silvermist1116

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@AtomicEmperor I mean...he's gotta bring something juicy to the table regarding her kid for her to take him off the list. She won't be easy to make happy either.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

When Jack popped up out of nowhere, it shocked Tayla out of her concentration on Greyson. She pulled her headphones off for a few seconds, but only a few. She needed to know what he knew. Ways to get him alone and vulnerable to take him out. She put the headphones back on and found her way back to him. She did her best to ignore Jack's thoughts, but Greyson was in his head trying to catch up on everything. Which meant she also saw what happened in that house while she was outside confronting their stalker.

So much useless drama. The interesting parts are the house catching fire and the fight going on. She avoided everyone's thoughts from the battle. It was too for her to handle at once. From Jack's view, it was digestible. Shit's gone to hell in a handbag. There are zombies now? What the fuck are 8th Street doing? Greyson didn't stay in Jack's head long. That left him open for that 'hard work' he was talking about. He didn't explain to Jack, but he didn't need to Tayla saw him having a conversation with a woman named Phantasia. She seems to be with the mob and for some reason wants Britney dead. No, not some reason. The Void. Alizee's thing. Britney did something to it and Phantasia's pissed about it. She killed it. Or had a hand in it being killed. She pulled her headphones off at a surprising piece of news.

She doesn't know who the hell the Temple are, but Greyson's a go between for them and the Dollhouse. Motherfucker's working for them? What was the point of pulling her into their shit if they had Greyson the whole time? Oh she's pissed. They're playing her for a fool.

She had two ideas and one involved finding Tsukino. The other, she didn't want to think about.

In the time she listened to Greyson's thoughts, the rain had gotten worse. The tree no longer worked in keeping her from getting wet. She had to get down. Next thing she knew, lightning would strike and she'd be a burnt biscuit. She slowly climbed down. Her feet slipped several times and it took time for her to get her footing back. She finally made it down safely.

She put the headphones on and hoped Tsukino wasn't in the middle of the battlefield. She needed to find her before this all ended and everyone went their separate ways. She didn't know how to find her if she didn't do it now. Just her dumb luck she's where the ice is trying to stop whoever's blocking their way. Better than in the middle of the zombie fight.

She slipped the headphones off again and headed for the ice wall, which happened to be the direction the zombies were going in. With everyone fighting them, she's sure they'll end up dead-dead before she gets there. She could only hope so.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@Aeolian Quick question about his relation to Tayla. Is 'Get out of his head' for her having Pink Lux or for her magical headphones? If it's the latter he can't know what they do, so his bad vibes from her in this regard wouldn't make sense. If it's for the former, then it's fine. Everyone still thinks she has her Pink Lux.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Tayla didn't think they'd arrive as soon as she asked for a ride out of here. Fuck me. Something crashed down out the sky, shaking the ground from the force of it. She stumbled a little, then turned around and saw people she didn't recognize at all on top of the most hideous thing she's ever seen. They called out Britney and Lila. Oh, so they had a mission. Ain't got shit to do with her. They can have her as long as it meant she could go home tonight. She didn't say that out loud though. She didn't have any friends in the group, nor anyone she trusted. She can't let them know that she'd sell any of them up a river for her life. If people know you'll stab them in the back, then they'll jump at the right opportunity to do the same to you. There were few in the group that wouldn't, but most of them would. She'll like to keep the few good people somewhat in her good graces.

"Have fun with whatever the fuck that is," she said, backing away further into the trees She meant it when she said she didn't fight anymore. They'll have to take that for whatever they think it means. She looked out into the forest towards the street. She can still get the fuck out of here. That just means running.

No sooner she had that thought an ice barrier shot up to cover the easiest to get to exits. Double fuck me. Her only way out now was to go into the woods behind Kari's house and hope she can get to the other side before the sun goes down. And also hope she doesn't get lost. Trek through the forest or hunker down and wait it out? She walked a further into the forest, finding a tree with a low enough branch for her to get leverage to climb. She care to see the battle, just be far enough away from it, because it seems she waiting this bitch out.

She climbed about ten feet and sat on a thick branch that didn't creak under her weight. She sat with her back to the trunk, the branch between her legs and leaned back. She'd just got comfortable when the sky opened up and poured rain. Motherfucker! She got some coverage from the rain from the tree. She didn't want to chance climbing back down and slipping. She got the sense this wasn't natural. Given there hadn't been a cloud in the sky today.

