NoriWasHere

Post deletion request

roleplayerguild.com/posts/5520484

Accidentally posted to wrong thread.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Oh the crazy things we’ve seen, oh the crazy things we must do.

INTERACTIONS Carol, @Punished GN Vashti@Atrophy Linqian @FernStone Ken @AtomicEmperor

A pain unlike any other manifested in Lila’s mind. It was sharp, quick, but the feeling of the pain left a sense of unease. It felt, for the briefest of moments, like the pain came with a scream. Not her scream, nor that of the maidens, but someone else. The scream only lasted as long as the pain did, and the pain only lasted a second, but it was enough for Lila to pause her run and look back to the murders descent on 8th street. She then watched the sky catch fire and get mind was filled with the brief scream of a few hundred crows, and a pain that threatened to split her mind from her soul.

Lila doubled over as her clawed hands gripped her head as she began to press against her skull to alleviate the pain but it offered no relief. Lila pressed, pressed, and pressed done more claws digging into the flesh of her skull causing a steady and warm stream of blackened blood to spill forth. And the psychic pain only grew. And grew. And it grew with each subsequent bird that got burnt by Emily’s inferno. Each second that passed a new scream was added, removed, replaced, and the cycle repeated and repeated until the last bird caught was nothing more than a charred crisp. Lila felt herself try to fall as her vision narrowed, but she managed to pull herself away from falling unconscious.

Yet the silence did not bring Lila peace, the lack of screaming voices did not bring peace. Instead, it brought a clarity that she never knew. The crows were once people, and Emily just killed whatever was left of them. She knew that she would not let their sacrifice be in vain. And she knew it was time to start replacing her losses. All across her exposed chest feathers began to erupt outward with a rapid pace, covering herself within a few seconds. Her black eyes began to seemingly leak, sending pitch black tears streaming down her face. Lila and the maiden weeped together and as one for their fallen murder. And their dour expression slowly turned insidious as they caught a slightly wounded Vashti running towards them. The two knew in a straight up fight they’d lose to Vashti, she was far too strong and quick in her storm. However, even the strongest could not resist the temptation of the maiden, and the duo cackled with laughter as she drew close.

Vashti launched herself at Lila, no doubt trying to kick her into the fire wall that Emily oh so confidently put up to block her exit. They made one crucial error Lila thought as she side-stepped the kick, grabbing Vashti legs with one clawed hand and stabbing the other hand into Vashti’s thigh.

Lila turned her body, pulling Vashti along with the turn, and launched Vashti back towards the house. Lila took a step forward as Lila and The Maiden chucked a devious chuckle, their wings flashing green several times in a second. Their crucial error was they were not afraid, and Lila was about to remind them that they should be.

“Emmmmily,” the two shouted as one, “…...watch.”

---

Jasper frantically added detail to his painting, using his large frame to block out as much of the rain as he could. He was close to the wood line on the side of the house, and he slowly crept towards the shelter offered by the canopy above. On his canvas his greatest creation yet was nearly finished, and he hoped that he could catch Carol by suprise once more. The Magnum Opus was a complex construct, featuring layers upon layers of paint and infused intentions. His intention to protect, to safeguard, and to kill.

Jasper still knew that shooting Carol would not be murder. Her little hourglass would simply bring her back at the end of the day and she would simply be angrier.

Once he reached the tree line he quickly returned to painting his weapon. This would be his moment to protect the coven, to show them the power that he possessed. This would be his moment to make a difference in a real fight, and not just act like the creator of distractions. No one else would die while he was around. Jasper quickly added the finishing details and dried the painting with his spell. It was ready. He’d only pulled it once on an enemy, and this time he was ready for the kick of the gun. Jasper engaged his abstraction and used his paintbrush to pull the gun from the canvas and grabbed it with his arm. Jasper pressed up against a nearby tree, pushed the butt of the gun and raised the rifle and aimed down the field. In an instant he cursed his decision to make this a bolt action rifle with a iron sight instead of something lighter, and more modern. He was finding it hard to not only locate his target, but to also get the sight on her. Jasper exhaled completely and found that he was granted a bit more control over the wayward weapon. A moment later he had his target in sight, and he squeezed the trigger engaging the magic within the gun, firing it, and sending the first round down range. Whatever it would hit it would burry itself deep into the target, exploding outwards a moment later.

The kick was strong, however, and the barrel fought its way back and upwards. Jasper groaned at the pain he felt in his shoulder but he could not let that stop him. He pulled the bolt back, ejecting the hot painted casing that hissed as it collided with a drop of rain, before it melted away with it. He slammed the bolt forward, got the sight on what he thought was the target, and sent a second round down range. As the second shot left the barrel the gun was finally caught by the raindrops as well, with parts of it melting away. Jasper did not know what would happen if he tried to fire a third time and instead of testing that idea he simply threw the gun into the open and let it get dissolved in quick fashion.

Jasper couldn’t make out the after effects of his attack but he did catch the tail end of the Aryin George fight. He began to paint his hammer just in case someone tried to sneak up to him. He began to move towards Linqian, keeping to the tree line to protect his painting as he did.

---

Aryin saw the kick coming and she did not move. Instead she threw her arms out wide and as the kick connected with her body, the impact exploded outward with an explosive boom creating a momentary umbrella with the shockwave, and then grabbed George’s leg with her arms. She could only hold on for a few seconds before the sheer power of George’s kick launched her across the battlefield . Aryin skipped across the ground once, twice, and a third time more before she finally caught the ground properly and gouged a path through the dirt. Eventually her momentum slowed and she eventually rolled to a stop. The ground left a sizzling trail marking where she hit and a small steam cloud showed where she travelled.

That hurt. Aryin had forgotten that Too Hot To Handle came with a noticeable reduction in defensive power, and she was thankful for the magma like skin because she knew she’d be even worse for wear in this moment without it. Still, she was broken, bruised, and no longer able to carry on a fight like this. She needed her normal durability back. She needed Aaron.

Aryin began the slow process of walking towards Linqian. She knew she was alive because their magic was still strong however it looked like she took a beating when she faced Vashti. They both needed a quick sip of that good healing juice from Sully before long. They would also need clothes once their spell wore off. One problem at a time.

Eventually the arduous journey was nearly complete. Aryin could see Linqian, and she could see she was truly alive. Good. If she was alive she could survive what needed to happen. ”I thought you were stronger,” Aryin said before they pulled back their arm and punched Linqian in the gut once more, pulling back her own part of the spell breaking Too Hot To Handle in an instant. They slowly pulled their fist off her exposed stomach and offered her a hand up. “Get up bitch, the fights not done. And CAN SOMEONE GET US SOME FUCKING CLOTHES?”

“Here,” Jasper paused as he put his painting down and took off his coat, before he unbuttoned his tucked in shirt. Both were big enough that they should offer some ‘protection’ against wandering eyes. The removal of his clothes revealed his hairy muscular chest to the world, and a small smile crept across his face at his fate.

