Tae

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Interaction: @princess Malachi @Potter Cora

---

As Corvina embraced her, Kenia could feel herself beginning to calm a bit more. Cora was okay and that was a relief. She hugged the girl back tightly before giving her a shaky smile and sitting down in the chair Malachi had pulled out for her. Her attention was soon pulled to the vision of Risa speaking and she worried at first that this speech was going to be a trainwreck. The young fairy managed to pull herself together, however, and Kenia became rather impressed with how she approached things. Her eyes left watching Risa as she now scanned the crowd to see how people were reacting. It was quite obvious her words were moving some and getting them to think. Good. The more they could convince to rise up the better.

Risa’s scream is what pulled her back to looking at the woman in alarm, but instead of Risa there was a dead fairy girl. She quickly spun to look at Malachi and Cora, relieved to see that Malachi had blocked the human girl's view of the grotesque scene. Cora had buried her face in his chest and Kenia gave Malachi a thankful look. She didn’t need to see that. Kenia was on her feet in moments as she began scanning the crowd again. Someone had known what had been planned. Someone had known and hijacked the speech with this awful sight. That meant there was going to be more to come, she could almost guarantee it. Both Malachi and Corvina were eager to leave and she had to agree. She kept scanning the crowd for a moment longer, looking for potential enemies and witnessing others start speaking out.

Before she knew it, she spotted Elsea on a table trying to rile up more people. Stupid girl. She thought solemnly as she feared the human woman was in much more danger now. She should have gotten out when she had the chance. Another human joined in, but her attention was caught by Cora tripping and falling. She glanced at the elven woman whom she had tripped over and took note of her face. She seemed friendly enough, but anyone they came in contact with Kenia would be skeptical of. After Cora had gotten up, Kenia took hold of her hand in hopes to keep her from tripping over anyone else. ”It’s okay, we’re leaving right now.” She reassured the girl as she started slowly moving towards an exit.

She also grabbed hold of Malachi’s hand and pulled him closer to her. ”I fear something is going to happen, Malachi. Someone knew of the plan. I think chaos is about to erupt and it may be hard to stick together. If we get separated just focus on getting Cora out. I’ll go get Rei and we’ll meet back up when we meet with the others.” She whispered so only he could hear her while looking up at him. There was obvious fear and concern in her eyes as she held tightly to his hand without realizing it.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interaction: @Dezuel Terneus @FunnyGuy Umber
Mentions: @princess Risa @FunnyGuy Darius @Helo Cade @13org Ayita @baraquiel Sakura
Mood: "Keep your head up, don't look down this time…

---

Dear lord this elf really likes to hear himself speak. Elsea thought, groaning internally as Terneus just seemed to go on and on. She glanced briefly out over the balcony again, wondering if the plan would soon be underway or not. She turned her attention back to Terneus and Caius just as Terneus was getting to the bit about the thirty-seven assassins and it took everything in Elsea to keep from scoffing. Sure it did. I think it actually only took one man to harm you. He truly doesn’t realize how ridiculous he sounds. While this was fun at first, now the sound of this elf’s voice was just getting annoying. For a brief second she considered attempting to shove him over the edge of the balcony just to shut him up, but soon decided against it.

Caius soon asked if they wanted to know what his theory was on the arrival of humans and this piqued her interest. The pompous elf, however, wasn’t about to let him speak. ”I’d love to hear your theory, however I don’t think the governor here will shut up long enough for me to hear it.” She said with a sigh to Caius. Terneus was now going off on how stunning and radiant he was and Elsea couldn’t help herself as she rolled her eyes. This man truly was a buffoon.

Before she could respond to him saying he wished to talk more after the ball, the familiar voice of Risa hit her ears. She could barely see the image inside the ball from where she was at, but she could hear her voice. Her nervous voice tugged at Elsea’s heart a bit as she worried she wouldn’t be able to go through with it, but then she gained confidence. A small feeling of pride came over her at the sound, but then she realized it was time for her to go. She glanced over to Caius and gave him a grin. ”It was a pleasure meeting you, but unfortunately that’s my que to leave.” She gave him a wink as she swiftly exited the balcony. She needed to make it to Malachi and Kenia.

