Current
That was the worst three months of my life. Health is close to normal again. Here's to making the insurance company cry!
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1 yr ago
"Your copay today is $20,000" How about no.
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3 yrs ago
Well, the "I am but an ally" to "queer af" pipeline is real.
Bio
I have gone by many names over my life, and the one I go by here is Nori.
I am a non-binary individual who has a love of participating in these stories and creating my own. I am incredibly chronically ill. If my illness flares up too much I may be pulled away.
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.
"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.
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.
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.”
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.
“... 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.
“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.”
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?
”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.
Lynn’s hand hovered over a call button for room number three and it trembled. Today was a first step for Lynn, today was a scary day for Lynn, and she was suddenly unsure if this was the right move for her today. The rest of the gang was back at Lucas’s, she was all alone here and this feeling of being alone in this world was amplified by the thoughts of what pressing this button meant. Pressing this button would mean speaking her thoughts, her feelings, to a total stranger and that will lead to an inevitable breakdown eventually. There was a reason that Lynn has not spoken to a paranormal therapist, and why she hasn’t seen her normal one in well over a year. Speaking her truth was never easy. She could not tell a normal therapist she was responsible for dozens of deaths during a battle with a supernatural snake monster. She could not tell a normal therapist she lost the love of her life for some pretty multiverse reason. No, No she could never be fully open with a regular therapist because that led to her being recommended for an evaluation at some crappy hospital. The future was very clear at that point.
BUZZZZ
Her finger pressed the button and Lynn gasped. Was this a mistake? Did she have to start confronting these issues or was the wall she built in her mind still strong enough to hold the bad thoughts and feelings at bay? Could she simply drink away the problems forever? No she needed to leave she couldn’t do this. She had to go back, after spending an hour somewhere and tell her friends it went well, that she was fine, and nothing would be the matter going forward. She turned around and was prepared to leave when the door opening behind her caught her attention.
"Evelynn?" The door revealed Lihn, who peered her head round to catch Lynn's back. If Lynn turned back around, she'd see her waiting with a gentle smile. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she wore a cosy jumper. Her whole person was open and friendly, with dark bags underneath her eyes. "Do you want to come in? There's no pressure."
“Shitshitshitshitshit,” Lynn muttered under her breath, “hi yes that’s me, I go by Lynn hi,” Lynn spoke as she turned around and gave the therapist an awkward wave. She needed to run, hide, maybe even fight to get away from this situation. “I thought I was at the wrong building, shall we?”. Fuck.
"Of course," Lihn smiled, and didn't question her. She understood that Lynn had probably wanted to run away, but she'd dealt with that many times. She just had to be gentle. "Come on in."
She led Lynn down a short corridor, and into a room to the left. The door was gently closed behind her. The room was small enough to be cosy, but not so small it felt like a trap. It was decorated with bookshelves and plants. There was a chaise lounge with a seat near it, and in another corner a two person couch with an armchair diagonally across from it. Lihn gestured to the couch.
"Take a seat. Help yourself to water if you'd like." As she spoke Lihn brought over a glass and a decanter of water. She then sat down in the armchair. She placed her hands in her lap and looked at Lynn with a warm smile. "I'm Lihn, as you already know. Since this is our first session we'll take things slowly, and at the pace you want to. This is a safe space, and everything you say will be kept strictly confidential. There's never any pressure in this room. How does that sound?"
“Perfect,” not perfect. Lynn grabbed a glass of water and took a big drink. She wished it was something stronger. “Soooooo, uh, how do we start this? Do I go over every little detail of my life? It’s been a while since I saw a new therapist.,”
“Well, today’s about me getting to know you. You can talk me through whatever you feel is important to know, whether it’s the surface level or deeper things. Just something to give me a picture of who Lynn is,” Lihn smiled. “But first, there is something I need to be open about. My magic speciality is emotional manipulation and memory aiding. I will never use this on you without express consent, should either of us believe it would be beneficial. You’d be able to sense if I was changing your emotions, so you can rest assured I can’t do it without your knowledge.”
She reached out for a notebook on the coffee table next to her, opening it on a fresh page. “If that’s fine with you, why don’t we start. Let’s begin simple. Where did you come from today?”
“Okay! I, um, started my day at my friend Luca’s. We went out to the festival yesterday and with everything going on a few of us crashed there, we were there when the earthquake hit,” Lynn paused as she looked over to the far side of the room and locked her eyes on the wall, “that’s where I came from today!”
“Ah, yes, that earthquake was rather unexpected,” Lihn said. She’d thankfully been home when it hit, but it had really frightened her daughter. She noted that Lihn said ‘with everything going on’, but didn’t push on that one right away. “I take it you're quite close with this friend, Luca, and others staying there? Close enough to talk to them, or do you tend to keep everything to yourself?”
