multipleoccupancy

[multipleoccupancy]

Pleased that Violet was backing him up in his nonsense, he smiled over at her though the thought of his future wife lingered in his head. He wanted to know of course and that little glance was confirmation to him that she'd realised what she had said, which he naturally take interest in. At least in the moment there were more pressing matters, like winding both Sloane and Samantha up enough to get a funny reaction.

So she wouldn't be grounded for having a crossbow? And she had a point about the knife! "He's obviously a cool guy," Theo teased, thinking that he and her father were clearly very alike and thus he could say such things, right? He smiled as Violet gave her final jab, laughing quietly before Samantha's threat. He looked to the stage to gauge where she was, already flying from it! He had seconds!

Theo shifted in his chair to get up but knew even as he did so he was not going to get far at all but at least the aisle would be free from danger if he got floored there instead of by the seats!

Sloane meanwhile laughed to himself as Samantha took off after Killian. Not at all surprised by the antics and fondly amused as he watched it unfold. He held the crossbow up over his shoulder and made his own way off the stage too, intending to join Violet and separate Samantha and Killian eventually. "I take it your father is just as wild then?" he asked Violet as he approached calmly and casually.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"Clearly," confirmed Violet with a coy little smile, "otherwise they wouldn't be asking for another embarrassing defeat." She had realized too late that Theo had not met or married Andrea yet, and so didn't know who her mom was. She glanced at him and then looked away. Violet would not tell him about Andrea. She didn't want to ruin the surprise.

"Oh, my dad would never ground me for having a crossbow," she bragged at Sloane's comment, "or did you forget that he lets me have a knife?"

Well, she was exaggerating now, and she knew it. Her dad would perhaps let her build a crossbow, but he certainly wouldn't let her use it for anything but an excellent reason -like fighting a monster. As for the knife, she was only allowed to keep it because her travels were so dangerous and because it protected her from Hounds. But they didn't need to know that!

She turned to Theo. "You're right, they need the practice more than we do." And with that final jab of hers, she returned to her trap with a little smile. But it seemed that Theo's comment was the straw that broke the camel's back, because Samantha let out a loud exclamation, and said: "Alright, that's enough. I'm gonna ground you myself."

And with that, she started to sprint towards the audience -where Theo and Violet were sitting. It was clear she was being playful, but she was still running, and running fast.

[multipleoccupancy]

"Do you think there's some weird old people thing about losing we don't understand yet?" Theo asked Violet as she suggested that Samantha and Sloane were looking to lose again with another version of himself. Then she mentioned her mother and Theo paused, it was only brief, just a moment as he tried to picture who he might fall in love with one day. A woman who could shoot crossbows and wipe the floor with Samantha and Sloane? Sounded perfect to him. No time to dwell on it though he had a verbal duel to finish. He chuckled encouragingly with Violet as she ripped into them further.

Sloane meanwhile could see it descending into playful chaos and he busied himself in going to collect up the arrows again. Chuckling his support at Samantha's response. "Tough luck there, Kiddo and you too Odin," Sloane hummed as he collected an arrow off the floor. "I suppose that means that Orion and I get more practice with the crossbow then doesn't it?"

Theo looked between the two, smiling for Samantha's sarcasm and for Sloane joining in. Delighted they had pulled him down to their level! "Why do you think you'd be able to cut yours down to four? Miss a month? Because you're both good at missing things?" He said of Samantha's grounding suggestion. Theo put on a loud hum and tapped his chin apparently in deep thought as he looked to Violet. "I don't know, Odin, it's very clear they need the practice right? Makes sense that the professionals can rest up while the armatures try and catch up to the masters."

He carefully put his paper aside, face down to not give Violet any spoilers but then he turned all of his attention onto Samantha and Sloane on the stage. "Don't take it out on the younger models being better at everything than you." He exaggerated his sarcasm as he finished with, "It's not a competition you know. Except it was. And technically you both lost."

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet was having a lot of fun, and with 5 siblings at home, she had experience too. "Considering one of my parents is another version of you, it's safe to say they want to be crushed again," she hummed in agreement, "and I don't doubt my mom could beat them too." Though, much like Theo, she wasn't sure Cosimo would care about using the crossbow. He'd be more interested in the fabrication -which she would love to tell him all about.

"You're right, they just can't stop missing everything," she then added with a little grin, "but they're so old, it's probably really hard for them to aim."

"Ha ha," sarcastically replied Samantha, raising her eyebrows at the pair of them, "I'm surprised you can count to four, Obsidian. I hope you can count to ten too, because I'm sure that the number of months you'll be grounded if your parents see you with a crossbow." She shrugged. "Maybe we're old, but at least we don't have a bedtime."

[multipleoccupancy]

Sloane chuckled warmly at the idea of Samantha carrying home five tiny bears to keep, it was not an image that was too hard for him to imagine either. He wasn't sure he could leave five tiny bears either. However his attempts at de-escalation were being thwarted by Killian and Violet. He was surprised as she joined in but he took it as a good sign too.

He chuckled as Samantha quipped back and humming his agreement. "Yes I think we should call their parents, you're right." He played along with a little wink, nice for a change where there were even teams in the playful ribbing.

"Why? So they can beat you both too?" Theo pipped up with a smile, gesturing between himself and Violet, "One already has, you sure you want to get the original's involved now too?" Though he did think it likely that Francesca could handle a crossbow if she needed to, Cosimo would probably be far more interested in the type of wood or something.