Heading down the stairs she watched Risa as she spoke, grinning the whole time. Her words had to move people, they were so well spoken. Something unexpected happened then, however, as a horribly gruesome sight now overtook the projection. Elsea came to a dead stop near the bottom of the steps as her blood turned to ice. It took a moment for her to recognize the fairy, but she soon realized it was Dio. The sight of Dionaea’s mangled corpse caused her stomach to churn and she almost vomited all over the stairs. She closed her eyes and then took a breath. That’s when the pure fury set in. It was probably a good thing magic wasn’t able to be used within the ball as she has a feeling the entire room would have erupted in flames had she had use of her fire.

A voice pulled her back to reality and she glanced around the room until her eyes fell on the man that spoke. Soon others joined in and she knew what she had to do. Swiftly she made her way down the rest of the steps and to a table that was near a white haired woman, a large cat man, and the same dark haired elven woman she’d seen on the balcony. She jumped up onto the table and briefly looked over the crowd. ”Risa Millinia is right, it’s time for you to rise up Avalia! The time of you living in fear is over, it’s time for you to be angry! Take back what is rightfully yours! If you rise up now I will stand with you and I will make sure those that stand against you will burn!” As she said this she yanked off her mask and tore off her false ears, tossing them to the side as she revealed herself as a human. Was she making herself a target? Absolutely, but if she could help stir a revolution then her own safety could go to hell. She would gladly be a martyr if need be.

”Humans! My brothers and sisters, hear me now! I know you didn’t choose to be here and Risa’s promise is true, we will get you home if you wish it! I ask you now, though, can you truly leave a world to perish knowing that you have the power to do something good? The power to help change this world? I know every one of you came from a different background, but the world I came from was shit and there was nothing I could do to change it! Here, though….here I can make a difference! So if you can find it in your hearts then please stand with us! Help us make a better world!” She stood there confidently as she silently prayed to the gods that people would listen. She wasn’t able to speak as eloquently as Risa, but she hoped she could at least stir more people. She began to hear more people murmuring and yelling ‘down with the Lich!’ Good, people were gaining confidence, that’s what they needed.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Interactions: @Helo Bowyn @Potter Belle
Mentions: @princess Risa

---

Torvi was relieved when her friends arrived at the table, though she noted that Belle also seemed concerned. Bowyn, on the other hand, seemed to be in rather high spirits and her heart broke a little as she realized she may end up ruining this rare mood of his. However even the momentary happiness on his face made Torvi smile a bit. Then he cleverly told them of their “cousin” and a meeting place. That was very useful information and it may be beneficial if they all made their way out of this large city and to that port town. ”I agree with my dear sister here, I’d very much like to see our cousins again.” She responded after Belle, referring to the other human as her sister in case anyone was listening in.

What Belle said next she didn’t entirely expect, but it only strengthened her resolve to inform them of what she’d discovered. It was concerning to her that Belle had heard a thought, it was a peculiar way of wording the statement. So was there someone here that could speak in someone's mind? That didn’t sit well with Torvi. ”Unfortunately I do have some...alarming information to share with you both.” She began as her own voice lowered so only her group could hear. ”I had quite the interesting dance with the greeter and he all but admitted that this Lord Vaeril may not be all he appears to be. I believe Vaeril may side with Akle-” She was cut off as an image appeared within the Hall and a voice began speaking.

Torvi glanced over to see the princess that had caused so much of a commotion when she came in. She now was obviously not in the hall anymore and projecting herself like Aklenroth had on her first morning here in Avalia. She seemed nervous at first, but gained confidence as she went on. She was attempting to get people to rise up, something Torvi found admirable, but with the information she had on the host of this ball made her nervous. They needed to get out and get out fast. ”We need to leave. We need to leave now before-” She was cut off once more as the scene changed to a gruesome sight of a dead fairy girl. This was bad, this was very bad.

People began to speak up in rebellion to Aklenroth and Torvi’s blood ran cold. In her gut she knew something was about to happen. She looked to Bowyn with a pained expression as she realized he was now in a lot of danger and it was her fault. She threw her arms around him in a hug as she spoke. ”I’m so sorry Bowyn. You were right, we shouldn’t have come here tonight and now I fear I’ve put you and Boreas in grave danger.” She let go of him, kissing his cheek as she did. Then she gently pat Boreas on the head before turning to Belle and hugging her tightly.

