AvaP@Liliya You pretty much nailed what weapon she'd use, and the age. *Applauds*
Meiyuki
Member
I eat cute things
STATUS: The moment you realize you spend more time working in titanpads than... anything else. Not sure if I should be proud or concerned. 8 yrs ago
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8 yrs ago
Current
The moment you realize you spend more time working in titanpads than... anything else. Not sure if I should be proud or concerned.
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8 yrs ago
@Gaviloquence Yes, you've just arrived. ;D
2
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8 yrs ago
Puncraft! The darkest of arts! Burn the witch!
3
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8 yrs ago
TMW you realize that's your most current search history.
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8 yrs ago
@PaintLynn Does that mean I can eat you now? I've been getting hungry...
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Bio
My current baby
Spells in the Dark (18+ For dark and suggestive themes: Join the witches or the hunters and they circle each other in a bleak world on the edge of annhilation. Can they come together long enough to hold back the great dark? Or will they fall to the void?
Stuff I'm in
Wolves of Redlake: A lovely little romp as a teenage werewolf. Run by the lovely @Nallore
Various 1x1's: I love the flexibility of a two person story. Group RPs will always have my heart, but they can be difficult to get off the ground. Feel free to PM me with any ideas you may have. I generally post once per week minimum and like high-casual to advanced as far as quality is concerned.
The Rest!
Hi! I'm a twenty five year old lesbian with alot of time on her hands! I've been role playing for about ten years now, although I'm new to the play by post format. I'm a pathfinder and Chronicles of Darkness veteran and still play with my group most weekends.
I'm generally pretty easy to get along with. My biggest pet peeves are:
Not informing me if you'll be away for an extended period of time. A PM or something in the OOC will do nicely. I understand life kicks all of us once in awhile, but try not to leave me hanging.
Negative people. We all get down, and that's fine. Happiness, however, is an outlook. I don't mind spending time cheering up a friend when they're usually a cheerful person. Optimism is a hell of a thing folks.
Metagaming. For obvious reasons. This has been the downfall of many a fun 'secret' plot. I usually opt for transparency, and like to surprise characters more than players. Metagaming makes that difficult.
Things I'll love you for:
Enthusiasm! This is the driving force behind any RP. When players and the GM are excited magical things can happen.
Adding to the world. I like a fleshed out world. Often times I'll leave things ambiguous so players can add to it with backstory or anything really.
Hatching your own subplot. The 'main' plot isn't the only thing going on right? Write me a story about some characters getting into hijinks. It gives the RP an organic feel that can't really be replicated otherwise.
Most Recent Posts
@Blue Demon Did as you requested. Swore I'd gotten it the first time, I blame the coffee jitters.
@Blue Demon I'm essentially using the Focused Practitioner, customizing it by pushing Channeling up to Evocation as the book suggests in advancement. Is that alright?
A ditzy paladin that's entirely too young for the profession. Who believes in her heart of hearts that anyone or anything can be turned to the side of good with enough time and hugs, and is woefully wrong about that. Brimming with divne power bestowed on her by the good pantheon she stumbles through demonic incursions trying to preach the merits of good, crying because in the end they all have to die in divine fire.
How's that look?
Edited: Traded Thaumaturgy for Ritual, and selected tracking and locating spells as the focus.
@Blue Demon Edited, and I'll be attaching the spell casting sheet once I get the opportunity to set down and fill it out.
in collaboration with @Whoami and @Ellion
Lorelai found herself in the realm of man again. She handed the still unconscious Zehir to Sousiel, who surveyed her mistress in relief before silently heading to her adjoining room to inform the new familiar of her new existence and responsibilities.
Lorelai made her way slowly to her bed, smiling softly at Lotte's still sleeping form. Every Von'Strauss needed a formidable familiar, hopefully they'd enjoy each other. Just as she was about to change into her nightclothes she felt a chill in her spine as a familiar voice echoed in her mind.
"Mistress... Did you enjoy my gifts?" Charon spoke, his voice composed of last breaths and sighs of regret.
"Quite. Liz is fitting in nicely, I ended up letting Flint go. Oh, and Lotte is... Thank you." Lorelai couldn't find words adequite enough to describe her feelings towards her new daughter.
"And my blade? Did you get that or has Coraline delivered it yet?"
"Your blade!? You sent that here!?" Lorelai's mind reeled. That was a gift grander than any she'd recieved.
"Of course, your descent nears mistress. I hope you'll remember me fondly. The witch girl should be in Seren's Folley. Best of luck." Warmth returned to Lorelai as Charon severed their connection.
Lorelai put her nightclothes away, instead opting for a clean set of her traveling clothes. Venturing to Seren's Folley would be dangerous, but the havoc that blade could cause in the wrong hands... It was unthinkable. She changed quickly and paused only long enough to kiss Lotte's sleeping cheek before stepping out into the night chill.
Meanwhile, Seren's Folley
Coraline stepped back into her room in the Witch's Paradise. She looked around the room quietly before locking the door and heading to the table. She looked at her gear first, then the blade Charon had given her. "The lord of death wants me to give this blade to one of the most infamous witch clans in history..." she shook her head, "He didn't pick a very good courier for the job..."
Coraline scoffed and ran her hand along the blade. There was definitely magic within the weapon, it sent a powerful chill up Coraline's spine. The metal and craftwork was unlike anything that could be found in the mortal realm. She knew she had an artifact of incredible power at her fingertips. "Death's blade, huh?"
