NoriWasHere

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Bar

INTERACTIONS PRA, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone

Jasper once again traced his fingers across Luca’s back, moving slower and more deliberate as if he wanted to feel every available spot in his path to his side. Jasper felt how close Luca got for the photo, and Jasper wanted him just a little closer still. As his hand reached Luca’s side Jasper grabbed just above his hip, his large hands easily covering the real estate, before he pulled at his friend ever so gently and pulled him closer.

”Alright Luca,” Jasper paused as he looked over to Luca and smiled. He looked back towards his phone, raised it to the perfect angel, and hovered his hand over the photo button. “Three, two,” his smile grew ever so slightly as he felt Luca on his side, “one,” as he finished the countdown he flashed the camera a big smile. This photo was the greatest photo he’d ever taken. And it was all thanks to Luca. Jasper looked over at him and smiled again. “You always have that amazing smile, instantly made that photo twice as good” Jasper said as he let go of his grip on Luca’s side, “I might steal a few more moments from you if you’d let me!”.

Jasper did not know what he meant by that. More photos? More hand holding? A close hug? Maybe a…. Jasper shook his head. There was absolutely no way Luca felt like they were anything more than buddies, best of friends, comrades, compatriots, allies , associates, homies, bros. Absolutely no way. But Jasper looked at how close Luca had moved, he was practically sitting in his lap and his head was practically on his shoulder, still. This was not something that was found in the very accurate bro code. He needed more information, he needed to gauge how he felt. And he needed to do it slowly and with purpose.

“Hey Luca,” Jasper paused as he leaned in oh, so close to Luca. His hand rose up and placed his hand on Luca’s shoulder. “I hope you know that photo was just the start,” he paused as he thought over what words he would use to begin his investigation. He found the perfect sentence, and showed Luca the amazing photo he’d just taken. “You know, your smile always brightens my day.”

---

“… Then don’t.”

Lila turned her head back towards Meifeng. This bitch. Lila’s hand managed to find her drink without the use of her eyes and she pulled the straw out and pulled the drink to her lips. She drank, without break, until the drink was completely finished. A strong taste of alcohol lingered on her lips and tounge, and Lila was not done there. No, no she was not done. Her hand found her second drink and she once again removed the blemish that was a ‘straw’ and once again forced the alcohol into her system. Tonight may have been a wash but it might get better if she got drunk. Meifeng was a cunt, but maybe Lila could eke out the rest of this meeting if she was just a little more drunk. Lila hoped that her pre-gaming and general lack of food tonight would help her see this shit-show through to the end.

“It won’t ever happen again; I can only promise that.”

Fuck. This bitch. This colossal bitch was lying, lying, to Lila right to her face. It didn’t matter that she was on a short leash, it didn’t matter that her agents were upset about the raid. No.. She was a biiiitch. Lila knew she was a bitch. This alcohol was just making the thought that much more powerful. Lila shot her eyes over to the other side of the table and saw Lynn still had a few beers in front of her, and Lila pointed towards them. Lynn’s thumb up was all that was needed. A hand, suddenly feathered, shot across the table and grabbed one of the beers. A second later it was back at Lila’s side, open beer in the clawed hand. A singular feather floated down to the table below, a beautiful and vivid black color. Lila did not seem to notice, nor care as she began to drink from the beer. She did not seem to notice that her eyes slipped back to that pitch black color as well.

Lila wished there she could just keep an eye on these federal fucks. Just a few eyes, a thousand plus eyes would be a few. She’d be able to make sure she’d keep them to their word. Catch them in the act when they fuck up or something like that. The more she thought the more she felt something different in her mind. She felt power, authority, and command. “We’ll see,” Lila's eyes twitched as the sound of a thousand faces shifting at once filled the area around them. The entire murder had shifted their focus onto the PRA agents. Lila’s eyes shifted and caught the feathered hand once again and could only mouth a ‘fuck’ as she shook her hand trying to get it to turn off. Another feather fell as she did and this one landed right in front of her. This was killing her mood. She needed another drink, she needed excitement, she needed fun. And she knew she could find something fun to do. But most importantly, she needed to get away from the PRA agents when she was birding out. No, most importantly she needed to find that fun that she so craved in this moment.

No. No, no that’s not what she needed. She needed water, she needed rest, and she needed to suck it up and stay with her group. Not just for protection, she needed to be here for Luca. She needed to talk to them. And if that meant she’d get drunk while half bird with a bunch of feds then so be it. Actually she would need to be much more drunk. She looked to Stormy with a look in her eye that she hoped read as ‘sorry, I will pay you back for this but you brought this on yourself’ before she looked to the bartender.

“A Moscow mule,” as she ordered she turned her attention to Jasper and Luca. The way Jasper was pulling at Luca made Lila smile. She was going to protect them, and she wanted her crows to do so much to do so. She felt that feeling return, that command and authority. She thought to herself that she wanted her crows to keep an eye on the 8th street, on Emily in particular. To never leave sight of her new enemies. In an instant her crows took to the sky and flew across the island. Anywhere an 8th street tread a hundred crows would follow.

---

Lynn was not going to let Lila hog all the free drinks. “Make that two Moscow mules,” Lynn said as she winked at Stormy. She was not going to let Lila drink herself into oblivion… alone. And she was enjoying the conversation to this point. “To greener pastures, and to the friends who help us get there,” Lynn raised her drink up towards Bianca.

Lynn watched as the entire murder departed from the scene and raised an eyebrow back to Lila who had suddenly turned into a chimera once more. “That one worries me,” Lynn whispered hopefully to herself but it was loud enough that Bianca may have overheard. She shook her head as she took another sip from her drink. What she would give for her one true love to make an appearance right now. Lynn shook her head, the chalice would appear when she needed it most and she knew this.

Lynn shook herself from her dreams. “You still got your same number from before,” Lynn pulled out her phone and pulled up the contact card for Bianca, “since I’m back in town we should catch up, away from the chaos that this festival,” Lynn paused as took another sip, making room for the Moscow mule that was put in front of her. “Off the record, of course,” Lynn chuckled as she drank from the new drink.

---

Halloween Festival

INTERACTIONSSully @Atrophy Leon @AtomicEmperor Linqian. @FernStone

“Why are they doing that,” Alex whispered as their eyes locked onto the most strange display of adulting they’d ever seen.

“I suppose it’s fun,” Jordan pondered as he stroked his beard, “like they’re bonding over a moment of public intoxication and humiliation?”

“It’s got to be deeper than that,” Lori chimed in.

“In what way,” Zeri shifted in place, raising an eyebrow as they did.

“I mean look at that one,” Lori pointed with her violin bow at a tattooed woman trying to make her move on the douchey looking dude, “obviously this is some weird coven mating dance..”

“What,” Jordan sighed as he rubbed his temple, “no, it’s literally not. They are just drunk and having fun, there’s nothing more to it..”

“You’re right,” Zeri said as she pointed at an out of place dragon under a toga. She just caught a singular glance at the face of the woman underneath but there was no mistaking who it was. “That, right there, is Emily Reed.”

“No way she’s allergic to fun,” Alex scoffed as they searched the area for Emily, wasting several seconds before they gave up on the search.

The group all pondered on the information. Alex was right. If Emily Reed was here it was nothing more than it seemed. Emily was well known as an anti-fun, anti-sex, tyrant who ran the 8th street with a viciously tight fist. If she was involved in the toga conga line, that would dispel any chance that these covens were up to some freaky sex ritual or anything of the sort.

“I told you,” Jordan smirked.

