A collab between
@Zetsuko @PureHeroine &
@HaleyTheRandomLocation: Carl's Grocers
Date: 3rd August 2017
Time: 2:45PM
The past few days had been a whirlwind for Salem. It seemed that when things happened, they happened hard. Rebecca, Aloysius and his new powers and then the meeting with Al last night. It was enough to make someone want to scream. Salem however was one of the few people who could thrive in environments such as these.
Maybe thrive was the wrong word to use. But she was ok with dealing with the pressure that being the Guild leader brought upon her. Despite this confidence, something was eating away at her: a small nagging feeling that wouldn't stop gnawing away at the corners of her mind. Lana. During the events of the Auction, Salem had planned to play a game of mental chess with Lana and try and show doubts about the Dark Shadow in her mind. However Rebecca and her ambush meant that Salem's plan had been cut short, and all Salem could do was slip a timecube into her hand.
So now was the time for Salem to try and speak to Lana again, and try to straighten things out. So that was what she was doing today, sneaking out of the Guild HQ, leaving Aliira in charge, while she located and spoke to Lana. Despite Aloysius’s gloating with regards to the lack of intelligence on Dark Shadow members, Salem knew a fair bit about them. She knew where Lana worked, and that was all she needed to know. Approaching the convenience store, Salem looked around the building, moving around the isles, scanning for that green hair that would so easily give Lana away. No such luck however. Maybe Lana wasn't working a shift today?
Determined to discover whether or not Lana was actually in the building, Salem ended up asking a member of staff, who pointed out she had seen her go into the break room a few minutes ago. She opened the door and stepped inside only to hear Zeke's last words. Help? Meet People? That sounded like defection. Still. The door was open. Closing the door quietly, and then making sure to twist the lock so she couldn't be disturbed Salem walked over to the duo, anger burning in her pupils.
“Zeke!” She let out with a small shout of annoyance, eager to not shout too loud to attract attention outside the room. “What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing?” She impatiently began shaking her leg slightly. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't burn you into a pile of ash on the spot you piece of shit. Loyal my ass!”
Zeke quickly turned his head as the sound of his name, eyes widening in surprise at who he saw there
"Salem?!" He stood up with the surprise, a response not coming quickly with her sudden appearance
"I-what are you doing here?" It was all he could really get out quickly, now on one side Lana would now he lied about his involvement with the guild, Salem was well known in the Magi community, and on the other Salem thought he was actually defecting. His mind was in a bit of disarray, wondering if there was any way to salvage the situation.
Lana was up on her feet the moment she heard Salem's voice, and instinctively began pacing backwards a few steps, wanting to put some distance between herself and the angry Guild leader. Not that it would have matter in all honesty, because the woman was a storm mage. She still felt a little safer on the other side of the room though, where she was able to stop for a moment and collect her thoughts. Her eyes were darting between the shocked and almost terrified looking Zeke and the furious looking Salem, and that's when the reality of the situation finally dawned on her.
"You son of a bitch you lied to me!" Lana growled at him, while turning and punching the wall in frustration. Her punch would leave a decent sized dent behind, but the green haired woman was far too angry to even notice. It was obvious she was in no state of mind to care about how loud she was being either, although it was unlikely anyone would really hear them, as the break room was near the back end of the building.
"Suppose I should expect as much from a Guildy, all you lot ever do is lie!" Her anger was more directed at Salem with her last statement, but she was clearly still pissed at Zeke with the way she was glaring daggers at him.
Salem could see how pissed Lana was, internally smirking to herself at the thought. It wasn’t that much of an accomplishment, really, seeing as the other woman had a short temper, but a small victory nonetheless. She raised a brow, seeing the new hole in the wall. So she could pack a punch. Salem doubted hers could be charged with electricity, however. “Lied to you,” Salem said, her tone a mixture of accusation, anger, curiosity and slight confusion. She paused for a short moment, crossing her arms, tilting her head slightly to the side to give Lana a blank stare, though her eyes would have a mischievous glimer. “And what does that mean, darling? We always lie? What on Earth has the Guild ever lied to you about?”
Lana could sense the smug attitude coming from Salem, and it only served to tick her off even more. If only she were stronger, she could take the both of them out right then and there. Even in her anger Lana wasn't stupid though, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against Salem alone, let alone with Zeke there too. Although Zeke's presence did open up an opportunity for her to try and mess with the both of them in another way.