Coraline took the hilt and lifted the weapon. It was very well balanced and strangely light for its size. When she grabbed the long hilt with her second hand, Coraline froze. Her witchmarks flared to a bright red glow, as did her pupils. The muscles in her arms spasmed. Coraline had to gather as much strength as she could to unclench her fists. The blade dropped to the floor, but it made no noise. A strange black mist seemed to break the fall. Coraline breathed heavily and stared at the demonic weapon.
She didn't feel any pain while holding the blade. Instead, she felt a great surge of power. Whispers of death and destruction crawled in the back of her mind while she held onto the artifact. She wasn't herself with that in her hands, she had thought truly evil things. With a final deep breath, Coraline took some spare sheets and threw them over the blade on the floor. "This complicates things... There's no way I'll be able to make an enchantment like that..."
It wasn't hard to find a witch in a town of hunters. Lorelai's eyes scanned the buildings as she passed them by, opened to stirrings of magic they fell on little of interest. Finally she sensed a presence, an awakened will. She surveyed the tavern that housed who could only be this Coraline. The Witch's Paradise, her lips curled into an amused smirk.
Lorelai pushed her way into its poorly lit interior. Her eyes roamed over the collection of hunters, grizzled and starry eyed alike, wincing over the broken, druken shells of once proud men that clung to corners and barstools. Coraline wasn't here, that left the rooms above the tavern proper. She was about to start towards the stairs when she spied a familair figure stepping out from what she assumed was a kitchen. Red hair, right height, and eerily similar face.
Lorelai approached the girl smiling. "Excuse me dear, but do you know a Charlotte?"
Abby still wasn't used to sleeping in the tavern. It was lounder than the church with its nuns and bells and that was loud compared to the farm. There were always little sounds, men grunting and snoring, drunks telling tall tales. People arguing and ....other activities between men and women and every pairing inbetween.
Yet it was also the lack of sounds that made it hard to sleep. No sisters' soft sleeping breaths. No rustling of blankets of other shifting. No whispered conversations. It was...above all else, lonely. A feeling that Abby had never had to deal with before. And she didn't like it. Not at all. Sure, the hunters treated her like a little loved thing. A pat on the head here, a small treat there. She was adored. But it was all superfical and she spent much time...alone. Abby didn't even know if she should cry for one sister or two ,and after what she saw, she wasn't sure which would be worse.
Like many nights before, Abby found herself tiptoeing through the late night visitors in the tavern. Almost everyone was asleep, so she didn't have any trouble getting to the kitchen for a glass of water. But coming back she ran into a women. A woman who noticed her, really noticed her. It was...suspicious and she was asking about Lotte, a name Abby hadn't really mentioned a lot other than refuring to her as 'her other sister' "Exuse me ma'am," she said in her sweetest, most childlike voice. "But...why are you asking? Who are you? The woman picked a silly place if she meant to cause her harm, there was an army of 'Abby doters' less than a scream away.
"I'm Lorelai, and Lotte has been worried about you." Lorelai's smile brightened as she saw the recognition in the girl's eyes. "She's safe and sound, and I'm sure she'd love to see you if you'd care to join me when my buisness here is finished?"
Abby fought to keep her face from expressing too much shock at hearing that this woman supposedly had been with Lotte. "Why isn't she with you now? Is she well?" she didn't really want to go with this woman. She was new and...uncharted, going with her could mean anything. Here, at least, Abby knew what to expect. At the same time...she wanted Lotte back more than anything. Ash was gone, they had burried her under some large oak tree. So..there was no getting her back. "Where did you find her? more importantly, what did Lotte rememeber?
"My sister found her lost, wondering the woods several days northeast of here. I've taken her in, and provided a place where she can learn about her talents" Lorelai explained in her most reassuring voice. "She's at home, sleeping soundly and settling in nicely."
Talent? Though Abby to herself Is that what she calls Lotte's...oddness? More like a talent for ruining everything and leaving me to clean up the mess like always. Yes, Abby knew what Lorelai was talking about...the 'friends' that Lotte made. And if this woman lived with her in a safe place than that meant she too, was odd... And just what every single person in this tavern was trained to kill. Still she didn't seem to mean her harm. "That sounds wonderful," Said Abby, adding just a hint of longing to her voice. "I would love to join you ma'am. It is just that, well...Lotte doesn't know but..." Abby allowed her voice to crack slightly for effect. "O-our s-sister A-ashely was...k-killed a few days b-back," Abby rubbed a tear out of her eye. "I-I would like it if...before I left, Lotte could come here and...help me say goodbye. I-I know where Ash is...burried, b-but I-I h-haven't been. I-I could g-go by m-myself. B-but I think I c-could go with L-lotte, I think A-Ash w-would l-ike t-that,"
That was a lie, of course, she'd been to Ash's grave almost everyday since they burried her. But if she wanted Lotte to herself, she'd have to get her away from Lorelai. And if Lorelai was...talented..well, the hunters could just take care of that.
"I can do that dear." It never occurred to Lorelai to scan a girl as young as Abby for malicous intent, not in this moment anyway with how sweet Lotte had been. "Although it may be tomorrow if that's ok? Then perhaps if you'd like you could come to live with us. Lotte and I would like that very much."