---

Lynn looked at Ken as tears streamed down her face. There was a look of shock on her face at the words Ken spoke to her. Kari wanted many things from Lynn. Dying on the battlefield was not one of them. And with what Lynn just learned her story was not going to end here. She knew this much to be true. “No, I don’t die here,” Lynn said with a dismissive tone that suggested that, in this moment, she was upset at that fact. Despite Ken’s kind words Lynn still remained in the funk. The battle, the zombies, and Lila falling further into the maiden all felt like it was not worth it anymore. Lynn was a burden that needed to be babysit. Lynn was a failure who could not help her coven. Lynn was-

bang………bang

The sound of Jasper firing his gun broke Lynn from her spiral, at least for the moment, as she swapped to the possible future to see what he was trying to do. Her eyes remained glazed for a few seconds before she returned to the present and she chuckled. Jasper was smart. Carol was the key to opening up the rest of 8th street to defeat. It just sucked that his power was rendered so inert by the rain. In the possible future Jasper’s range of attack was great. In some, he developed a new spell on the spot for a pair of revolvers, in another he turned his ranger into an army ranger by giving it a semi automatic magically powered rifle that made up for his shit fucking aim by putting that responsibility into his creation. Regardless, he was never able to take out Carol. She always had an early warning system.

“Ken, take out Carol,” Lynn paused as she pointed towards the man shooting his gun at the kid. Lynn knew it wasn’t a kid but she had no idea what he actually was. “That guy is keeping her safe from Jasper, he’s distracted but Jasper won’t be able to do much with that rain. Take Carol out, take out their ability to keep up the fight.”. Lynn’s eyes fell to the ground.

“Once we’re done here today you and I need to have a little talk,” Lynn paused as she slowly looked Ken in the eyes, “because I know Kari is alive. The future is certain with that at least.”. Lynn paused as she looked over the battlefield. “We need to leave this battle, we’re not ready for this fight yet.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions/Mentions: Sloane @Atrophy Amara @Blizz

---

So this was the correct possible future. What a fucking shit show.

Lynn of course saw this as a possibility a few moments ago but to her, this was a false future and she paid it very little attention. In the great scheme of possible predictions, those with a frequency as low as this were barely worth exploring, remembering, or mentioning. You would have thought Lynn would’ve learned this painful lesson ten years ago. You would have thought that the blood on her hands would have always forced her to be more open about what might happen. Yet what good would it do if it was someone like Sloane hearing that prediction?

Lynn did not have long to dwell on these thoughts. The building was on fire and Amara had arrived on time to save them, just as that future predicted. What happens from here is a bit of a mystery as she did not pay enough attention to it during her venture forward, but she knew one thing. She needed to get to Lila, she needed to stop what was about to happen, and she knew she was going to be too late.

Lynn followed Amara’s to the letter as she retreated from the building, the army she commanded was incredibly versatile and her use here was not only unorthodox but effective at the same time. When Lynn hit the ground, her eyes immediately turned to Lila just in time to see her back convulsing underneath the clothes. It was too late to stop this, and Lynn could only close her eyes to shield herself from the brief exposure to the coming hex. Lynn heard the rip off the skin, she felt the warm spray of blood and viscera splash across her, and then she heard the maidens' voice taunt Vashti to follow her. The footsteps she heard marked the departure of Lila towards a future of uncertainty. A future dominated by a struggle and agony, and a future that would lead to a confrontation.

That would come after their group survived today, and Lynn knew they all would have a part to play if they wanted to survive. Lynn, for example, needed to not be a distraction for once. She needed to not be a part of the fight, she needed to trust her friends and trust in their abilities. If everyone had to worry about keeping poor, useless, and vulnerable Lynn out of danger they would not be able to fight effectively. And this hurt. Lynn rarely lamented her lack of ability anymore, it was a sore spot back in the day and she remembered all too well that it was something that nearly got her, Lila, and Jasper killed. Yet it did nothing to help the feeling that she was truly worthless to the coven. She predicted that 8th street was going to attack, a moment before the attack actually happened. She predicted that Kari was more than likely alive, but could not narrow it down any further than that.

Lynn was a burden to her coven, and she was only around because their only other seeker was presumed to be dead. That’s it. That’s the only reason she was invited back. Lynn knew that everyone mostly tolerated her, and this was beginning to weigh heavily on her. Her best friend was turning into a giant bird, and she was being chased by an alligator whore, and here Lynn was being delegated to Amara to find a safe place for her to ride out the fight.

“No, no I,” Lynn started before she swallowed the desire to cry, “i can get to safety, Amara help the others.”. Lynn flashed her eyes to the possible future for a brief moment before she returned to the presence and turned away from the small group and began to run away from the fight, away from Lila, away from Sloane and Amara, and away from the crushing realization of it all. Her footsteps took her to the far side of the property. She could still see the fight but she was far enough away from it all to be considered safe. She leaned her back on a tree and slid down, watching the fight as she did.

And then she started crying. Crying at the thoughts of her friends being in trouble, crying at the realization that she was worthless to the coven, and crying at the fact that the best thing that had ever happened to her might not be dead, but also might not be the same person she remembered. And she cried some more.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: VASHTI
KARI’s

---

"They’re fighting for you and you want to run," The Maiden whispered to Lila as she was turning to help the Amara clone on the ground. Lila stopped in her steps as her head twitched violently at the words. All across her mind she could feel the feathered bitch pushing her influence like cold tendrils that wrapped its grip around her thoughts. Lila forced her head to stay still by placing her hands on her heads side pressing down as she did. "No, no, no no nononono," Lila whispered. "They’ll die fighting for you while you run," The Maiden continued, " you have always been a coward no matter what lies you tell yourself.". Lila groaned as she felt The Maiden push even harder to be let in. The Maiden was suspiciously quiet before this, and it seemed she thrived in the moments of chaos and emotional turmoil. And this was a moment of both.

For starters she saw Vashti wearing one of her favorite hoodies. A confirmation of who was at fucking fault for the damage at her house and the pain it caused her gram. Lila wanted to punish her, to rip her hands from her arms, and then her jaw from her face. Lila wanted to make her feel nothing but pain for a brief moment before she sent her off to the dreamless sleep. The joy that would bring flooded Lila’s brain and she smiled a wicked smile once more at the thought. Vashti walking through the world without her hands, her jaw, just a worthless shell of the woman who once grabbed life by… Lila paused the thought as she saw her vision get that much more clear. She blinked once, twice, and a third time as she looked over the battlefield. She could see Emily, Vashti, and every one else with such clarity. She gasped. The Maiden had found a foothold once more.

"Fuck, nonononono," Lila whimpered as she began to feel the bones in her hand push to the side as her claws began to push its way out. Lila tried to stop it, she tried to think of the monster movies she loved, the friends that she cared for, and the various cute animals she saw in her day to day at her job. Yet despite these pleasant thoughts she yelled in pain as her fingertips split open, and as the skin on her arm’s split pushing feathers through like a thousand papercuts. Lila doubled over as the pain surged with each subsequent feathers and claw and tears began to stream from her eyes as she tried to scream but couldn’t force a sound from her lips. More and more feathers sprouted from her arm, higher and higher the pain surged, and more and more of the ground became coated in her crimson blood.

