silvermist1116

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@Atrophy Truly a curse.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@FernStone Not bees! Totally unacceptable.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@FernStone Ewww another Vanburen, and Petty Patty at that. I'm gagging. Lol

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Linqian@FernStone

Tayla could count on one hand the amount of times she expected Linqian ask her for a light. Her palms would be open, because she never expected it at all.

"Keep it," she said, pulling a lighter out of her pocket. It was metal and had skull inside an Ace playing card design. Fucking tacky, but she stole it off some dude she fucked for drugs. She got it. Dealing with the Feds would make anyone need a smoke to cope. She flicked her lighter, igniting it in the middle of Linqian going in on Evelynn for volunteering them to work with the Feds. She had to agree with Linqian, because that's not the right play here. If they did that, they'd have to be under their thumb. They'll probably go digging around into their past where they shouldn't, if they haven't already, and she didn't want to give them a reason to.

Their conversation devolved into a fight; she flicked her lighter closed. Evelynn got the shit slapped out of her for being out of pocket about Jinhai. She didn't remember Linqian's brother well, but not even she would go that far. Not when she's lost James and went down a dark hole she's still climbing her way out of. Evelynn could go fuck herself for that one. She pulled out her own pack of cigarettes and lit one. That's her one for the day, but this was a lot. She didn't handle screaming and crying, particularly women crying, very well. Reminded of some of the worst nights she's spent with the Wolf pack. Shit she'd take drugs to numb the memories for.

With Linqian now a good distance away from Evelynn and the fight over with, she went to her offering her lighter. "Still need a light?" she asked. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She still had about two hours, before she needed to pick Siwan up from day care. "And maybe a drink? There's a place down by the docks if you want to get outta here." She didn't care for Linqian like that, but she's not that much of bitch to not empathize with the shit show that just happened. Deep down the nice girl she used to be, the one that showed concern for her friends, was still in there somewhere. Who knew a fight would be the thing to bring her out. She'd be lying if she said there wasn't a little bit of Asian solidary in there. There wasn't many of them in this group.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Tayla hadn't fooled herself into thinking she could get away with being the bushes for so long. These were Feds. She used to hang around people the Feds were supposed to go after. Dean always kept his stuff tight, always told her what she shouldn't do, and though drugged out of her mind she never did anything she shouldn't. All this time she thought it worked, because in 8 years no Feds ever came to the door. The Coven has one meeting and here they are.

She backed out of the foliage she was under, poised to run after they called her out, but Jack appearing out of no where was the distraction she needed. She didn't move fast and tried to stay as quiet as she could to make her escape. If they weren't looking at her, then she didn't need to draw their attention to make them pay attention to her again. She'd gotten a good distance away, standing now to make a run for it, when saw the agents letting everyone go but Everleigh. Were they not in trouble anymore? She wasn't eager to find out, but the energy it would take to run away also wasn't worth it if there wasn't any trouble.

She came back to the group at an even pace, finally getting a good look at everyone. Damn. Some of them looked like hell. Luca was out like a light. Some had bruises forming and were bloody. Jack had Auri in his arms. She kinda wondered what all that was about for the sake of being nosy, but she didn't care enough to ask. She'd seen the portal. Asshole called them here, but wasn't actually around. She's assuming. No need for a portal if they were in the building like everyone else. They would've been out here a lot sooner with the roof caving in on them.

She stopped short of being near the group. She wasn't getting in arms reach of the Feds. She stayed as far as the tree she climbed before. That's about as close as she was going to get.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Since when was this Part 1?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Tayla couldn't tell what was happening inside the church, but whatever it was, she got a fair warning about staying out of it when a weird flock of birds made from an Abstraction stared at her like she better take the hint. Good enough for her. She wasn't in a rush to leave as long as it looked like she was leaving. She took her time getting down the tree. Like 'climbing down the limbs when she could just let go and land the fall without breaking an ankle' type of climbing down. She'd just reached the bottom when a fire on the roof broke out. Whatever the fuck started that would force the rest of them outside. She'd be in their line of sight for trouble.