“Getting back to close, yes, we were very close when we were in school together,” Lynn paused as she took a deep breath. She was here already, she should totally just tell the truth. Maybe it will help for once? “Not as much as I should, but I do try,” Lynn winced at the half-truth. Sometimes inside was keeping her from being fully honest, and she wanted to know what part of her mental issues were causing this.
“I see,” Lihn nodded, not questioning her on it. After years of experience, and her unique ability to low level read emotions, she knew when people weren’t quite being truthful. But people who struggled to open up, who ran away before they even started, needed to be treated with care. Provide them with a safe environment and allow them to open up, slowly helping them do it. “Even if you can’t fully open up, just having friends around you is good. A strong support network is important. Is there a reason you feel you can’t be fully honest with them? Perhaps, you don’t want to hurt or burden them? Or you’re worried they’ll reject you once you start to open up? It’s alright if you don’t know the answer.”
Lynn thought long and hard at the question. She wasn’t worried that people would push her away once she started to open up. She had been more honest in the past and people like Jasper and Luca were there for her. “I don’t know,” Lynn paused as she leaned back into the couch, “I really don’t. It feels like any time I try and talk about anything like this there’s this block,” Lynn paused as she pointed towards her brain, “That activates and takes over, you know? No matter how much I scream at myself to just talk, to just be open I can’t.”
“I see,” Lihn nodded. It was likely a mental block, rather than anything magical. Sometimes, no matter how much you wanted to talk, you just couldn’t. The walls would build and build until it was near impossible to get past them. There was also the possibility it was magical but… that was unlikely. “So it’s not necessarily that you actively don’t want to talk, but that you subconsciously stop yourself? How does it make you feel when it happens? Frustrated?”
“Yes,” Lynn said weakly. “Yes, frustrated is a good word for it. Most days I ignore it, and just put on the mask for myself and others but sometimes I…” Lynn paused. Sometimes she says things that she does not mean, and sometimes she says things that cause a lot of pain to those she cares about. Not Linqian, fuck Linqian, but everyone else. “Sometimes I just wonder if it’s even worth it, you know?”
“If it’s even worth talking about it?” Lihn raised an eyebrow. “Or… something else?”
“Yes,” Lynn joked as she leaned forward and rubbed a hand on her knee. “I think it’s a bit of both to be honest.,”
Lihn had guessed that. She could sit there and tell Lynn all about how it was worth it, both to talk and to live, but doing that so bluntly wouldn’t help. “Let's explore that a bit, then, if you don’t mind. You think it’s not worth talking… because you don’t believe it will make things better? That perhaps, you’ll open up and everything will feel the same?”
“Because it is redundant,” Lynn muttered, “everyone has dealt with the same issues I have, everyone has experienced loss like I have. I may have lost more, and know I will lose more here very soon, but at the end of the day the difference is so small that it might not matter if it exists in the first place, you know?” Lynn sunk further into the couch. Just how much give did this thing have anyway? Lynn wondered if the couch would swallow her whole before long.
“So you think you’re undeserving of help because everyone deals with the same problems?” Lihn said softly. “You’re right, everyone experiences loss. Some more than others, some earlier. But each loss is unique and everyone goes through grief differently. Each loss is significant to the person it affects. Is their pain any less valid because other people are suffering too? No. If one of your friends lost someone, and came to you about it, would you tell them it doesn’t matter? I don’t imagine you would. You have to give yourself that same kindness.”
“No, I used to never be that person,” Lynn started as she sighed, “I was the one exposed to the loss the youngest, you know? It felt like I spent more time at my family funerals than I spent in their presence when they were alive,” Lynn cleared her throat and took a drink from her water, “so I was always someone who was really, really, good at talking to people about their loss, and then I wasn’t. I said something incredibly hurtful and I am not even mad that I said it, I am only upset that other people were also hurt by what I said. ”
“It's understandable that the longer you sit with your grief without dealing with it, the more it will begin to eat away at you even if you don’t realise that’s the cause,” Lihn said. “It’s often the case when you lose family at a young age. The effects are less direct. If you don’t mind me asking, what did you say? Feel free to explain the situation that led up to it, if you feel comfortable to.”
“I said,” Lynn paused as she took in a deep breath and lowered her head, “That I was glad that this persons brother was murdered.”
There was a moment of silence as Lihn processed what Lynn had said. There was no judgment in her eyes, and her expression remained gentle. “Why don’t you talk me through what led to you saying that? What is your relationship like with this person?”
“It’s a long story. We were at a church and the PRA raided us. They shot tear gas canisters into the room, tased a few of us, and had us all handcuffed. Once they let us go I was talking to their commander about tracking down a murder when the person in question called me out for speaking on behalf of the group,” Lynn started, “she then said that I ‘hadn’t even lost anyone yet’ and that just…. Struck a nerve. Like, hello? Lynn, kid who lost an entire side of my family before she was 18 to our fucking curse. And that sucked, hearing her say that and it hurt, because I feel like I’m the only one who is an afterthought with these people because I’m fucking useless with my power half the time, and here she was telling me I’ve never lost anyone. Me?” Lynn exhaled as she composed herself. She was going on a rant that would not stop. “And because she hurt me I had to hurt her back, and I’m better than she was.”