After what felt like an entirety, Lila’s breath was the only sound that escaped her lips. A soft whimper soon followed by Lila still felt like she was in control. She looked at her arms, her claws, and tried to push herself up from the ground but something suddenly felt off with her back. And as something began to press against the skin on her back she suddenly found The Maiden pushing for control. Lila held on in her mind as her back began to visibly push outward at two spots on either side. Further and further out the skin began to stretch, the bulging mass visible to Sloane, Amara, and Lynn. The pain was back and this time it was a hundred times worse than anything she felt to this date. She screamed at the top of her lungs, revealing her presence on the battlefield. The scream continued, growing in intensity as her back bulged outward, more and more, and more still. Eventually, the strength of whatever was trying to get out was too strong to hold back and her skin ripped in two even lines and her wings shot outward with such force that it ripped her shirt and bra from her back.

The force of the wings shooting out shot blood and flesh particles across the area, with the three women caught in the crossfire. In this moment Lila and the maiden had merged, both were one and both had their eyes on Vashti across the battlefield. They lingered for a second before they slowly moved to Emily. A wicked smile crept across her face as her head twitched slightly, before Lila laughed entirely too loud for the situation. The monster, the arrival, the threats, all of 8th street finally revealed that they were a joke. Lila’s head shot back to Vashti, twitched once more, before she licked her lips.

“Vashti, Vashti, Vaaaaashti,”, Lila paused as she took a step back as her wings flickered a green glow, anyone who was looking at them would briefly fall under their curse, come get me.

Lila took off in a sprint running behind the burning house. At the same time, the air was filled with the sounds of a murder approaching fast. Far above the battlefield. Suddenly the sound of their wings ceased, and the air grew silent for just a moment. It would not last for long as the murder braved their way through the storm clouds and began to swoop down on the 8th street below.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Bring it down, bring it down, bring it down

Jasper dove to the ground as the house exploded behind him. In each hand he carried a canvas, one knight and one ranger, both ready to be summoned. All they needed was the finishing touch, their specific intention, and a decision on which one would come out first. Jasper pulled himself away from the burning house. Jasper worried for a moment that there were still people inside, that they were trapped and needed help. Yet he could not help them if he was dead himself, and he turned his attention to the giant monster and the apparition that she summoned. It was big, but quite as the snake, and for some reason that made this fight a little more palpable. How did he get roped back into this chaos? He sieht so many years chasing a high to forget the horror of a supernatural war and here it was once again in front of his face, and all here felt was anger. He looked towards the huddled frontline of the 8th street and saw Aryin and Aaron already in the fight. They had gone molten, early, and this meant that 8th street muscle would be pinned down.

That made the decision easy. If George was tied up with Aryin, and Vashti was tied up with Linqian, that meant Carol had no one to tank a hit. And Carol was someone who could die and come back later on thus his conscience could remain clear. Without their healer the 8th street would have a much more difficult time sustaining this kind of fight, and maybe they could force them to retreat less they end up permanently dead. To target Carol he would need to paint in his intent to be discrete. She could not know she was the target until it was too late. His Ranger would be perfect for this. Jasper added a quick layer to the painting, pushing his intent to target the monster with the first three arrows before unloading everything else on Carol, near Carol, and if that failed to seal the deal he’d at least get a canvas back to bring out his Magnum opus. Jasper looked over to Luca and knew that this decision would not be without consequences, but given the situation Jasper hoped that Luca would forgive him for this.

Jasper flipped his paintbrush and pulled the Ranger from the page. It was as tall as him, sporting a very similar muscular build. It wore no armor per se, thus revealing the Kaleidoscope of color that made up its body. It did have a quiver filled with twenty arrows that each had a magical explosive tip strapped to its back and to the untrained eye it would appear that it was covered in jewels.. As it hit the ground, it drew its first arrow and let it fly. It hit the top head of the monster first, digging in before detonating. It then drew its second and let this one fly towards one of the throats, hitting and exploding a moment later. Finally it let one final one loose, impacting with the left leg digging in, exploding, and hopefully causing some damage. Without missing a beat it drew another arrow, aimed the bow at the other leg, before it quickly shifted and aimed at Carol and let an arrow fly. And then another. And another, and kept shooting until its quiver ran dry.

Jasper did not wait to see if the arrows hit, if they caused damage, or if Carol survived. He needed assurances, and that is where his knight would come into play. His knight had his hammer, and if Carol survived the sudden barrage she would find it much harder to survive a few blows from the hammer. He used his paintbrush to pull the knight from the painting, thus causing the Ranger to melt into a puddle of paint, and exhaled a little harder this time as he did. The knight hit the ground running angry and he had the hammer ready to strike. It wore a plate and mail armor that was more traditionally composed, with a red and gray color scheme.

Jasper meanwhile began to put distance between him and the fight. He knew that his normal constructs would not last long in this fight. He knew that he needed his gun. But he needed to find a place to paint it away from this god damn rain.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions/Mentions: Kari @Punished GN- Sloane @Atrophy Jack @Blizz
In the possible future, one might see some crazy things

---

“Oh,” Lynn thought to herself as she found herself in the same possible future as before, “I was hoping for something more.”

Lynn had seen many possible futures thus far and she was beginning to notice a pattern in the finality of it. She had to take many actions in each one to get to the result, and each action was as unique as the one that preceded it thus making the predictions course hard to follow, repeat, and understand what happened between that prediction and now. But she had seen many more possible futures before this latest venture, navigating these uncertainties was becoming close to second nature for her.

The first eventuality that revealed itself as a possibility was the fact that Lyss had messed up when she summoned Kari’s spirit and that their Kari was dead. This future repeated itself several times in her search for the truth and Lynn did not think that this possibility was it. For starters, Lyss was a very powerful mage, and if she messed up with one why did she not mess up the others? Lynn did not believe that, with everything going on, Lyss would make a colossal error such as that. Lynn still explored it several times, but did so only to rule it out. Still, it was a good first practice run to find the truth.

The second future was also one that Lynn did not believe was possible. In it, Kari revealed that she was tricked into swapping bodies with the other universe's version of herself. The reveal came after their teleporters were able to locate the other Universe and bring Kari home safely. There was not much conclusive information gained by Kari in this future, as each prediction brought with it a new explanation. While the future was clear with the fact that Kari was swapped in this possibility, it needed to be clarified as to why. Which led to Lynn suspecting this was nothing more than another possible failure.

The third was equally unlikely. In it, it was discovered through various magical means that all the murder victims were swapped by Father Wolf, not just Kari. This was quickly disproven in her mind as the others summoned were not swapped, at least to her knowledge. Still, this one was the only one that Lynn could not disprove outright as false. The only one who could was dead. Her death could be a piece of the puzzle. Was her death rushed so that they would lose their ability to commune with the dead?

No. No this was not enough. Many trips into the future, three equally unlikely scenarios had played out before her mind. This was not what she needed, this was not what the Coven needed, and Lynn was suddenly not ready to admit that Kari was truly dead and gone. Instead, she returned to the start and began anew. In an instant, she was back further in the future. A thousand decisions were made in the blink of an eye to the present but were fully experienced by Lynn as she continued to push forward to the next possible outcome. More choices needed to be made, and more futures explored, and Lynn kept pushing until she found what she was looking for. After what felt like an eternity, Lynn had another batch of predictions.

In several of these new possible futures, Lynn discovered that Kari had swapped places with her counterpart to not only save herself but also get a second chance at life in another universe. At first, this seemed like nonsense to Lynn. That was, until, Lynn remembered exactly what Kari had lost during the battle with the snake. Specifically, who she lost. Would Kari truly abandon her world, and her friends, and condemn this other version of herself to death if it meant that she got to live the life she deserved? The answer to that question was not a for sure no. Lynn knew that she would need to talk to someone who had been around her more recently, someone like Ken, to determine where she was before her supposed death.