She put That Melody on and got everyone's thoughts within Kari's property and the forest beyond it. The distance on this thing was too fucking far for her. The sounds of the fight amplified in her ears, everyone's thoughts rushed through, and instantly gave her a headache. It's overstimulating, but she always knew that there was a chance this would happen. That she would be caught up somewhere there's a fight and she might need to use her headphones. She didn't need to use them now, but she who knew when she'd get the chance to practice her control in such a chaotic setting again?

She got a jumbled of everyone's thoughts. Something about a fight at the festival causing this, that kid being a product of Britney's fuckery, general thoughts of trying to survive this, along with thoughts of absolute violence coming from 8th Street. It's a fucking mess and too much for her to parse through. She reached up to take her headphones off when a far off thought caught her attention. Fucking Greyson. Her hate for him helped her focus.

He was trying to find a way around the ice barrier. Finally, he's good for something. If he can find a way in, then she'll have her way out. She tuned everyone else out to focus on him. He had his channeler on. His thoughts reached for Britney. The concern of this thoughts, his desperation to find her. Oh fuck. He's in love with her. Yikes. A terrible man would have terrible tastes in women. She'd been told that any attempt for a telepaths and empaths to connect to her thoughts or emotions wouldn't yield anything useful for them. He probably won't even notice she's here, since his thoughts are focused elsewhere. Good. Keep ignoring her. She's learning a lot about him.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Drake @Punished GN, Sully @Atrophy, Luna @Estylwen

She rolled her eyes so hard. Whatever bullshit Tsukino was spitting about her being burned before and how she's been helpful in the past. She didn't care. Like she knew anything about how she's been burned. Bitch, she's extra crispy. She's been manipulated enough to know when someone's trying to use emotions against her. It's not going to work. She's allowed one man to do that to her for eight years. Never again.

Drake shut her down immediately. After this incident, she might like Drake a tiny bit more than she already doesn't. She can't say she's all about second chances when it comes to her relationships with other people, but she'll tally a point towards Drake for having fucking sense. No talking about feelings and wanting to know why, just kick the bitch to the curb.

She was pulled into another Recollection. It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes or less sense the last one. What the fuck was going on? She came out of it less disoriented than the first time, but had a lot more questions about what she saw and about the people involved. She didn't know much about 8th Street. She probably should, since every other magical group are enemy to the Wolfpack, but oxy and alcohol and sex kinda makes all of those things unimportant. She didn't know what Kari's notes had to do with anything, but she had a guess on who could pay top dollar for them. Another thing to add to her list to question the Dollhouse about. Cause if it's not them, then it's someone they might not know anything about and that was dangerous. Better the devil you know, then the devil you don't.

Jack popped up all of a sudden with a warning about 8th Street coming here to start a fight. She cannot be anywhere near combat. The Coven knows her Lux to be illusions. If she's not using it during a fight to play the distraction, as she often used to, then that would raise some eyebrows.

"Y'know what, fuck this. My fighting days are over. Like hardcore fighting. I know fuck all about 8th Street, but from what we just saw, those bitches are crazy. I sure as hell know they aren't worth me going home with bruises, or worse, dying, or even worse, having the Feds show up again. After whatever the fuck some of y'all got up to at the strip club a few weeks ago, I'm sure they're keeping closer tabs on us. Best to keep our noses clean as much as possible." She didn't know how much time they had before they showed up. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. Damn. The next bus wouldn't be here for another twenty minutes. Buses didn't run out here too often like they did the city. It was too far out, a longer drive, and they only had one bus running the route instead of multiple. She hoped they wouldn't be here within that time.

"And don't think you can use the coming confusion to slip into the group. What the fuck's about to happen won't change my mind. Nothing you do will ever change my mind," she said to Tsukino.

She addressed the rest of the group."Any of you drive here? My bus won't be here for another twenty minutes and I'm not willing to wait for 8th Street to show up."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Drake @Punished GN, Sully @Atrophy, Stormy@Blizz, Luna @Estylwen

Tayla rolled her eyes. She thought her bitch ass was knocked out. "Tsukino, shut the fuck up. I'm sure you being a thug had a lot more to do with the Coven disbanding than me leaving." She didn't want to hear anything from anyone that couldn't give a shit about her when she spiraled out. None of them are her friends and she doesn't care for them to be.

She looked back towards the house. They were the only ones left out here. Fine by her. She didn't really care to be in the middle of whatever shit show was going on with the others.