"Fuck." She hit the path running, but didn't make it far before she heard boots on the ground behind her, presumably the Feds running out of the building. She ducked into the bushes, going several feet in before stopping next to a tree. If they didn't hear her, then she's Gucci until they leave. She peaked her head around a tree and saw the Feds pulling the Coven members out of the burning church. At least none of them will die via arson. She just needed to hang tight.

She heard murmurings from the conversation they were all having, but she didn't heard anything clearly until someone started shouting,

“I run this city, and the next time one of you decide to lay a hand on any of my Agents, come find me, and try to lay your hands on me! And just see what happens to you! I won’t kill you! But I’ll fucking make you wish I did! Now, who here can tell me which one of you killed Agent Mahendra…”
- Don't know her. Don't want to.

Kali's dead too?

"What the fuck?" she whispered. She crawled on the ground around the brush to get closer and figure out what the hell is going on.

“He was found stabbed to death in a Dairy Queen parking lot within two hours of the chaos you all wrought on the city! It couldn’t have been anyone but one of you! Tell me why I shouldn’t haul you all to jail and throw away the key!?”
- Really don't want to know her.

Tayla had no idea what the Coven got up to last night. She was at home, in her bed, hoping for a better today. For a meeting that would lead somewhere, but it seems like someone she knew stabbed someone? This crew? Why not use their Abstraction? Why didn't Kali protect himself? Surely a knife wouldn't have taken him out. Not with whatever crazy he had going on upstairs. It had to be this wolfman they were looking for. No other option made sense to her.

She laid down tucked behind a bush closer to what's going. That one girl who talked too much told them everything they knew. She didn't remember the detail about wolf statues being left with the bodies. Then again, her memory's shit sometimes. Could be something she missed when she left yesterday or just an hour ago too. Either way, it's news to her that she'll keep in mind. But it seems if it had to be one of them, it would Everleigh. That crazy bitch from yesterday that was the main reason she got the fuck out of there. On top of needing get a ride home, but she could've stayed longer if everything didn't go to hell in a handbag the moment she walked through the door. Oh boy. Shit's just going from bad to worse.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Dean Walker, Shayton, & Maggy Rose

The night before… After Judas’ death.

Screw this.

After the chaos picked up and she didn’t hear anything from Shayton, or anyone else, she did the only thing she knew best and hauled ass out of this raggy-ass alleyway. She kept running, even long after she couldn’t hear anything… trying to make a break for her bike was a fool’s errand, and she would rather just carjack someone.

Though, the buses were still running.

Eventually, Maggy stopped to catch her breath, kneeling, and just started walking after a sigh. Might as well just catch the bus… A gust of wind came behind her, and Maggy turned around and saw Shayton standing there with his hands behind his back.

“Oh…” Maggy sighed. “... It’s you.”

“Judas is dead,” Shayton flatly said as he took a few steps forward.

And Maggy stared at him for a few moments before she asked,

“... Did you kill him?”

“Yes,”

“... Why am I not surprised,” Maggy answered before she walked over to Shayton and jammed a finger in his chest. “Well, I don’t know if you know, but that means that control of the Wolfpack falls into that dickhead Valjean, and I don’t care how much your fucking bosses are paying; I’m not working for him.”

“Hmmm…” Shayton trailed off. “... I believe we can work something out.”

“You fucking better! Where the fuck is Cyril?”

“Dead. Or wishing he was. He got pulled into who-knows-where by an Apparition after killing one of them.”

“... The Sycamore-something? Whatever that one asshole said,”

Shayton nodded his head.

“Well, damn it!” Maggy said, “There goes your boss's plans. Whoop-de-doo.”

Shayton raised a hand.

“Relax,” He started, “We didn’t account for any of this, but we have a backup plan.”

“You better,” Maggy said as she turned away and started walking, “Otherwise, I’m out.”

“... And where will you go?” Shayton asked, tilting his head slightly, and it was enough to make Maggy stop. Shayton took some slow steps towards her as he continued, “Before the Wolfpack, before Judas, you were basically a sex slave. He busted you out and offered you a spot in his pack… only for you to conspire against him the first time someone presents an offer.”

“I didn’t conspire against Judas! I only agreed to keep an eye on him like you asked! Two sources of income!” Maggy said as she turned around.