The next one that had any chance of being the possibility was that Kari swapped bodies to stop something much worse. The worse thing, like everything else that she saw, was subject to change depending on which possible future she was in. The only constant in these futures was that Kari admitted that there was a reason why she did it.

And the next caught Lynn by surprise. Through a tough battle, it was revealed that Kari was not only working with Father Wolf, but working with him for the greater good of the universe. Usually, this greater good revolved around the snake, however, there was enough variance that it was not a surefire thing to predict. This felt like an intriguing option for what might be true. Kari would be able to see if something terrible was happening. She always looked out for those she cared about, and if she saw that her former coven friends were being corrupted and would pose a threat to everyone else Lynn believed that she would be capable of helping a mass murder like Father Wolf. Kari protected those she cared about and would do so even if it meant killing others.

Then came another interesting and possible option. Kari realized that a member of the old coven was planning to do something heinous, and became Father Wolf to not only stop them but to stop their associates. What would they be up to, was the question Lynn thought to herself. Did it involve the 8th Street coven? Was Emily planning something terrible once more, and did she recruit everyone who had died to the cause? That sounded too smart for Emily, but if not her then who? As well, it began to become clear that 8th street was up to something in the present. They keep appearing early on in her predictions.

Lynn raced through these possible futures multiple times more trying to figure out if any made more sense than the others. Yet despite the repeated attempts, it seems that the future beyond that was still too far away for her to glean any useful information. Still, she was able to get a more reliable reading on what happened to Kari as she did this. She needed more information still. She needed to start over once more. Back to the beginning, Lynn’s vision danced, back to the present sitting in her former lover's bed, and back to starting the process of examining what was possible once more. Though this time the starting position had an added twist. Sloane was here, and she was…. Was she sad? Lynn stayed in the early stages of this future and watched for a minute before she began the arduous process of peering into the actual future. It’s not like Sloane would want to be comforted when she was like this anyway.

In an instant, she began to make choices to guide herself through the possible events. In the short term, there were a few events that caused Lynn some concern as she began to navigate towards another future, such as 8th Street revealing that they were at the house to either kidnap and kill Lila or make amends by Emily bringing her flowers. Lynn knew she probably had some time before they arrived and pushed forward.

After another thousand and so choices she found another possibility. Kari was mind-controlled by the Stygian Snake and adopted the persona of Father Wolf to cover her tracks as she tried to free the snake. If Kari had accidentally let the snake in, the results here would make sense. Kari could see when her targets were alone, and vulnerable, and would be able to dispatch them without much worry thanks to her powers. Also, leaving the wolf idols and convincing everyone that the murderer was related to something else would keep the coven off the trail of the snake for long enough for Kari to free it. In these possible futures, she saw the Snake free once more, and this worried her to no end.

Two more possible futures had any chance of being accurate, however they felt more remote than the ones that came before them. That is not what concerned her. Kari being Father Wolf, swapping universes to fake her death so that she may kill without worry had some merit but felt a bit more out of the realm of possibility. As well, Kari hiding in another Universe to save herself felt equally remote. She would have contacted them, she would have found a way to contact them to let them know what she saw, what had happened. What worried her was in the choices that led up to these possible futures. These choices led her to a autobody shop where she saw something that made her blood run cold.



It involved the boy Clancy. At best, the boy was an abrasive presence - irreverent, ambiguous. Perhaps he was just spitting insults decorated with harsh truths - or was it the other way around? Lynn had, for reasons she wasn't quite aware, earned a glowering expression on the few times they made eye contact. In one, she caught a shadow of his voice, "..talk like that about my brother? You won't talk again."

At worst? There was one distant, possible future. They weren't in the cabin. Somewhere else. An auto shop surrounded by chainlink fencing. Some of them were there, for reasons that weren't entirely clear. Broken bodies and blood spattered across the dirt. There was a door on the path they were headed. A few gunshots rang out, before being silenced by a shriek and a crunch. Someone reached out and twisted the handle, ready to fight - and in the doorway was a child-sized silhouette, hooded, with punctures consistent with gunshot exit wounds. A smoking pistol was at their feet. The boy was holding the twitching carcass of a tattooed, paunchy male in his late thirties by the throat, entrails trailing out from the man's belly like crimson streamers. He pivoted, apparently surprised they were here. There was viscera clenched in his fingers, and blood smeared across his lips. Clancy relinquished his grasp on the now-corpse, offering no apology for what they'd seen. "He's not here." In either case, there was something about the cold expression in his eyes that she couldn't quite establish.

What was this boy? She revisited this possible future many, many times trying to get more information from this autoshop incident however it remained remarkably consistent. To Lynn, this was an accurate prediction. The boy was going to kill, kill some more, and do so in a way that betrayed his inner demons. But she did not get the feeling that he was Father Wolf. He was something else.

She needed to go back once more, and see what she could see past that. Yet she was not prepared to see two Kari’s standing side by side in the final possible future she was able to see before she was ripped away from it by another vision.

---

“WHAT THE FUCK,” Lynn shouted as she stood up, she looked at Sloane and then Jack. “OH WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE POSSIBLE FUTURES. And what the fuck is up with all these visions? I think Kari is alive, but I don’t know what it means. Ten possibilities, that is it, TEN. Do you know how fucking specific that is? When we were fighting the snake I had to make my predictions based on HUNDREDS of possibilities, THOUSANDS, and this only has fucking TEN? What the fuck... what the fuck,” Lynn paused as she paced the room. She grabbed her flask from her bag and began draining it. She remembered Sloane was having a moment halfway through and slowed her drink and offered her the flask. “Is Kari trying to save us from something worse, or is she actively working with Father Wolf, or did she flee from Shimmer to live her life away from this clusterfuck,” she paused as she remembered some of the more short-term information she saw, “Oh, I am ninety percent certain that 8th street is about to attack... maybe ninety-five percent certain. We should warn the others.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

THE 317

GREENWOOD COVEN

317 MAIN COMPOUND - 317 NEW COMPOUND

Jordan stood at the front door to the 317. He was wearing a black fuzzy sweater that was one size too big with a pentagram on the front, blue acid-washed jeans, and trademark circular frames on his face. Today was a slow day once more, people were either still hungover from the Halloween festival or saving whatever they could for the upcoming holiday sales that the artist here would no doubt be offering. A slow day simply meant that Jordan could simply stay alert, watching and waiting for something to happen. And if that meant walking out to the courtyard, buying delicious food from the trucks, and simply people watching his way through the day then so be it. He had enlisted some help as well running Aaron’s room so that the Faith would be none the wiser to his absence today.

Jordan took a big bite from his tacos and smiled. Today was going to be an easy day. And then he smelled it. It was a familiar, pungent smell that seemed to permeate the area around him and the presence of it was enough to give him a slight buzz. Greenwood, and the brought their green.

---

Zero Tolerance - David Holmes

---

---

“... Heeeeeeey, babe,” Ruby walked up with a smile on her face… she was wearing red jeans, some white sneakers, and a white tank top. She stepped through the front door and walked over to Jordan. She just reeked of weed and alcohol. She walked over to Jordan and gently caressed his arm. “... You’re lookin’ lovely today.”