"I-I want to see L-Lotte," she said, taking a deep breath. "B-but morning isn't so far away," Besides, she needed the time to get a pack of hunters 'wandering' nearby. "A-and I w-would love that, w-we could be a family. I better go get my things and I'll meet you by the oak tree at the edge of town just before high noon?,"
"Ok dear. We'll be here then alright? Maybe we'll take a detour into the glow wood for a picnic." Lorelai ruffled the girl's hair, smiling brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that she turned towards the stairs, intent on finishing her buisness as quickly as possible.
Abby watched Lorelai head up the stairs before she tiptoed over to the job board and, written in the handwriting that the nuns alway praised, a job. Witch, familar, Spotted just out of town. Thousand gold to be paid if caught by tomorrow night There was sure to be more than a handful of money hungry hunters that would see the job before Bobby could take it down. With that plan set in motion. Abby crept back up to bed. If everything went well tomorrow, she'd soon haver her sister back. [
Coraline looked at the mess of sheets on the floor, "How in the hell am I going to handle this thing..." she whispered to herself.
She bit her lip and bunched up the sheets, never touching the weapon concealed within. If anybody found the sword now, it'd cause untold amounts of destruction. Coraline knew it couldn't leave the room either, it was the only place she had at least a modicum of control over. She look around and eventually turned her gaze upward to the rafters. There were large wooden planks that would hide the blade long enough for Coraline to figure out a new plan.
She took the chair from the simple table close to the door and put it on top of her bed. With the sword in hand, Coraline slowly, and unsteadily, climbed onto the chair. She was close enough to the rafters that she could ease the blade up and push it with her finger tips. Over a few minutes of struggling and quiet curses, Coraline eventually succeeded. She climbed down and put the chair back in its original position. At any angle, the blade couldn't be seen. "It'll have to do for now." she said.
Lorelai came to what she presumed was Coraline's door. Although with the barely muffled sounds coming from the adjoining rooms one couldn't be sure. She rose a hand and knocked three times in quick succession. How did one convince a strange witch to hand over an extremely dangerous artifact? Lorelai hoped this would be bloodless, but held out little hope.
Coraline looked over to the door quickly when the knocks came. She quietly grabbed Arcadia from the table and stepped up to the door, "Who is it?" she asked.
Lorelai wondered if a lie would be suitable here, but decided against it. If she wanted this to be civil her best hope would be the truth, she could either lean on her fearsome reputation or open up an honest discourse. "Lorelai. I think it's time we had a small chat, don't you Coraline?"
Coraline didn't know what to do. She looked up at the rafter that the blade was hidden on, it was completely out of sight. She slowly reached for the lock on the door but paused, 'What the hell are you thinking, Coraline?!' she thought.
The knight took a deep breath, "No Coraline here dear, your friend might be doing her rounds with the men." she faked a giggle to try and come off as some escort. That killed her a little on the inside.
Lorelai arched an eyebrow, and focused her magical sight on the door. Her eyes confirmed what she'd suspected. "Then you must be some other witch in a hunter's tavern, my mistake." Her voice dripped with exasperated sarcasm. "Come now Coraline, I don't mean you any harm. Just a chat."
'... Shit...' was all Coraline could think as Lorelai saw right through the quick excuse. She clenched her teeth and unlocked the door, but she held the handle so she couldn't come in right away. "No games, Von'strauss..." she warned and slowly opened the door.
Coraline had Arcadia in plain sight, telling Lorelai that she wasn't taking this lightly. "Come in before somebody sees you."
Lorelai stepped into the room quickly. Her eyes scanned the room in search of the relic, but Coraline evidently had it hidden. A good sign, at least the woman respected the danger it posed then. Turning to her she spoke. "You have me at a disadvantage. I'm Lorelai Von'Strauss, and you're Coraline...?" She extended her hand in greeting.
The knight eyed Lorelai as she looked around the room. The damned witch made her intentions known with those searching eyes. Coraline locked the door behind her and nodded, "Yeah, I know who you are. No need for introductions."
Coraline stepped in front of a clothing cabinet and stood firm. So long as Lorelai believed the blade was elsewhere, she could buy some time for... something to happen that would help with Lorelei. Coraline didn't even take Lorelai's hand, she spoke instead, "It's not here. I sent it away."
"No you didn't." Lorelai said simply, frowning at the huntress' snub. "If you did you're an unimaginable fool to entrust such a thing to anyone, and you don't look like a fool to me. We both know, in some small measure, what it's capable of, so why don't you tell me what you want? So I can be away with it before it does any harm."
Coraline shook her head, "You aren't having it. Why would I hand such a powerful artifact over to you, Von'strauss? I know what your family has done, I wont allow it to happen again."
Coraline wished she had somebody to back her up right now... Flint, Liz, Bobby... Hell, even Emiliah! "Why do you want it?"
"Then you know I can rip this town apart and pick through the remains until I find it Coraline." Lorelai's voice was low and dangerous. "But I'm hoping to resolve this peacefully, not all Von'Strauss are power mad tyrants."
She took a breath and regained her composure, taking a seat in the simple chair the tavern had provided the room. "As for why I want it? Mostly I just don't want anyone to have it. Have you touched it? Felt the impulses?" Lorelai looked into Coraline's eyes, guessing the woman had. "The path I walk requires mastery of one's inner demons, along as those without. I will contain it, and use it only in dire need."