“So you wanted her to know just how much you were hurt by her comment?” Lihn couldn’t condone what had happened, but it was her job to carefully encourage clients towards healthier coping. This sounded like two hurt people hurting each other, rather than coming together to help each other. “Because you felt like your own loss was being dismissed so easily? How did hurting her back in that way make you feel?”
“Hurting her felt good,” Lynn paused as she looked around the room for salvation, “but not good enough to make up for how bad I felt for everyone else.”
“So, you’re worried something like this might happen again, to someone you actually care about? That you might hurt more people if you open up?” Lihn asked. She decided to not go down the avenue of talking about why Lynn found some joy in hurting someone in retaliation. It was something that would need explored at some time, but not during the first session. There were too many layers of pain covering and causing it.
“I know it will,” Lynn paused as she pushed herself back to the possible future in front of Lihn, pointing to her eyes as she did, “the future is unclear but it is consistent,” Lynn muttered as she came back to the present. “I don’t want to hurt anyone I care about, and I don’t want to be a liability if push comes to shove.”
“So every future you see, you hurt your friends?” Lihn raised an eyebrow. “But, everyone is a… burden at some point in their life. It’s human to depend on others, and to feel guilty about it too. But there’s nothing wrong with relying on people, and even hurting them if you then take actions to rectify the hurt.”
“No, no not every future,” Lynn sighed, “but enough. I keep my mask up for what feels like ages, never a crack and never a worry that it is failing. Then, one word, one sentence, or one moment is all it takes to…. Cause it to break, and something ugly comes out from the inside. You know? And yeah, but what action could I take to tell a dozen people I am sorry about insulting our dead friend without telling her that I am not sorry I insulted your dead brother?”
“In any of these futures, have you tried talking about your problems by choice, rather than waiting for the mask to crack?” Lihn asked. As for what action Lynn could take… Well, she was right. There were none that she could take without apologising to the person she’d hurt. Something that would need to be done, mutually, eventually. “There’s apologising to everyone individually, if that’s possible. But you’re right. I’m afraid there’s not much I can suggest for that.”
“I can do that, individually,” Lynn said with a smile. “I have not tried talking about my problems in the potential future, though I don’t think that’s wise because… I can look at so many possible futures but I don’t know which one is the correct one. There are some things that are better left in the present, you know?”
“I agree,” Lihn smiled. “Sometimes, it’s better to rely on what you see and feel in the moment. Looking to what may be will only make any decision harder. Instead of looking about into the future, you should try to do it. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. Maybe not for months. But try to open yourself up without looking forward to the possible consequences.”
“I can do that,” Lynn smiled as they took in that information. Therapy was working, she was feeling better, more confident, and there was nothing that could derail this any further!q
“Perfect,” Lihn nodding, glad that Lynn seemed to be relaxing into it. Whether that would last… Well. Judging from what she had heard so far, the next one might be a difficult one. But it had to be asked to give Lihn a better picture of Lynn as a person. “Now, let's look back a bit further. Remember, this is at your pace, so if anything is too difficult to answer, we’ll come back to it later. Why don’t you tell me about any key events of your childhood.”
Lynn blinked. She blinked again, and she blinked in rapid succession for a few seconds. “Oh fuck.”
November 1st, 11:48am Luca’s Apartment
When Luca woke up the morning after the Halloween festival, he immediately knew that was going to struggle to get out of bed for a few days. His arms and legs felt like they were on fire, muscles protesting at just the slightest of movement. The hole-filled mattress underneath him sank as he twisted onto his back, a sliver of bare skin catching it and beginning to rot it away. That corrupting presence was back in his mind, silent but ever-present. His whole body felt like he’d been thrown around like a rugby ball, slammed into the ground over and over again.
But it wasn’t so much the pain that worried him. It was the slow, dull thudding of his heart and the tightness in his chest. The numbness of his hands and feet. The lack of sensation and the struggle to breath concerned him more.
He blindly felt around for the pills he normally kept within arms reach. The bottle he grasped first were the slow-release morphine pills he took twice daily - a little later than normal, but that was fine. He took one. Then he took one of the slightly weaker, fast acting ones. He carefully tried to sit up, wincing as his arms shook from the effort of just pushing himself into a sitting position. He’d hoped to make it to the living room, to pretend it was okay and that he was just tired. But he wasn’t going to manage that.
It would be easy to go back to sleep… but he should at least let Jasper know first, so he didn’t worry too much. If he couldn’t get out of bed, he’d just send him a text. So Luca found his phone, concentrating to not destroy it, and sent Jasper a quick text.
Got a bad cold, gonna stay in bed today
That would do.