"That would make... hmm," Theo pretended to count on his fingers, "four of us," he held up four fingers to show them with some considerable exaggeration. "Just like your scores," He pretended to be amazed at it, as if it was a huge revelation the numbers being the same. "That's some interesting psychology there don't you think, Odin? Or do you think they miss the point, kind of like they missed the soda can?" He was smirking and he had been sure to put his pencil down and drawing aside, not wanting to ruin it if it escalated as he wanted.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet could see was Sloane was trying to appease the situation, and quite masterfully so, too. Samantha seemed to mellow out, her tensed body relaxing as she laughed. "Hitting four out of five soda-can-sized bears wouldn't be too bad," she quipped with a smile, "but if I ever found such small bears, I think I'd just bring them home with me."

Theo, on the other hand, was not trying to appease the situation at all. It was all playful, of course, and Violet... couldn't help but participate in the taunting. Shouldn't they get to brag a little bit? They had both hit all their soda cans, after all.

"Clearly, they shouldn't be trusted with a weapon like this," she chimed in with a smile, "maybe we can get them a training crossbow? With a dull arrow?"

Samantha let out a half-amused, half-baffled little sound of laughter. She hadn't expected Violet to join in, but was delighted to see that she was comfortable enough with them to do it. As for Killian, well... she was used to his teasing! And was about to happily retaliate.

"Shouldn't you both be at daycare?" she quipped back, before turning to Sloane, "maybe we should call their parents, and tell them they're playing with crossbows?" It was of course even funnier to think that Theo was, technically, a version of Violet's father.

[multipleoccupancy]

Her life certainly sounded very strange to him but he couldn't really say if it was the strangest there was. Perhaps the cultist versions of themselves had stranger lives in what they did. He had a lot to think about again it felt like but there was a great distraction going on in front of them. After Samantha's miss, he had waited to see how Sloane would do. Another tie! Well that was supposedly for the best when it came to Samantha's competitive side.

"Yes, it seems we're just as talented as each other," Sloane was sure to offer cordially and with a smile too. Pleased with the way it had all gone. It was only playful but sometimes these things could get out of hand and now at least he knew each member of O-Cell, honorary or not, could handle the crossbow if needed.

"We can have a rematch down the line, but I think so long as you're not in front of five soda can sized bears, you should be just fine back home." He encouraged as she seemed to calm down again, albeit slowly.

Meanwhile Theo saw his opportunity and gestured to the crossbow. "How about you let the professionals handle that one?" He piped up playfully to Sloane and Samantha. "You know, those who can shoot down all of their cans."

He knew he would be winding Samantha up and part of him was sure that he could get Sloane too. "Really, we shouldn't be letting armatures keep it, right Odin?" He turned to Violet with a smile and that very same playful wink she was used to. He was only teasing them but well, it was also the truth right?

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"He is," she confirmed, thinking about George, and how manipulative he had been, too. It seemed cultists liked to lie and play with people. In a strange way, the Sloane she knew was at least honest. Insane and dangerous, yes. But he never tried to manipulate her. My life is strange, she couldn't help but think to herself as she realized that she had met so many cultists in just a year. Evil Theo, Sloane, George... Not to mention all the odd mobsters from the Apocalypse club, with their thick accents and absurd names.

She nodded. Yes, her cultist counterpart had made her choice. But Violet could never truly hate her, because she knew that things were not so black and white. She didn't say any of it, instead focusing on the final round of the competition.

And it was a rather thrilling watch, because after Samantha's missed shot, her victory was not so certain anymore! She looked perfectly discomfited as she stared at the untouched soda can. Unless Sloane missed another shot, it would be a tie. But his little jab did manage to revive her, and she quickly turned to him in a storm of blond hair.

"You could still miss," she pointed out in a huff as she handed him the crossbow.

But Sloane did not miss. He hit the two soda cans, and just like that, the two of them were tied. Violet thought it was the ideal outcome. Samantha seemed like she would be both a sore loser and a very infuriating winner. But a tie? Well, a tie was relatively neutral.

While it was clear that Samantha was disappointed that she had not won, she still smiled at Sloane. "Alright, alright, maybe you're just as good as me," she teased. The fight was over, and she was returning to her usual self -cheerful and sweet. But the transformation had been quite striking, and Violet definitely understood why her dad didn't like Monopoly.

[multipleoccupancy]

Hmm it sounded to him like the cultist Theo was really pretty evil, which only really solidified his belief that rituals made people evil and that those who did them were dangerous. Violet knew rituals, but she had been tricked! Or was he perhaps making excuses for her? "He sounds like a stereotypical cultist to me." As if he had met many of them or had any real idea what they were like beyond what he heard in passing.

So there was a cultist version of Violet too. At least she did actually understand how weird and in some way dirty it felt knowing that such a version existed. "I guess it's like you said of the other me, it's the choices they make that makes them like that." That had been her chosen reassurance, he wasn't sure if it was true and he watched her to check if perhaps she knew more than she was letting on. Again.

She had turned her attention to Samantha and Sloane though and after a moment, Theo did the same, a small frown on his face as he considered it all. A cultist family. Great. She'd been through a lot though, to have discovered enough about the cultists and cowboys, well she'd obviously suffered.

Sloane watched as Samantha took the crossbow and folded his arms as she took her shots. The first hitting, of course but the second in all of her bravado, missed! Oh! Part of him had some worry for how she would take that but the smile on his face was quite the sight. "HA! Whose losing? Sorry? You or me?" He teased her as he moved to take the crossbow from her politely for his turn.

He was careful, shotting the first can without any real issue but he knew now that his final shot was the deciding score, if he missed Samantha would have won and part of him considered it for a moment. He shot the arrow and he succeeded. Another draw! Sloane chuckled as he turned around. "Even-stevens!"