"Aye, I've held it. The power, the need to destroy, you wont let go of it." Even just thinking back to holding the blade made Coraline's witchmarks flare for the briefest of seconds. "That blade isn't mean for hunters or witches. Nobody will have it, I wont allow it."
"I've walked the inferno girl. Pit my will against would-be gods and self styled Lords of darker impuses than you've begun to entertain. I've stood before the Betrayer himself and he was the first to look away." Lorelai stood. "I don't want to bear it any more than you do, but I can't trust something like that with you. I, however, might offer a compromise. Keep it, but come with me. I'll give you an oath not to take it from you unless you falter."
Lorelai removed her ritual dagger from its sheath at her hip. "But that's the best I can offer I'm afraid, for the good of both mine and yours."
"Before any deal is made," Coraline starts, "We go somewhere safer, and you tell me your intentions. Your real ones. I didn't come to Seren's Folly to take sides, and I'm not about to start."
"We all take sides, even the middle path is a choice. Often a poor one." Tension fled from Lorelai's shoulders at the small in-road she'd made. "But enough of an old witch's ramblings, you speak truth enough. Lead on Coraline."
Coraline eyed Lorelai suspiciously before heading toward the door. She unlocked it and looked up and down the corridor. After seeing nobody and hearing only the laughs of patrons downstairs and moans of pleasure through closed doors, Coraline stepped out. She slid Arcadia into her sheath and nodded to Lorelai, "No tricks. Stay quiet." she said sternly and headed down the stairs.
Lorelai nodded as she followed Coraline down the stars to the tavern proper, she took one more look around the dingy hunter's den before joining Coraline outside. The two made their way silently along the dirt path heading north. Several minutes after they'd passed the last of the houses in Seren's Folly they came to a stop.
"Alright, you wanted to hear about my intentions." Lorelai leaned against a tree, how long since she slept? She was eager to be home and sleeping, but this night didn't seem to be getting any shorter. "I'll interate again, I want to ensure that Charon's blade isn't... abused. That's my goal here, and I don't trust you any more than you trust me."
Coraline crossed her arms while she listened to Lorelai. "I'm going to be frank with you, Von'strauss. I know how addicting magic is, and I've held onto that blade. Witches don't stand a chance to the power that blade had, not unless one disciplines themselves for years before wielding it. If you take the blade, I can assure you that you'll find yourself drunken with its power within a fortnight."
"I've hidden the blade, and I'm not going to hand it over. Not to you, or anybody else. I'm going to train myself to withstand it's force and I'll safeguard the blade myself. If it falls into the hands of either a pure witch or a pure hunter, there's no telling how far we'll all fall."
"I think you underestimate the discipline it takes to walk where I've walked, but no matter. We share the same concerns." Lorelai stepped towards the hunteress. "I'll allow you to keep the blade, but I can't just have it floating around in the hands of a hunteress I hardly know. My condition is that you come with me, so that if you falter I don't have to travel far to destroy you."
Coraline bit her lip. Things had changed so fast. At one moment, she was a knight arriving at Seren's Folly to try and achieve piece. And the next, she was talking with an infamous witch about the safekeeping of a deadly artifact. "I have an alternative plan."
"Alternative plan?" Lorelai pressed her hands to her eyes in frustration. "How clearer do I need to be!?... Fine, tell me of your alternative."
Coraline shrugged, "I understand you as clear as day. But going with you with Charon's blade doesn't exactly sit well with me. My alternative is that we make a blood pact, so that the both of us know where each other at all times. There would be... Side effects, but neither of us would struggle with locating each other if one of us goes too far."
"You expect me to give you my location at all times?" Lorelai blinked at Coraline. "Coraline... I just want to keep an eye on you, and the blade. Once I'm satisfied you're no danger to yourself or those around you I'll release you. I'm not going to live the remainder of my years wondering when you'll slip, or whether or not I'll arrive in time to prevent you from causing unspeakable harm."
"I've got a family now, and you won't be threatening it." Lorelai's voice was low, near a growl. "Now, girl. Your options are to either come with me and allow me to assist you in safeguarding the blade, and earning my promise of safety and respect. Or making an enemy of me, and consigning yourself to what little time you have before I come sceaming for your blood."
Coraline took a deep breath and studied Lorelai. "One week. That is as long as I'm willing to be gone for. If you do anything that would make me suspicious, I will leave." The knight took a step closer to Lorelai, "I'm not like the rest of these hunters. Don't trifle with me, Von'strauss."
"Hmm... one week? Not nearly what I'd like... but it will have to do." Lorelai nodded and removed her ritual dagger from its sheath at her hip. "I'll be taking the Oath you offered earlier too then, I'll just have to deal with you knowing where I am I suppose."
"I presume you'll want to perform the rite? As suspicious as you are of me?" Lorelai turned the blade over in her hand, extending the handle towards Coraline.
Coraline looked to the ritual dagger and took it from Lorelai's hand. "I simply want peace between the witch covens and the hunters. If this closes that gap, then it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Besides, it also means that I too will have to deal with your probing curiosities."
The red haired huntress rested the blade against her palm and took in a deep with. After clenching her teeth, Coraline drew the dagger back and sliced her hand open. She hissed in pain but continued. Coraline started to mutter a chant, her witchmarks began to glow, as did the blood on the knife. The knight turned her glowing eyes on Lorelai, "Give me your hand."