A knock at the door a few minutes later signaled the return of Jasper. The door slowly crept open as Jasper peaked his head through, and once he saw everything was clear he swung the door open all the way. Jasper carried himself into the room with a confident posture, and in his hand, he had a bowl of porridge complete with a spoon. A smile crossed his face as he saw Luca in bed still, and the sight of his sick crush filled him with a nurturing energy. “I am starting to get the feeling I should have picked up a nurse costume on our way home yesterday,” Jasper joked as he brushed his t-shirt with his free hand before he walked over and placed the bowl nearby, “eat as much as you can. You will need some energy to fight this cold,” Jasper moved over and leaned against the wall, “Lila is still asleep, she is going to have a rough morning but I will help her through it. How are you feeling?”
”Not great,” Luca said, voice hoarse and cracking slightly. He slowly and painfully sat up fully, turning himself around to rest against the wall. There were a few holes forming in the t-shirt he wore, but thankfully the material it was made of would be able to last until he had the energy to change. He reached for the porridge and couldn't help but smile over the bowl at Jasper. He felt like shit, but he was used to it. It was the first time in years there was someone to help him through it. ”But I expected it, after being around so many people… immune system isn't used to it. I'm sure it would've been bolstered by seeing you dress up as a maid.”
He laughed slightly, turning into harsh coughs. With a slight grimace, he started making an attempt at the porridge. It was good, but slowly going as it slid down his damaged throat. ”I hope Lila's alright… how much did she have to drink in the end. She- cough- was still going when I went to sleep.”
“I could not get a number out of Lynn before she left this morning,” Jasper paused as he shook his head, “but the fridge is empty so quite a lot. The good news is there was no vomiting or anything else like that, Lynn handled Lila and ensured that she got to bed in a good spot,” Jasper chuckled, “For someone as small as Lynn she can handle her alcohol.” Jasper looked down again at his shirt. If it will bolster Luca’s health he will go out after Lynn returns and buy a maid outfit. “I think she’ll be fine. You hosted a fantastic party last night! Despite the earthquake, I think the night was drama-free!”
”Lets not restock the fridge then, only water for the next week,” Luca grinned. He was glad Lynn had it handled last night, because Lila didn't seem all that used to heavy drinking… and she'd had a lot. It was risky when it came to apparitions, but at least Stormy was there as well. ”I'm sure she will… I want to talk to her about yesterday when she's sober and better, but that can wait! I'm soooo glad last night was enjoyable, thanks to having the best co-host.”
His smile softened as he looked at Jasper. It didn't reduce his pain, but having Jasper in the same room made it feel a bit more manageable. ”That earthquake was wild though! I wonder what caused it… Hopefully it wasn't anyone from our group. Hopefully it was natural!”
“Does anyone even have an earthshaking ability?” Jasper wondered aloud, scratching his chin as he did, “it was probably a completely natural occurrence. Though I did get some texts from a few friends at the 317, sounds like they were pulled into the fight with 8th street, shit went down after we left.”
Luca thought about it a moment, then shook his head. As far as he was aware there wasn’t anyone around with that kind of magic… Though Adepts could also learn more spells, from what he knew, so it was possible. But no point thinking about a probably natural earthquake! ”... Did they say who from 8th? Was anyone hurt?”
“Well,” Jasper coughed, “George was the name I saw, apparently he got into some dick-measuring contest with someone named Aryin, the text said that they threw them from the island all the way back to St. Portwell,” Jasper paused as he scratched the back of his head, “but that must’ve been an exaggeration, Carol was there too fighting with someone on the ground.”
”Oh… George could throw someone from the island to St. Portwell.” Luca laughed awkwardly, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. He immediately regretted the movement, shoulder protesting at him daring to raise his arm above it. He lowered it again, taking another spoonful of the porridge and trying to ignore the worry gnawing at his gut. George he didn’t care about, but Carol? Well, she could handle herself, but… ”Was Carol alright? Uh, whoever she was fighting with too! Just, you know…”
How did he explain that he still cared about someone willingly staying in a group where their leader was a transphobe (and so much worse). Sure, people like him and Carol had problems that couldn’t be fixed alone, but it was difficult to justify it after yesterday. ”What’s with everyone getting into fights yesterday! Really wasn’t in the Halloween spirit- They should’ve sorted it out through an apple bobbing competition or something. Can you imagine, actually, George doing that?”
“Oh shit,” Jasper said at the thought of George actually throwing someone across the bay like that, “as far as I know Carol was fine, she was just throwing punches and ran when the rest of the 317 showed,” Jasper paused as he pondered the final question, “could George even fit into a barrel to bob for an apple? And as to why there were so many fights? Not a clue. Emily set off a powderkeg that was brewing when they said that shit, and it just built from there I guess.”