"Yes, you Guildies just love your secrets. Even if you may not have lied to me directly, Salem, you have lied to your own people, which if you ask me, is a lot worse. I wonder how many of your precious little Guildlings know about Rebecca. Have you told them about how you sent The Guild's second in command off to infiltrate Dark Shadows, right before taking her place? Or how you had the opportunity to kill Aloysius, the man who killed your father and started all of this, but instead attempted to kill your own agent? Or, more importantly, have you told them about how she is still alive?"Salem eyes narrowed. So the bitch wanted to make false accusations about things she had no idea about. If it wasn’t for being in the middle of a store, Zeke sitting there, Salem would have already turned Lana into ashes. Though at this point, she was pretty sure she would happily take her time. “And I suppose you want some sort of explanation to clear up
your confusion,” she said, her voice still slightly hostile. The thought of Zeke now doubting her was nagging at her in the back of her mind. “Most of me ‘Guildings’” - she said the last word with distaste, making air quotes with her fingers as she did so - “knew Rebecca when she was with the Guild. I took her position of power long before we ever sat down to discuss the plan to infiltrate the DS. Rebecca loves her mind games. She more than happily obliged.”
Salem mentally sighed. No one ever realized that it was Lucius - her father - that had stripped Rebecca of her ranking, not Salem herself. Sure, her father had been a good leader, but he had left Salem with a ass load of cleaning up to do, especially with technicalities. She rolled her eyes now. Lana knew
nothing. Nothing of being a leader. Nothing about what happened all those years ago. She hadn’t been there for the war. She was a Newbie to this game that Salem had been playing for years. Salem took a few steps forward, putting less distance between herself and the other woman. “I owe you no explanation. How
I run the Guild is none of your business.”
Lana could tell she had gotten under Salem's skin a little, and even though she new it was a bad idea to piss her off, she would still revel in that small victory.
"That may be true, but it still begs the question, why try and kill your own agent instead of taking Aloysius out when you had the chance? Especially after he just killed your father. It makes me wonder...is there something Rebecca knows that you want to be kept a secret?" She knew she was already pushing it with Salem, but she also knew that the woman wouldn't do anything while mundanes were around, for risk of them getting hurt or her exposing herself as a mage.
There were so many thought going through Salem's head as to how she could harm Lana. Just one small jolt couldn’t hurt, right? Nonetheless she kept her cool. “You’re coming at me, asking me questions, all while Aloysius is playing you like the fiddle you are, Lana.” She crossed her arms. “Tell me. What was his reason for promoting you? Or, what was the reason he wanted you to believe, anyway?” Salem let her words settle in the air, pondering over the next move to make. “You know he’s keeping things from you, right? I doubt he told you about our ‘secret’ meeting last night, seeing as you weren’t there. And, call me crazy, but you seemed to have no idea what the tablet did. You stood there like a wide eyed little doe and watched as Al gained more power. He wouldn’t care if it had killed everyone that night. And Ty? You think he cared for Ty? That’s kinda cute.”
Confusion would be plain on Zeke's face. He knew of Rebecca, at the very least, but not everything that happened. Part of him rationalized that Salem must have had reasons for what he heard but the the other part of him was just happy for the excuse to have something against her, he was so far able to keep that part of him in check however. He already had some explaining to do to Salem later, but maybe they'd both have to clear some things up by the end of this. For now though he just watched as the two argued, unsure of what to do. Though he did seem more ready to try and stop any fighting than take a side in it.
"First of all, fuck you! I know for a fact Aloysius cared about Ty, we all did, you bitch!" Lana spat out, ensentuating the 'bitch'. Neither of them had been very pleasant to the other since Salem had arrived, but bringing up Tiberius' death like it was nothing and trying to use it to play her against Al was something she would not stand for.
"Secondly, the reason I was promoted is because I deserve it and I'm the best one for the position, and whatever ulterior motives their might be, will be dealt with. Thirdly, while your and Al's meeting is something I will need to discuss with him later, I can completely understand why he did it. It would be in both The Guild's and Dark Shadow's interest to barter some form of truce while we deal with the real threat that are Rebecca and her companions. And I have full faith that those were Aloysius' intentions." That was a lie, Lana's faith in Aloysius as a leader had been fading, but she would be damned if she was going to allow Salem's little mind games to get the better of her.
"As for that tablet and whether or not Al would have cared if anyone had died, you’re wrong. He isn't stupid, he knows he wouldn't last on his own, even with all his new power. There is no way he would have risked all of his work going to waste like that. Even if he is an arrogant, sadistic, prick, he knows what he's doing. Besides, if I remember correctly, he had you played too. In fact, you were played worse than anyone. Now, unless you have something of actual relevance to discuss, I'm leaving. I have to get back to work." With all she wanted to say said, Lana made a quick but cautious move for the door. As much as she enjoyed annoying Salem, she knew she shouldn't push too far. She also needed her job, and didn't want to risk getting fired over something so stupid.
Salem could see that she had gotten under Lana skin slightly and right now all that did was widen the smirk on Salem's face. She did feel a little bad. After last night she knew how much Ty meant to Al. So saying it didn't did weigh a little heavy in her conscious. Though she made sure that Lana couldn't tell as she gave the woman an ice cold glare, almost taunting the woman to try something. Noticing her for the door she struck it a small jolt of lightning giving the next person who touched it a static shock. Nothing terrible, but enough to make them jump.