“... God damn it, Ruby!” Naomi shouted as she walked up, wearing some black New Balance sneakers, some black Nike sweatpants, and a hoodie. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“... Sorry, bro,” James walked over, wearing the same exact outfit as Naomi, but he had a backpack on… his axe was nowhere to be seen. “She got turnt up before we got here!”

“Hey, I tried to stop her!” Jessica walked up with her hands behind her head. She was wearing a white button-up shirt, with some jeans and some black cowboy boots. Her grandfather’s leather cowboy hat hung off the back of her neck like some kind of weird necklace. “But, she wanted to drink and get high first!”

Ruby whipped her head around towards Jessica.

“... If I can pass a field sobriety test something is wrong,”

“Yes, we are sorry,” Pearl said, walking up in a blue dress and tall boots.

“What a lovely day!” Kashmira shouted as she walked up with a wide smile on her face. She wore a dark green t-shirt with black leggings and some sneakers. She looked up at Jordan and said, “How are you doing today, friend!? Are you feeling wonderful?”

Autumn silently walked up wearing some jeans, a black overcoat, and some tall combat boots. Similarly, Amelia didn’t an entrance either as she wore a green military jacket, some black jeans with some black leather running shoes.

“Yeah, dab me up!” James walked over to Jordan, putting his hand out.

“He probably doesn’t know what dabbing is!” Noami laughed.

“... Is that because he’s white?!” James laughed back.

“Wait, no, the other guy didn’t know what dabbing is…” Naomi tried to explain herself.

“Because he’s white!” James grinned.

“Oooooh, shut up, boy!” Naomi shook her head.

What… the… fuck? Suddenly Jordan knew his day was not going to be so simple anymore. Greenwood never just showed up together for no reason, at least not that he knew. If they were here, they would be wanting something. And he hoped that the 317 would listen. They fought together once before, and it was a good fight to fight. He could not linger on these thoughts, though, he needed to greet the guests. Jordan's eyes rose up to Ruby and smiled. He remembered Greenwood's leader very well, and he remembered the quality of their weed. If he played his cards right, and by play them right he meant simply hang out with them, he might be able to get high for free for the rest of the day. His eyes drifted to James. Placing his plate of food down on the chair behind him and then dabbed up James.

“What’s good,” Jordan asked as he looked over the rest of the coven, “what brings you down to our humble establishment today?”

“Seeeeeee!?” James shouted as he looked down at Naomi, who crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

“Greenwood…” Ruby said, before she shook her head. “... Greenwood came here today to talk business. An alliance… I know we didn’t end things on the greatest terms, but I think we can hash things out. The city is getting more dangerous by the second, and I don’t think either of us can operate the ways we were before, babe….” She got to the point.

The smile faded slightly from Jordan’s face. “And here I was hoping y’all missed this ugly mug of mine,” he sighed as he rubbed his neck. Jordan remembered that after the Nazi fight was finished, Greenwood was not too happy that Faith was continuing her monster-making business. It was a sore point, while on one hand she only ever did it on verifiably evil people it was still an evil line of work to be in and disrupted the natural order of life. What’s worse, is Faith had a hand’s off approach to verifying if the groups she sold to were not terrible, and often overlooked the potential for harm that her actions would bring. Jordan remembers very well that final argument, and Jordan wished that Faith had just listened to reason back then. “Faith and Octavia are off-site right now but I can take you to them,” he paused as he smirked, “they might not be happy to see you after last time but those who were there are,” he looked over the group, “a few of us have been pushing for the 317 to take a side so things might be different this time.” Jordan waved for them to follow. “Only one way to find out though!”

He led them down the one wing of the 317 until they were about halfway down and stood outside a locked door. He knocked three times looked over the group and smiled. A second later the sound of three separate locks unlocking was heard and the door was pushed open slowly by Alex, who looked like they were just asleep.

“What do you want,” Alex said as they yawned, “I was doing important work for the collective.” Alex was dressed in a dull lilac sweater dress with black leggings underneath. They had on a pair of purple Converse, and their glasses were crooked on their face.

“Important work,” Jordan raised an eyebrow before he motioned for Alex to look behind him.

Alex’s eyes drifted and rested on Ruby’s face. They yawned and started for a few seconds longer before the worn-out gears inside their brain finally began to turn and the realization sank in. “Oh shit, what’s up y’all? Come on in, come on in, you guys got any gummies? I’ll pay.” Alex stepped aside as Jordan led the group into the unassuming room. The ceiling had a painting on it that seemed to change as the group entered the room, wherever Greenwood would stand they would see a small dot appear as well. The floor was similarly painted and had a similar effect. Both paintings seemed to have another painting inside of them and a third inside of that one.

“You all stand against that wall,” Alex spoke as they pointed toward the wall opposite the door.

“... Is that your firing line?” Jessica snorted as she threw a thumb towards the wall, but walked towards it anyway.

“Nice place,” Ruby looked up at the ceiling.

“We got some gummies but Ruby’s…” James said as his eyes drifted towards Ruby. “... Yeah, good luck getting them from Ruby.”

“Maybe it’s our parting gift,” Ruby answered, “How have things been, babes? I hope better for ya’ll than it has been for us…”

“Not so much better,” Jordan sighed, “conflict with the 8th, we’re worried about other groups pushing us, and a few of us are off trying to stop some murders leaving us a little more vulnerable.”

“So there’s a chance,” Alex chuckled, “and it’s not our firing line,” Alex paused as they activated their power, opening the portal between the floor and the art dimension behind it. The group fell for only a second before they landed in the oddly white dimension of art. “It’s our elevator. Simple rules for this place, do not wander off the path,” they pointed to the path underneath them. The path led to a nearby painting on the ground. “Do not interact with the locals under any condition, they know you’re here with me but they do not like it. Now, let’s just,” Alex paused again as they opened the next portal and motioned for everyone to jump through.

Jordan led the group into the next portal and once again fell for a brief few seconds before they landed in another building room. Jordan opened the door and exited to a new, different building. This building was without windows, and it was made entirely out of concrete. String lights dotted the building providing an uneven lightning that hid many of the blemishes. There was no discernable or remarkable feature that would tell the group where they were, but they would be able to see Summer at a workbench, a dozen homunculi behind her, and Faith and Octavia a few steps away.

“Jordan, everything-“ Faith started but paused when she caught sight of Ruby. Faith crossed her arms and leaned on her hip as a frown formed across her face, “Greenwood. A surprise.”

Octavia had a smile as she looked over the group. “Maybe a welcome one, what can we do for you today?”

Naomi leaned forward and whispered something in Pearl’s ear as Ruby took a step forward.

“Sooo….” Ruby awkwardly shuffled her feet as she looked at Octavia. “Doc Ock, my girl… How have you been? You’re looking lovely as ever.” She smiled

“Sypha’s not in tonight? I mean, it’s not fair to discuss what I wanted to discuss without all your leadership present...”

