pride in making sure all we ever saw again was boring ass rose bushes.” With a dismissive wave of her hand, Salem was sure to make sure to grab a new glass of champagne from one of the waiters before stepping outside. They had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when the first of Carlisle's questions came.

Staring off into the distance, Salem sighed as they began to walk the stone paths. ”Aloysius started off as a friend. We went to high school together, trained together, even dated for like six months at one point. But he couldn’t handle the fact that I wound up as the Guild Leader instead of himself. He was angry at the council for ‘ripping us apart’ - as he would say - and even more upset that he wasn’t getting ‘his’ power. So shortly after the official ceremony, he founded the Dark Shadow and launched an attack on the Guild. I lost my father that day, and more importantly - I lost my friend.” As they continued to walk, Salem ran her hand over the fading roses. ”I’ve made him pay for it every day since. As long as I am alive and breathing, Aloysius Leighton will never know happiness.”

Listening in, Carlisle paid close attention. So this was personal. It felt sad that Aloysius was once close to Salem. Carlisle couldn't even begin to imagine what she had to go through. "I never really studied the Magi war in great depth if I am honest with you. The most I really learnt was from what Ty would on occasion give away" Carlisle rubbed the underside of his chin for a second, taking in the quiet as they left the party proper.

"While not seeing Aloysius happy is one thing, obviously he has been here in Tanner at some point and created a complication for us. None of us knew what was going on, or the implications… Well… My mother did and she kept it quiet. But everyone else is innocent. Magi-Witch cross breeds with both council and great family bloodlines… This hasn't happened before" Carlisle decided to keep the conversation open. Given her determination in her speech regarding Aloysius, he knew angering Salem wouldn't really be useful. Being too forceful would backfire quickly, but he wanted to try and keep an air of mutual authority.

”It’s not something that we like to talk about,” the Guild Leader mused. ”The history books only tell you of the death toll anyway.” Waving a hand dismissively, Salem kept her eyes focused on the path ahead. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts the woman continued to drink from her glass of champagne.

”You can judge or fear me for saying it - but your mother has a great deal of karma coming her way. I wonder how things would have differed if Claire was never in that accident…. Pretty sure Amanda staged that shit too, but I digress.” With another sigh, Salem shook her head. ”I can understand why everyones on edge with my added presence, especially with tonight's revelations. I’m not particularly known for my kindness or grace, but I do have quite the brain sitting between these shoulders. I’m not stupid, Carlisle. I know that your friends had no idea what they were actually doing.”

"I wouldn't say that. It's just. You hear stories you know. About how the Guild leader hurts people who threaten the Guild" Carlisle started, seeming white relaxed considering "I know, regarding my mother that is. She is a problem and a waste of space. She is going to spend the rest of her life trying to undermine me just because I am not as powerful as she expects me to be." That was only the half of it. Amanda had always painted herself and Salem having a wonderful relationship. However, tonight seemed to prove that it was anything but.

" When news of this baby breaks out. The other coven leaders will be livid. I can keep them under thumb. But most are going to be looking towards you. This child has the potential to overpower all of us. Threaten both council and great families. From my perspective, it doesn't bother me much. I would rather the kid just be in a safe space where no one would harm them."

”Of course I do,” Salem quipped. ”I’d rather be feared than someone people know they can walk all over. Why do you think Aloysius was the only one to challenge me in my thirty-something years as Leader? I know how much my reputation speaks for itself.” Pressing the champagne glass to her lips once more, Salem's brow furrowed. ”I know better than anyone else what the implications of a Montgomery-Price child means. The council had to give me and Aloysius that talk way back in the day. Might have used that as my out to call it quits but -” Waving her hand once more, Salem shook her head. ”That’s a story for another day.”

Letting their words settle into the air, the dark haired woman quickly glanced over at Carlisle. ”I’m not sure what you all want me to do here,” she laughed dryly. ”I’ve been told that it’s not my business, and then I’ve been dragged right into it. I can’t terminate the pregnancy, I can’t let them live, I should let them live… people always have so many opinions.”