Drake said something about tying Tsukino up, but didn't get to finish his sentence. She turned back to get the group when he got cut off.

"Holy shit, Sully. What the fuck!" she yelled when Sully tackled Drake to the ground. She understood he had a problem with the way Drake shocked Tsukino out of the tree, but she didn't think he'd jump him like that. She'd help Drake get Sully off of him if she had any weight to her at all, but she doesn't. If the winds get a little too high she'd blow away in the wind.

She cut her eyes at Tsukino for suggesting she could help them. "Or," she said after Stormy asked about why she didn't approach them like a normal person, "We can not give a flying fuck about her reasonings when she's clearly here with bad intentions."

Then Sully had the nerve to invite her back to the house. "I know you've been drinking a little too much if you think taking her back to the house is a good idea. Didn't I just say she's off? That she has malicious intent?" She motioned towards Drake. "He shocked her ass for a reason. Let's not pretend she isn't dangerous just because we can defend ourselves. We shouldn't invite trouble. We have enough going on as is. Tsukino, fuck off back to your gang and forget we ever existed." She wasn't dealing with someone else that's part of the criminal underground. Greyson's bad enough. So bad he's the only person on her to kill list. She can't have someone that dangerous knowing so much about her, especially not after he threatened her son. All these mafia types are the same. None of them are worth having around. It'll spell a bad end for all of them.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Drake @Punished GN, Sully @Atrophy, Stormy@Blizz, Luna @Estylwen

Tayla heard a hell of a lot going in the woman's mind. Like there's literally someone else in her head she's having a full conversation with. Nothing stuck out to her, until she mentioned burning the Coven down if they wouldn't believe her. Well shit. They're dealing with a crazy. Stormy not wanting her here is valid.

She followed after Sully, keeping up with what was going on with Drake, Stormy, and whoever the hell Tsukino is. She picked up that she was once in the Coven, but shit when wrong with something mafia related. Honestly, she probably was either too drugged out or not around anymore when that was revealed. Who knew they had two criminals in their group, technically three if attaching spirits to people was a crime.

She arrived in time to see Drake electrocute her and Sully having a problem with it. She can say one thing for sure, she wasn't involved with Father Wolf. Good. She doesn't know who she's involved with, so that's bad. It's through Tsukino's pain that she heard her intent to kill.

"Drake! Move out the way! She's trying to kill you!" Having Coven members drop like flies to Father Wolf is one thing. She'll be damned if any of them die around her though. She was quick to move behind a tree. Duck for cover whenever guns are involved.

Just as quick as she held the light gun to Drake's head, she let it shard when she fell. She couldn't go through with her threats to whoever she was talking to in her mind. Tayla still wouldn't trust her. She came out from behind the tree, cautious. She took the headphones off once Tsukino passed out.

"Good going, Drake." She did her best not to sound sarcastic. "Stormy, give him a break. If you felt what I felt from her, you wouldn't say anything about escalating. You said yourself that she couldn't be trusted. I didn't feel anything good coming off of her. There's...an intent there. I don't like it." Tsukino may not want to kill them, but she couldn't get much information from the other voice in her head. She get the feeling their intentions don't align.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Drake @Punished GN, Sully @Atrophy, Luna @Estylwen

Tayla wasn't surprised no one heard her. Or so she thought. She was surprised Drake had an ear out. She still didn't like him, but she'll give him credit where it's due. Given he seemed to want to apologize to Sloane for something. She couldn't remember if she was there when something happened or if she overheard conversation about it, but whatever. Regardless, he wanted to apologize. Maybe he has changed. She'll reserve whether or not to give him a shot at changing her mind about him later.

She nodded when he tapped her shoulder, though his touch made her skin crawl. It wasn't him. She didn't care for people touching her in general. He took off towards the trees she pointed at.

“Oh shit! Is it your stalker?” Sully said so fucking loud she's sure anyone that didn't hear her warning definitely heard him. “Get inside. We got this motherfucker! AY, DRAKE, GET HIS BITCH ASS MAN! GO, GO, GO!”

He handed her a cup in passing. "Sully, shut the fuc-!"

A second later she was pulled into a Recollection.