”I don’t think this ball is going to end incredibly well for us, but if we can get out I think I’m going to find this Risa and fight with her. I hope you consider maybe joining me.” She let go of the woman and gave her a grin before again looking at both of them. ”Well shall we make our swift exit before all hell breaks loose?” She asked them. If it came down to it she would find a way to cause a distraction so they could escape. She didn’t want to lose any more people she cared about and would do whatever it took to protect them.

Avalia

Corvina & Airdan

Airdan had left the company of Darius and the demoness as people had been arriving and began making small talk with other Light Elves that were befitting his position. As he’d done this he also made sure to pay attention to those who had been arriving at the ball. There were definitely some interesting attendees to say the least, but soon one had caught his eye. He at first had to take a double take, but the familiar pale blonde hair was unmistakable. He’d spent years with the woman, slept beside her, it was hard to forget such a person. Had he loved her at one point? Airdan honestly wasn’t sure if he was actually capable of love, however he’d been good at convincing her that he’d loved her. In fact the only reason he’d married Kenia Biralei in the first place was for the political advantage it gained him at the time. Now here she was, it was easy for him to identify her even after the many years he hadn’t seen her. It was likely she’d be able to recognize him as well if she saw him so he decided it was best to avoid her until the moment was right.

He took note of her companions, two Light Elves from the looks of it, one male and one female. He really studied the female as he wondered if he could use her in the future. Would he gain anything from antagonizing Kenia? Definitely not, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up if he were being honest. Just another way to rub it in her face that he’d taken everything from her and he could still take more.

The dances began and his were rather uneventful, not paying much attention to either of his partners, much to the disappointment of one. She’d obviously been rather infatuated with him, but he had no interest in the demi-human girl. What could she gain him anyways? The dances soon ended and he knew now was time for him to have a little fun. He’d been keeping Kenia and the other woman she’d arrived with in his sights and now was the time to act. The male elf that had arrived with Kenia seemed to have approached her and it looked like they were about to dance. There was a look on his wife’s face that he found quite intriguing. Was she falling for this new elven man? How delightful. What a shame it would be if he were to distract her during their dance.

His eyes moved across the hall until he spotted the other elven woman that had arrived with the two and he made his way towards her. ”I do apologize for interrupting you, my dear, but I had noticed your beauty from across the hall and I found it increasingly difficult to keep from making your acquaintance.” He gave Corvina a very gentlemanly bow as he gave her a winning smile. ”I thought to myself, ‘Airdan you must find what it would take to get such a beautiful woman to dance with you.’ So here I am, asking this goddess in the flesh what I must do to share a dance with her?”

Corvina had been dining on food after not finding her second partner. Rather baffled by the foods, she chose what looked familiar to her. Not wanting to look suspicious, she had chosen food at random. She had been surprised yet satisfied with it too. She’d have to ask Kenia and Malachi what she had been eating. She finished her meal and began surveying the dance floor. She watched as Avalians danced together and began trying to spot the other two.

Kenai was with a demihuman, and then Malachi had been with Elsea. Cora smiled. She had been excited to find another human besides Rei. Meeting Risa, Kyran and Elsea had been fascinating. She had never met a princess before! How cool was that? Cora smiled to herself and began making her way over to her eleven parents when a man approached her.

His words caught her by surprise, and her face lit up. Blushing, but giggling, Cora curtsied in front of him. ”Oh my,” She straightened up and covered her mouth, grinning. ”That was so sweet of you. Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you Airdan, I’m Cora.” She wasn’t sure why she’d given him her name. She wondered if this was a mistake and glanced around for the others. Did they know him? What would happen if she rejected him and he turned out to be an ally? Surely he’d understand. She wanted to find the others, not dance again. However, she soon saw Kenia and Malachi dancing together, which caused her to smile.

She turned back to Airdan, wondering what this man truly wanted. For now, she would play along. ”I would be honored, thank you.”

”Cora, what a beautiful name to match such a lovely woman.” Airdan said with a grin as he led Cora out to the dance floor. He skillfully began leading her in a dance, allowing a very brief moment of silence to fall between them until he felt like Cora was a bit more comfortable with the dance. Only then did he speak up again. ”I must admit to you, Cora, that I didn’t just now notice you. In fact I had noticed you when you walked in.” He gave her a bit of a sheepish look and laughed a little nervously. ”I must say I was quite concerned when I saw you enter with someone as dangerous as Kenia Biralei.” He watched for her reaction in order to gauge which direction to lead with this conversation.