“... And if he did something my bosses deemed to be… problematic, I would have killed him, so tell me how that isn’t conspiring against someone?”

“Your fucking point, Shayton?!” Maggy shouted.

“My point? I’ve been doing this for a very long time… probably longer than you’ve even been alive. And I can tell you a few things, a few important things,” Shayton responded as he got into Maggy’s face with a stony face. “I can tell you care about your position and status more than you care about the lifestyle or the group. The other gangs? They won’t treat you like an equal as Judas did, and you know this. At best, you’ll just be a glorified groupie, and how long is it until they hook you on drugs again? Even if they do treat you like them, do you think another gig will pay like this? You’ll roll with them for a little bit, and how long is it before you’re selling yourself again-”

Shayton was interrupted by a curt and sharp slap, hard enough to launch his sunglasses off his face. Maggy had put a finger in his face.

“... That part of my life is over,” Maggy said.

Shayton remained stonyfaced.

“... I’ll pretend that never happened.”

In the blink of an eye, he had his sunglasses back in his hands, followed by a sharp whip of the wind as proof he had even done anything in the first place. He put his sunglasses back on his face and said,

“Look, just play along, and you’ll be rewarded,”

Maggy sighed.
“Fine… what do we do from here?”

“Find Dean,” Shayton said, “I need to have a word with him.”

---

Dean’s Apartment

Dean had been at his desk in his office, balancing the accounts he needed to figure out and fast. The clock ticked down, until he’d be in crippling pain. After an hour, he felt the ache in his joints. He had another hour before he was in pain. He was close to figuring out who was skimming money off the top of drug sales. He’d narrowed it down to two people: a kid and an ex-convict. He would have to finish his investigation tomorrow. He looked at the clock. Or later today. It was after midnight. He’ll have to deal with the side-effects of his abstraction for about fifteen hours. He thinks he calculated the correct amount of minutes he used his power for.

He needed a drink. He got up from his desk and limped his way to his kitchen. It’s been cleaner, since he stopped having Tayla around. His home used to be full of the men and women he whored her out to. He hated having to clean up and forcing her to do it was a pain in the ass. She was looped out most of the time. Could barely stand, let alone do anything coordinated. He kinda missed her. Or rather, missed owning her.

He stood at his freezer getting ice cubes from the box, when he turned his head… to see Shayton standing there, holding two glasses of what seemed to be iced tea over ice with some straws coming out, and a lemon slice on the rim. Shayton did not make any noise as he entered… just like he just appeared out of thin air.

He jumped back into his fridge. The corner dug into his shoulder. “Ah, fuck! What the hell, Shayton?” He can’t remember him ever being in his home. He set his glass down on the counter. What he wanted, he hoped he made it quick. He’s got about an hour left on the clock and he didn’t trust any of the Wolfpack to be around him when he was vulnerable.

“Sorry for surprising you,” Shayton calmly said as he presented one glass of iced tea to Dean, and continued. “Want a glass? We need to talk real fast… it’s important.”

“Thanks. What we need to talk about?” Dean took the glass and set it on the counter. He grabbed his rum out of a lower cabinet and poured a little into the tea. “You want some?”

“I’m good, I don’t drink,” Shayton said as he stepped off to the side and took a nice little sip before dropping the bomb on Dean. “Judas is dead… the PRA killed him.”

“Well, fuck.” Dean didn’t know how to take that news. He’s known Judas a long time. He didn’t think it was possible for the man to die. Not with how powerful he is and what he got up to for the pack’s benefit. Guess not even he’s a match for the feds. He’s seen many die in this space, but he never felt anything for them. He’ll have to cry one out for Judas when all this was done.

“But, that leaves us… well, primarily you and the leftover Wolfpack, with two big problems,” Shayton calmly said, before he tilted his head slightly. “... You got your Abstraction from Judas, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Let me paint a picture for you…” Shayton trailed off, pausing to take a sip. “Judas was cunning… smart even… but before all this, he was just a pusher. All of you were. He never would have seen the notoriety that he has now. Then… one day, he comes out of nowhere with several powerful abstractions and just hands them out like candy. But here’s the thing, these types of abilities don’t just come from anywhere…”

Shayton took another sip.