Turning her attention back to the flowers once more, she quickly added ”People wanted my mother to have an abortion, you know? The De Silvas had been growing in power for a while, and my father wasn’t a great magi, but his family had the potential. For the last fifty years - I’ve been the most powerful thing anyone has seen. The Northeastern blackout wasn’t just caused by global warming.” With another sigh, the woman squared her shoulders, well aware of the prying eyes that glanced over their way every few seconds. ”I can stake my claim now - side with the witches. I’d have to speak with Lilith, as offending another Montgomery woman is not on my list of things to do - but I could be the one to announce the pregnancy. Make it clear to my people that I’m siding with the witches on this one. The next ten or fifteen years of my reign will be hell, and Celeste would inherit the problem, but it may buy us all enough time to see if the children will learn to control themselves or not. You can train someone all that you want, but how and what they use their powers for is ultimately up to their character. The only other thing that I can offer is a safe place for the children to train in New York.”

Something shifted in her brain, remembering the way that Carlisle spoke beforehand. ”They’re having triplets.”

"I don't want you to take a side or anything like that." While Salem was certainly going to be tougher than Carlisle at breaking news and enforcing anything, he didn't want to rely on her. He could hear Lil's voice in his head telling him how she always relied on her to solve his problems. "We can keep knowledge of the kid secret for a while. I can make sure Lilith and Miles get everything they need for a good pregnancy and hopefully we can teach this kid right from wrong and show that hybrid children are alright." Carlisle listened to Salem mention Celeste and he smiled slightly " Yep, when I am your age I will have Celeste by my side instead. Feels weird. Circle of life and all that shit. Look, I am not my mother. I am not here for ego making, or backstabbing. I am here to try and keep Magi and Witches from killing each other. If you work with me, I am happy to work with you."

This was all going according to plan. Salem seemed to be taking things well. She seemed to be taking Carlisle's words seriously, and not just one of a petulant child like Amanda did. However at Salem's last sentence he almost choked on his tongue, spluttering slightly. "Triplets! As in three. Oh god. That's alot more stuff to deal with"

”Three seems to be a magical number for your kind,” Salem chuckled at his response. ”I highly doubt that Lilith would want to be hidden away for any amount of time. Perhaps we should just let she and Miles take whatever course they chose, and support them when and where we can.”

As they came to the end of the path, Salem turned to look directly at Carlisle. ”You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust you completely - especially right away. Trust is something that everyone must earn, and the Astons have done nothing so far for me to give them that credit. However, I can promise to keep my people in order if you do the same. Support your decisions, aid when needed. The usual things. Perhaps with your mother out of the picture, I could even spend a little more time in Tanner.”

"Yeah, I will speak to Lilith in the next few weeks and check in. Our friendship has been… Strained in the past few weeks" Carlisle hung his head down at the end of his statement, clearly he was embarrassed and regretful. "I will keep Witches in line, make sure everyone behaves and doesn't do anything stupid. I would like to see you in Tanner more. If anything there is a great deal I can learn. My mother didn't really do mentoring or teaching. Once she learned I was Abjuration only, I was kind of discarded" Carlisle let out a laugh before taking a step back and looking over at the party.

"I still need to decide about Aloysius. Miles hasn't said anything, but there might be a chance that he decides to stay in Tanner to try and reconnect with his… Family. Is there anything in particular you want me to do? I can kick him out if you like"

Crossing her arms, Salem couldn’t help but raise a brow. ”Amanda is even dumber than I thought. Abjuration warlocks are… interesting. Very interesting. I can’t give you proper training, but magi and witch powers work very similarly. Perhaps with Tiberius and I both we’ll be able to teach you more than your mother ever could.” Standing there looking at Carlisle, Salem's hard demeanor seemed to drop for just a moment. Her shoulders fell ever so slightly with another sigh. The Guild Leader was far from perfect herself, but someone needed to lock Amanda in a basement for the way she had treated her son.