"All hunters need to do to get peace from me and mine is quit killing my sisters." Lorelai rolled up the sleeve of her robe and extended her hand towards Coraline. She kept her eyes on the hunteress as the woman added to the countless pink scars across her palm. From the small wound seeped her blood, and the tell-tale acrid black smoke that marked her as less -or more- than human. "Finish your spell witch, and we'll be away."
Coraline looked up from Lorelai's hand for a moment when she was a witch. It didn't bother her, but she found it strange that an actual witch would call her such. Disregarding the comment, Coraline went back to the task at hand (no pun intended >.>), and clasped her bleeding hand with Lorelai's. She spoke a few more words and the two of them felt a rush of arcane energies flowing up their arms.
Coraline held back a breath and let it out slowly, she had only performed this ritual once before it didn't last long. The glowing witchmarks faded back to normal and Coraline felt more... in sync. She could feel herself standing next to her actual self. "There..." she sighed, "It's done."
"And done more than you intended I think." Lorelai clamped down on the intrusive thoughts and feelings that welled up in her, coming across the link from Coraline. Pushing them from her mind she narrowed her eyes at the woman. "There, are you satisfied? Shall we return to my home now? Or was there anything else?" she let a small measure of her annoyance come out in her speech.
Coraline clenched her fist and took in another breath before nodding to Lorelai, "As satisfied as I can be for the time being..." The flare of annoyance came through in her comment. "Wait for me to retrieve the sword, then we can go."
"Half Witch Meets Full Witch"
Lorelai found herself in the realm of man again. She handed the still unconscious Zehir to Sousiel, who surveyed her mistress in relief before silently heading to her adjoining room to inform the new familiar of her new existence and responsibilities.
Lorelai made her way slowly to her bed, smiling softly at Lotte's still sleeping form. Every Von'Strauss needed a formidable familiar, hopefully they'd enjoy each other. Just as she was about to change into her nightclothes she felt a chill in her spine as a familiar voice echoed in her mind.
"Mistress... Did you enjoy my gifts?" Charon spoke, his voice composed of last breaths and sighs of regret.
"Quite. Liz is fitting in nicely, I ended up letting Flint go. Oh, and Lotte is... Thank you." Lorelai couldn't find words adequite enough to describe her feelings towards her new daughter.
"And my blade? Did you get that or has Coraline delivered it yet?"
"Your blade!? You sent that here!?" Lorelai's mind reeled. That was a gift grander than any she'd recieved.
"Of course, your descent nears mistress. I hope you'll remember me fondly. The witch girl should be in Seren's Folley. Best of luck." Warmth returned to Lorelai as Charon severed their connection.
Lorelai put her nightclothes away, instead opting for a clean set of her traveling clothes. Venturing to Seren's Folley would be dangerous, but the havoc that blade could cause in the wrong hands... It was unthinkable. She changed quickly and paused only long enough to kiss Lotte's sleeping cheek before stepping out into the night chill.
Meanwhile, Seren's Folley
Coraline stepped back into her room in the Witch's Paradise. She looked around the room quietly before locking the door and heading to the table. She looked at her gear first, then the blade Charon had given her. "The lord of death wants me to give this blade to one of the most infamous witch clans in history..." she shook her head, "He didn't pick a very good courier for the job..."
Coraline scoffed and ran her hand along the blade. There was definitely magic within the weapon, it sent a powerful chill up Coraline's spine. The metal and craftwork was unlike anything that could be found in the mortal realm. She knew she had an artifact of incredible power at her fingertips. "Death's blade, huh?"
Coraline took the hilt and lifted the weapon. It was very well balanced and strangely light for its size. When she grabbed the long hilt with her second hand, Coraline froze. Her witchmarks flared to a bright red glow, as did her pupils. The muscles in her arms spasmed. Coraline had to gather as much strength as she could to unclench her fists. The blade dropped to the floor, but it made no noise. A strange black mist seemed to break the fall. Coraline breathed heavily and stared at the demonic weapon.
She didn't feel any pain while holding the blade. Instead, she felt a great surge of power. Whispers of death and destruction crawled in the back of her mind while she held onto the artifact. She wasn't herself with that in her hands, she had thought truly evil things. With a final deep breath, Coraline took some spare sheets and threw them over the blade on the floor. "This complicates things... There's no way I'll be able to make an enchantment like that..."
It wasn't hard to find a witch in a town of hunters. Lorelai's eyes scanned the buildings as she passed them by, opened to stirrings of magic they fell on little of interest. Finally she sensed a presence, an awakened will. She surveyed the tavern that housed who could only be this Coraline. The Witch's Paradise, her lips curled into an amused smirk.
Lorelai pushed her way into its poorly lit interior. Her eyes roamed over the collection of hunters, grizzled and starry eyed alike, wincing over the broken, druken shells of once proud men that clung to corners and barstools. Coraline wasn't here, that left the rooms above the tavern proper. She was about to start towards the stairs when she spied a familair figure stepping out from what she assumed was a kitchen. Red hair, right height, and eerily similar face.
Lorelai approached the girl smiling. "Excuse me dear, but do you know a Charlotte?"