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"It is," she admitted, "he has saved me several times before, but he has also tried to kill me, even if he regretted it later... and he tricked me, with the ritual." Not to mention the time he had brutally murdered three people in front of her. "He always says the most horrible things, too." She sighed, focusing on her drawing to stay away from the ledge. "I'm relieved I haven't been to his timeline in a long time. I hope I'll never go there again."

She had expected Theo's question. It made sense, and she didn't see the point in lying about it. She wasn't responsible for her counterpart's actions, even though it always pained her to think that she was a cultist. "She is, yes. So... I know how it felt when you found out about your cultist counterpart. She's very different from me, I think. Not just because she's a cultist, but she's also... kind of mean? She's a little bit arrogant."

"I'm upset that she's a cultist. But she was adopted by a cult leader, so... I know it's not really her fault. Though sometimes I wonder how she could forget so fast all the things her birth parents taught her. I know they were good, noble people, who would have never condoned all the wicked things she does, now."

Violet looked up to see what seemed to be the final rounds of the competition, her pen tucked behind her ear. Talking about the cultist timeline was never easy, but she was relieved that Theo understood what she had gone through, and was being so nice about it. Maybe he really trusted her again, now.

On the stage, Samantha seemed sure of her victory. So much so that she wasn't at all intimidated by Sloane's perfect shot. "You're right, let's get this over with," she teased as she took the crossbow from him. Violet leaned towards Theo. "I think she's getting too cocky," she whispered with a little smile.

As it turned out, Violet was right. She was getting too cocky. Samantha aimed and shot, hitting her third soda can without any trouble. There were a few more exclamations of victory, of course. "Time to lose," she then grinned, pointing a finger at Sloane. But when the time came to fire that final, decisive shot... The arrow missed the can.

[multipleoccupancy]

So this cultist version of himself tried in some bizarre ways to help Violet? He supposed that now he understood where the 'grey' area was that she was talking about before. He was clearly a bad man but had been doing rituals to apparently help her. His blood turned to ice when she revealed she had been thrown from the 14th floor. He just stared at her for a moment, imagining that height and that fall. In some sense it was a mercy as it clearly gave his counterpart time to undo his horrible mistake.

"It sounds like it's a complicated sort of thing you have with the cultist." In some ways it was nice he seemed to be trying to protect her but of course Theo did not at all like the idea of rituals and cultists! "At least you know he's kind of trying to help, but it also sounds like he is the cause of the situations you need help from?" He only knew two stories from her about him. The Hound and The Window. Neither of which seemed particularly pleasant. "And that version of you in that timeline, is she... you know? A cultist too?"

He took some back of the mind mental note of her trivia on the knives causing the Hounds to leave her be after they smelled the shard. Not aware that one day that would become relevant information to him too.

Sloane smiled for Samantha's compliment and chuckled as she reminded him of his earlier miss, ah yes, she was still very much in competitive mode and he watched quietly as she aimed and took a more careful shot. Of course, hitting the can as expected. "Another good shot, I'm starting to run out of options here," he half played into the losing side, at least for a moment anyway, he didn't mind losing to any of them.

He took the crossbow and went to the mark to aim properly this time, he didn't want to lose that bad to the trio! "Timber-" he said as he shot the arrow, hoping so very much that it would hit and fortunately for him, his third round can fell too. "Two shots left, want to take them both like Obsidian and Odin?"

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"He did." There was no denying it. He had drained his energy using a powerful ritual and killed the Hound with his bare hands. Violet was grateful, of course. But he had also hurt her horribly. She was scared of him, too. Nothing was simple about how she felt about Evil Theo. "He has adopted a Violet of his own, you see. So... I look just like his daughter."

"When he threw me out the window, he pulled me back with a ritual before I could hit the ground. I wouldn't be here, otherwise. He lives on the 14th floor, like me." She was paler than before. "He seemed horrified by what he had done, but... I still hate him for it. For everything he is, for everything he does." And yet he had saved and protected her in his own way. Violet had too big a heart, maybe. Or, maybe, as a Theo, he was given more chances.

Violet attempted a wobbly smile. "It's cool, yes. And those knives are real handy. When a Hound smells it, it just walks away. It saved my life."

While Samantha was pouting now that Sloane had not only hit the can again but had done so in a very cool way, she mellowed when he turned towards her with a big smile. "That was very impressive," she admitted reluctantly, "but you still missed before."

She wanted to do something cool too, but she wanted to win even more. So, she didn't risk trying to be faster than him. What if she missed? Instead, she aimed calmly, shot... and hit the soda can!

"THREE HITS!" she exclaimed victoriously, "I'm still in the lead! Slow and steady wins the race, baby!"

[multipleoccupancy]

Theo listened and half watched Violet as she spoke about the Hounds. How she was afraid of them and how they could come from corners. It was a little harder for him to understand but he did catch her glance towards Sloane and he studied her for a long moment, using his drawing as an excuse but something had clearly happened to Sloane and a Hound.

"The cultist saved you?" He put the pieces together and was admittedly surprised, he had assumed the man who had thrown her from a window and tricked her into doing a ritual was not going to save her from a monster. "Well, I guess you and your dad got two cool knives out of it anyway, so that's cool right?" He tried but he did get a little caught on the idea of Hounds. Having no real concept of them from what Violet described, only their crystal like structure and toxic blood. He didn't think he wanted to know more than that.

Samantha's gesture was interrupted and Theo took that as his win, she failed to retaliate but now his mind was on other things. Even as Sloane missed his shot it didn't really register with him until Samantha started gloating again before even taking her next shot.

Sloane meanwhile accepted the gloating with a small smile and watched as Samantha went to take her next shot, successfully. Oh she wasn't going to let him live that down now.