“Sypha will be here soon,” Faith said as she shot Jordan a look, which Jordan surged in response to, “Alex, go grab her from her office and bring her here,” Faith paused as she watched Alex shrug their shoulder and give a thumbs up, before they disappeared into the painting. “While we’re waiting is there anything we can get you? This building is finally ours however it needs a lot of work before we can open up the exhibits here to the public,” Faith paused as she pointed towards a wall across from her. A table was present with a coffee maker and a few boxes of donuts. “Summer is making a few homunculi to fix this place up, and get it ready for the contractors to come in.”

“We’re hoping it can be another huge boost for the community at large,” Jordan interjected.

“That’s the hope,” Faith smirked, “another draw to hopefully put more money into the restoration of this area without raising the property taxes on the residents.” Faith looked to Ruby, “we can start the discussion now, what can the 317 do for Greenwood today?”

“Well… your homeboy mentioned problems with 8th Street earlier,” Ruby nodded towards Jordan. “Along with a few of your members off to solve some murders…”

“Sycamore, I presume?” Pearl asked.

“A few of our members?” Faith asked as she looked over to Jordan who was wincing. “So it seems, yes.” Faith's eyes rested on Jordan’s for an uncomfortable and silent minute. “The answer to your question is yes,” Faith crossed her arms, “8th street started a fight with two of our members at the Halloween festival, and hurt them really badly. Sypha healed them as much as they could but they could only heal so much when the damage was caused by George,” Faith paused as she exhaled. “Things are not as around town as I hoped they would be after last year.”

“Ooooh,” Kashmira held her mouth. “Maybe I can take a look? They don’t call me Dr. Sarei for nothing!”

“It’s still a clusterfuck, even after the Nazis were taken care of,” Ruby shook her head. “I’m not surprised that 8th Street are bullying people there of all places… their leader usually recruits the aggressive idiots that are in that sweet spot between being too dumb to question her orders but strong enough to be useful to her.”

She shook her head, “But it’s about time that we stand together against Emily, against the Wolfpack, against the Elite, against all those bastards. You must realize that it’s only a matter of time until things go to hell again, right?”

“Heh,” James grinned, “It’s already gone to hell it seems like! You worried we’re gonna reach super hell or something?”

“Aryin took the brunt of the damage so they should be fine,” Jordan said to Kasmira, “but I’m sure they appreciate the offer.”

“Their leader is a sad woman who desperately wants to be important,” Faith scoffed.

“A sad woman who wields tremendous power,” Sypha spoke as they exited the painted elevator, “Ruby, a pleasure to see you again. As is the rest of you.”

“You got here fast,” Jordan chuckled.

“Zeri was in my office and spotted you all on the cameras, I tried to get to you before Alex took you down but I was a minute late,” Sypha walked past Greenwood, and walked to the side of Octavia and Faith.

“I’m starting to agree,” Octavia said to Greenwood, and then she repeated herself to Faith and Sypha. “You’ve both seen it, they’re going to come for us eventually. You don’t exist with a trove of powerful objects without inviting a challenge.”

“We can defend ourselves,” Faith quickly shot back. “We have enough automotans to defend both locations, and if they fail we have the horde.”

“We’re also not fighters,” Sypha responded soon thereafter, “speaking from experience most of our collective will not do well if a serious war were to break out again.”

“Speaking from experience,” Jordan interrupted, “I think we both know that some fights are worth the risk.”

“Jordan, we’re artists,” Faith started as she threw her hands into the air, “were artists. I’m worried that if I get involved, if we get involved, that this safe place I’ve built will be torn down,” Faith rose in volume, “I’m worried that all the work I’ve done to rebuild this community will be taken from the people who need it most, and I’m worried that everyone who came to me for protection will find that I can not do anything when shit hits the fan. So yeah, I’m afraid of things going to super hell.”

“I mean,” Naomi shrugged. “I’m a college student. He’s a college student. She’s a college student. She’s a waiter in her parent's restaurant. She’s a librarian. She’s a fitness influencer.” Naomi gestured to, in order, James, Kashmira, Pearl, Autumn, and Jessica, then to Amelia and Ruby.

“And these two….” Naomi crunched her face up, as she said, “... Just eat each other’s asses all day.”

“You know it, Naomi,” Ruby said. “You should join us. We can make like an ass-eating ouroboros.”

Naomi was stunned.

“... No thank you.”

Jordan smirked at the idea of an ass-eating ouroboros.

She shook her head, before she added, “Point is, we’re regular-ass people too! And we fought Nazis sorcerers, wannabe supervillains, rich assholes, and all the other assholes that stomp the streets.”

“... You were only in Greenwood for like a year, Naomi,” Ruby raised an eyebrow.

“So? I did all that, in a year,” Naomi laughed.

“We saved the world in Boston,” Jordan waved his hand to Sypha.

“And we also watched so many good people die in the process,” Sypha responded with a sigh.

“You’d watch many more good people die if we don’t protect this town from the fuckers that want to rule it,” Jordan countered.

“And eventually, if we don’t do anything right here, right now we’ll be alone against all our enemies,” Summer interjected from across the room as they put their inventions down, “my automatons are good, the horde is good, but will they be good enough if they come for us in the end? I do not know. I do know that when we worked together we destroyed a great evil, and now more evil is making itself known and we’re cowering,” Summer slammed her hand on the table, “behind our walls and our guns and our monsters.”

“Look…. Summer here has a point, babe.” Ruby took a step forward. I can tell all of you have mixed feelings about what to do next… and I feel the same way. But, if Emily gets her way and 8th St takes over the city…”

She glanced at everyone present, from Greenwood to 317.

“... They are definitely coming for you. Especially if assholes like the Elite, Wolfpack, or if the Nazis rise again because that asshole Berlioz is still out there.”

She sighed.

“... How about this? One of my spells lets me create an emotional connection between a group of people,” Ruby began. “You all will be able to see how everyone feels, and maybe it can help you all make up your mind.”

“Ruby,” Amelia finally spoke, “You don’t have your channeler.”

“And I don’t need it,” Ruby answered before she threw a thumb at Kashmira, who smiled and waved. “We have our Green Shaman here, I can take it.”

“Let’s do it,” Octavia said as she looked over to Faith, “we can trust them.”

“Agree,” Summer returned to her Inventions.

“I’m on board,” Jordan said with a smirk, “don’t judge me the what you see.”

Sypha looked to Faith and Faith returned the gaze. A few seconds passed before Sypha gave Faith a nod. “Go for it,” Faith said in a tired voice.

---

Pins & Needles - Silversun Pickups

---

---

“Alright…” Ruby cupped her hands together and closed her eyes. Burns traveled up Ruby’s arm, and she did not so much as flinch until they reached her hands. A pink ball of swirling energy formed in her hand, starting out the size of a baseball until it got much bigger. Swelling up to the size of a yoga ball, Ruby had no choice but to raise the ball up into the air… until it absolutely exploded.

When it exploded, it formed a massive transparent dome made of pink energy around the group. Inside it, various wisps, lines, and whatnot carelessly floated in the air, and everyone had their own aura that corresponded with their present emotion. Not only that, but everyone would begin to feel it if they focused on someone. 317 could see Greenwood’s collective concern and their confidence in not only themselves but also each other.

“... Ow,” Ruby said.