Luca let out a slight sigh of relief, turning into a hoarse cough that racked his frail body. He recovered with a weak smile. At least no one seemed to get badly hurt during it. Sure, Carol could revert herself, but getting hurt still… hurt. ”If they had a big enough barrel! Maybe they have an extra large one for people like George and Leon. But I’m not surprised Emily started stuff off she’s… a bitch, obviously. Everyone else isn’t awful, but they’ve all got short fuses. Some of our own do too- I really hope they just let go of what happened… everyone…”
“Something tells me this is a prelude to something worse,” Jasper groaned as he leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. “I don’t know but I think there is enough bad blood between us that even the smallest things are going to provoke a fight,” Jasper turned his attention back to Luca, “but we don’t have to worry about that. With your charming smile and connections within the 8th street, I am confident you’ll be able to diffuse any tense situations that may come up.”
”Heh, I hope so,” Luca smiled, glancing away for a moment. Jasper thought his smile was charming? Well… he did have quite a nice smile. ”I don’t think it’ll work on Emily and Vashti, but some of the others… probably. I don’t think I could fight most of them. I definitely couldn’t fight Carol, or the twins, or Greta… But you’re right. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk everyone down if needed.”
“Let’s hope we don’t fight, we have enough to worry about with Father Wolf, ” Jasper sighed.
”We do,” Luca’s grip tightened on the spoon for a moment, before relaxing when it started to hurt. ”Hopefully we’ll make some progress with that next meeting- I’m glad it isn’t today, though. I’ll need a few days to recover. Though, having someone to bring me food is… really nice.”
“Oh take all the time you need. The kitchen is still open, so if you need something more filling than just porridge you let me know, okay?” Jasper paused as he chuckled “Could you imagine trying to drag Lila to a meeting today as well?”
”This is perfect,” Luca smiled, taking another mouthful. ”I don’t think I could handle much more just now… maybe soup later? That’d be nice.” He then laughed at the thought of taking Lila to a meeting. ”She’d need to wear shades, I bet! But I’m sure she wouldn’t be the only one that drunk… I mean, there was that toga conga line we vaguely saw. They’d definitely drank way too much.”
“Yeah, it would have been counterproductive. Imagine half the coven, hungover, maybe still drunk, trying to decipher what is going on with Father Wolf,” Jasper laughed. “When Lynn gets back I will go out and grab some ingredients, maybe a good old-fashioned chicken noodle soup may be in order.” Jasper paused as he tapped his chin. “Can you handle a dessert?”
”It’d be great entertainment, though,” Luca grinned, eyes filling with delight at the thought. Especially with how drunk Sloane had been when she turned up last night! ”Would kinda like to see that… oh, chicken noodle soup sounds perfect. And…” He trailed off, thinking about it. He really wanted dessert. He wanted anything Jasper made, really. But would it be sensible? His stomach was sensitive on the best of days. ”I’ll try eat dessert. No promises, though.”
“Okay, I will make something simple then to be on the safe side. Do you need some more alone time to rest up? Or am I good to grab a chair and sit with you for a minute?”
”Stay, it’s helping a bit,” Luca smiled. What he said was the truth. While it didn’t help with the physical pain, having Jasper here helped mentally. He was used to the constant rotting of his body now, but it was the heightened erosion of his mind when he was at his weakest that he struggled with. ”I’ll need to sleep again in a bit, but having you aren’t till then is much more fun than just staring at a wall alone!”
“Alright, let me grab a chair!”. Jasper left the room for a brief moment and returned carrying a chair. He put the chair down, back side of the chair facing Luca, and sat down with both legs straddling the seat. He rested his hands on top of the chair and rested his head on top of them. “I’ll stay with you until you need to rest again.”
”Thanks! Honestly, it's so nice having someone around when I’m feeling sick… Since Olivia moved out it’s just been me,” Luca shrugged, smiling warmly up at Jasper. ”The last week has been more fun than the last year for me, honestly… Aside from Father Wolf. Once that’s sorted, I’m definitely not losing touch with you three again.” Especially Jasper. ”Maybe if we sort out the rot, I won’t have to worry about visiting either.”
“When I was sick I had a good crew around me to help me out, so it’s my pleasure to do the same for you,” Jasper paused as he smiled, “You hear from her recently?”
”Not directly, but I got in touch with her mom again a few days ago… Supposedly she’s fine, just busy with work!” Luca replied. ”It’s a bit odd since she didn’t even send me a text, but her job can be pretty stressful. Her mom would know if something’s off.”
“That’s good at least though I do hope she reaches out soon!”. Jasper leaned up and looked towards the wall. “when she does come back we’ll have to be sure that Lila and Lynn know they’re on couch duty”
”I’m sure she’d be fine with sharing with one of them,” Luca laughed. He really did hope Olivia came back, and soon. The longer she wasn’t here the more danger she was in. It still worried him even though he knew she was alright just now… But there was no point dwelling on that. ”Maybe we can have a rotation! I’d definitely need to buy a nicer couch… maybe some air mattresses. I probably should anyway, there’s not really enough for the four of us.”