"Well done," he told her as she celebrated, smiling and taking the crossbow again, to take his next shot, this time much faster than before. Aiming and pulling the trigger nearly just as he got into the right position on the stage. A direct hit! He turned and grinned at her, "Any bonus points for style?" He glanced to Killian too, not wanting him to weigh in too heavily on the topic but he could see he was apparently very busy with his drawing. At least he was distracted from the crossbow now.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Pleased that Theo approved of her note, Violet returned to her trap, focusing on the mechanism of the spring levers. "I'm afraid of them too," she admitted, "they appear out of corners, and they are very dangerous. And what they do to someone when they kill them..." She shuddered. Her eyes landed on Sloane, stood next to Samantha, and her heart sunk to her stomach. She quickly looked down at her drawing again. "Yes, they're made of these strange, sharp angles. And their blood is toxic."

"We've faced a hound together, once," she explained, though didn't give more details on the matter -she didn't want to tell him that it was the Horned One who had saved their lives. "But other than that time, we've always faced them separately. I got the shards for our knives when a Hound attacked me in the..." She grimaced. "Cultist timeline. The Theo from there killed the Hound." With a ritual. "And collected the shards. He let me keep two." Violet knew that it was odd to say that the same Theo who had thrown her out a window had also saved her life. But her relationship with him was odd. And tempestuous.

Before Samantha could retaliate, Sloane was praising her so genuinely that her hand -which she was about to use to make a very rude gesture- fell limply to her side. "Thank you." She was blushing.

This could have been a sweet moment. Unfortunately, Sloane's failed shot ruined the spell, and Samantha was quick to forget all about his lovely compliment to gloat instead. "AHA!" she exclaimed, "what did I say? I'm gonna make mincemeat out of you!"

"Oh, it counts, mister. And now, let the pro dazzle you." At least, Sloane was right. Samantha was no longer focused on Killian's taunting, too busy enjoying what she thought would be a swift victory. She took the crossbow, aimed, shot... and hit! "Boom baby!"

[multipleoccupancy]

Theo smiled as Violet showed him her written statement, "Yeah I reckon that will work," he chuckled, really quite pleased that he had something to show them and to use if they decided they wanted the crossbow instead. Oblivious still to the idea that just maybe he shouldn't be the one to take it anywhere.

So her dad had the same knife? Theo thought about it for a moment and supposed he did think it was a lucky item, he hoped it would help Samantha and he wondered if her father would have done the same thing. However, whatever questions he had on that drifted away as he instead focused in on Hounds. "Your dad is afraid of these hounds?" He was picturing a dog creature of course, much like everyone did. "The stuff that your knife is made from right?" He nodded vaguely towards her. "So you've dealt with Hounds together? If you both have a knife?"

Samantha's huffing did have Sloane do a double take and he wondered if he should calm the situation down somehow. Killian was enjoying winding Samantha up and in truth, well Sloane was amused too but Killian wasn't the one competing against Samantha! No risk for him! Luckily Samantha hit her can with no issue too and Sloane was sure to applaud as she stuck her tongue out at Killian, who promptly stuck his thumb to the end of his nose, stuck out his tongue in return and wiggled his fingers playfully.

"Honestly you two," Sloane only partly scolded as he took the crossbow from Samantha politely. "That was a great shot, Sunshine." He praised her again before taking his stance, aiming and after a moment firing. However, this time he missed! Sloane stood for a moment looking at the can he had been aiming for. Oh. He could already feel the gloating gathering in both Samantha's and Killian's minds. "That one doesn't count," he teased as he still went to hand the crossbow over to Samantha, "It doesn't count because I missed." He teased as if he could bend the rules but in some ways he thought it would likely help the not-sibling rivalry going on.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"I think I can see why," laughed Violet, her eyes planted on the paper now that she had an idea for her trap. She did look up to glance at Theo when he asked to put in writing that he could have the crossbow. "Maybe you should," she replied, amused. Who knew? Perhaps Sloane and Samantha would fight him for the crossbow, after all. They sure seemed to enjoy it too. So, she added at the bottom of her page the sentence: I, Odin, officially give my crossbow to Obsidian at the end of this mission. She then showed him the page. "How's that?"

"He uses it, yes," she confirmed shyly, "he used the same knife as yours, before. But now he keeps the shard knife I made. It can cut through anything. Even a big monster's tentacle. It's pretty good at repelling Hounds, too." Now that she felt comfortable around Theo again, she was revealing too much without realizing it.

Sloane was just as good a shot as his "opponent," and Violet looked up from her page just in time to see him hit the soda can. Samantha seemed annoyed about it, hands planted on her hips. "Beginner's luck," she dismissed, as if she wasn't a beginner at crossbow herself!

Killian riling her up seemed to be working very well, because she was huffing when she took the crossbow from Sloane. Luckily for her, her second shot hit the can, too. She turned to Killian and maturely stuck her tongue out. Then, she gave Sloane the crossbow again.

[multipleoccupancy]

"Yeah Monopoly needs some ground rules established first and a timer if you're going to play with Orion." Theo chuckled to himself and shook his head, casting a glance to Violet, clearly for reference as he went back to work on his drawing.

He smiled for her suggestion he could have it after she went back to her timeline. "Thanks! Should I ask for that in writing do you think?" He teased her and pointed the end of his pencil up towards Sloane and Samantha, "I think I might have some competition." He of course didn't think how his parents would react or how on earth he was going to get it back home to New York. What did it matter if he had a crossbow?! "It's cool you can make knives like that," He praised, recalling the unusual blade she had shown them earlier. "I bet your dad uses it all the time." He would, so it was safe to assume another Theo would right?