“I was wrong,” Lori sighed.

“These covens and their,” Zeri gasped

The group gasped. They all looked on as one at a giant of a man as he ripped his clothes off in front of them, and they all saw the pillar and stones that held up the body of Adonis. Jordan shifted his glasses up his face with his mouth agape, Lori fanned her face with her bow, Zeri tilted her head as her mouth dropped open, and Alex turned their head away from it all, their face a shade of red that Bob Ross would have used to paint his autumn trees. A second later the offending jewels were thankfully put away and the group looked at each other.

“Okay that changes nothing,” Jordan coughed. His eyes searching the heavens above for distraction.

“He’s just a little too drunk,” Lori lowered her gaze as she mouthed an ‘oh my’.

“These covens and their hot members,” Zeri gasped.

The group gasped. They all looked on as one as little red riding hood changed into an toga underneath her cloak. While they did not see anything, the fact that two sycamore’s had stripped down, in public, with families all around, had stunned the art world. Jordan pulled his glasses off his face and wiped them with his robe, he mouthed a ‘what the fuck’ as he did. Lori fanned her face with her bow as she stared a little too long. Zeri’s eyes were back on the Adonis of a man, meanwhile Alex had decided to walk towards the conga line.

There was a curiosity in their eyes. This was something that they had never quite experienced before. The brazen disrespect for those around, the public intoxication, the weird fun. The 317 had their fun moments but there was always so many arbitrary rules that the leadership broke all the time. They looked at the toga’s and then down at their button up shirt. Would they need to strip down as well if they joined? They quite liked the costume, and did not want to ruin it by taking it off. They sighed. Obviously they could just put the toga overtop.

“Alex,” Jordan whispered as he rushed up next to Alex, “careful, they might rope you in to-“ Jordan paused as he looked over and saw the toga line too close. “Alex,” Jordan sighed, “you want to join don’t you?”

Faith’s word echoed in Alex’s mind. They wanted to have fun, they wanted to brave the weird crowd, the noisy situation, the gross smells, and the complete lack of personal space. Or did they? Their head tilted to the side. No, no they did not want to. They just wanted to go home, get some snacks, and just listen to their music as they painted and… Alex’s face snapped up as they saw the giant man with a mustache getting closer and closer. A decision loomed. And Alex needed to make it.

“Hey,” Alex spoke somewhere between a question and a statement, directed towards the ringleader of this circus “can I join?” The sudden flutter of wings pulled Alex’s attention as they shifted their eyes. The crows were back, and they had eyes for the dragon and the tattooed woman.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Bar

INTERACTIONS Britney, Meifeng, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone

Britney was here and she said it was time to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with The Maiden. Nothing would distract her, nothing would pull her away, and nothing would happen from here on out. The Maiden would get sealed again, Lila wouldn’t have to worry about turning into a fucking bird, and she’d no longer want to rip throats out of people. This was good. This proved that Britney was changing, and would be a good person to not just herself but everyone else she affected ten years ago.

Lila watched as Britney was informed about the Feds. Linqian was good at telling the details in a unique way that somehow gave a more or less correct portrayal of what had happened. Which was good, Britney deserved to know what happened in her absence and she deserved to know that it was these fucking Feds right here that did it. Lila smiled at Linqian as she described how big of a bitch Meifeng was.

And then Britney spotted Luca and her whole demeanor changed. Lila gasped as Britney took a step back, waved uncontrollably at Luca, before she spoke a series of words so fast that Lila could only hear the final ‘bye’ at the end and left. Britney just left her. She was ready to help and decided, in the blink of an eye, that it was no longer worth it because of the fucking Feds and her guilt. Lila snarled as she crossed her arms. A rage began to form in her mind, and it was only going to grow from here. Lila was scared, whatever Britney did had messed up the sealing and she was being subjected to a horror that she did not ever consider a possibility. And all Britney could do was not know what she did, and then run away? All good will Britney had been given by Lila dried up, and Lila knew that she would find it very difficult to get back on her good side again.

Lila shook her head and with it the thoughts. That rage wasn’t her own. Britney did not know what happened, yet, but that did not mean she wouldn’t help. Lila knew that she was just informed about Emily and the other whores from 8th street being here, a group that wanted her dead. She was also just introduced to the group who had attacked her friends just a week ago. It made sense that she did not want to stay around. Just because she ran today does not mean she ran from Lila, and Lila focused on the thoughts of reaching back out after this night was done. Lila shifted her focus to Luca. She hoped, above all, that Britney would help him too. Luca deserved some happiness after all. When the duo of Jasper and Luca began to follow Stormy, Lila did the same and took a seat next to them. She hated being here. Being near the agents that had hurt them last week. Breaking bread. Though Lila also hated the idea of walking off on her own, being away from the aura of Stormy, and away from her friends. She did not feel safe now with 8th street having ammunition to attack her. She ordered a tequila sunrise, and then she ordered a second moments later.

“Lynn would never forgive us if we didn’t take this opportunity for a group photo,” Lila whispered to Luca and Jasper to distract her from those thoughts, “especially if you’re rotless and I’m not a bird.”. Lila knew that she’d take a good photo of Luca and Jasper together just in case, but hopefully someone could help them take a nice group photo. Maybe she could use a few crows?

“I am fine here Luca, Stormy’s aura is helping and I don’t want you to have the rot come back quite yet,” Lila smiled, Luca was truly too kind.

Lila’s attention was pulled by Meifeng talking and it made her blood boil. On one hand Lila thanked the stars that Meifeng had the bare minimum self awareness to know that she fucked up least week. Like wow, congratulations Meifeng for stating the fucking obvious. At least the leader of the local PRA wasn’t a complete waste of air. On the other hand, how dare she try to make amends without taking action to make things better. Would there be someone there to check the bitch who had a clear problem with her anger? Would there be any accountability? Lila eyes shifted from Luca to Meifeng and immediately shifted them again to the PRA agent next to her. Lila still could not look at Meifeng while she wore that costume. And then Meifeng said that she hoped that the coven and the PRA would have a positive relationship going forward and Lila’s eyes finally allowed her to look Meifeng directly in the face.

“A positive relationship, a positive-” Lila pulled the words back as she shot her arms up to the sky, turning her head to Stormy. She did not know if he would understand the look she was giving him but she hoped it read as ‘you fucking dick, how dare you fucking play nice with these fucking Feds after what they did to us’. Lila hated talking to the Feds, she hated that she was silencing herself because Stormy was trying to play diplomat, and this anger was uniquely her own. Lila shifted her eyes back to Meifeng as she leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms as she did. “It’s going to take more than words for some of us. We got gassed, I got tased, Jasper got tased twice, Luca nearly died, a fucking church burned down,” Lila paused as she shook her head. It was a mistake for her to come over here, it would’ve been a mistake to go anywhere else alone right now, and all Lila wanted to do was go home and take a shower to get the smell of beer out of her hair. This sucked. “I do appreciate the apology but you’re not forgiven.”

---

“I’ll have sex on the beach,” Lynn said to the bartender before she returned to her beer.

Lynn turned her attention to Bianca and her smile faded just a little. Thinking about her past with Kari was not something she expected when she started this day, but she would need to keep her mind off of the subject as much as possible if she was going to keep up the facade of being okay. “That’s rough, I’m sorry you were on the other end of all that. Maybe she was just not ready for a relationship at the time, you know?” Lynn knew that these words were originally used against her, and the memory made her smile fade even more.