“Where do you think you are going? “ she taunted Lana “I am not finished with you yet. I say when you can go” She took a few confident steps forward, getting closer and closer to Lana “The Dark Shadow is a bust, it is only a matter of time until we march in and put you idiots out of your misery” Her smirk would finally drop as she uttered her next line “If you join us now, I can spare you from that fate. A woman of your talents could do rather well with us”
As soon as Lana touched the handle of the door she received a shock from it, which made her jump and recoil immediately. She muttered a few curses under her breath at that, as well as throwing a glare Salem's way. As she looked back at the blue haired women she noticed her walking closer. Instinctively she was nervous at her approach but she turned and stood her ground nonetheless. At The Guild leader's threat she simply scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"If you're so confident you have us, why haven't you done anything already? In fact, you've had two perfect opportunities to kill or even capture Aloysius, the Dark Shadow leader, and yet you haven't taken either of them. Once all those years ago when he attacked The Guild, and then again at your secret little meeting with him. It's almost as if you don't want to, which is most intriguing. Unfortunately, I don't have time to sit around and ponder over it, like I said, I have to get back to work, and you can't tell me shit. You're neither my leader or my boss, so your orders mean nothing to me." Having learned her lesson about being hasty from her first attempt to leave, Lana didn't make any contact with the door, she simply used her telekinesis to unlock it and pull it open so she could walk out. She was only a few steps out the door when she heard Salem's last comments to her however, causing her to stop and turn back.
"That's sweet of you to offer, but I'm going to pass. None of your threats or your petty little mind games, like whatever you were trying to do with that timecube, could ever convince me to join you. I would never side with the mundanes. They are the reason we have to spend our lives living in fear and shame of what we are, and I'm sick of it! I am done hiding."Once again, Salem stood there with her arms crossed. Lana made good points, though she would never admit it. Another thing she would never admit was the fact that she did, indeed, deep down, have a mild respect for the woman. What she had said about Salem having chances to kill Aloysius was true, and weighed heavily on her mind. It had been itching at her since the war, and the last few days it had been taking even more of a toll on her. Lana knew nothing about her, nor her intentions. The way Salem ran the Guild was her business and her business alone. People had never understood, and they never would. Salem had come to accept that fact. “What I was trying to do with the timecube… Lana. Look. We have our differences, we both know that. Another thing that I know
for a fact is that you’re loyal, but your trust in Aloysius and the Dark Shadow wavers. The only reason that you ever even joined that Merry Little Band of Misfits is because your brother died. Dead, gone, never coming back. I get it, it hurts. And no, I’m not trying to be a bitch.” For the first time since Salem had walked through the door, she was, indeed, being sincere.
“But think about it. Pain makes people bitter. It makes them pull away from everyone and everything else. You’re only a part of the DS because of your pain - your anger. If things had been different, you may have been a part of the Guild. You would have flourished there, and you still would. Sure, Al is promoting you, letting you in on some of his secrets. But he’s hindering you.” She took a deep breath. “The name of the organization is the Dark
Shadow. Not because Al was an angsty teen when he made the group - well, yeah, partially because of that - but because you are
still living in the shadows. You are still hiding. Do you honestly believe that because Aloysius has some so called plan that you aren’t? You think killing the mundanes with train wrecks isn’t living in the shadows? Lana, darling, if you want power, the Guild has it. Someone of your caliber? Someone with so much strength and determination? I’d hate to see it go to waste.” Salem would never dare tell anyone, but the truth was, Lana reminded her of an angrier green haired version of herself.
As Zeke listened he realized that Salem had shown up for Lana, not him. He also realized that the two apparently had something to settle. It seemed like it was a...complicated affair, the way they were talking so he thought it best if he let them be and gave them some time, least he could do given his mistakes here. He sighed
"I can cover your shift Lana" He started for the door
"This...doesn't seem like it's my business anyway" He slipped past Lana and back into the store, resolving to find Lana again at the end of the workday to apologise.
Salem watched Zeke walk out the door, making no efforts to stop him. She had come to say her piece, and she had done just that. Any further comments and this conversation would just turn into a super petty sarcastic teenage angst fest, and Salem wasn’t about to do such a thing. She looked Lana dead in the eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I must be leaving now,” she said, exiting the room through the doorway herself, careful not to touch Lana even slightly as she did so. She caught Zeke on her way out, however, grabbing him by the shoulder as to make him stop walking away before she moved in front of him. “I’m not sure what you are or what you were up to, but you have some explaining to do.” She took a deep breath. “We will discuss matters later.” And with that she turned on her heel, marching out of the store with determination.
Hedgehawk