Samantha's victory dance and competitive banter earned a fond chuckle from Sloane as he finally took aim, steadying himself and then firing, shooting a can from the bench with a little clatter. Sloane did not celebrate though, playing it cool as he turned and raised his eyebrows at Samantha. "Maybe you should be seeking mercy from me instead," he said teasingly, unaware of how those words could one day be interpreted. "Your second go, Sunshine," he offered her the crossbow with a smile and a wink. He knew she was competitive, but it was of course just a friendly game.... mostly.

Theo smirked and was sure to wind Samantha up as he praised Sloane, "Oh that was a great shot, Odyssey! So clean and precise." He looked to Samantha, "Good luck beating that one." He chuckled as Sloane pointed a playful but still scolding finger at him to tell him to stop winding her up.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Once the shock wore off, Violet couldn't help but laugh. "I would have never thought," she admitted, "but that explains a lot. My dad always tells me that Monopoly can lead to war, I see now the war was with Samantha." If she got so passionate over a friendly little crossbow competition, then Monopoly with her had to be a rather intense experience.

"I won't be able to bring the crossbow home with me," she reminded him with a little smile, "you can have it once I go back to my timeline. It's yours. I'd be really happy to know that I built one of your weapons. I build weapons for my dad too, you know. I made him a shard knife, like mine." Violet glanced at the blank page, trying to think of a trap to draw him. She thought about their time in the woods of Ophir and started with a base similar to a bear trap.

Meanwhile, Samantha had started a little victory dance, now that Sloane had the crossbow -even when she was competing, she knew better than to dance with a weapon in hand.

"It's gonna be a piece of cake," she bragged, visibly more confident now that she had managed one shot, "you'll see no mercy from me, old man!" From her seat, Violet couldn't help but laugh again. She hadn't expected them to be having so much fun while on a mission. She thought about her dad, about all the amazing times he had probably spent with O cell. Before Sloane's betrayal.

[multipleoccupancy]

Unaware of Violet's worries, Sloane just continued to set up the cans and kept half an eye on Killian as he moved to go and tease Samantha. Oh, he was playing with fire as he caught Samantha go to shove him away but miss.

Theo meanwhile happily went to take a seat with Violet, getting comfy in his spot before he started to sketch on the paper, glancing up to see Samantha take her shot and chuckling at the very happy exclamation from her. "Oh yes," Theo hummed playfully to Violet and smiled over at her, not too surprised by Samantha's reaction but pleased to see it all the same. They had fun on their missions, he was so sure much more than any other cell.

He wasn't ignoring what she had said about his position and firearms skills, "yeah I'm a mean shot," he bragged but it was teasingly, "I think I'd like to be close to Orion too in truth... but the crossbow is really cool and I'm jealous you're the one getting to use it." She built it he supposed, it was only fitting. He turned his attention to his drawing, getting quite focused on it.

"We'll see," Sloane said of Samantha's victorious proclamation she was going to wipe the floor with him. "You have four more cans to hit," he pointed out as he took the offered weapon with a smile and a little elbow nudge. "Go easy on me, I'm an old man."

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet was excited to hear that they were going to have a competition as well. She had seen both of them fight and had no doubt that they would do great with a crossbow. She glanced at Sloane, and a little shiver ran down her spine. She couldn't help it. He was tall and impressive, and with the crossbow in her hands, she thought about her own timeline, and... she pushed the image away.

"What a gentleman," teased Samantha as she took the crossbow Sloane was handing her. She held it in her hands carefully, trying to get a feel of the weight. It was lighter than she thought. All competitiveness aside, she didn't want to look ridiculous! She hoped to hit at least one can.

"Have fun!" Violet exclaimed, still unaware that Samantha took these sorts of things very seriously -too seriously, in fact. But she had a little bit of a hint when Samatha tried to shove Theo away -he had already stepped away, and Violet followed him.

With the sheets of paper in hand, they could step away from the stage and sit in the audience. "I think they want you to be close to Orion," Violet said, feeling a little bit guilty. She could see how disappointed he was. "I bet you're amazing with a gun, and that she would feel much safer with you next to her." Violet did believe it, though she was also trying to cheer him up.

She raised her eyebrows. "Does she?" Samantha was always so cheerful and positive, she couldn't imagine her being competitive. And yet, Theo's words were quickly proven right when a cry of victory erupted behind them. It seemed Samantha had shot and hit one of the cans. "In your face!" she exclaimed, a finger pointed in Sloane's direction, "I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

"Oh. I see what you mean," admitted Violet, looking rather surprised -and a little bit shocked.

[multipleoccupancy]

Sloane knew full well what he was potentially walking into with Samantha but he had a plan, he just hoped she would hit some of the cans and so would not get too competitive with him. He overheard as Killian and Violet talked about their winnings and smiled. "We have time for that. Orion and I are going to get some practice in with the crossbow too, just in case." He explained as he oh so gently took the crossbow from Killian's hand. He relinquished it, of course he did, Sloane was taking it from him!

Once he had it in hand he gestured for Samantha to join him with a smile. "Ladies first," he offered as he handed her the crossbow. "I'll just put the cans back up," he explained, not even thinking twice that he would be putting himself in the line of fire if he went to do that, Samantha and Killian had his complete trust as he went to correct the cans. "You two can draw in the meantime?" He suggested, knowing they had time enough to do so.

Theo turned to Samantha, "You'll do great," he told her under his breath, "maybe as good as me." He then added on with quite a brotherly tease, riling her up a little and making sure to side step so he could avoid any playful and competitive kick back from Samantha. Turning his attention to Violet with a smile instead.