Lynn looked around the table, at all the unfamiliar faces and waved. No one had listened to Bianca and introduced themselves but Lynn would not let that last. “I’m Lynn, I’m sure you all know who we are because you’re the Feds and are in our phones,” she smiled as she finished. She turned to Bianca and winked. It was nice catching up with Bianca, while the two were not exactly close back then it was still refreshing to actually be able to hold a conversation with someone that wasn’t Lila, Luca, or Jasper. Bianca was also a good drinking buddy thus far, proper etiquette and all. Lynn knew that she would want to hang out more after tonight, even if she was a fed.

Luca suggested the greatest thing in the world in that moment, however, and somehow Lynn’s phone had appeared in her hand with the camera ready to go before she even moved a muscle. She quickly took one photo of the group together and frowned at the results. Luca and Jasper looked cute, but Lila was just staring off into space. “Lila, come on! Smile,” Lynn said with a playful tone. Lila turned her attention to the camera, flipped it off, and then smiled a big smile. Lynn quickly snapped the photo and looked at the result and smiled. Perfection. “Now lean in close,” Lynn said and she watched as Jasper pulled Luca in from his shoulder, and Lila leaned over with an annoyed look on her face. Lynn clicked the camera several times before she looked at the photos. Not quite perfection but Jasper and Luca, once again, looked cute. “We will need a group photo though once we’re done here.”.

Lynn turned to Meifeng and smirked. “Yeah, it’s going to take a minute for us to really get over all that. I’m lucky that whoever shot at me was a bad shot,” Lynn’s smirk grew larger, “though I think I’d be more partial to forgive and forget if a certain wolf figure is found and the threat of a sudden death removed from my and my friends possible futures.”

---

Jasper made sure to support Luca by holding him as tightly as he could without crushing the smaller man. Jasper was beyond happy that Luca appeared back to normal more so than just before, and having him this close only made that happiness swell. Jasper followed Luca’s lead and helped walk them towards the new drinking area and even after they sat down he kept his arm across Luca’s shoulders. Jasper squeezed his friend as he leaned in. ”As soon as you want to go we’ll go,” Jasper paused as he watched Lynn begin to take some photos, posing for them as she requested, ” I’m on your schedule for the rest of the night.”. He pulled his hand off Luca’s shoulder but carried it gently across his back as he did. For some reason Jasper really liked having his hands on Luca.

Jasper listened to Lila and Lynn as they aired their grievances about the PRA raid but it appeared they were keeping themselves calm for this meeting. Jasper knew that Lila was only here for Luca, and for Stormys aura. Lynn was only here because there were free drinks. He also knew that he was here for Luca, and whatever that meant. He did not expect this meeting to last forever and he was ready for a long nights sleep. But he was not apart of the conversation, nor was it something he was particularly interested in joining in on. Maybe it was actually time to think about whatever he was feeling? It was in this somewhat calm meeting that Jasper took a deep breath, closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and looked inward for just a minute.

Despite him trying to clear it his mind refused to fully vacate. He felt like he was not doing enough to help this coven, that he was worthless if a fight broke out, and that his whole life had been turned upside down within a weeks time. There was so much he still needed to do with his art, so much expectations on the pieces he had not finished, and a constant worry that if he did not keep pushing himself artistically he’d be forgotten and worthless. But then he thought shot Luca, and his smile, and all that fear, doubt, and insecurity melted away. He opened his eyes and looked back to Luca with a smile. A warmth radiated from within once more. Jasper still did not want to question anything much further tonight, but he knew better than to not embrace the feeling he was feeling. It was a cozy place to be after all.

Jasper turned to Luca as he pulled out his phone. ”I know we got one earlier but let’s take another one,” Jasper said as he pulled out his camera app and pointed to the camera, ”a proper photo, just for us.”.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Bianca @FernStone
Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker eating area

---

“Why can I tell even though he’s wearing a costume,” Lynn joked as her eyes remained locked on the power ranger in question. There was a creepy aura that seeped out of the costume, one that screamed ‘HR code ppl violation speedrun champion’ and Lynn couldn’t help but laugh some more. He even stood like a guy who has a book of violations on file. Lynn joked about being in HR because of her behavior but she knew that she would never actually be a problem like that. Lynn shifted her eye from PRA member to PRA member. In this place, they did not seem all that bad. Maybe they were truly just trying to make the world a safer place. Maybe they weren’t all that different from a coven. Maybe they did not really mean to tear gas a peaceful gathering of people. Maybe. Regardless, Bianca believed it so and, as a good drinking partner, Lynn would not question it much further. Lynn turned her attention back to Bianca. “I’ll trust you on this,” Lynn paused as she pointed to her eyes, slipped to the possible future, before she returned back a second later. “I’d be able to tell if you lie,” she smirked as she returned to her drink.

Lynn shook her head as Bianca mentioned that her last boss was much worse. “What was bad about the last boss, I’ve been out of the magical scene for a minute.”She took another sip of her beer, slowing down to match Bianca. Lynn caught sight of Linqian and Lynn leaned forward as a quiet rage filled her face. It remained there for a minute before she pushed it back. Lynn could be angry all she wanted, but she fucked up when she said what she did, even though she was still very happy that it hurt Linqian the way it did. People that fought alongside Jinhai were also hurt by what she said. Lynn wondered if Bianca had known Linqian brother well. Still, the frost bitch of the sycamore tree coven seemed to be not paying attention to her so Lynn did the same. Fuck her.

Lynn knew that she would need to make amends to everyone who was hurt by her words, but tonight was not the night to start. It will come soon. Words would not be to tell her friends how sorry she was, instead it will be her actions.

Lynn looked over to Lila, and then Jasper. Her eyes caught Lila’s and Lynn made a movement sign with her hand (her pointer and middle finger walking on top of her other palm) before she pointed to Stormy. Lila waved her off, and used her thumb to point to Britney. Lila gave her a thumbs up and flashed a smile before she returned her attention to Britney. “I’ll follow the group for now, I don’t know if I want to stick around here much longer,” Lynn said in reference to Linqian, “though you’ll have to introduce your friends to me, I only know mommy Meifeng, Lynn whispered the name as she snuck a quick look back to the maids.

“Let me clean up my mess first,” Lynn said as she grabbed the empty bottles and walked over to the rubbish bin and disposed of them.

“I’ve been there with ex’s though, on both sides of the block button. I had to block my one ex Kari at..” Lynn winced as she dammed the alcohol for making her say something she otherwise would’ve kept secret. Lynn did not like revealing that the two dated. “.. the end of our relationship. I’ve had a few dudes block me as well though they were all giant pieces of shit.” Lynn tried to steer the conversation away from Kari.

The accidental reveal caused Lynn to think about her relationship with Kari for a brief moment. It was her introduction to the queer world she now frequents, and it was the last time she had a serious relationship with a woman. She would tell her stories about the possible future and what it could bring and Kari would do the same but with tales from the other dimensions. Lynn smiled at the thought. Their relationship wasn’t perfect but Lynn was happy back then, happier than she was now.

“Shall we,” Lynn motioned with her arm towards the departing PRA agents and Stormy.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Halloween Festival

INTERACTIONSAuri’s paintings.

“Alex?” Faith asked as she leaned back in her folding chair.

Alex heard her but chose not to respond. They was tasked with an important task, a task that came down from the three horsemen of the artpocalypse. Their gaze remained fixed, never moving nor wavering. They never shut, and they did not move. To fail this task was to fail the 317, and to fail the 317 was to fail everything. At least at this moment.

“Alllllex..” Faith asked again as they leaned forward.