She was dizzy when she came out of it. She'll take that to meaning they might have another lead if Kari was in 8th Street. Whoever the hell that is. She was well versed in other magic groups the popped up after the Coven disbanded, aside from the Wolfpack. Whoever Emily is sounds like another pain in the ass she doesn't want to deal with. And where the hell is Elsa? She lived here too and Tayla can't remember ever hearing about Kari having a relative that was recently in town.

She looked down a the sake cup and poured it out on the lawn. She stopped drinking when she was pregnant with Siwon. Her first drink in years was wasted at the bar with Greyson and Linqian. She had maybe two or three sips. She's never having another drink around the Coven again.

She went to Sully on the ground, idiot somehow tripped over his own backpack, and crouched next to him. "For my sake, let's keep anything about Dean between us," she whispered. "It's bad enough he's on my ass. I don't need the Coven asking why a member of the Wolfpack knows me." There's wounds of pain and hurt and terror she doesn't need nor want to explain.

She patted him on the back. "Get up big guy. Sure Drake's gonna need some back up." She slipped her headphones back on to keep up with the woman-that-was-watching-them's location. She can't fight anymore, they don't need to know that, but she can be useful for tracking as long as she stays within range. She found the woman and concentrated on her thoughts, doing her best to block out the thoughts and voices of everyone else. Drake and Sully would need to know if she moved.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mention: Sully@Atrophy, Luna@Estylwen

Location: Home

Tayla's life continued on as usual after the Halloween Festival. She had dinner with her family and put her son to bed at night. She got up before dawn to help her father fish, took her son to daycare, then got ready to go to work. She came out of the bathroom with a text notification on her phone. Her heart jumped a little in her chest. There's only three people that would contact her that came to mind: her father, the woman that ran the daycare, and her boss. She hoped it wasn't the daycare. Turns out it was none of the options that first popped into her head. It was Sully. How the hell he got her number, he explained in his text along with near incoherent ramblings that were hard to keep up with. She had to read it three times to understand what he was on about. He got her number from Auri, figures, and he got the shit beat out of him by Dean last night. He's looking for her and Sully's his only lead from a fight at the strip club a week or so ago. She was confused and pissed.

The Dollhouse said they'd keep Dean off her ass, specifically having Shayton's word to make it happen, so why the hell is Dean assaulting Coven members for her information? She didn't know anything that went on at the strip club, but now she has questions.