“You seem to be much smarter than Valjean and his junkie sister, so tell me tell…” Shayton let his words hang in the air. “... Just where do you think he got them from? A corner store or something?”

Dean mulled over what Shayton said. He could put two and two together. He always thought it odd that Judas suddenly had abstractions to give out, given all of them were blind before they got them. He could’ve asked him then, but having them busted their business so he didn’t ask questions. He drink half his drink straight from the rim.

“I take it he got them from someone or something too powerful to want to get in bed with, but here we are. Now that he’s gone, I take it they want to collect, or are we renegotiating the deal?”

“Bingo,” Shayton said. “To get to the point: Judas got them from Dollhouse… under the condition that the Wolfpack acts as their little enforcers when the time comes.”

Shayton finished the glass of iced tea as he continued, “Now that Judas is out of the picture… They’re probably going to want the Wolfpack to work for them or pony up their magic.“

“The Dollhouse? Fuck me.” He finished off the rest of his drink in a hurry. He needed that buzz to hit him quick, because the Dollhouse wasn’t anyone to fuck with. None of them knew them at the time, but it’s been long enough to get somewhat familiar with all the magic groups in the city. Now it all made sense.

Shayton put the empty glass down and put his hands together before him. “Which brings me to problem number two: the matter of who will lead the Wolfpack from here on. Judas was smart… but not smart enough to have a solid replacement. So that means that either Valjean, Judas’ so-called number two, or Conrad and his little sect of Nazi wannabes will take over.”

Shayton let his words hang in the air.

“... And I know neither are viable options for anything other than being muscle.”

“Given you’re here talking to me about it, tells me you’re more the middle man. Which means I’m the only viable option, huh?” He poured his rum over the leftover ice and sipped it straight. “And the deal stands that we just need to be their enforcers when called on, and nothing else, right? Cause I couldn’t give five fucks about the magic. I just want the money. If they don’t have plans to interfere with how I want to run our profits, then I can take that deal…provided you can get the rest of the pack on board.”

“They won’t interfere with your money, provided that they give you the same deal they gave Judas,” Shayton said. “I already got Maggy on board… Conrad? Yeah… I don’t think that’s an option.”

“I don’t fuck around with Nazi shit. We can kick ‘em. Valjean and Elodie too if they don’t fall in line. Without Conrad and the ones that died, we’re down a few people. That enough for them or should we recruit?” His hand spasmed, almost making him drop his glass. He set it down on the counter. That’s enough for him.

[there is other Wolfpack I just haven’t shown them yet]

“… What they’re going to want you to do is lay low,” Shayton answered. “You’re on the PRA’s radar, and unfortunately some of their best are in the city at this very moment.”

“Damn.” That might ruin his plan to check on that Sully guy. He had his jacket with his business card in it. He didn't care about returning it, but he did need whatever he knew about Tayla. He could do that without fighting and if Sully put up fuss, he could leave and pretend it never happened. “Alright. I'll lay low…can't promise not to crack a skull in a few days though. Someone's skimming off the drug money. Hope they don't mind me sending someone to the ER.”

“Just don't make any more big scenes and you should be good,” Shayton grabbed his glass and took a few steps towards the door. “But they’ll be coming to you shortly.”

He stopped and looked over his shoulder and said,

“I will keep in touch.”

Shayton disappeared in a burst of speed.

And Dean went to lay down before the pain hit.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Tayla didn't even remember who the chuckle fuck that's talking to her is, but he's definitely fucking irrelevant. "Listen here fuckface, as someone who's concerned about my time, you sure as hell prioritized yours yesterday by not fucking showing up. This is my second meeting. This is your first, so that tells me everything I need to know about your 'precious fucking time.' If I feel like mine is wasted right now, then that has nothing to do with you. Stay in your fucking lane."

She pointed at Britney. "How about both of you leave me the hell alone. I wasn't talking to either of you. I was talking Auri. Don't pretend like you care about anything I just said. I don't care about your business. You shouldn't care about mine."

She was happy to leave it at that and hopefully got something more constrictive from Auri, but bitch decided she wanted to yell at them like she's not the fucking problem. She's the one that decided to get them all back together and can't handle it. The group fell apart the first time. Did she think it wouldn't be more of the same just cause a decade passed? She's not dealing with this. All these assholes have her nerves bad.