This mission was too important to give up in some meaningless conversation. Their target was in conversation with a strangely dressed woman. There was no chance Alex was going to let them win. Alex was unable to really pull much useful information from their conversation but they knew it must be important.

“Alex,” Faith shouted as she stood up. She walked to the side of Alex and waved her hand in front of Alex, trying to grab their attention. “What are you doing?”

“Staring contest,” Alex whispered as they swatted at Faith’s hand.

“With who?”

“Them,” Alex pointed towards Auri who was looking at their strangely dressed friend and not towards Alex.

“They’re not even looking at you,” Faith groaned as she buried her head in her head. Why were her artists all so weird?

“They were,” Alex paused as they finally looked away from Auri and towards Faith. “For a second. I think I may have misread a signal here.”

“Yeah,” Faith rolled her eyes as she returned to her seat. The stall was one of two that the 317 had for this festival, and this was primarily filled to the brim with paintings, information about the artists, as well as a catalogue of unsold art still at the 317. The second stall was further away, and was a more hands on one that featured educational displays by members of the 317, face paintings, and class signups and registration. “What are you still doing here, by the way? I released the other creatures to a night of fun, I can manage the stall by myself.”

“I was..” Alex paused as they blinked.

“Having a staring contest with someone who wasn’t involved in the staring contest?”

“Yes.” Alex returned their gaze to Auri but noticed they were running off into the distance, and their friend was following close behind. Alex stood up and followed them down the road with their eyes. They spotted a mass of crows in the direction they ran.

“You should get out and explore the festival some, have some fun. I told you that you don’t have to do anything to help here. We’re good, I can man the fort myself,” Faith said as she sat back down and grabbed a cup of tea.

Alex frowned. These types of crowds were not their usual idea of fun. There were people, noisy people, who had no concept of personal space. The food smelled, and none of it was anything that they would eat. The drinks were weak and overpriced. What about this was fun? They knew that prolonged exposure to this space would mean their anxiety and stress levels would be annoying. An idea streaked across their mind as they shifted their eyes across to the now closed stall. Alex saw the paintings. They wondered what the world on the other side looked like.

Alex waited for their moment to strike and it came when a rather large dude began to peruse the stall. They shot up, their Bob Ross wig bouncing as they did, and began to make their way across the street. Faith saw this. “Alex?” They tried to follow but could only do so with their eyes as the man who was browsing the stall began to ask questions about the art.

Alex quickly found themself at the edge of the stall and Auri’s pathetic attempt to stop them with a ‘closed’ sign. They quickly made their way behind the stand and found themselves in front of their paintings. Auri was good. Alex placed their hands on the first two paintings, channeled her power, before they went to the next. They continued until every last painting was linked. Every painting would now have a new road painted in that ran towards the horizon. They were all linked to their power now, and Alex would visit them before long. They did not want anyone slipping through on this end so Alex closed the open portals here, leaving the path open from the other end.

A caw sound grabbed their attention, and they left the stall to explore what was causing a massive murder to get so upset.

---

“He seemed nice,” Summer chuckled as a child sat down for their turn at getting their face painted. Summer was dressed as Audrey Ramirez from the Atlantis movie.

“He was a grown as..a grown man,” Jason said as his eyes scanned the crowd. Seeing a few parents staring at him Jason averted his gaze, pretending to check inventory. He was dressed as the cabbage guy from Avatar, complete with a pair of cabbages in his hand.

“It’s the Halloween festival,” Jordan responded as he sat down. He was dressed as a Jedi knight. “He just wanted to look a little more festive.”

“Exactly,” Summer said as she turned her attention to the kid in her chair. “What animal do you want!” She asked with a nearly infectious enthusiasm.

“A deer,” the kid spoke through missing teeth.

“Fantastic choice,” Summer smiled as she began to paint the kids face. “Besides, it’s money for the restoration fund. And I don’t think there’s ever an age limit on getting your face painted.

“What do you think is going on over there,” Jason said as he pointed towards a small gathering and a localized rain storm.

Jordan looked over and squinted. It seemed, to him at least, like a fight was about to break out with a crocodile. He watched as it heated up as more people joined before everyone left on their own. As the crocodile left, so too did the storm. “Looks like coven crap,” Jordan signed, “just what this festival needs.”

“Jesus, it’s like they have a hard,” Jason paused as he swallowed the word he wanted to say, he spotted a patent in the cries who was shaking their head at him, “time not being terrible people.”

“And that,” Summer pointed towards a mass of crows. It looked like they were quite agitated.

“More of the same,” Jordan shook his head as he stood up, “you two got this? I want to check that out.”

“Yeah we’re good” the twins spoke in unison.

Jordan waved as he took off towards the murder. He arrived shortly after a very large and attractive woman did, and he spotted Alex trying to blend into the crowd while maintaining eye contact with the PRA agents dressed as maids. Jordan shook his head. He knew that the PRA did not show up for no reason, and with Jasper standing in the midst of it he could only guess that a fight had broken out. He saw how Jasper held the small man and raised an eyebrow. Jordan would want to get confirmation, on both accounts. He pulled open his phone and pulled up the notes app and started writing down what he saw and heard.

Halloween Festival

INTERACTIONSBritney, Meifeng @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone

Lynn watched as Bianca downed the beer right in front of her, and Lynn’s smile grew wider. She grabbed the ten that Bianca dropped and she put it back in her hand. Lynn grabbed a second beer and pushed it across the table until it was right next to her new drinking buddy. “Your money's no good here,” Lynn winked as she laughed. Lynn looked back over to Cindy and Meifeng and laughed some more. “that’s one of many reasons I could never join up. I’d have a new HR case every other week. Don’t worry your secret's safe with me, I won’t tell them.” As she finished she gave Bianca a wink, downing her beer after she did.

Lynn’s demeanor changed when Bianca asked how she was. Her eyes lingered for a second, but they eventually needed to retreat. She was the same as always. Depressed, too sober, and constantly fighting off the creeping realization that she was going to die alone. She was always the same, but she added a realization that she was a colossal bitch sometimes. And Lynn knew Bianca heard what she said to Linqian. Lynn did not know if the Fed was close to Linqian’s brother, but she had to assume that they were at least friendly. Lynn knew that everyone from the old coven must hate

“Well I would be doing better if,” she paused as her eyes narrowed a bit, locking onto Bianca’s with an intensity, “you know, I didn’t get tear gassed a week ago.” She let the statement sit for an uncomfortable second as her eyes never left Bianca’s. “But it’s been more good that bad recently,” Lynn’s demeanor shifted, softening as she pulled herself back to her normal, “More good than bad. It’s been really awesome being back in town, seeing everyone again,” she paused as she looked at Luca getting close to Jasper, “has been amazing. If you weren’t a fed I’d say it’s really good seeing you again.”. She smiled genuinely. “I lied,” Lynn paused as she offered up her beer bottle with Bianca to give her a cheers, “it is good seeing you again. What’s new with you?”

Lynn watched as Britney arrived on the scene. This prompted her to look to Lila. “Do me a favor, watch my drink,” Lynn paused as she slipped into the possible future, her eyes glazing over. She spent several minutes in the future but only a few seconds in the present. “Oh we might need more drinks for Lila after this exchange.”. Lynn turned her attention towards Lila. She took another big drink as she leaned back in her seat, and tossed Bianca another smile.