"I guess you did better in their eyes," he said as he moved to go and steal some paper from off stage, script rejections and the like. "Guess you're the archer," he wasn't too disappointed he had missed out, having to trust whatever silent message Sloane had given him with the hand on his shoulder. "But Orion is right, you're the ace here." He handed her some paper and a pencil, "We'd best get off the stage to do this, Orion... well, she gets very serious about these things." There was some space in the auditorium at least.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Sloane had a point, these two were naturals. Samantha didn't know if she was a natural, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Besides, she wanted to pick dinner, thank you very much. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal, mister," she indulged with a wink, secretly hoping she was not going to ridicule herself in front of Killian and Violet.

"A crossbow competition is kind of like a board, game, right?" she teased as she stood up and followed him, "so... get ready to eat dirt!" They had mentioned her terrible competitiveness just minutes earlier, and while she was being playful... Sloane probably knew she was not completely joking either.

Violet smiled at Theo, happy that in the end, they would both get a drawing. "If we have time, let's draw them now, yes," she agreed. She didn't know if she would return here after waking up, and would rather give Theo his drawing before that.

Noticing that Sloane and Samantha were walking towards them now, she wondered if they were going to confiscate that crossbow after all. But luckily, Sloane seemed to have made up his mind: she was indeed their archer. "Thank you," she said, blushing.

"You're going to be quite the ace up our sleeves," praised Samantha, "we're lucky to have you in O cell, Odin." Violet beamed, even redder than before. She was blissfully aware that she was about to witness the most terrifying thing in the world: Samantha being competitive.

[multipleoccupancy]

"Well they haven't either and seems like they're naturals," Sloane encouraged softly, eyeing Violet and Killian thoughtfully. Killian's 'dad' instincts still clearly in the works though that terrible joke did still manage to tickle him.

"We can have a competition of our own," he teased her, really they should have been getting on with the mission but he figured it wasn't dark enough yet for them to move the trap anywhere. "Crossbow practice and the winner gets to pick where we go for dinner for the next two missions."

Theo chuckled at Violet's enthusiasm and it felt contagious as he looked over to Sloane and Samantha. They didn't seem in too much of a hurry and Theo decided to focus back on Violet. "Alright, we both got to do that drawing. I reckon we have a couple of hours before we have to do anything anyway so how about we just do it now?"

"You draw me a trap and I draw you." He reminded her with a grin. He hadn't really noticed it but he had not set the crossbow down yet. But Sloane was making his way over to them and would be taking hold of that thing as fast as he could without drawing suspicion.

"Well done, that was a great competition. I know that you will do a great job as our archer," he told Violet, a large hand landing on Killian's shoulder to prevent him from saying anything. Silent communication though he did turn his head to look at Sloane!

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha laughed, Sloane was right. "I guess they will have earned the right to brag a little bit," she indulged, genuinely impressed that they had both done so well with the crossbow. She raised her eyebrows at his nudge. "I've never used a crossbow before either, you know," she chuckled, shaking her head. "But I suppose I could use the practice if I'm going to fight bears back home."

"You should try, too," she encouraged in turn, "it's not every day that we get a functional crossbow as a weapon. Very medieval. It might come in handy if we ever have a mission at a Renaissance Fair." Somehow she had a feeling Sloane had a knight disguise somewhere. He seemed to have all and every disguises humanly imaginable. Halloween was probably quite the event in his house.

The rest of the competition unfolded, and as it turned out, Violet was right: it ended with a tie. She clapped enthusiastically, happy about it -though she would have enjoyed winning, of course. Theo's joke surprised her, it seemed even at 19 he was already making dad jokes. Her smile widened.

"The best kind of draw," she confirmed, trotting towards him, "we'll each get a prize." And the satisfaction of knowing that they were both very cool with a crossbow. Violet was certainly in a much better mood than before. It seemed like things had gone back to normal with Theo.

[multipleoccupancy]

Sloane chuckled that Samantha hoped her future children would never play with crossbows or ask to hunt monsters. He knew it was not something any of them had asked for but Violet seemed rather determined. She might have been the first to ask to join a mission. He smiled all the more, touched that she thought he was a great dad. She might not have seen his family and that being the whole point but in truth, well, he thought he was a pretty good dad too. "Thank you," he was sure to say back.

He watched as Killian took another shot and then talked with Violet. He didn't hear what was said but he wasn't too worried as Violet took her position. "There's going to be no living with either of them if they hit all of the cans." A playful warning to Samantha before he gave her a little nudge. "You should have a go and show them how it's done," he encouraged playfully.

Violet shot both of her remaining cans without issue which by now Sloane supposed wasn't a surprise and he scratched absently at his eyebrow. Yes, now he had to word things just right to persuade her to fire from a safe distance away which he was sure she would be more than capable of doing regardless. Protect Samantha not Violet. Right.

Theo applauded and gave a little nod of approval as she shot both cans, chuckling as she bragged. "That was for sure how it's done," he praised with a smile as he took the offered crossbow. "Well done," he was sure to say.

While her father might have been cunning enough to think of how his daughter might feel much more elated if she had beaten him, just a simple narrow miss of a can and leaning into the embarrassment to let her gloat. This Theo was still too young to think like that and once he was on his mark, he pointed the crossbow, aimed and shot the first can with success. Excellent. One more to go. He took a deep breath, steadied himself and was very clearly serious about the task before firing the final shot and toppling the final can.

Happy, he turned with the crossbow pointed to the floor and gave his own playfully exaggerated bow to Violet, Sloane and Samantha. "I see it's a draw!" Theo announced playfully and smiled towards Violet. "Literally. A draw." At least the dad jokes were apparently well in the works already. A faint chuckle from Sloane confirmed the quality.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Yes, Killian seemed to be having a lot of fun. He was only 19 -technically still a teenager. She couldn't blame him for enjoying a crossbow tournament, or for wanting to include Violet to their mission. He wasn't a father yet! "They're both having fun," she chuckled in response, shaking her head in amusement. Meanwhile, Sloane and her were worried!