”As far as Aloysius is concerned - I ask that you let me deal with that problem myself. He’s an easily manipulated pawn and while he may be in Tanner because of Mary and Miles, he does have a purpose here. An actual assigned purpose. Even if he doesn’t know he’s on assignment.”

"Ha. Interesting. Please. My mother bought me up to believe I was anything but. She tried as long as she could to turn me into a witch. She was obsessed with turning me into a counter for you. She wanted someone who could go toe to toe with you." Carlisle gave off a small sigh. He recounted the numerous conversations where Amanda had made it perfectly clear that her son was nowhere near the strength or power type needed to be a leader. That the Aston line was going to end in shame and disgrace. Hearing Salem mentioning training and Ty, he smiled weakly "Ty has been more of a father to me than my own father. He kept trying to keep me on the right track. Kept saying that he had seen what pushy, power hungry parents could do to someone."

"As for Aloysius. I will leave him be. He can stay around Tanner as much as he wishes, but I can't have him starting to cause too much trouble. Unity in the coven isn't exactly fantastic." Carlisle said matter factly "I am guessing the assignment is some kind of secret one?"

”Ty has a lot of experience with broken people. He’s a good one to have in your corner,” the brunette responded with a small smile. ”What I have going on shouldn’t affect the Coven much at all. I’ll let you know beforehand if I think any of my plans would cause an upset.”

Carlisle shrugged his shoulders. He knew better than to try and start demanding that Salem reveal her plans. Amanda had always instilled both an oddly parabolic respect and lack of fear. Right now, he couldn't see either, but he didn't want to try and see why people feared her. "Fair enough. I just hope he and Miles are able to sit down and at least come to some accord. I know you don't want Aloysius to be happy, but I at least want my friend to have some answers."

Salem shrugged her shoulders. ”I’m not sure what answers Aloysius would be able to give, but I can push back killing him for a day or two I suppose.” Looking back towards the Coven House, Salem sighed once again. ”I guess we should head back. Both of us have a few loose ends to tie up before the night ends.”

"If you are going to kill Aloysius, can you at least do it away from Tanner. I don't want Miles or Mary to see it. I don't know how they would react to the situation.” Carlisle wasn't trying to be a bitch about it, but Mary was a stubborn woman and sometimes drew her battle lines in strange places. He could totally see Mary somehow wanting to protect Al, despite everything, at least to save him from death. "Yeah. We should. Listen. If you are here tomorrow, would you like to come to Family Dinner? It's not me and Amanda, but Miles, Mary, John and Lil. Technically I am a guest, but it might be good to help show that you aren't a threat to them by joining us for dinner."

”I meant that mostly as a joke, but I digress.” In response to his question Salem shrugged her shoulders. ”I don’t see why not. My flight doesn’t leave until Wednesday, so that will give me enough time to figure some things out. Around what time should I be where?”

"Ohhhh okay… With everything going on tonight, nothing would shock me right now." Carlisle said with a chuckle. "Well it is over at Mary's place I believe. I will arrange for someone to bring you over, that way you don't have to worry. I am sure everyone won't mind. After they freak out a bit.” Carlisle said as he led Salem back up the garden towards the party. "You know, Ty was always shy about talking about you. Or about the Magi war in general. I never understood it"

The woman's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how to respond. ”Ty’s relationship with the Guild is complicated, and the Guild's History even more so. The night’s getting late. Maybe we can talk about it all another day. I’m sure we’ll have to have a few more conversations like these.”

Getting to the edge of the party Carlisle smiled. Hiding the fact that he felt a little intimidated at the thought he might have struck a nerve. "Of course. Of course. Go and enjoy the rest of the night and I will see you tomorrow night. I have an exciting night with my girlfriend to look forward to. Be nice to relax after the drama of the night."

Salem couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. ”You kids better be careful,” she joked. ”Congratulations, by the way. I can’t remember if I said that or not. I have a feeling you’re going to do well as Coven Leader. Not sure how or when, but you’ll grow into yourself one day. Now. If you’ll excuse me, I should really go and find my child before she sets the house on fire.”