---

Jaspers face was more red than it had ever been before. It felt like it was radiating heat at this point. Luca…was…wrapping his hand around his waist. The hand holding was one thing, that Jasper knew that Luca’s arm around his waist was a completely different thing all together. Luca was holding him, and Jasper felt good because of it. He felt happy, safe, and above all else he felt like he could sit in his embrace for the rest of the festival. And then Luca leaned into the embrace and he felt that his face grew a shade redder still. He did not realize how cute Luca was until he was this close.

Luca asked him to help him stand up, and Jasper knew that in this moment Luca could ask him to do anything and he’d say yes. Maybe. This was all so confusing. ” Of course, I got you Luca. After we finish up here how about I carry you back to get that food? And then hang out with everyone? I’ll carry you the whole night if you need me to” Jasper said as he smiled down to Luca. His face was very red, was it because of the rot? That must be why it was so red. The rot must have taken its toll and now his poor, cute face was flushed. No other reason. Jasper helped Luca stand up more, noting that his really good friend was very light.

The moment Stormy offered everyone a drink Jasper’s smile lost it’s intensity. Jasper felt like he could go for a drink in a safe way but, after everything that happened tonight, he knew that it could spiral quickly from there. All drugs could spiral quickly, and he was not going to chance it tonight. Not while Luca needed him, not while he had Luca in his hand in a friendly way. ”Water for me too,” he joked with Luca.

Jasper noticed a sudden, and jarring change in Luca’s disposition. Did he do something wrong? Did he upset his friend by the way he was holding him? Jasper followed his eyes and spotted Britney. She was asking Lila if everything was okay. Not Luca, Lila. Sure, Jasper understood that Lila recently got help sealing the creature inside of her and that something went wrong. Sure, Jasper knew that this development was sudden, and scary. But Luca was also hurt. Luca was in pain. And Britney did not check in with him. He followed Luca’s direction as he turned his head towards Lila. ”Yeah, Lila you doing okay?”

---

Lila further buried her eyes in the dirt as she spotted the other PRA agent dressed in a maid uniform. Oh how Lila hated Halloween at this very moment. Lila would normally protest breaking bread with the Feds. By all accounts they’ve done nothing to earn the goodwill, and the coven in general needs to distance themselves from association with the PRA. Words escaped her lips, and she would wait to voice her displeasure until the coven. But she had to say something. “Stormy, I don’t think we-” her voice cut as she spotted the cause of her torment coming towards her. And she dared ask her what happened.

What happened? What happened!? Lila was no expert in sealing but she knew that Britney had failed with it. What happened? Emily had fucked with her in a way that brought the maiden back to her, and she let her the fuck back in. And it turned her into a fucking furry. What happened? Lila could not question it further, she did not know what happened and questioning it further would only make her angry.

Luca pulled her attention, he was making sure that the rot did not hurt her. Lila flashed a smile that was, once again, not her own. “No, no, no you did not hurt me.”” Lila looked to Luca, and saw how close he was leaning on Jasper and how red the two of their faces had gotten. Her genuine smile returned. It did not last long as her eyes slowly slid over towards Britney.

“Britney,” her voice lost its edge once again. What happened, what truly happened? Lila thought back to the sealing, to that night. They were so drunk by the time they got around to the sealing, but Britney said that everything went okay. The maiden was gone, and things were good. But why was the maiden back now?

“I can spoil the secret,” the maiden whispered.

No. No it was not possible. Lila looked to Luca, and Jasper still held him in his arms without rot. Stormy’s aura should still be active, and she should be free of the maiden at least while the aura was still active.

“I have nowhere to run,” the maiden whispered. She felt the maiden chuckle, and the chuckle turned into a full laugh. “he makes me weak but he can’t keep me away”“You should be mad right now,” as the maiden spoke she felt the anger rise inside herself. She should be angry. And as the anger grew, she felt herself being pulled back away from the present. It was much slower, much more difficult, and Stormys spell was very much limiting the pull. Yet it did not stop her eyes from turning black for a brief second as her head tilted to the side.

“Britney, what did you do?”, Lila whispered as she forced her way back to the front of her mind, causing her eyes to return to normal. It was easier now than it was before. The maiden was like a flickering light in an old dark room right now. Every now and again its light shined through, but for the most part the maiden was kept in the dark by Stormy. And the longer she stayed in his aura the weaker the maiden got. Something told her that it would never truly push the maiden away. Lila focused on her breathing. She needed to remain calm. She could not let her emotions get out of hand again. And most importantly, she needed a drink, a good night with friends, and a safe place to be protected from 8th street. She could accomplish none of that if she truly told Britney how she felt.

“I’m okay, I’m okay. We need to talk, in private, soon,” she whispered to Britney, throwing a weak smile across her face.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Halloween Festival

INTERACTIONSEmily, Meifeng, Fiona @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca @FernStone

Lynn opened another drink as the 8th street fuckers began to leave. She had stopped paying attention to them Stormy stepped in, and was instead focused on the more important task of getting hammered. She did enjoy watching Emily and George, however, she was saddened that she could not turn the twins into new drinking friends. The threat from Emily and George did not fall on deaf ears. Lila, and Luca, were targets for Emily’s revenge now. And if she was anything like she was back in the day, she would not take kindly to this embarrassments she endured. Lynn was smart enough to take the threat seriously and began to think of the different options they would have to protect themselves. Staying at Lila’s would not be an option, at least not alone. They would either need to find someplace to lay low for a while, or find someone strong enough to stay with them.

As well, Lynn would need to figure out what happened to Lila. Luca and rot was well known to her, and she knew he would need time to recover. But what toll did the Maiden bring? Would Lila need time to get better, would she get better, and will the Maiden come out to play once again? All it took was one transphobic comment for Lila to let her back in again, and Lynn knew this world was a terrible place. She’d need to work with Lila to find answers. Her expression dropped for a moment. She hated this. She hated seeing her friends hurt.

She became so engrossed into these thoughts she almost missed the PRA arrival. Lynn tried to not pay attention to them. What were they going to do? Tear gas them again? In public? Lynn did not think to much into it. Of course they would tear gas then again, in public, in front of these crowds. They were a wild organization, with no accountability, and they made themselves very clear after the church. Lynn took another drink of her beer. Lynn knew that they would be led by the bitch Meifeng. Lynn needed a distraction, Lynn needed to be more drunk this time. She took another drink from her beer as she side eyed the Feds. Yet there was no distracting force strong enough to keep Lynn away from the sight before her. Lynn nearly did a spit take as she spotted the French maid outfit on Meifeng and her eyes lingered far too long as her mouth dropped. Heaven was real and it took the form of a beautiful woman.

“I love women,” Lynn choked out, grinning as she did, as she leaned back into her chair. She took another drink from the beer. Suddenly playing nice with the Feds was back in her possible future. Especially if Meifeng could commit to wearing that outfit all the time.

---

What was this feeling? Jasper looked down at Luca’s hand as it squeezed his gently. His breathing became quick, his heart skipped a beat before it surged to twice its normal speed, and it felt like his core had suddenly come alive and became warm. His face became a shade redder, and it soon became almost as red as the dress that he wore. Here he was, a straight man that had come to the festival with his newly refound best friend, feeling a feeling he never felt before. At least, never felt before for a man. Jasper had dabbled before with men, and he knew he would dabble again before long, but he never felt this sensation. This was new. This scared him, this excited him, and this confused him.

Jasper breathing quickened even more. What did this mean? Did this mean he liked Luca? Of course he liked Luca, Luca was a good friend. He was a very good friend. A very good and a very cute friend. The two have been through so much together, they’ve fought side by side against the Snake and it’s minions, fought side by side against the skeleton monster that has ruined their life, and now here they sit, side by side, holding hands. What did this mean, these feelings? What did this mean for his future? Should he panic? Was he already panicking? He should panic. He should not stop panicking, he should scream.