“Oh for sure, I have a L shaped sectional at my place big enough for three small people to sleep on comfortably, you should look into something like that,” Jasper joked, “though an air mattress is much more economical! If the need arises we can always swap houses, I have a bit more space once we get the paintings and stuff out of the way. I’d love to show you my at-home gallery sometime!”
”I’ll take a look when I’m better, I probably have enough… I mostly just buy replacement phones,” Luca smiled. ”I’d love to see your house but.. We can’t swap houses. I’ll start rotting your place and all the furniture, whereas here’s already pre-rotted. Maybe when I get rid of it I can come round and see your gallery.”
“It’s a…” Jasper paused as he caught himself on the words, it was way too soon to say something like that. “It’s a bit of a mess,” Jasper lied, it was very neat in the gallery part if a bit cluttered, “but I think by the time you get rid of it I’d have it nice and clean for you.”
”Yeah you have plenty of time, since I haven't been able to for ten years! Maybe after another ten,” Luca laughed, smiling warmly at Jasper. He wanted to see his place and his art, and he wanted to imagine a future where that was possible. It wasn't, because there wasn't that future, but just the thought of it made him happy. It was enough. ”Maybe you can set up a second at-home gallery here… start by replacing the stolen painting."
“You are absolutely right, maybe a second gallery is in order!” Jaspers eyes slid to the ground at the thought of the stolen painting. He was going to grind Skelly’s bones to dust and use it in his art someday. “Once you feel better I’ll create an even better painting of you, it’ll really capture your beauty this time!”
”Hey, what beauty? I’m handsome- a handsome, manly man!” Luca laughed, shooting a playful glare at Jasper. ”You gotta capture my handsomeness, not my beauty!”
“Oh you’re handsome…I’ll capture your handsomeness,” Jasper looked away with redness filling his face.
”Ah- Uh- you better,” Luca coughed, also turning bright red. Wait, Jasper thought he was handsome? Well of course he was handsome… But when it came from Jasper. He also looked away, gaze shifting towards the window.
Jasper followed his gaze to the window and his mouth dropped. With three of their hands Skelly was holding themselves into the frame of the window while their fourth hand was trying to shimmy the window open. Their eyes were locked onto the window itself. Eventually, Skelly felt the burning stare of Jasper on its face and it slowly, ever so slowly, turned their head and locked onto Jasper’s face. It pulled it’s fourth hand back to their neck and dragged it across it, before it pointed towards Luca and Jasper. It’s hand shot back to the window and they began to pull at the window even harder.
”What the fuck?!” Luca screamed, reflectively throwing the bowl (porridge thankfully finished) at the window. The bowl shattered upon impact, shards flying everywhere. Hot pain tore through his shoulder from the throw and he winced.
“Not to worry,” Jasper said in an almost growl like tone, he got up and walked to the doorway and pulled out a nearly finished painting of a gun. With a few extra strokes it was ready, and Jasper flipped his brush and pulled the rifle from the canvas and grabbed the gun. He aimed it at Skelly and smirked, and as he smirked Skelly’s eyes went wide.
Ft. Special Guests
Interactions: P Much Everyone Day of the Meeting Kari’s House
After two days of rest and recovery, Luca was well enough to attend the next meeting… Just about. He was still in more pain than normal, but it was once again at a level he could hide with medication and a positive attitude. He was able to walk with minimal support, as long as he took breaks. It was all good! Today was going to be a good day, Luca thought as he got out of Jasper’s car near the meeting location. They finally had a lead.
”Soooo…” Luca said, looking at the other three that were staying at his place. ”What do you think Auri’s lead is?”
“Something involving Kari,” Lynn said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Therapy had brought out a lot of unhealed trauma in her past, and every day had made those sad feelings that much more visible.
“I mean that’s obvious, but what exactly involving her? Do you think she saw her death coming and left a trail for us to follow,,” Lila asked as she hugged Lynn.
“Must be something like that. I doubt they’d have anything too crazy otherwise they’d have called us in much sooner,” Jasper responded as he grabbed his car keys and twirled them around his fingers.
”Mhm, I think you’re right, Lila,” Luca nodded, starting to walk up the path towards Kari’s house. He was concerned about Lynn, but he couldn’t hug her like Lila so he just shot her a sympathetic look and warm smile. It looked like a bit of a walk there, but they should still be on time. ”I really hope nothing happens today. We finally have a lead… hopefully everyone’s in a good mood!”
“Hopefully no one fights,” Jasper said with an optimistic tone.
“And hopefully everyone is finally fucking ready to work together to find this asshole and bring him to justice,” Lila said with a smile.
“And no photos on the walls still,” Lynn whispered. As they continued walking they began to remember taking these various steps so many times before. This house was always a place of healing back then. A place where her happiness was allowed to blossom. Now it was just a reminder of what could’ve been, and what she threw away.