Abby still wasn't used to sleeping in the tavern. It was lounder than the church with its nuns and bells and that was loud compared to the farm. There were always little sounds, men grunting and snoring, drunks telling tall tales. People arguing and ....other activities between men and women and every pairing inbetween.
Yet it was also the lack of sounds that made it hard to sleep. No sisters' soft sleeping breaths. No rustling of blankets of other shifting. No whispered conversations. It was...above all else, lonely. A feeling that Abby had never had to deal with before. And she didn't like it. Not at all. Sure, the hunters treated her like a little loved thing. A pat on the head here, a small treat there. She was adored. But it was all superfical and she spent much time...alone. Abby didn't even know if she should cry for one sister or two ,and after what she saw, she wasn't sure which would be worse.
Like many nights before, Abby found herself tiptoeing through the late night visitors in the tavern. Almost everyone was asleep, so she didn't have any trouble getting to the kitchen for a glass of water. But coming back she ran into a women. A woman who noticed her, really noticed her. It was...suspicious and she was asking about Lotte, a name Abby hadn't really mentioned a lot other than refuring to her as 'her other sister' "Exuse me ma'am," she said in her sweetest, most childlike voice. "But...why are you asking? Who are you? The woman picked a silly place if she meant to cause her harm, there was an army of 'Abby doters' less than a scream away.
"I'm Lorelai, and Lotte has been worried about you." Lorelai's smile brightened as she saw the recognition in the girl's eyes. "She's safe and sound, and I'm sure she'd love to see you if you'd care to join me when my buisness here is finished?"
Abby fought to keep her face from expressing too much shock at hearing that this woman supposedly had been with Lotte. "Why isn't she with you now? Is she well?" she didn't really want to go with this woman. She was new and...uncharted, going with her could mean anything. Here, at least, Abby knew what to expect. At the same time...she wanted Lotte back more than anything. Ash was gone, they had burried her under some large oak tree. So..there was no getting her back. "Where did you find her? more importantly, what did Lotte rememeber?
"My sister found her lost, wondering the woods several days northeast of here. I've taken her in, and provided a place where she can learn about her talents" Lorelai explained in her most reassuring voice. "She's at home, sleeping soundly and settling in nicely."
Talent? Though Abby to herself Is that what she calls Lotte's...oddness? More like a talent for ruining everything and leaving me to clean up the mess like always. Yes, Abby knew what Lorelai was talking about...the 'friends' that Lotte made. And if this woman lived with her in a safe place than that meant she too, was odd... And just what every single person in this tavern was trained to kill. Still she didn't seem to mean her harm. "That sounds wonderful," Said Abby, adding just a hint of longing to her voice. "I would love to join you ma'am. It is just that, well...Lotte doesn't know but..." Abby allowed her voice to crack slightly for effect. "O-our s-sister A-ashely was...k-killed a few days b-back," Abby rubbed a tear out of her eye. "I-I would like it if...before I left, Lotte could come here and...help me say goodbye. I-I know where Ash is...burried, b-but I-I h-haven't been. I-I could g-go by m-myself. B-but I think I c-could go with L-lotte, I think A-Ash w-would l-ike t-that,"
That was a lie, of course, she'd been to Ash's grave almost everyday since they burried her. But if she wanted Lotte to herself, she'd have to get her away from Lorelai. And if Lorelai was...talented..well, the hunters could just take care of that.
"I can do that dear." It never occurred to Lorelai to scan a girl as young as Abby for malicous intent, not in this moment anyway with how sweet Lotte had been. "Although it may be tomorrow if that's ok? Then perhaps if you'd like you could come to live with us. Lotte and I would like that very much."
"I-I want to see L-Lotte," she said, taking a deep breath. "B-but morning isn't so far away," Besides, she needed the time to get a pack of hunters 'wandering' nearby. "A-and I w-would love that, w-we could be a family. I better go get my things and I'll meet you by the oak tree at the edge of town just before high noon?,"
"Ok dear. We'll be here then alright? Maybe we'll take a detour into the glow wood for a picnic." Lorelai ruffled the girl's hair, smiling brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that she turned towards the stairs, intent on finishing her buisness as quickly as possible.
Abby watched Lorelai head up the stairs before she tiptoed over to the job board and, written in the handwriting that the nuns alway praised, a job. Witch, familar, Spotted just out of town. Thousand gold to be paid if caught by tomorrow night There was sure to be more than a handful of money hungry hunters that would see the job before Bobby could take it down. With that plan set in motion. Abby crept back up to bed. If everything went well tomorrow, she'd soon haver her sister back. [
Coraline looked at the mess of sheets on the floor, "How in the hell am I going to handle this thing..." she whispered to herself.
She bit her lip and bunched up the sheets, never touching the weapon concealed within. If anybody found the sword now, it'd cause untold amounts of destruction. Coraline knew it couldn't leave the room either, it was the only place she had at least a modicum of control over. She look around and eventually turned her gaze upward to the rafters. There were large wooden planks that would hide the blade long enough for Coraline to figure out a new plan.
She took the chair from the simple table close to the door and put it on top of her bed. With the sword in hand, Coraline slowly, and unsteadily, climbed onto the chair. She was close enough to the rafters that she could ease the blade up and push it with her finger tips. Over a few minutes of struggling and quiet curses, Coraline eventually succeeded. She climbed down and put the chair back in its original position. At any angle, the blade couldn't be seen. "It'll have to do for now." she said.