Jasper heard Luca talking about his medicine, and Jasper reached with his free hand. He pulled the bag close and reached around until he found a pill bottle shaped object and pulled it out. He put the bottle in between his thighs, holding it tight, and he opened the top with his free hand. He passed the open bottle to Luca. Why didn’t he use his other hand to open it? Why did he have to keep his hand on Luca’s? And why couldn’t he get him off his mind? The 8th street just threatened Lila, he should be focused on making sure she was okay and would be protected. His eyes shifted down to Luca as he made his joke about his appearance, and he couldn’t help but force a smile across his face.

“At least we still match,” Jasper chuckled as he looked down at his own zombified frame. He caught Meifeng walking up, and he caught the pink power ranger out in the crowd waving to him. Jasper tilted his head and waved back with his free hand. How strange. He didn’t linger long on the strange sight, as he caught Lynn fawning over the maid outfit Meifeng wore. That, at least, was not strange and made perfect sense for Lynn. He pushed these thoughts out of his mind. He pushed the thoughts of the fight with 8th street, the threats that they made, and Lila’s strange new powers out. He pushed the waves of doubt, insecurity, and fear over whatever he was feeling out. He pushed the worries he had for the future, for Luca, and for his coven out. He pushed everything out, except for the thought that he needed to be here for his friend. At least for now, he would need to confront these thoughts, feelings, and wants soon. He smiled as he looked back down to Luca. He squeezed his hand to reassure him that he was here for him, holding the squeeze for a comfortable duration, and he hoped that Luca would know that he would not leave his side.

---

As the Rot came out of Luca Lila felt the strange forest return and overwhelm her vision. It felt like Luca, her friends, and the fight was suddenly a tiny screen a thousand feet away from her present vision. She could still see, but it felt like any action she took in her body was delayed, fought against. Lila looked around the forest and felt like she was in a strange place, but there was something familiar about it. Something that she’d seen before but in a different lens. Lila could tell that there was a clearing ahead of her, and she began to make her way towards it. That was, before the area erupted with a screeching bird like sound. She felt herself pulled back away from the forest as her vision of the outside world grew larger once again. Soon enough she was back in the present world, body back to normal, and brain clear of the maiden.

“Thank you, Stormy,” Lila choked out as she nearly fell over at the sudden change in perspective. She gritted her teeth as Emily deadnamed her again and again, and she wanted to lunge at her when she made her threat. Yet watching her walk away covered in bird shit, wine, and embarrassed that it was lowly Lila who caused all this made her laugh. “Byeeeee,” Lila did a little wave as they walked further out of view. A smile as wide as it could be grew across her face. Her head turned to Luca and the smile quickly dropped. How did the rot know the maiden, and was it flirting? What..the..fuck? The more important thing was that it looked like Luca was as okay as he could be, and he had two big strong men talking care of him. She spotted Luca and Jasper holding a hand and she raised an eyebrow. A curious development.

That threat did not fall on deaf ears. They would come for her, eventually. And she needed to be ready. Would she get ready by working with her coven, and having them help make sure that when Emily did come for her revenge she had friends to help, or was there some strength in embracing the maiden? Lila never felt stronger personally as she just did. She never felt as impactful, nor did she ever feel as complete. It was like some long lost part of her had returned home to roost? Lila never felt stronger totally like she did when she fought with her coven. When everyone fought together , for a common cause, Lila knew the answer was obvious. She would bed to put faith in her friends. The maiden scared her, and she’d need to find a way to address that problem before long.

Then, the situation got worse. Meifeng’s voice filled the air, and Lila could not help but groan. “Oh fuck-” Lila lost the ability to speak as she saw what Meifeng wore. Lila stumbled backwards, her eyes going wide, as she forced a swallow as she quickly composed herself. She fanned her head for a quick second. “Oh fuck off,” her voice softer, more diminutive. Lila lost the ability to look at Meifeng directly, but she did her best by looking at the ground off to her side.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

The Festival

INTERACTIONS: Luca@FernStoneStormy@Blizz

---

This whole situation had gotten out of hand fast and Jasper did not know what he could do to make it better. He watched as another fight of crows banked into the scene, leveling off for a second, before white glob bombs were released. Their aim was impeccable, and Jasper found it hard to not smile as they hit their target, Emily’s face, dead on. Emily was the only person on the planet who competed with Sloane for most hated, so seeing the aftermath of the punch, the wine pour, and now bird shit, was hard not to celebrate. Yet his eyes could not linger for long. There was something, someone much more important that he had to be sure did not get hurt. He shifted his focus onto Luca, and his mouth dropped open.

“Luca,” Jasper whispered as he took the steps forward. His eyes saw the flesh peeling, the destruction happening to his body, and he wanted nothing more than to try and help him, hold him; his own body be damned. He took another few steps forward but stopped as Luca looked at him and told him to not get any closer. To stay away. It took every bit of strength for Jasper to listen. To not run in to help. To not be there to protect the man who meant so much to him. His friend was in pain, his monster was pushing its way out, and Jasper could do nothing to help. Luca’s eyes changed color, and Jasper’s heart skipped a beat. He had to do something, he had to be there for Luca, to get through to bring him back. “Luca, don’t let it out, come back to me,” Jasper spoke to Luca, hoping his words would travel through the sound of flapping wings and caws.

Thankfully Jasper was not alone in this. Stormy had made his power known and had begun to send away the monsters that plagued his friends body, and he watched as Luca fell limp into his arms. Jealously brewed in his head, it should’ve been him to catch Luca. A totally straight, friendly, and normal kind of jealously. All Jasper wanted to do was hold Luca close in his arms and do everything he could to make him feel better. Jasper did not wait for the all clear from Stormy that Luca was safe, instead he took off as fast as his feet could carry him until he reached the side of the most important man in the world.

“Stormy,” Jasper paused as he slid to his knees and hit a wall of decay, he mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to him as Jasper turned his attention towards Luca. The rot had begun to impact his body, but Jasper was no stranger to the sensation. He’d endure it for his friend, he’d endure it for the most important person in his life. “Luca, it’s Jasper. You need to push the rot out, I’m here for you, I got you.”

Jasper looked towards George, and then Emily. Anger began to swell in his eyes, these two were responsible for everything that was happening. They were the reason the rot broke free. And he wished that they were not in public, in front of the blind and otherwise. If Luca wasn’t in danger, if he wasn’t hurting, he’d make use of the apparition be gone to bring the fight back to fists. He turned his focus back down to Luca, ready to be here for him.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

The Festival

Interactions: Luca,@FernStone,Emily/George @Punished GN, Stormy @Blizz

---

Lila heard Luca speak clearly for the first time and it shook her. He sounded angry. He was angry. And he had moved in between the two. Lila’s expression softened as much as her black eyes would allow. She did not want to risk hurting Luca when Emily eventually said some more shit. All she wanted right now were her normal hands, and several beers to forget that she had heard her dead name. “Don’t push me out so soon,” The Maiden whispered, “I’m just starting to enjoy this” Lila winced as her voice tried to push her back towards the anger. Lila did not let it stay for long. Instead she turned her head and watched Luca passionately stand up to Emily, her eyes turned slightly and saw Jasper also watching Luca do the same thing. She shifted them back to Luca, and smiled when he called her his friend. The more he talked, the more the rage pulled away from her mind, the more quiet the maiden got, and the more herself she felt.