Cora smiled pleasantly, starting to feel uncomfortable with his continued flattery. Besides that, he was older than her; how much she wasn’t certain. She smiled nonetheless, beginning to think of excuses to leave. For now, she had to stick it out. The silence followed with her not replying to his comments. As he spoke again, her eyebrows rose. So this man had been watching her. It seemed that Avalia had its creeps too. Trepidation filled her and she nervously

What did this guy want?, she thought with confusion. It didn’t take long for her to discover it. His mention of Kenia made her blood run cold and the smile evaporate from her face. Eyes narrowed, she tilted her head to one side. So was this her ex-husband? She tried to remember the paintings of Kenia’s children, but it had been a brief memory. Cora took a quiet, deep breath, and managed a friendly neutral expression. ”Oh? What makes you say that?”

Airdan gave her a bit of a puzzled look at her question. Now was the time to strike, to thread a seed of doubt in this girl's mind. To hopefully turn one of Kenia’s allies against her. ”You really don’t know, do you?” He put on a face of genuine surprise and then his expression saddened. “I’m so sorry, I thought surely you’d know at least a little of what happened.” He sighed and only hesitated briefly before continuing on. ”See I was once married to Kenia and we had two beautiful twin children. Something happened to Kenia and she began trying to harm the children and I. So I feared for their lives and spirited them away from her in the middle of the night.” He explained, looking worried as he did so.

Cora stared at Airdan. This was Kenia’s ex. She stared at him as she listened to his story. This had a similar topic: the children. But his story didn’t add up; why would Kenia have tried harming her children? What would have happened to her to cause her to harm them? His story confused her. This was different from what she had seen with Kenia. That woman had been crying and singing about them, then durnknely confessed to their group. She didn’t buy it.

She had to get out, but how? ”Thank you so much for sharing with me. I’ll keep it in mind.” Cora began lightly moving herself from his grip. She kept a neutral expression on his face. He was creepy and definitely ominous. Her brain was screaming for her to leave right now. Cora nodded politely to him. ”You have a good night, sir. I will go back to the ball now.”

Airdan could tell she wasn’t entirely buying the story, but that was fine. He’d planted the seeds, all he had to do now was wait for Kenia to do something to water those seeds which he had no doubt she would. ”Of course, I won’t keep you from enjoying the rest of the ball. Please, though, just be cautious around her. She’s a dangerous woman who has killed many to try and get to me and our children. I’ve had to constantly move the children around to protect them. If you ever wish to validate my claims please seek out Lady Neia Pafaren, she was their nanny through their younger years.” He explained before bidding her good night and disappearing back into the crowd.

Even if Cora didn’t believe him it wasn’t a complete loss of the night. While dancing he had managed to move them past Kenia and her male companion a few times and was positive she’d seen him. Now she walked past them once more and caught her eye, giving her a smirk before weaving the rest of the way through the crowd.

Cora felt a sigh of relief fill her as he left. She didn’t want to think wrong of Kenai, but it was true she didn’t know them well. Still, that woman had been in serious pain and wasn’t fake crying. Despite it, she did keep a mental note of that name. Maybe that woman would have answers on this creep. Cora glared at the back of him as he left. Something was wrong about this man and she wasn’t going to toss her loyalty away from Kenia. That woman had sacrificed so much to protect them and she wasn’t going to ignore that.

While they had danced, they had passed Kenia and Malachi a few times. She had been trying to give them a questioning, yet pleading look, until she was moved away. She shook her head as he left and went to find a table to quelm her rising anxiety and fear.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interaction: @Dezuel Terneus @FunnyGuy Umber
Mentions:
Mood:

---

”Hmm?” Elsea was pulled out of her thoughts by the man she remembered as the greeter. She glanced at him and gave him a small smile. He seemed concerned, taking notice of her troubled expression. Before she could say anything to him, however, another joined their conversation. Well perhaps joined wasn’t the right term, more interrupted and insulted poor Caius as he addressed Elsea. She now turned to face Lord Terneus, listening to him go on and couldn’t help the amused smile that graced her lips. This man truly believed she was some light elven noble. Well if that was what he wanted to believe, then a noble she would be.