She sent Sully a text back asking what the fuck happened at the club nights ago. She hoped he kept it short, if he answered her at all.

~~~~
Location: Kari's House

The end of the week came and she was ready to enjoy her weekend once her shift was over at the museum. Unfortunately, she got a text from Auri about meeting up at Kari's house with the address attached. Fuck me. She's not seen any of them in over a week and she'd like to keep it that way, but she had to go. Father Wolf was still out there and she made a deal with the Dollhouse.

She texted her appa that she would need him to pick up Siwon from daycare and to head on home without her. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but given it's Friday, she could stay out a little longer. Plus, she wanted to know if any of them had answers about what the fuck those odd dreams she's been having are about. The first one was long and lasted most of the night. The next one was shorter starring the same person, Raven Jones. This was all a headache.

She got off early evening and took a bus over to the side of town Kari lived in. It was quiet with big houses she could never hope to afford, all spread out so neighbors were never too close. It matched the fall like those neighborhoods in kid Halloween movies.

She got off the bus and had to walk a block, her long, baggy gray wash jeans dragging on the leaves covered sidewalk. She had That Melody around her neck, cord tucked into the pocket she had her cell phone in to give the illusion that it was plugged into her phone. She had the hood of her white hoodie over her head. The front of it had a spread painted black butterfly and the back said 'Butterfly Effect.' She got it from a thrift store some years ago and it's served her well in the chilly weather.

She got to the house with most of the crew already there. She kept her distance, especially from Linqian. She didn't miss her talking about the deal she made with Greyson. Tayla's done a lot of stupid shit, mostly under the influence of oxy, alcohol, and her abusive ex. She can't say she's made many stupid decisions sober. Considering what little she knew about Linqian, she wasn't a drunkard nor a drug addict, so whatever he offered her couldn't have been worth it. She's made her deal with the devil before. It's never worth it.

She let everyone's conversations wash over her. She didn't care to jump in. She's had enough of all of them in the few hours she's been around. Most of all of them. Sully couldn't be that bad if he was nice enough to give her a head's up about Dean. If she got information out of all of them tonight, then she could rely what she learned to the Dollhouse and ask about what they're doing about Dean.

Auri announced why they were there very soon after she arrived. It's been maybe less than five minutes. Good. She wanted to get to the point. She wasn't expecting a report on talking to dead Coven members. Well shit. If they could've done that the whole time, they could've had something done on the first day or the second. She wasn't surprised when another person was announced dead. It seemed they were losing members by the day. She couldn't remember enough about Lyss to care.

She saw Sully, staring at him for a good few seconds, not sure how to approach him about the text message without drawing attention to herself. She didn't want anyone else knowing about her relationship with Dean. She wouldn't put it passed these chuckle-fucks to either be invasive, want to use her as bait, or judge her. It's bad enough Greyson knows too much. She wouldn't put it passed him to start running his mouth about her, before she can put a bullet between his eyes. He wasn't here yet. She'll hate when he does show up.

BANG!

The sound scared the shit out of her. Her heart raced and sweat pricked on her forehead. She'd been a second away from booking it. Sloane had blown open the door to Kari's house, and the dogpile on her started. She sighed. At the end of the day, Kari's dead. Her soul moved on to another dimension apparently. This house is a thing that no longer matters to anyone living. All she wanted was to do the thing she made a deal to do and let that be the end of it. All she had to decide was who she would follow. Most of them weren't bearable enough to be around for more than two minutes.

She just about made her decision when a child started talking. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She recognized him as the kid in the KKK costume at the festival. He came right up to Shayton to talk to him like it was nothing. What would a kid need with a man like Shayton if not for spooky reasons like searching a dead woman's house. She'll ask Shayton about him in her message to the Dollhouse later. For now, she's steering clear of him, and the rest of the ones getting on Sloane's case. She couldn't imagine being in any of their heads for a few seconds if they think the way they talk.

She overheard Stormy mention something about that kid being shot and being in the church when it burned down. She didn't know any Lux that could keep someone alive during something that intense, but there's thousands of abstractions that could do it for you. She put That Melody on, pretending like she wanted to drown them out with music and let the group's thoughts hit her all at once. It was a lot, especially from Kenshiro? She didn't remember him. She hardly remembered anyone from a decade ago. Kenshiro's thoughts were particularly loud in his grief. She just barely managed to catch a stray thought from someone within her telepathic range. She looked up at the trees, but couldn't spot anything with her eyes. She could 'see' them in a way, since she narrowed in on their thoughts and had a better idea of their general direction. They, no, she was thinking about them in detail like she had something to report to someone later.

Since she got That Melody, she practiced using it after work before she picked up her son. She'd gotten good at concentrating on one person's thoughts and tuning everyone else out as long as there wasn't anything to distract her. Distractions being loud thoughts or large groups of people. She hadn't learned how to concentrated harder to get around that. She pulled off her headphones. She couldn't get caught up in Kenshiro's grief spiral. That would fuck her up if her feelings about James resurfaced.

Kenshiro called for everyone to have a drink. She's good. There were other important things to worry about. Like the stranger in the trees.

"I'm almost positive we're being watched from those trees by someone. Just a feeling." She pointed to where the stranger was hanging out. She couldn't be more specific or she'll out herself for having an Aberration. She doubted they'd take her seriously, but she warned them. When it comes back to bite them in the ass, she'll say 'I told you so.' She didn't care that she interrupted Kenshiro wanting to have one out for all their dead members. They're being spied on; that's a lot more important.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Siwan sat on his knees on her lap, looking out the window at everything below. He pointed at different things, wanting to know what they are and she answered him every single time, even when he pointed at the same things two or three times. Lightning crackled over part of the island, clouds growing rapidly. She knew that wasn't normal. It was supposed to be clear today. Not a cloud in the sky and yet there's the makings of a storm? She could guess what that was about, but as long as it didn't affect her family, she didn't care what was going on.

The Ferris Wheel stopped near the top, the people down below being let off. Other than the magical storm brewing, everything was fine. They'd finished their food, Siwan had fun, and it was time for them to head home. It wasn't 5 yet, but she didn't want to stick around just to waste time. They were let off, Siwan in her arms, and they made the long trek from the ride towards the gate.

She kept her eyes peeled for anyone she recognized with the intent to ignore them. She didn't want any of them knowing about her family and she didn't want to accidentally stumble into something that's not her business. So far, the coast was clear. They did have to skirt around evidence of a fight. Good as any reason to leave now.

They left the festival, going to the docks and getting on her father's boat. They boarded it and set off for home.