Samantha blushed for the compliment on her parenting abilities. "I hope my children will never play with crossbows... or ask to fight monsters." She nudged him playfully. "Thank you, Sloane. That means a lot coming from you, you know. I think you're a great dad." She had never seen him with his children, but he was like the father of O cell.

Theo's third shot was a bullseye too, but Violet wasn't surprised. It seemed like they were indeed headed for a tie. She certainly didn't want to lose! "It would be cooler," she agreed as she took the crossbow from him. Two more shots. She couldn't miss. Now that she was certain she had impressed Sloane and Samantha, she cared more about impressing Theo.

She focused, aimed, and shot. The arrow landed right in the can. But she didn't rejoice, not yet. She aimed again, shot again. Another arrow in the can. Five out of five. Now she could let out a little sound of victory.

"And that is how it's done," she bragged, handing Theo the crossbow.

[multipleoccupancy]

Sloane nodded, he certainly wouldn't be happy or in any way calm if his children were wondering around, joining in on monster hunting missions while wielding a crossbow and as reckless as Killian was, he knew things changed when fatherhood came into the picture. "This one, for now seems to be having fun," he mused out loud to Samantha, offering her a small smile.

She was right to push her safety over Violet's and Sloane couldn't help but chuckle. "See, you're quite the natural." He praised her but also hoped that Violet wouldn't need to protect Samantha at all and that the trap would just work. He knew better than to not prepare for things to turn pear shaped though. Sloane was sure to clap along with Samantha as Theo took another shot. He had hoped he would be terrible with the crossbow and be put off trying to use it. Alas, it was not to be.

Theo stood back and watched as Violet took her third shot, pleased she had not devised a way to do some cool move with the crossbow either. He was not to be outdone on looking cool! But he still cheered and clapped as she hit her third can and teased him about ending with a tie.

"We just might!" He chuckled, thrilled that it was indeed a close competition and admittedly now nervous about being the first to miss! He didn't want to lose! He took the crossbow politely, aimed and shot his third can too, now with a little relief as he let out a breath. "It's getting close," he warned her playfully as he handed it back. "Two shots left, you may as well take them both before handing it back?" He suggested with a grin. "I reckon it's cooler that way." As if that was the purpose of their practice, Theo was really still just a boy.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha nodded. She suspected the same thing. "I can't imagine he's happy about it," she mused, thinking about Agent Davidson, and how worried Killian was about him. Had Violet's father been recruited by Davidson, too? It would make sense. She glanced at Sloane. They felt the same way. "She's only 15, they'll have to leave her alone for at least three more years."

"We need to insist on my safety, not hers. I'll tell her how much safer I'll feel with her there," whispered back Samantha, "now that we've seen what a good shot she is, she'll feel like we're giving her a proper responsibility. I hope..." But it would be non negotiable anyway. Violet would be safe in a dorm room. Surely the monster couldn't get her there. Right?

Violet clapped her hands enthusiastically when Theo hit his second shot, and Samantha joined in, trying to hide her worries with a smile. At least this friendly competition seemed to have brought them closer, and neither of them looked upset or worried anymore. Silver linings.

"Don't rejoice too soon," playfully warned Violet as she grabbed the crossbow from him. Much like Theo, she would have liked to do a cool flourish to impress him. But she wasn't sure if it would be possible with a crossbow, and she didn't want to risk missing her shot. So, she tucked the crossbow against her shoulder again, focused, and shot. Another bullseye. She bowed to the very small audience.

"We might tie," she chuckled as she handed him the crossbow.

[multipleoccupancy]

"I suspect her dad sees things differently," he agreed without knowing he had confirmed Samantha's thoughts too. Killian was protective of those he loved and while he was very young, he would grow and apparently he would have children one day. He would change. "I know how I feel about it." He mused and glanced at Samantha, worried for Violet and hoping they could persuade her to stay in the dorm room.

Sloane watched as Killian took his shot and sure enough was not surprised either. He'd been practicing over the last year, the need to be able to aim and do so well had been imperative to learn despite not being old enough to actually own his own gun. He wondered what the laws were on crossbows. Violet took another shot and as he was beginning to see he should expect, she hit the can straight through too. "We really need to make sure she feels like the crossbow in the dorm room is the best plan." He whispered.

Theo meanwhile was in some way delighted that a cowboy version of him existed as opposed to the cultist and had actually taught her to shoot, along with her father apparently. He was sure to applaud Violet's second bullseye, smiling to her and chuckling at her fighting talk. "I can see that." He praised as he took the crossbow.

How could he make this cooler without risking a miss? Theo tested the weight of the crossbow again, too heavy to do anything fancy with, not that he had the first clue what he could do with a crossbow and a flourish. Maybe dropping down as if ducking for cover as he shot? For his second he decided to just keep it simple, aiming and taking his shot to another success. He playfully gloated with a pull at his shirt, smug grin and wide stride as he turned back to Violet, playful and now too engrossed in their competition to worry about anything else.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet was indeed very happy about Sloane's praise too, smiling in his direction. It seemed she had impressed the people she needed to impress, and hoped it would be enough for them to trust in her abilities. She of course had no idea that they were planning on having her locked inside a dorm room, aiming at the monster through a window.

"She sure is," confirmed Samantha in a whisper. She could see that Violet being a stealth archer was going to work in their favor. "I wonder how her dad feels about it." If they found her to be a valuable asset, then surely her dad had come to the same conclusion. And while she knew that their Killian was excited about her joining the mission, she had a feeling that an older, wiser Killian -and a father, too- wouldn't be too thrilled about his daughter being a perfect little agent.