”I am honored that you have recognized my station, Lord Terneus.” She said, imitating the same accent and pattern of speech that she’d heard other light elves use like Malachi and Kenia. She dipped into a curtsy before looking at him with another pleasant expression. ”It’s not often one recognizes a former lady-in-waiting to a queen. I suppose I shouldn’t put it past our governor however. Tell me, how are you doing after that dreadful attack? I heard a terrible rumor that the creature managed to horribly disfigure you, I do pray those rumors are false?” Of course this rumor she was merely fabricating all based off of her previous conversation with Kuroi, but she was willing to bet it would be a rumor that would ruffle Terneus’ pompous peacock feathers.

She didn’t wait for him to answer, however, as she decided to go on and answer his question about the human’s. ”I have heard a great deal about these humans and I must say I am quite shocked that you wish to have any dealings with them. I hear they are vile creatures with such immense power that they rival even the most powerful, like yourself. I’ve heard that one can engulf you in a column of flames just by the snap of their finger. So I bid you to be cautious, dear governor, as we would hate to see an assassination attempt by one of them actually succeed in taking your life.” She gave him another curtsy before turning back to Caius.

”I do apologize for the interruption, dear Caius, but I assure you I’m quite alright. I suppose I’m merely troubled by the arrogance of some people in this world, but that is an idiocy I suppose I can’t easily fix.” She said softly to the man, giving him a playful smirk as she gave a sidelong glance to Terneus.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location: Sorrel’s place
Interactions: @Ithradine Volfango @Milkman Finn
Mentions:

---

The ending of the night before was quite different from anything Sorrel would have ever imagined. They’d escaped the art exhibit out into the woods which Sorrel took over leading them through. She took a longer route than necessary in hopes to tire out Volfango just a bit before heading towards her home. Thankfully the apartments where Sorrel lived backed up to these exact woods so they wouldn’t have to really run through town either as giant wolves or completely in the nude. The latter was a bit impossible as they had to enter the building raising the least bit of suspicion. All Sorrel hoped for was that most people were asleep at that time. She’d set both guys up with a place to sleep, putting Volfango in the spare bedroom and then Finn on the couch. She’d also given Finn instruction to keep Volfango from leaving if he seemed to still not be in complete control of himself. Then she went to bed herself.

Now it was quite early in the morning, the sun wasn’t even up quite yet nor would it be for about another hour. She had a few errands to run before the others awoke and so she threw on a quick outfit and put her hair up into a messy bun before silently making her way through the house. She wrote a quick note on a piece of paper for the guys in case they woke up while she was gone.

Finn and Volfango,

Had to run a couple quick errands this morning, I’ll be back shortly. Please make yourself at home. There’s a bathroom in my room and a guest bathroom, both are stocked with towels if you need a shower. I’ll bring back clothes.

She left the note in plain view before she slipped out the door and made her way to her car. Her first stop was at the bakery. She needed to put up a sign that said ‘Closed for the day, sorry for the inconvenience’. From there she made her way to the only store she knew would be open this early in the morning, Walmart. While they didn’t carry the best quality of clothing, at least it would be something for the guys for now. It then dawned on her that she had no idea what size either of them wore so she just grabbed a bunch of different things in different sizes so that they could have their pick.

Once she was done there she made her way back to the apartments, arriving as the sun was making itself known for the day even though it was covered by the threat of rain clouds. She carried quite a few Walmart bags on her arms down the hallway until she stood in front of her door. As she found her keys she heard someone else open their door and felt eyes on her. She glanced over to see an older lady staring at her. ”Ah, guten Morgen Mrs. Jenkins.” She gave the woman a friendly smile, though could tell something was up by the judgemental look on the older woman’s face.

”Sorrel, I saw you last night.” Well of course she did, the woman was one of the nosiest people she’d ever come across. She always seemed to have to be in everyone's business in the building. It truly drove Sorrel insane, perhaps that’s what prompted her to say what she did next.