She followed them far enough to see where the new meeting spot is, then she left. She said what she said. If they were going to the meeting spot and not talking about important shit, then she was going back to work. Moving locations would mean more of the same meaningless shit. Auri couldn't be taken seriously. She definitely couldn't trust her with her life. She'll give these little meetings one last chance, before she looked into saving her own life herself.

The walk back to the bus stop was long, since the church was on an abandoned road. It took her awhile to get there, but she finally got on the bus and called her boss on the way. She told him the thing she needed time off for was a waste of time and she was coming back. Her boss had already called someone else to fill in for her, so she should take the rest of the day like she planned. Fuck. Which meant she wouldn't have anything to do, but waste time. And wasting time in St. Portwell never boded well for her. She got off on the third stop and waited for the bus that would take her back to the church. She could've gone home, but her dad was working right now. She couldn't call him in the middle of a catch. Money was more important than her need to be away from stressors. As long as she avoided the places that would set her back, she could deal.

She got off the bus. She'd been gone about thirty minutes when she arrived back at the church. Only to see a fucking SWAT team in the building and smoke coming out of it. What the fuck? Did this have something to do with Kali from last night? She's not getting caught up in that, so she decided to make herself at home in a tree. She's a little bit of a nosy bitch. Hanging around the Wolfpack long enough and you get used to hearing the wildest stories. This was pretty wild. She jumped for the lowest branch and hooked her leg over it, pulling herself up the rest of the way. She climbed a little higher to a thicker branch and parked it.

She couldn't see too well from her distance, but she figured they'd pulled them out in handcuffs. She didn't think any of them were stupid enough to attack cops.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Tayla's day had started off normal. She didn't wake up with a message from Auri when she got up way before dawn to fish with her father. She didn't hear anything, until she was getting ready for the work. The stupid meeting cut into her work day. That's PTO she's wasting just to show up. "Fuck me."

She got ready for her shift, texting her boss that she needed to leave early today. She packed a change of clothes and joined her father at the boat for a ride to work. Nothing was odd about her day. Same old, same old. She left halfway through the day, changed into a navy and beige track suit three sizes too big with a long sleeved t-shirt just as big underneath and white gym shoes, then caught a bus to Tranquil Haven Park. She'll be in luck if the meeting ended before she had to pick Siwan up from daycare. She missed out on spending time with him last night. It better not happen again today.

She arrived at the park, one of the first ones there. She made herself at home sitting on the railing. She crossed her legs, one over the other along the length of it, ensuring no one sat next to her. She generally had a 'Don't come near me, I bite' air about her, and she intended to use it make it clear that she's not to be disturbed.

In a little while, the meeting got rolling with news of three more deaths last night from members that showed up at the meeting. She barely talked to anyone last night, so she didn't know faces to names. Either way they're dead. No skin off her nose. She lit a cigarette and double checked her bag for her lipstick. She was particular about it smudging. There was a lot of talk going on. One bitch in particular she didn't remember, loved to hear herself talk. The sound of her voice grated on her nerves. It didn't help that Auri's meeting was about a meeting place for the real meeting. She could've texted her the new location and she could've stayed at work a little longer if this was all this was about.

She dropped her feet from the railing and pointed her cigarette hand at Auri. "So you fucking called us here to take us somewhere else? Are you fucking dumb? Bitch, you could've texted the address and had us meet there. I'm using up my PTO to be here. Some of us don't have the privilege of working for ourselves and I need my PTO in case of emergencies. This isn't an emergency. Let's just go to this lead now to make it worth our time, and we can meet at the new location the next time. Cause if we leave to go to the new location right now, I'm leaving to go back to work," she said to Auri, not caring about the little fight that was about to start between the bitches in the corner or whatever hell some girl she's certain she's never seen before said.

"I'm only here because my life, and by extension by family's lives, are in danger, but the way things are going it seems like you and no one else gives a fuck. So actually do something to give a fuck. Cause I could be dying at home and not with you assholes." She didn't hide the anger in her voice. She's fucking livid. If she had her abstraction, she'd be beating Auri's ass right now.