And then Luca said to not hit her again. To not take this any further. Lila smiled a little wider. As she smiled the feathered claws retreated and soon she was left with her normal hands. As this feeling, this power of friendship, enveloped her The Maiden chuckled. “You’ve let me in once, I’ll be back soon.”. A few seconds later her eyes returned to normal and she felt all of The Maidens rage fall away with her. She took a deep breath. It felt like she hadn’t taken a full breathe since the maiden returned to her. “Me and you are on break again. You do not play with my emotions like that.. Emily may have had it coming but Jesus fuck this could’ve been bad,” she thought to herself.

Lila turned and saw Stormy. She remembered he had complimented her swing, and asked what was going on. “I don’t usually punch people, Emily is a fucking transphobic cunt though.”. Lila turned her head towards Lynn, and saw that she had several beers in hand. She was placing them down gently on a table. The two locked eyes, Lynn quickly shifted hers down to Lila’s hand before a smile spread across her face. Lila turned her head and spotted Jasper who was still staring at Luca. Lila tilted her head. That was strange, he has been staring at Luca for a couple of minutes now. Lila turned her eyes back to Luca and flashed a quick smile.

“Thank you. You’re right Luca, that bitch is not-“” Lila paused as an ice cold liquid was poured on her head. The smell of cheap beer quickly overwhelmed her senses. In an instant that anger returned, this time ten fold. Whoever was doing this would pay. And then she heard George talk. In an instant her feathered hands shot outward, and this was soon followed by her eyes returning to their void like color. Her hand quickly moved to her throat and she ripped her choaker off. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a variety of cheap rings and other worthless jewelry she simply had on hand. She did not expect to make an offering and she’d need to find some tacky shop selling jewelry and fast . “My, my that was not long. Shall I give you your next gifts, or will you do better suffering through some adversity to teach you respect?” Lila’s anger became visible on her face as she thought “go fuck yourself” as she she dropped her offerings to the ground in front of her.

“Shit all over Emily and George, aim for their mouths”.

The crows swarmed the offering before they took to the skies. Immediately they began to do just as instructed. Lila turned to Luca with a devious smile. She felt herself slipping away, being pulled towards a distant, dangerous place. The more she met the maiden in, the more it pulled her away from being a hundred percent present in her body. It was like she was in two places at the same time. She could see Luca, clear as day, but she could also see a forest, and a green glow coming from within it. The forest seemed familiar. She focused her vision on Luca instead, pushing the forest to the corner of her vision. Lila’s eyes seemed a little more devoid of life than before. Her smile a little more wicked. Her presence a little less Lila.

“What fun!”, Lila paused as she laughed, “Shall we, Rot?”

---

---

Lynn watched as George poured the beer over Lila’s head. Lynn turned her head and waited for Jasper to react yet his attention was firmly on Luca. Lynn turned her head back towards the fight. She was less surprised that George would do something like that and more so surprised that someone so tall and big was able to sneak up on Lila like that. Lynn grabbed one of her own beers and simply drank, and drank, and drank it until it was empty. She placed the empty bottle down and grabbed a second one and did the same. As she finished the second one she saw the feathered hand of Lila return and watched as she began to prepare an offering. A few seconds later Emily and George were being peppered by bird shit, and the way Lila was talking and looking make Lynn nervous.

“Stormy… It might be time for the monsters to go to sleep,” she paused as she took another deep drink from her beer.

She did not think Emily would do anything, nor did she think Emily would allow George to do anything. The problem was everything that they did to Emily now would be returned twice as vicious down the road. Punching her was one going, but humiliating her? In front of the entire town and tourist? At the Halloween festival? Lynn did not need the future to see that trouble would come their way, and Lynn might make it even worse if she was allowed to continue. She could always blame Britney, it was her fault that the maiden was still here. Would Emily listen? Would she care? Lynn turned her head back to Jasper, hoping he would be moving towards the fight to dosomething but his attention was firmly on Luca still. How strange?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

INTERACTIONSEmily, Britney, Auri @Punished GN

Lila couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping her lips as she watched Emily break down in tears. Something felt good about seeing her like this, seeing her sad, covered in wine, and crying her fake tears. This was the best day ever. She saw Emily’s eyes linger on her hands for a second and Lila looked down. This was the worst day ever. Feathers? Claws? Why was her hand so long now? She should be panicking, she should be afraid, yet the only thing she could feel in that moment was power. She felt strong, and she felt comfortable in that feeling. Her eyes slowly slid up from them and she looked at Emily once more. She laughed again. This time louder and more direct. “My, my, my,” The Maiden whispered to Lila, “I’ve been waiting for you to welcome me back”. Lila shuddered visibly at the whisper. Fuck. The Maiden was never gone, and all it took was one transphobic comment to fucking welcome her back. Great. Great. She saw that the red wine had really soaked into the dragon onesie and this broke her internal conversation causing her to laugh really hard.

“Emily,” Lila spoke in between the laughter, her voice was mostly her own but there was a dual tone to it now, and a whispered voice spoke alongside Lila “Are you crying crocodile tears, Lila paused as she took three quick steps around Luca and towards Emily. She stopped halfway between them, as a rush of realization swept over her. She had just punched Emily Reed, of the 8th street, their leader. If there was ever a risky mistake, this was it. Lila thought for a second, mulled it over, before she said fuck it. The bitch had it coming, and Lila wanted to remind her of it. “keep that name out of your mouth,or this crazy bitch will do it again.”

Lila felt her anger surge as she finished. The crows reflected this, they began to fly closer and closer to Emily, jumping within reach to caw before they flapped their wings flying back out of range. What was it with the fucking sycamore tree coven, and its former members, playing the victim? And why did Emily think anyone would take her side? Sure, Britney was to blame for so many problems. Actually Britney was to blame for whatever the fuck was going on. That realization made her even angrier, not just because she fucked up the sealing but because by doing so it made Lila agree with Emily. She will hold that cunt accountable. She wasn’t going to talk for Luca, however, so she turned her attention back down to her hands. She noticed that the claws looked sharp, really sharp, and The Maiden let Lila see her want for them to cut across Emily’s chest. An image that was strangely alluring. The more the maiden made her desire known the more Lila wanted to turn it into reality. She looked back towards Emily and chuckled under her breath.

“Do you like them?” The Maiden whispered to Lila. “You’ll be getting more gifts soon.”

---

Lynn stood back, her eyes locked onto Lila’s arms. What.. the..fuck. Her eyes shifted to Emily, and back to Lila. She was going to keep her distance, Luca did not have to tell her twice. Her phone was up, and she had a message typed and ready to send. She added one more contact to the message. She deleted the message, watching Lila carefully, before she retyped it entirely.

Hi Britney, Auri…Sooo Emily said some transphobic shit to Lila, Lila punched her, Emily’s making a scene, and Lila is…here look at her hands.

She tapped send, before she took a photo, and sent that as well.

Britney, what the fuck happened with the sealing.

She looked up from her phone to see Jasper arrive in costume. Her eyes shifted from Jasper, to Luca, before back to Jasper. They were totally rocking those fits. Finally, Lynn saw perfection in person and the group Halloween costume night was a success, and Emily getting rocked was just the icing on the cake. She looked around the area again and saw that no other 8th street had showed up yet. That was good. She worried that would change before long.

---

Jasper felt his stomach drop as the crows erupted nearby. It seemed Luca had the same reaction as he took off immediately towards the source. Jasper tried his best to follow but the crowded area, combined with his large frame, meant that he was slow to arrive. When he did, he saw that Lila was ready to fight.