”Oh? Well I certainly hope we weren’t too loud for you last night and kept you up. I mean we just couldn’t help ourselves.” She gave the woman a wink and watched horror cross Mrs. Jenkins features as she made a disapproving huff before loudly slamming her door shut. Sorrel finished unlocking her door and shaking her head as she walked inside. ”Maybe that’ll teach you to mind your own business, you old hag.” She mumbled as she moved and set the bags on the counter, unsure if the whole exchange outside would have awoken the others as they weren’t entirely quiet.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interaction: N/A
Mentions: @princess Risa @Alivefalling Kyran @Dezuel Terneus @FunnyGuy Umber @13org Ayita
Mood: Song she’s humming

---

Elsea’s dance with Malachi had been a nice dance, but rather uneventful since the two had met each other previously. They’d mostly made small talk, but avoided saying anything that would pertain to her being human or of the rebellion. Those subjects weren’t needed to be discussed between the two and it was quite honestly safer not to speak of such things here unless they absolutely had to. So the dance ended and the two went on their way.

She knew she should probably reconvene with her friends, but she quite honestly needed some air. She was still feeling bad about her dance with the demi-human named Kuroi and then the amount of people in the hall were becoming a bit overwhelming to her. This was still the most people gathered in one place she’d ever seen in her life. So she made her way over to the refreshments table briefly, grabbing herself a glass of mead, and then glanced around the hall once more to try and spot Risa and Kyran. She didn’t spend too long doing this, however, before she made her way out to the balcony.

There were surprisingly a few people outside on the balcony as well, but she didn’t mind. One was the light elf man who’d made a fool of himself earlier and she decided he was the one she’d try to avoid interacting with. Then there was the man that had greeted them as they entered and another dark haired elven woman. She stood between the latter two, quite a few feet distance between them. She’d given the woman a friendly smile, noting that she seemed a little upset herself. She didn’t say anything, however, as she didn’t want to disturb the woman. Instead she turned to stare out over the balcony, enjoying the cool nights air on her face.

She began humming a little tune to herself, one that her mother used to sing to her when she was younger, and a small sadness gripped at her. She missed her family, her mother especially, but then her mind went to her last day there on Earth. Being dragged along in chains, her own people looking at her with such hatred, and then the vision of the pyre she was to be burned on. A brief moment of anger overcame her as she thought about it all. If only she could have her magic there, then she’d use that same fire that she was once so frightened of to burn them all. That fire that now coursed through her veins and had become a comfort, a dear friend almost. She would have loved to watch the hatred on their faces turn into pure fear of her.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location: Witches Brew
Interaction: @Helo Noah
Mention: @FunnyGuy Alexander
Vibes: ”Don’t say I didn’t warn you about it.”

---

What an interesting little vampire. This was what kept going through Maeve’s head as she listened to him speak and watched his reactions. How old really was he? It seemed like he hadn’t had much experience with witches before and that fact alone made her find the whole ordeal a bit more amusing. Unfortunately he was about to get a little taste of what a witch can really do. Would it really affect him though? There was something hidden behind his eyes, a madness of sorts. How truly broken was he? Maeve supposed she would find out soon enough. ”I smell like power you say? Interesting…” She said while smirking at him, but didn’t say any more on the matter. She likely wouldn’t be able to truly change what he thought of her or make him fear her and that was fine. It wouldn’t stop her from getting a bit of retribution.

She let Noah finish answering her questions and even ending it with a threat to poor Hazel. That was when her and the duplicates stopped circling him and she tsked. ”Now, now, we were having such a lovely time and then you had to go and threaten one of my employees. That was quite unnecessary.” She said with a sigh as she crossed her arms and shook her head. Then she grinned again. ”You said earlier you enjoyed my little magic tricks, well then let me provide you with another one.” She said as one of her duplicates stood in front of him. She used the duplicate to gently caress his face and lean in, planting a kiss on his lips as she cast a fear spell on him. She wasn’t sure what he would see as the spell tapped into the victims mind and drew out some of their deepest fears, playing them out before them in their mind. While Maeve couldn’t see anything that was happening, Noah would be briefly trapped in something that would feel very real. While the spell really only lasted a couple minutes, it wasn’t uncommon for the one it was cast on to feel like they were stuck in those horrors for hours.