She focused on Killian as he got ready to shoot, and so did Violet. Neither of them was surprised when his arrow landed right inside the soda can.

Violet took the crossbow he was handing her with a happy chuckle. "Well, yes," she replied, grinning, "the cowboy version of you taught me. My dad, too." She added a little wink. "I knew you wouldn't be easy to beat, but I never back down from a fight."

Yes, Samantha was starting to see that. And she was worried about it. She glanced at Sloane, barely hiding her grimace. Violet was too busy aiming at the can, anyway. Another shot, another bullseye. She let out her own little exclamation of happiness as she gave Theo the crossbow again. "I'm not going to be easy to beat, either."

[multipleoccupancy]

He smiled for her smiling and took the crossbow as it was offered to him, picking a place to stand on the stage carefully and testing the weight of it now it was a proper crossbow. He was grinning to himself though, delighted at his chance to fire the thing but he took his time as Violet had done.

Meanwhile Sloane caught Violet's look towards them and smiled as Samantha clapped and cheered for her, the praise clearly earning a smile from Violet and he was sure to lift both thumbs for how impressed he was and managed a smile. "Great shot," he praised too though he was having to consider what to do!

She would be safe in shooting from a dorm window, away from the fight. Though he didn't know how she was with moving targets it was going to be hard to have shot a crossbow for the first time and hit a soda can in that same first shot. "She's an ace up our sleeves," he whispered to Samantha, no one could have known Violet was there after all. If they were being watched since their arrival, Violet was a wildcard that could be the game changer, especially with a shooting eye like that.

Theo took his shot, having waited for things to be quieter. He too struck the can and let out a happy and load, "Woo!" which might have, at least for a moment, been very reminiscent of his cowboy counterpart, especially with the fist pump gesture with his spare hand.

He turned to Violet and offered her the crossbow back for her turn. "Some version of me obviously taught you," he teased her playfully, not realising that he had! However, it was a good sign, him making a joke about what had initially brought him suspicion.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet did a silly bow at Theo's praise. "Why, thank you," she said, grinning so much it almost hurt her cheeks. She was having a lot of fun. "Here, it's your turn." She handed him the crossbow, indeed thinking that they were going to take turns. After that, she took a polite step back so he could have all the space he needed for his shot.

She expectantly turned towards Sloane and Samantha. After all, she felt like they were the ones she had to convince. Neither of them had been very thrilled about her contribution to the plan -for safety reasons.

Samantha noticed her little look, and couldn't help but clap enthusiastically. Though she was worried, she did find her performance impressive and wanted to encourage her. Not many 15-year-olds could use a crossbow -and hit what they were aiming for.

"You're a proper Annie Oakley," she praised, tilting an invisible cowboy hat in her direction. Violet beamed happily.

Visibly happy with the compliment -which she saw as proof that they would indeed trust her with the crossbow, she turned her attention back to Theo. She didn't doubt that he was going to aim perfectly too! He had already been an agent for a year, and anyway, she would always think highly of a Theo.

[multipleoccupancy]

It was a relief that she felt protected with him and Killian, while it wasn't really a revelation it did help for what was to come. Sloane didn't doubt that the monster wouldn't get within striking distance of Samantha with the pair of them watching over her. But it was good to know she knew and believed that too. "Likewise," Sloane was still sure to say, his life was trusted in their hands. He settled to watch Violet with the crossbow too. Nervous in some ways he didn't quite understand.

"Then it's a deal," Theo confirmed and playfully gestured for her to take her shot, smiling and enjoying himself despite everything. He thought they got along well even if there was forever an annoying pinch at the back of his mind that he would have to work out what to do about her later.

He watched as she set up to aim, not interfering with her as he too wanted to see how good a shot she was if she was going to be firing even vaguely in Samantha's direction he wanted to know she wouldn't hit her. He also wanted to see the crossbow firing too, of course he did. She hit the can and after a moment, Theo let out an impressed whistle and a chuckle. "Hey now!" he encouraged, "that was awesome." He gestured for his chance to take the crossbow, though wasn't demanding as he did it, just asking assuming they were going to take it in turns but he was of course very excited.

"Ah." Sloane said as he caught Samantha out of the corner of his eye. He was impressed too but he wasn't sure how to feel. "It seems we do actually have a stealth archer."

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha turned a little bit pinker than before, flattered that Sloane felt more protected with them -despite their young age. "I feel very protected with you both, too," she said with a smile. They really made quite the team! "I would trust you both with my life." And she was about to leave her fate into their hands that very night. Not that she was defenseless, on the contrary. But as bait, she was going to be more exposed, and she knew they would keep her safe.

She settled back into where she was sitting, watching as Killiand and Violet apparently discussed prizes. "At least they're bonding?" she said with a chuckle, always eager to find the positive, "and like that, we'll see how well she can use that crossbow." Was she as good a shot as she'd told them?

"A drawing of me?" Violet blushed, she'd never had anyone draw her before. "That would be very nice, thank you." She knew Theo could draw very well. She had seen it at the ward and supposed he could draw as well as her dad.

"What a gentleman," she said with a chuckle as she placed herself in front of the cans. "Five each, alright." And with that, she tucked the crossbow against her shoulder and aimed. In the end, she thought it wasn't all that different from holding a rifle. After a few seconds of focus, she released the arrow. It planted itself right in the middle of the can. She let out a victorious holler.

"Told you this wasn't my first rodeo!"

Samantha had to admit that she was impressed. As it turned out, Violet was indeed a good shot. She glanced at Sloane, unsure whether to be relieved or even more worried.