Jasper wanted to get involved, but he was taken aback by the sheer number of crows jumping around Emily, Luca standing his ground in such a strong way, and the feathered hands of Lila. Jasper gulped. His suspicion was correct. The sealing did not work, something went wrong. That thought would have to wait. His time in St. Portwell has taught him much about the magical world, and chief among them was to not piss off Emily Reed. He just saw the twins, so they were lucky. But he knew that the night just got a little more dangerous now that this fight started.

He reached into his bag and grabbed his paint brush. He needed to be ready. And he needed a canvas.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Drink Line
INTERACTIONS: @Punished GN

“Oh you got to be kidding me…” Lynn whispered as she smacked the screen on her phone.

“Should I ask?” Lila smirked.

“Jasper sent a photo of two caramel apples…” Lynn paused as she placed the back of her hand on her forehead. She paused as she faked a cry. It seemed that her act of dramatic flair made her forget her next words.

“Before..” Lila added as she took another step towards the salvation that drinking promised.

“Before, thank you,” Lynn paused as she looked over to Lila, “before he sent me a photo of them in their costumes” she paused again as she returned to her phone, “looks tasty though,” Lynn showed the photo to Lila.

Lila, though, had her attention fixated on one person in the crowd. She could not take her eyes off the sad display that was Emily. The egotistical, narcissistic, queen bitch of the 8th Street Coven. Something began to pull at her mind from deep down. Something began to whisper unheard demands. Something wanted Lila to make Emily uncomfortable. And Lila was all too happy to listen. Emily was someone who destroyed the old coven, Emily was someone who made life back then hard to live, and Emily was an easy target for once in her life.

“Lynn, I think I know just the thing to distract you from those dicks,” Lila paused as a smile crept across her face, her eyes still locked on Emily.

Lynn followed the eyes and spotted Emily again. What was Lila planning? Lynn lowered her eyes and slipped to the possible future for five seconds before she returned back, and smiled as she looked up to Lila. “You sure about this?”. Lynn had a disdain for Emily that she was never able to put into words.

“Oh.. my.. God, Emily?” Lila shouted across the crowd towards her target, her mouth remaining agape in a feigned shock and surprise, “is that you Emily Reed?”

Emily and her two sisters stopped, as Emily crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder. “... Yep, that’s me,” Emily started, “...Weirdo.”

“I love the costume, fits you…” Lila paused as she took a step out of line, “okay. ” Lila spotted Miranda and Jaqueline, and flashed them a genuine smile. It faded slightly, but noticeably , when she returned her gaze back to Emily, “You three want a drink, my treat.”

Miranda put her hands together and did a twirl, “Really? We picked it out for her!” She smiled at Lila as she locked hands with Jacqueline.

“We’ll take one,” Jacqueline said with a smile.

“I don't take drinks from… Oh… wait,” Emily shook her head, before crossing her arms. “You’re that Sycamore-slut… How is fumbling under that airhead Auri working out for you?” she grinned.

“It’s just like the old times but surprisingly less awful,” Lila paused as she remembered the Dairy Queen fight, the PRA raid, the fight outside the church, the general lack of guidance and direction, and all of the dead that now line the mural, “surprisingly less awful. Come on Emily, just one drink,” Lila paused as she let the offer in the air, “catch up.”

“Or two,” Lynn said as she leaned out and shot the three sisters a smile, “Emily, you look good!”

“Fine,” Emily said, rolling her eyes. “If you insist…”

“How fun,” Lynn said with a smirk. She shifted her eyes towards the twins. “You two look lovely! I love the princess outfits! I’m Lynn, I’m always happy to have new drinking friends.”

“Lila,” she paused as she waved, “what’s your poison tonight,” Lila asked Emily directly.

“I’m Jacqueline,”

“I’m Miranda, thank you!”

“And it's great to meet you,” Jacqueline said.

“Red Wine, because I have class,” Emily said.

“We’ll have white wine,” Jacqueline said with a smile.

Of course she was a wine snob. Lila might have pushed back on whatever voice was telling her to engage with Emily if they drank something original, but a wine snob? “It’s fun how I spent the past decade rarely seeing anyone from the old days and then,” Lila paused as she took another step forward in line, “last week I run into George, Carol, and Greta. Then today, it’s Emily Reed,” pausing again she looked back to the twins. “I looked up to Emily when we were younger,” Lila paused as she looked back to Emily. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth. Lila only looked up to Emily because Emily moved through the world as if they were the most important piece in it, and they were loud about it, and to young Lila that was enough to garner his attention. Yet Emily was never not loud, she was never not the most important person, and her want to be the leader she pretended to be eventually split their found family. And Lila was still bitter. “What have you been up to since the split?”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Greta told me everything… So cut the bullshit,” She sighed.

“And if you really looked up to me, you would be in 8th, but you made it clear how you feel about that…. So, again, cut the bullshit.”

“What did Greta’s say, that she’s still mad that I didn’t give her a hundred dollars?” Lila paused as she leaned back, “I thought 8th’s offer was a joke because of that.”

“Yeah,” Lynn paused as she looked towards Lila. She looked towards the drink stall and they were closer to the front now. “They just came up, asked us to join, wanted some money for it, and left. Carol stole my flask. It wasn’t the best first impression.”. She paused as she shifted her eyes back to Emily.

“I had, and still have, no desire to roll with any coven again but,” Lila paused as she leaned in close, “why didn’t you send out the call to those of us who left? When this shit started happening? Why did it have to be Auri?” Lila paused as she flared her jacket out. “I don’t know if I would’ve joined after hearing what Luca said, but I might’ve heard you out.” Lila shifted her eyes over to the crows that littered the area.

“And I see you two can’t help but fellate yourselves over it,” Emily said with a roll of her eyes. “Actually forget about what Greta said; I had my fill of annoying retards during my time in the Old Coven.”

Lila sat still for just a moment as the word lingered in the air. As it lingered Lila regretted her decision to try and poke the bear, not because the words hurt but because it made her angry. And as it lingered the crows around her became agitated. They began to fly from post to post, branch to branch, cawing as they did. Each one looked down on Emily, as everyone should. They found lower, and lower, and lower spots and they increased their caws as they did. “You’re doing great, Emily, at this leadership thing. I have no idea why you got voted out.”

“Ooooh, did the person you choose to get the attention of, strike a nerve?”

“Emi-“ Miranda tried to inject.

“But you’re doing real good at this pretending to be a girl thing…” Emily leaned in a grin, “… Micheal.”

“EMILY!” Both Jacqueline and Miranda shouted.

Lila did not wait for the name to settle on her ears. Lila did not wait for her thoughts to mull her response over. Lila did not wait. Her hand shot out of her jacket, already balled into a fist, and it quickly connected with Emily’s nose. She did not wait once again, she quickly pulled her arm back and readied another strike, this one aimed for Emily’s jaw.

As she let loose the second strike, a familiar voice whispered in her left ear “let me in,” and without waiting to think, Lila did. Her eyes quickly turned black once more, and her hands underneath her gloves began to change into claws. All around the crows erupted at once, filling the air with a thousand caws.

Miranda let out a high-pitched scream.

Emily fell on her ass, thankfully dodging the other hit. Her head was spinning as she grabbed onto the ground, then grit her teeth. She pulled her leg back and shot it directly at Lila’s shin.

The Symphony - A Fated Quest

@CollectorOfMyst

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