”I’ll try my best to make sure that’s the case!” Luca smiled at them all. They were nearing the top now - it hadn’t been as long a walk as Luca had thought. He was slightly out of breath from the stairs, light panting as he got to the top of them. There was some quiet talking, but Auri didn’t seem to have properly started yet.
And Britney was there. Luca glanced over at her, smile unwavering. He felt strong today. So he smiled at Britney, nodded to her, then shuffled over to the opposite side she was at.
”Small turnout so far,” Luca said quietly to his friends… Before realising they were a large part of the remaining coven. ”Hopefully we’ll start soon.”
“I hope so,” Lynn whispered as she had her eyes fixated on a particular rock in the middle of a larger rock bed. It was where Kari would put her spare key, and Lynn was over here enough that it was engraved in her mind even after these past five years.
“Seems the others are finally coming back as well,” Lila said as she pointed towards who they thought was Aryin, “is that Aryin?”
“It is,” Jasper smiled as he spotted them, “I wonder how they got away from the 317.”
”Why would they need to get away from 317?” Luca tilted his head, looking over at Aryin. It was nice to see them, even if they hadn’t been especially close. ”Can you not-”
Before Luca could finish his question, Auri started the meeting… with news that they summoned the spirits of some of the dead coven members. Seriously? They could just do that- of course they could. But it wasn’t their Kari? Huh? ”Wait, does that mean our Kari could still be… alive?” he whispered to the trio.
“They don’t like their artists getting involved in coven shit,” Jasper whispered back to Luca.
Lynn froze at what Luca suggested. Her breathing quickened as she looked over to Luca, before she took her eyes and rested them on the house. “If anyone could do it, it would be Kari,” Lynn whispered back as she pulled her spine up straight, “I have to look to the future and see what it says. When we get a moment inside I’ll go, and I’ll probably spend a long time there. Promise me you’ll watch over my body,” Lynn said with an quite tone as if she was unsure of herself.
A moment later it was revealed that Lyss was also murdered. The news made a rage build inside Lila. It was a rage that was equal parts her own and the maidens. Another murder. Another preventable death. And another reliable source of information taken from them. “Why were they alone,” Lila said loud enough to be heard by all.
Luca stared at Auri in shock. Another person dead. Just like that. Lila was right, why had Lyss been alone? When they knew he got people when they were alone? Luca bit his lip, pushing through the sorrow that came from another loss. They couldn’t dwell on it. He wasn’t going to. They had to stop more people dying. He glanced over at Aryin when she spoke, and then Ken appeared out of nowhere.
Thank god Ken was alright too. He raised his hand, saying, ”If we’re planning to look around, some of us should keep watch outside. I can’t go in without starting to damage things, and I don’t want to do that. Like Ken said, being respectful… Me touching anything won’t be that.”
“Jasper can stay out with you so you’re not alone,” Lila said with a smile. She remembered the conversation with Luca all too well.
“Oh of course. I’ll keep you company out here and watch out for anyone that comes to threaten you Lynn,” Jasper smiled as he finished. He pulled up a canvas and began to paint his knight.
Lynn spotted the whore of sycamore Linqian in the crowd and any sadness was replaced with anger. The anger held for a brief second before Lynn forced it to fade. Today was not about Linqian. Today was about figuring out what happened to her former love.
”Perfect,” Luca smiled at Jasper, before subtly throwing Lila a thumbs up. He followed Lynn’s gaze to also spot Linqian - though she very soon heard her going on a typically angry rant. His mouth fell open as she went to punch Aryin. Violence already?! ”Oh shit- should we stop her?”
“I think we should? We can’t be having those fights this-,” Jasper started but was quickly cut off by Aryin laughing and hugging Linqian.
”Oh was my chest out? Woops, well I guess it was your lucky day bitch,” Aryin said as they shuffled their footing in place as they hugged Linqian tighter, ”I missed you!”
”You fucking whore, flashing me like it was nothing,” Linqian sneered, heated hand wrapping round and slapping Aryin on the back as she returned the hug just as tightly. ”That’s disgusting… Missed you too, bitch.”
Luca blinked, confused, and turned to look at Jasper. ”Guess it’s all good… I think?”
“I think so,” Jasper sighed as he did. Oh it was just like the old days again.
The Coffee Shop - Art District - Day of the meeting
It was early in the morning on the first of November, and a small group from the 317 had found themselves a table at the aptly named ‘The Coffee Shop’ and sat in stunned silence. Their eyes drifted from Aryin, to Jordan, to Alex, to Summer, and then back to Aryin before everyone collectively took a sip from their coffee. They sat again, eyes slowly falling to the table below, before they shot over to the various artwork that adorned the establishment, and then back to Aryin. The silence between the four was loud. Someone would have to be brave and break it, as all four had a lot to say today and yet not one was ready to be the one to be the first. At least, not for seventeen long minutes of pure, unadulterated, silence.