Greenwood would see a few different emotions from the 317 members present. Overall, however, the collective all had a similar fear that permeated all the other emotions. A fear of failure, a fear of being swept aside, and a fear that all the terrible things that they’ve done to survive until this point would be for nothing. Faith looked confident in her fear, as did Sypha, but Octavia sunk a little into it. Jordan’s fear was fueling his anger, his strength, meanwhile Summer’s was feeding into her creativity. Overall the 317 would read as being afraid, but confident and ready for a fight if it were to reach their doorstep.

“Let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?” Ruby gave them a wry grin. “We’re both…” She glanced over her shoulder at the rest of Greenwood. “... Afraid, concerned, worried. We both know why.”

She shook her head, “But, the point of this is so that you all can understand how you all feel better because we made how we feel very clear and I’m also making it very clear we have nothing to hide, but plenty to show.”

“... Oh, God, please keep your clothes on this time, Rubes!” James laughed.

Ruby shook her head.

“Now, tell me,” Ruby said, narrowing her eyes as the burns got more intense… she didn’t flinch. “... Will you all sit on your asses while our enemies only get stronger?”

The aura over Fair changed ever so slightly at the call to arms. The fear was still there but it was being to mix with another emotion. Faith was ashamed of something. “Listen,” Faith started, “I still have much to hide. Why do I get to be apart of the group that defends this town when I’ve brought monsters into existence that may threaten it one day?”

“... Are you still making monsters?” Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Why are you acting like you haven’t crossed the threshold yet? You still have a chance to make amends.”

She looked at the rest of Greenwood, before she said, “Look, we didn’t want anything to do with you all because we thought, back then, you all were bound to go off the deep end and start making civilians into monsters. Every fucker that does fucked up shit for the ’greater good’ does.”

She shook her head.

“However, we never considered helping you all so we don’t have to go that far. So we can keep each other on the straight and narrow.”

“Yes,” Faith said bluntly as she eyed up Ruby and pondered what to say next. “As always they were an evil person, a serial killer who murdered his wives to get a payout from insurance. No matter how desperate things get I’ll never do that to someone innocent,” Faith sighed, “fuck,” Faith looked at the members around Greenwood and then the few 317 members. “This is the worst part of leadership. No matter which way we go there will be repercussions that will be felt for a long time….. but,” she paused as she looked at Octavia, “that might be easier to handle with some friends by our side?” She asked as she shifted her vision back to Sypha, and Sypha reluctantly gave her a nod. “Alright,” she took in the deepest breath possible, “you have our attention.”

“... And who determines what someone does is ‘evil’?” Ruby tilted her head, and the burns got worse but this time, Ruby seethed. “Who judges them? You? What about what your people think? What about what we think?”

“Proof,” Faith replied bluntly, her aura growing more confident and justified, “and verification. I don’t think anyone will cry over a few transformed Nazis, murderers, serial killers, rapists…. At least now their life has a purpose and will no longer threaten my home.”

“... And nobody should,” Ruby shook her head. “But, it’s all a slippery slope… What happens when you all are put on the line and run out?”

“If I may intrude, Ruby,” Pearl said, “I said the same thing when you said we were no longer going to follow our previous no-killing rule. That it’s a slippery slope.”

She narrowed her eyes at Ruby.

“... I want to say we were pushed against the wall against the Nazis,” Ruby answered, “But, we agreed to only kill the bastards like the Wolfpack, 8th Street, the Nazis.”
“... And how is that any different?” Pearl asked.

“... Because I said it was,” Ruby answered.

“I agree,” Faith said in response, “but it is one that I tread with utmost caution.” Faith paused as she motioned around the area. “For ten years I have used my spellbook to build up this community from the ground, and I have never crossed that line. I will never cross that line, that I can guarantee. I love this city, this community, and the people who make it up to ever turn into a problem that will threaten them.” The aura grew stronger around Faith, Octavia, and Sypha. Each one had a vivid blue aura that showed their determination. “We will never be a threat to this city, that I can promise you.”

“I may be a transplant but this place has a charm that is hard to describe,” Sypha joked.

“We saw this city reduced to rubble once, we’d never do that ourselves,” Octavia smirked.

“Well, that makes one of us!” Jessica laughed, throwing her arms behind her back. “For one of us, Ruby will flip the whole world on its head. Ain’t that right, Rubes?” She shot Ruby a shit-eating grin.

“... Yeah, ain’t that right, Ruby?” James also shot her a shit-eating grin.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

“I’ll do anything for my friends, yes,” Ruby shook her head. “But, that doesn’t mean I’ll be going off the deep end anytime soon.”

She sighed, “We’re going to be protecting this city’s nature and getting rid of the assholes without becoming an asshole ourselves.”

“I mean,” Naomi shrugged. “You got us to check you. We check each other. We been checkin’ each other since day one!”

“Yeah, we aren’t going supervillain anytime soon,” James said.

“So…” Ruby turned towards Faith. “... Are we friends now?”

Faith sighed as she looked at Ruby, letting a tense silence fall between the two of them. The silence lingered for what felt like minutes before she shook her head with a chuckle. “Fuck it……. yes.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

A clusterfuck

Aryin did not need much more than what Linqian gave her to understand that she’d much rather spend her time back with those who made the first coven so special. She turned on her heel and followed Linqian, turning her back on the shit show that was developing outside the house. She did not remember Luna well, but what she did was bad news. Poaching members to join a literal mafia as kids. Kids! What use were kids in a mafia? Sure, they all had one power or another but that did not explain why they would enlist literal children into their evil fucking schemes. Aryin hoped that Drake, and Stormy, would be able to take care of her. She did not remember Luna’s power but she knew Drake well, and she knew that Drake was more than capable of taking care of a little problem like that. Aryin did wish she could join the fight but they were at this house for a reason, and that reason trumped her desire to cave in a traitor's skull.

”Thanks,” Aryin whispered to Linqian as she rushed to her side, before she punched her in the shoulder, ”what a fucking shit show already. Have all the meetings been like this?”

Aryin followed Linqian’s lead down to the basement. It seemed the group was finally on the cusp of finding yet another clue. Despite their idiotic nature, the coven was at least good enough at following a trail. Ken had some pocket dimension stuff going on that was over Aryin’s paygrade, and mental load. Sure, the dimension hoppers were a vital part of the coven’s strength but it was still very hard for Aryin to wrap their head around the idea of other dimensions and just how accessible they were. If Aryin had a power like that they would end up being much more of a liability than an asset. She much preferred her own power, a power to be her true self whenever she wanted and a power that allowed her to fight side by side with the most important people to her in the coven.

Ken’s sudden outburst pulled her mind from her thoughts and she started to pay attention again. Okay, so Aryin could tell that Ken was emotional. Cool, that was good. From what he was saying it sounds like someone took her diaries, and other notes, from a place only Kari and Ken truly knew about. That was suspicious. Aryin looked to Linqian with a questioning look. How would anyone know to look into a specifically placed pocket dimension for a very specific object, if they did not already know that the objects were already there? Still, Aryin tried to push the thought from her mind. Ken was in a rough spot at the discovery of the missing items. She could voice her concerns later to the group. Yet the more she held her tongue the more she felt the urge to blurt out her suspicions. Aryin needed to get her thoughts out of her mind, and who better than her good friend Linqian? Aryin punched her in he shoulder again, before she motioned for Linqian to follow her to a wall away from the vast majority of the group.