Once the spell ended, the real Maeve stood in front of Noah with a sadistic grin. ”Now it’s my turn to send a message to Drake and you’re going to be my lovely little messenger since you seem fond of sending messages.” She intensified the bindings of light around him a bit more, hoping to leave some marks on his skin for awhile even though she knew his healing factor would kick in eventually and heal him. She then gently touched his cheek again while her other hand found its way to his hair. She roughly grabbed his hair while the thumb on her other hand moved to his right eye and she began to dig in, savagely gouging out his eye. Once it was popped out of the socket she took hold of it and yanked it the rest of the way to detach it from his body. She wondered if his healing factor would eventually regrow the eye, having a feeling that it probably would, but in truth she really didn’t care. If this young man enjoyed eyes so much than how fitting it would be to use his own eye to send a message to Alexander.

”There, that should do quite nicely. Thank you for your cooperation. Please tell Alexander thank you for helping me make a decision and helping the warrior queen to return.” She said with a grin as she let her duplicates drop and then cast levitate on him. She kept him bound in the light for a moment more as she kicked him in the chest hard, sending him floating over the edge of the building. She then dropped the levitation spell first and then the light spell as he dropped to the alley below. She then cast invisibility on herself once more before returning to the Witches Brew as she heard sirens approaching.

In the back room of her cafe she quickly cast the same spell on the eyeball that she’d used with Noah, but added a little something extra to where the image wouldn’t appear until it was in the presence of Alexander. She placed it in a small box and then quickly jotted down a note on a piece of paper that read:

Your lovely little redhead made a mistake in wrecking my shop and so I demanded retribution. I really wish it didn’t have to end this way, but I guess you’ve made it clear how you want this relationship to go.

XOXO
Maeve

Using magic once more she sent the box to Alexander, knowing it would quickly find its way to him before she went to wash her hands of Noah’s blood, grabbed her security tapes, and then went out to meet the police and Hazel.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Interactions: @baraquiel Sakura
Mentions: @Potter Belle @Helo Bowyn

---

Torvi was quite intrigued as to why Sakura was giving her an amused grin. Did the woman suspect that she wasn’t telling her the whole truth? This fact alone just caused Torvi to not entirely trust the woman despite the fact she’d shown no malicious intent. In fact Sakura seemed rather kind, but Torvi knew how looks could be deceiving. For the sake of protecting her friends, Torvi knew she had to be extra slow in trusting anyone. So she was glad when Sakura didn’t question her any further.

She returned the woman’s smile and chuckled a little. ”It seems we’re both trying to get our friends out of their comfort zones.” She responded, the statement actually being more true than she’d realized. Poor Bowyn hadn’t entirely been looking forward to this ball and Belle was harder to read. She seemed like she’d been a bit more excited about the whole ordeal, but she could have always been putting on a face as well. One thing that Sakura stated was very much truth and that was the fact that her friends were likely more well mannered than the light elf that had made a spectacle of himself. ”You know it’s elves like him that really give the rest of us elves a bad reputation.” She said with a sigh, playing into her light elven disguise. Truly she hadn’t met many light elves yet, but she would bet that not all of them were arrogant.

The music was beginning to die down, signalling that the dance was coming to an end and this relieved Torvi a bit. She was eager to meet up with her friends and see how their dances went. She also wished to warn them about the first man she danced with and her suspicions about the man that was hosting this ball. ”Perhaps we could do that, but I will have to check with my friends first. They are a bit wary of making new acquaintances thanks to having been hurt too many times. If they’re in a good mood then I will certainly seek you out.” She told the woman with a grin as the music came to an end. ”It really was a pleasure meeting you Sakura. Hopefully we’ll see each other again.” She said as she stepped away from the woman and curtsied. She gave her one last smile before turning and walking away, heading back to the table that her group had been sitting at before. She only hoped the others would return there too so they could all speak.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location: Witches Brew
Interaction: @Helo Noah
Mention:
Vibes: ”To that king I will bow...at least for now.”

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The rest of Maeve’s night went by pretty uneventful, other than the fact that she now had a lot on her mind. She’d sat in a lounge chair in her hidden house outside of Ember Grove, sipping on some brandy as she pondered what her next steps would be. Would she try to keep the peace still with Alexander or was it truly time to say enough? To gather allies and fight back? These thoughts plagued her deep into the night until she couldn’t resist her exhaustion any longer.