Lorelai came to what she presumed was Coraline's door. Although with the barely muffled sounds coming from the adjoining rooms one couldn't be sure. She rose a hand and knocked three times in quick succession. How did one convince a strange witch to hand over an extremely dangerous artifact? Lorelai hoped this would be bloodless, but held out little hope.
Coraline looked over to the door quickly when the knocks came. She quietly grabbed Arcadia from the table and stepped up to the door, "Who is it?" she asked.
Lorelai wondered if a lie would be suitable here, but decided against it. If she wanted this to be civil her best hope would be the truth, she could either lean on her fearsome reputation or open up an honest discourse. "Lorelai. I think it's time we had a small chat, don't you Coraline?"
Coraline didn't know what to do. She looked up at the rafter that the blade was hidden on, it was completely out of sight. She slowly reached for the lock on the door but paused, 'What the hell are you thinking, Coraline?!' she thought.
The knight took a deep breath, "No Coraline here dear, your friend might be doing her rounds with the men." she faked a giggle to try and come off as some escort. That killed her a little on the inside.
Lorelai arched an eyebrow, and focused her magical sight on the door. Her eyes confirmed what she'd suspected. "Then you must be some other witch in a hunter's tavern, my mistake." Her voice dripped with exasperated sarcasm. "Come now Coraline, I don't mean you any harm. Just a chat."
'... Shit...' was all Coraline could think as Lorelai saw right through the quick excuse. She clenched her teeth and unlocked the door, but she held the handle so she couldn't come in right away. "No games, Von'strauss..." she warned and slowly opened the door.
Coraline had Arcadia in plain sight, telling Lorelai that she wasn't taking this lightly. "Come in before somebody sees you."
Lorelai stepped into the room quickly. Her eyes scanned the room in search of the relic, but Coraline evidently had it hidden. A good sign, at least the woman respected the danger it posed then. Turning to her she spoke. "You have me at a disadvantage. I'm Lorelai Von'Strauss, and you're Coraline...?" She extended her hand in greeting.
The knight eyed Lorelai as she looked around the room. The damned witch made her intentions known with those searching eyes. Coraline locked the door behind her and nodded, "Yeah, I know who you are. No need for introductions."
Coraline stepped in front of a clothing cabinet and stood firm. So long as Lorelai believed the blade was elsewhere, she could buy some time for... something to happen that would help with Lorelei. Coraline didn't even take Lorelai's hand, she spoke instead, "It's not here. I sent it away."
"No you didn't." Lorelai said simply, frowning at the huntress' snub. "If you did you're an unimaginable fool to entrust such a thing to anyone, and you don't look like a fool to me. We both know, in some small measure, what it's capable of, so why don't you tell me what you want? So I can be away with it before it does any harm."
Coraline shook her head, "You aren't having it. Why would I hand such a powerful artifact over to you, Von'strauss? I know what your family has done, I wont allow it to happen again."
Coraline wished she had somebody to back her up right now... Flint, Liz, Bobby... Hell, even Emiliah! "Why do you want it?"
"Then you know I can rip this town apart and pick through the remains until I find it Coraline." Lorelai's voice was low and dangerous. "But I'm hoping to resolve this peacefully, not all Von'Strauss are power mad tyrants."
She took a breath and regained her composure, taking a seat in the simple chair the tavern had provided the room. "As for why I want it? Mostly I just don't want anyone to have it. Have you touched it? Felt the impulses?" Lorelai looked into Coraline's eyes, guessing the woman had. "The path I walk requires mastery of one's inner demons, along as those without. I will contain it, and use it only in dire need."
"Aye, I've held it. The power, the need to destroy, you wont let go of it." Even just thinking back to holding the blade made Coraline's witchmarks flare for the briefest of seconds. "That blade isn't mean for hunters or witches. Nobody will have it, I wont allow it."
"I've walked the inferno girl. Pit my will against would-be gods and self styled Lords of darker impuses than you've begun to entertain. I've stood before the Betrayer himself and he was the first to look away." Lorelai stood. "I don't want to bear it any more than you do, but I can't trust something like that with you. I, however, might offer a compromise. Keep it, but come with me. I'll give you an oath not to take it from you unless you falter."
Lorelai removed her ritual dagger from its sheath at her hip. "But that's the best I can offer I'm afraid, for the good of both mine and yours."
"Before any deal is made," Coraline starts, "We go somewhere safer, and you tell me your intentions. Your real ones. I didn't come to Seren's Folly to take sides, and I'm not about to start."
"We all take sides, even the middle path is a choice. Often a poor one." Tension fled from Lorelai's shoulders at the small in-road she'd made. "But enough of an old witch's ramblings, you speak truth enough. Lead on Coraline."
Coraline eyed Lorelai suspiciously before heading toward the door. She unlocked it and looked up and down the corridor. After seeing nobody and hearing only the laughs of patrons downstairs and moans of pleasure through closed doors, Coraline stepped out. She slid Arcadia into her sheath and nodded to Lorelai, "No tricks. Stay quiet." she said sternly and headed down the stairs.
Lorelai nodded as she followed Coraline down the stars to the tavern proper, she took one more look around the dingy hunter's den before joining Coraline outside. The two made their way silently along the dirt path heading north. Several minutes after they'd passed the last of the houses in Seren's Folly they came to a stop.