”Linqian,” Aryin whispered softly enough that only her friend should be able to hear, ”how would Father Wolf know where to find those items? Unless,” Aryin eyes flashed wide as she shot them back to Ken, ”unless they knew where they were to start with. What if Kari has something to do with our murders?”

Aryin took a quick look at Ken and the group before she watched Sloane leave the basement. Would Kari be capable of such a thing? Kari was always one of the kindest members of the Coven, and falling to these lows felt out of character for the young girl she remembers from a decade prior. Yet the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Why would Kari’s body be swapped if not to throw them off her trail? Why would Father Wolf know how to access Ken’s hidden trove unless they knew from the start? It was way too soon for Aryin to begin to attempt a theory as to why, but as the seconds passed she began to suspect that this house might not be so safe for the group.

”Linqian, I am getting a bad feeling about all of this. What if that vision we just had was a warning, like what if your former friend was not who you thought they were, and what if coming to this house was a dangerous fucking move? What if our former friend was hiding more than just joining 8th Street? I was never good at this shit, the investigations and planning, but do I sound crazy or does this make sense?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

A clusterfuck

”I see things never changed,” Aryin sighed as she spotted the aftermath of Sloane’s forceful entry to Kari’s house. Though it did surprise Aryin that it was Sloane. She was not surprised that someone blew open the door, but she would’ve thought someone like Drake or Linqian would be the culprit. Aryin turned her eyes to Linqian as she patted her shoulder and smiled. ” If you need backup, let me know. And I’ll hold you to that drink!”

Aryin knew there were a few other people she’d like to talk to now that she was back. Her eyes drifted back to Drake, she chuckled as she once again caught the bouquet of flowers. What a guy. Drake was someone that Aryin looked up to. They fought the good fight together for many years, and they were back in the thick of another mystery. Aryin shifted her eyes towards the open door. Sloane was another person that Aryin would like to touch base with. While the two were never truly close, she was the one who helped keep this city safe and at minimum Aryin wanted to restart that professional relationship. That’s when she spotted Sully holding Aislin and Aislin regaling him with a tale of her flight into the brick wall. Aryin quickly closed the distance and tapped Sully on the shoulder.

”Hey big guy,” Aryin looked over to Aislin and gave her a little wave, ” don’t suppose you can hook me up with some healing juice and a story about how you’ve been? You were so brave for coming to my defense, Aislin. I could’ve taken him out if he didn’t throw me back to the city from the island.”. As Aryin paused she swapped back and took his shirt off, revealing the massive bruises on his chest and back. He put his shirt back on and swapped back up. ”George is very strong..”

Aryin spotted Drake heading towards something ready for a fight and Aryin was about to back them up when a most peculiar memory flooded their mind.

---

A place that I used to know

“What a bitch,” Lynn spoke in a tone that everyone could hear as aggressive as the door flung open. However the comment was not directed towards Sloane, despite Sloane being a righteous cunt. No, no that comment was directed towards someone who was doing something far worse than destroying the home of her ex. Her eyes watched with an angry intensity as Linqian took a breathe. How dare she breathe the same air that Lynn might want to breathe later. Lynn rested there, anger building in her eyes, before she truly realized what Sloane had done.

“That cunt,” Lynn whispered as she darted her eyes back to the hiding spot for the key. If she had just waited a minute she would’ve grabbed the key and spared the door from the relentless assault. Lynn closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaled, took in another deep breath, exhaled, and found a rhythm through the breaths. In two three four - out two three four she repeated the phrase in her head several times before she smiled. That was a better reaction. The smile was short lived as a realization sank in. She was about to be back inside Kari’s house, trying to figure out what exactly happened to her former love, and there was a non-zero chance that she might still be alive. A second later she experienced the most vivid dream, another one of those vision ones. This one was even more impactful than the previous ones. This one involved Kari. Lynn knew that she had to go to the future to do everything she could to figure this out.

“Listen, I’m going to go in there. I’m not going to get involved with any of those fucks but I want to do my part to see if I can help,” Lynn said as she exhaled and started to walk towards the door. A few moments later she maneuvered through the crowd and found her way to Kari’s old bedroom. It looked like she remembered it, prompting Lynn to exhale as she crossed the room to the bed. She sat down, facing the door and took a deep breathe. A second later she was in the first of many possible futures and was dead to the world around her.

---

Lila looked over the assembled masses and her eyes were filled with an anger that was more potent than any before it. On her phone’s screen was a text from her grandma letting her know she was going to be discharged that day. She was fine now, but the news of the break in and the damage caused had put her in the hospital, and Lila had spent three past few days sitting on that feeling of powerlessness, that feeling of someone destroying her sanctuary and her grandmas stuff. She did not know who exactly did it all, at least not yet, but she did know that it was not father wolf. It was some fucker in the 8th street who was going to tell her exactly who told them to do it while she slowly peel away their skin. And then, a memory hit that’s was more real than any other before it. And it seems that everyone had it as well.

“Luca I’m really glad you’re no longer with that group,” Lila scoffed as she shook her head, “i don’t know what they were like before but I can’t stand that a transphobic, house destroying cunt like Emily is allowed free reign in my city. If it were up to me,” Lila paused as the image of her claws deep within the throat of Emily filled her mind as a wicked smile threatened to cross her face, “she’d have her coven disbanded and sent to some PRA research facility to study her twisted brain in a safe place.”. Lila meant in a therapy sense but if they cut hers out and studied it that way that would not be the worst thing. Transphobia was one thing, but having someone nearly destroy her house and threaten her directly was another thing all together.

Lila turned her attention to her crows at the thought. The 8th street would be looking for her based on the threat that was left behind, and Lila did not want to be caught off guard. She sent a command to the whole murder. Spread out, stay hidden in the trees and on the roofs, and watch for any signs of the 8th street. If they were to see them coming they would raise a massive stink, alerting not only Lila but the rest of the coven as well. The murder took off at once and the area was filled with the thunderous sound of flapping wings and caws.

“I’m glad you saw reason Luca, it’s been really nice becoming your friend again,” Lila finished with a genuine smile.

---

“I agree,” Jasper said as he eyed up Luca, “it has been really nice.”. He looked at the kid and leaned back. Something felt off about him but Jasper could not place exactly what was causing that feeling. Maybe it was the fact that a literal kid was shot, and lived, or was it the fact that he seemed to pop up a lot more often than he would suspect a kid would. Where were his parents? Did they know he was out trying to avenge his family member or were they worried about him? And what exactly was his abstraction? “I’m Jasper, by the way. The one girl who just left was Lynn, and that is Lila. I won’t speak for them but I was not exactly close with Ashley, but I am sorry for your loss. If you need anything at all let me know.”

Jasper returned to his painting. He was still working on the knight but was adding a fun little twist to the usual design. Instead of the long two-handed sword Jasper was painting in his fury. The two handed hammer of war was given special intention, to break and destroy anything it faced, while his knight was focused on speed, agility, and smarts. If a fight were to break out his knight would dance around whoever dared face it, keeping itself safe while waiting for their moment to strike. He was nearly finished with the painting when he stopped suddenly and grabbed a fresh canvas. He wanted options in case a fight were to happen, his eyes nervously looking towards Drake. And no option was as flexible as the Ranger. He wondered if he could give the Ranger the magnum, but decided that his usual armament of exploding arrows would be sufficient.