The next morning she woke up not in the most pleasant of moods, what with her lack of sleep and stresses on her mind. She still got herself ready for the day, however, as she was opening the shop alongside one of her human employees, Hazel. She was dressed in a drastically different outfit than what she’d been dressed in the night before. Her makeup was different, but not something out of the ordinary for her when she was working and her hair she kept in loose, messy waves. When she was satisfied with how she looked she walked out to her garage which was full of an assortment of vehicles, but she got herself into her old 1973 VW Beetle. She started the classic car up and began her trek back into town.

She pulled up to the back of the Witches Brew just before Hazel pulled in and got out of the car, waiting for the young woman to park as well and join her. ”Good morning Hazel, I hope your morning has been good so far.” She greeted the woman with a friendly grin which was returned to her.

”Good morning! Yes, actually, it has been a wonderful morning so far. I just woke up in such a good mood that I have good vibes about today.” Hazel said happily in reply as she walked with her boss towards the shop. Unfortunately Hazel’s cheerful mood was about to take quite the hit. Maeve noticed it first, the back door seeming to have been busted open and she immediately went on alert. She slowed Hazel down and silently pointed out the alarming sign. ”Oh no…” Hazel said as they both slowly made their way into the shop.

It was quiet which had Maeve hopeful that whoever broke in had taken what they wanted and left. She turned to look to her employee and instructed her, ”Go check the register up front and see if there’s anything left in it. I’m going to check the security cameras really quick and then we need to call the cops.” Thankfully Maeve didn’t keep much in the register at night, only a small amount for whoever was opening in the morning to start their day. If somebody had robbed them then they wouldn’t have made off with much.

Maeve had just begun looking at the security camera videos when a blood curdling scream came from Hazel. Dread overcame the witch as she sprinted towards the front of the shop. The sight she was met with was quite gruesome, but not the worst thing she’d ever seen in her long life. For Hazel, on the other hand, the sight would have been horrendous and terrifying. She quickly grabbed ahold of Hazel and turned her away from the scene, pulling her into a comforting hug. ”Shhh it’s okay. How about you go outside and call the police for me. I’ll join you shortly, I’m going to get those security tapes ready for them when they get here okay?” She spoke gently to the girl who took a moment to nod and bolt outside sobbing crying.

Once Hazel was gone, Maeve took a minute to glance around at the scene, her arms crossing over her chest. As soon as she read the spray painted name of Shay she immediately was filled with anger. Had Drake really instructed his goons to do something like this to her shop even though she’d truthfully told him she didn’t know this Shay? She was full of pure fury as she took in everything that had been done to her shop. Then her eyes landed on the eyeballs and she smirked a bit to herself. What useful items to leave behind. She conjured both eyeballs into her hand and then decided to do the same with the tongue, just to keep it from looking too suspicious. The tongue to her was useless and could be disposed of, but the eyeballs were precious things.

She turned to exit towards the back of the shop when something caught her eye out the window. It was a small blip of red and as she looked closer she realized it was a person sitting on the roof of the building next to hers and watching. ”Intriguing…” She mumbled to herself and cast invisibility on herself as she decided to greet the new friend. In a matter of minutes she was on the roof and standing behind the young redheaded man. She’d made sure all her wards and protections on herself were in place as always before heading up there just to be safe, but now she was ready to confront the suspicious man.

”Well, well...I’m assuming you are the one that left me that lovely gift down there, are you not?” She said as she let the invisibility drop and she stood with a hand on her hip. ”Oh, but how rude of me to assume. How about we find out for sure, hmm?” She then said as she conjured one of the eyeballs in her hand and then began muttering something under her breath. In a moment the eyeball was floating and glowing slightly before an image appeared before both of them. It was the last image the man had seen of Noah feeding off of him. ”What an uncanny resemblance, don’t you think? This is the last thing that poor man saw before he died, strange that it was of you.” She sighed before letting the image drop. ”Now…” She began before muttering ‘summone lux’ and a chain of light wrapped itself quickly around Noah, holding him in place. She then cast a duplicate spell as she moved closer to Noah, four of her now surrounding him. To him they would all smell the same, look the same, and move and speak all the same at exactly the same time. ”Tell me why Drake sent you to do this to my shop? I informed him last night I knew nothing of this Shay person. Does he truly wish to throw our friendship out the window? If so, there will be consequences.” She asked Noah angrily, the duplicates all imitating her and causing the questions to sound unsettling as the sound surrounded him and all four Maeve’s slowly circled him.