"Alright, you wanted to hear about my intentions." Lorelai leaned against a tree, how long since she slept? She was eager to be home and sleeping, but this night didn't seem to be getting any shorter. "I'll interate again, I want to ensure that Charon's blade isn't... abused. That's my goal here, and I don't trust you any more than you trust me."
Coraline crossed her arms while she listened to Lorelai. "I'm going to be frank with you, Von'strauss. I know how addicting magic is, and I've held onto that blade. Witches don't stand a chance to the power that blade had, not unless one disciplines themselves for years before wielding it. If you take the blade, I can assure you that you'll find yourself drunken with its power within a fortnight."
"I've hidden the blade, and I'm not going to hand it over. Not to you, or anybody else. I'm going to train myself to withstand it's force and I'll safeguard the blade myself. If it falls into the hands of either a pure witch or a pure hunter, there's no telling how far we'll all fall."
"I think you underestimate the discipline it takes to walk where I've walked, but no matter. We share the same concerns." Lorelai stepped towards the hunteress. "I'll allow you to keep the blade, but I can't just have it floating around in the hands of a hunteress I hardly know. My condition is that you come with me, so that if you falter I don't have to travel far to destroy you."
Coraline bit her lip. Things had changed so fast. At one moment, she was a knight arriving at Seren's Folly to try and achieve piece. And the next, she was talking with an infamous witch about the safekeeping of a deadly artifact. "I have an alternative plan."
"Alternative plan?" Lorelai pressed her hands to her eyes in frustration. "How clearer do I need to be!?... Fine, tell me of your alternative."
Coraline shrugged, "I understand you as clear as day. But going with you with Charon's blade doesn't exactly sit well with me. My alternative is that we make a blood pact, so that the both of us know where each other at all times. There would be... Side effects, but neither of us would struggle with locating each other if one of us goes too far."
"You expect me to give you my location at all times?" Lorelai blinked at Coraline. "Coraline... I just want to keep an eye on you, and the blade. Once I'm satisfied you're no danger to yourself or those around you I'll release you. I'm not going to live the remainder of my years wondering when you'll slip, or whether or not I'll arrive in time to prevent you from causing unspeakable harm."
"I've got a family now, and you won't be threatening it." Lorelai's voice was low, near a growl. "Now, girl. Your options are to either come with me and allow me to assist you in safeguarding the blade, and earning my promise of safety and respect. Or making an enemy of me, and consigning yourself to what little time you have before I come sceaming for your blood."
Coraline took a deep breath and studied Lorelai. "One week. That is as long as I'm willing to be gone for. If you do anything that would make me suspicious, I will leave." The knight took a step closer to Lorelai, "I'm not like the rest of these hunters. Don't trifle with me, Von'strauss."
"Hmm... one week? Not nearly what I'd like... but it will have to do." Lorelai nodded and removed her ritual dagger from its sheath at her hip. "I'll be taking the Oath you offered earlier too then, I'll just have to deal with you knowing where I am I suppose."
"I presume you'll want to perform the rite? As suspicious as you are of me?" Lorelai turned the blade over in her hand, extending the handle towards Coraline.
Coraline looked to the ritual dagger and took it from Lorelai's hand. "I simply want peace between the witch covens and the hunters. If this closes that gap, then it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Besides, it also means that I too will have to deal with your probing curiosities."
The red haired huntress rested the blade against her palm and took in a deep with. After clenching her teeth, Coraline drew the dagger back and sliced her hand open. She hissed in pain but continued. Coraline started to mutter a chant, her witchmarks began to glow, as did the blood on the knife. The knight turned her glowing eyes on Lorelai, "Give me your hand."
"All hunters need to do to get peace from me and mine is quit killing my sisters." Lorelai rolled up the sleeve of her robe and extended her hand towards Coraline. She kept her eyes on the hunteress as the woman added to the countless pink scars across her palm. From the small wound seeped her blood, and the tell-tale acrid black smoke that marked her as less -or more- than human. "Finish your spell witch, and we'll be away."
Coraline looked up from Lorelai's hand for a moment when she was a witch. It didn't bother her, but she found it strange that an actual witch would call her such. Disregarding the comment, Coraline went back to the task at hand (no pun intended >.>), and clasped her bleeding hand with Lorelai's. She spoke a few more words and the two of them felt a rush of arcane energies flowing up their arms.
Coraline held back a breath and let it out slowly, she had only performed this ritual once before it didn't last long. The glowing witchmarks faded back to normal and Coraline felt more... in sync. She could feel herself standing next to her actual self. "There..." she sighed, "It's done."
"And done more than you intended I think." Lorelai clamped down on the intrusive thoughts and feelings that welled up in her, coming across the link from Coraline. Pushing them from her mind she narrowed her eyes at the woman. "There, are you satisfied? Shall we return to my home now? Or was there anything else?" she let a small measure of her annoyance come out in her speech.
Coraline clenched her fist and took in another breath before nodding to Lorelai, "As satisfied as I can be for the time being..." The flare of annoyance came through in her comment. "Wait for me to retrieve the sword, then we can go."
@Whoami I see you! Got time to write? Or just dropping by to lurk?
Draco and Andri are plotting with a witch, or working on it. Em's glaring at Vivian, who's struggling not to run away. Flint is getting checked out. Mat is in a cage being played with by Ang.
That's what I've got so far.
That's what I've got so far.
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