”I will just say what we’re all thinking,” Aryin said as she leaned back in her chair and grabbed her coffee as she did, ”last night got out of hand really fast,”
“It really did,” Jordan said with a hushed tone, as if he hadn’t taken a breath in a minute.
“I can’t believe you two fought 8th street,” Summer said with a smile.
“I’d say it was less us fighting 8th street and more 8th street embarrassing us,” Jordan responded sharply.
“Is Aislin okay?” Alex whispered.
”I almost forget, she launched herself at George. That had to hurt,” Aryin said as they raised their eyebrow.
“Yes, they are fine. But speaking of injuries,” Jordan said as he looked over at Aryin, “how are you not more hurt?”
“You took a punch from George,” Summer joked.
“Before you were thrown from the Island to the City,” Alex continued.
”Oh shit,” Aryin said as they looked around. The Coffee Shop was a rather new spot in town and had yet to draw in a dedicated client base, which was especially true today. There was one other person in the shop, facing the other direction from Aryin and thus would not be able to see their transformation, and they then looked around the corners of the room and saw that there were no obvious cameras in this part of the shop. In an instant they transformed down to Aaron and looked at the group. He pulled up his shirt, revealing a massive fist shaped bruise on his chest. He turned around and pulled his shirt up revealing an even bigger bruise that dotted his back. He turned back to the group, pulled his shirt down, and swapped back. ” If it was any one else they’d be dead. Not even bragging, that shit hurt. As to why I’m not more hurt, luck I guess?
“Luck,” Summer chuckled, “luck is like winning a few dollars on a slot machine.”
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Jordan said with a stern look, “I thought I watched you die when George threw you.”
” Honestly I did not know if I would survive it,” Aryin joked as they took a sip of their coffee.
“We can’t let them get away with that,” Summer said as she put her coffee down, “not just for this, they’ve been a thorn in everyone’s side. Them, the Nazi’s, and every other group that wants to rule this city. We need to be doing more to protect ourselves.”
“You sound like you’d want us to be a Coven,” Jordan groaned, “trust me it’s not all it’s all good.”
” It’s not all bad, it was nice to be apart of a crew that saved the world, who can say that?”
“I can,” Jordan said confidently with a smile, “Boston was a wild time. It’s not all bad I’ll give you that.”
“With all this coven talk I guess that begs the question,” Summer said as she locked eyes with Aryin.
“You want us to cover for you when you go back?” Alex finished the question as they leaned back into their chair.
Aryin was late to the meeting. They had spent entirely too much time at the coffee shop this morning and now, they were pulling up to the group as the revelation was dropped that Kari. How did the wrong Kari end up in this universe? Was that something Kari could do? Did they do the swap themself? Aryin was too dumb to think this one through, and too sore to even try. She was confident one of the more gifted thinkers would think through this mess. Well, this is a productive meeting thus far. They have a single lead since the reformation. That’s good, that’s really good. Totally. This was not a mistake, risking their livelihood to save the day once again. Aryin had full confidence in the same leadership that doomed the first coven. Full confidence in the leadership, and their one singular fucking lead. Lyss would need to fucking explain herself and what this fucking meant so that Aryin could keep believing that this fucking coven was actually capable of fucking doing something.
"... Lyss was murdered by Father Wolf during the Halloween Festival."
Fuck. Aryin felt their stomach turn, their breathe quicken, and their chest tighten. She was not particularly close to Lyss, but she was a kind person who Aryin enjoyed being around. And she was the only person who was apparently able to find a lead, and now she was dead. Great. Perfect. Fantastic. Now how the fuck will they be able to get any more information out of the fake Kari? God, this coven really had not changed. Aryin looked around and spotted Drake, holding a bouquet of flowers. Aryin raised a singular eyebrow at the sight. Was the coven putting on a fucking prom or was Drake finally ready to move on? Aryin thought for a second. The prom scenario was much more likely.
Aryin felt a silence fall over the group, much smile the silence from earlier. Once again, they would be the one to break it.
”What are we doing here? At this house? Are we going to play detective, rummage through the trash trying to find the next lead we can pin up on our old fashioned lead board,” Aryin looked at Auri, then Britney, and then back to Auri, “I’ll still help you look, I just want clarification.
[center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi5iNTBiZmUuU0dWc2JHOGdZVzVrSUhkbGJHTnZiV1VzLjA,/overunder-personal-use.regular.webp[/img]
I have gone by many names over my life, and the one I go by here is Nori.
I am a non-binary individual who has a love of participating in these stories and creating my own. I am incredibly chronically ill. If my illness flares up too much I may be pulled away.[/center]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><img src="https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi5iNTBiZmUuU0dWc2JHOGdZVzVrSUhkbGJHTnZiV1VzLjA,/overunder-personal-use.regular.webp" /><br>I have gone by many names over my life, and the one I go by here is Nori.<br><br>I am a non-binary individual who has a love of participating in these stories and creating my own. I am incredibly chronically ill. If my illness flares up too much I may be pulled away.</div><br></div>
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