#Driving school Bonny Hills

[ratlordsarah]

absolute ton of wg music HCs because I am obsessed with music

dr two brains/ steven

-obsessed with the 80s

-favorite song is between careless whisper, and out of touch by Daryl hall & John Oates

-most certainly goes on summer night drives with the window rolled down listening to songs like everybody rules the world and other various 80s songs

-favorite band is between queen and abba

Amazo guy

-obsessed with the 90s

-secretly loves Britany spears, but won’t tell anyone

-favorite songs are starman by David Bowie, everybody by the Backstreet Boys, and his secret third favorite is baby one more time by Britany spears

-favorite bands/artists are David Bowie and the backstreet boys

becky

-doesn’t listen to music much, but really likes come on Eileen by dexys midnight runners, and livin la vida loca by Ricky Martin

-will listen to about everything except rap (out of spite towards Toby)

toby

-Eminem fan

-absolutely loves counting stars by one republic, the ceiling can’t hold us by Macklemore, and nearly any imagine dragons song

-probably would be a lemon demon fan

lady redundant woman

-favorite songs are definitely 9 to 5 by dolly pardon, bad romance by lady gaga, and dancing queen

-favorite song by frank Sinatra is definitely strangers in the night

-favorite band is abba

-probably cries to dancing queen each time that song plays

the butcher

-favorite songs are sweet home Alabama, fortunate son, and stayin alive by the bee gees

-favorite bands/artists are lynyrd skynyrd, Elton John, Bon Jovi, and Billy Joel

-goes nuts over you may be right by Billy Joel and will talk about it for hours

-old time rock n roll by bob seger is actually his ultimate favorite

invisi-bill

-favorite songs are counting stars by one republic, and centerfold by the j. Geils band

-half his playlists are energetic songs from movie soundtracks

-quite literally floats of the ground listening to free bird

-if the song’s not energetic, he doesn’t like it

miss question

-favorite song is without a doubt killing me softly with his song by fugees and ms. Lauryn hill (based)

-Whitney Huston is her hero

-other favorites are funky town, super freak by Rick James, cake by the ocean by dnce, and just about any Michael Jackson song

-her and two brains probably have the best music taste for a long late night car ride

chuck the evil sandwich making guy

-listens to mostly video game soundtracks

-favorite songs are nearly every remix made of megalovania and buddy holly by weezer

-loves 80s music but doesn’t know it

-will listen to nearly anything

-listens to emo music when people don’t find the “deeper meaning” behind him nearly crushing a school under a sandwich press over a hair net (same bro, same 😔)

Miss power

-favorite song is holding out for a hero by Bonnie tyler

-enjoys just about any song with the word ‘power’ in the title

-secret that handsome devil, and Katy Perry fan

Leslie

-likes anything abba

-favorite song is lay all your love on me by abba

whammer

-literally any loud and energetic song

-likes 2econd 2ight 2eer by will wood, but hates the lyrics for no reason

mr. Big

-Huey Lewis and the news fan

-really likes the 60s

-really likes loud music

Am I a little too hyper obsessed with music? Absolutely 👍

[vindlcated]

MUSE INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Sabine Lou Dunbar

CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS: Nancy Beyers & Max Mayfield (Stranger Things), Allison Argent (Teen Wolf), Joel Miller (The Last of Us), Rosalie Hale (Twilight), Donna Pinciotti (That 70s Show), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Pam Beasley (The Office), Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries), Rosita Espanoza (The Walking Dead), Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

FACE CLAIM: Brittany O’Grady

GENDER: She/her, cis woman

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual

BIRTHDAY: December 13th, 1996

AGE:  26

SPECIES: Familiar

FAMILIAR FORM: a white tiger

OCCUPATION: Veterinary Student at the university & works at a local pet store doing retail, but volunteers at shelters once a week.

LIVES IN: Tsavo

CW: Death, Implications of Mental Illness & Abuse

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❝ this truth drives me into madness. i know i can stop the pain if i will it all away, if i will it all away ❞ Whisper by Evanescence

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PERSONALITY TRAITS

Positive: Perceptive  ◇ Studious  ◇ Warm ◇ Honest Negative: Withdrawn ◇ Distrustful  ◇ Impulsive ◇ Rebellious 

INTEL

Their Priorities: Stay alive, keep to herself. The less people she lets in, the less chance she has to get hurt.

Muse’s soft spot: Animals of all kinds :/ also children and people who sincerely need dire help

Greatest strength: Sabine has been through it and is very self-sufficient when it comes to the way she lives. Keeps pushing forward and refuses to let her problems derail her.

Greatest vulnerability or weakness: She doesn’t let a lot of people in, which means she’s never really had anyone to talk to about what she’s been through. She needs a therapist and a good, trustworthy friend.

Muse’s secret: Girlie accidentally killed her parents by killing the witches they were bonded to, thinking they’d be safe from a counterfeit charm.

Hobbies: Reading, dancing, running track, binging anime, eating any form of potato, going to the library, being with animals of all kinds, learning, and being safe. Things they love: Animals! So much. She also loves the library a lot. It’s her favorite place next to school. Loves school. She also loves dancing but will never dance with anyone nor show anyone her dances. Sabine has a talent for dancing dances that are older than her and modern dances, and has an eclectic music taste because of it. Pet Peeves: People trying to get to know her like bye please do not, people making light of the disappearances going around, people literally being assholes for the sake of being an asshole.

IT IS LIKE 2 am almost so here’s we go. Sabine was born to familiar parents. Her parents were bound to witch siblings that at first showed promise of a wonderful relationship until things changed. Her parents were mistreated and used, and managed to escape for away together. They had Sabine, though the years of being familiars to the witches took a toll on them. Sometimes her parents weren’t okay, clearly affected by what they’d been through with such horrible witches. It seemed to get worse despite being away from the witches for years, and Sabine as she grew older only wished for it all to stop. So, searching for a charm that promised to keep familiars alive despite their bonded witches dying, she was determined to kill the witches and set her parents free from the turmoil. Alas, despite Sabine hunting down the witch siblings and killing them, it turned out that the charm was counterfeit and unfortunately did not protet her parents from their fate. She had killed them, in hopes of saving them from their internal suffering.

Sabine was eighteen when it happened. She was forever changed. She feared witches, felt distrustful towards them, and begged every night for her parents to forgive her if they could at all hear her. It wasn’t easy, but she managed to get on her feet. She moved to the Tsavo neighborhood of Los Santos, unable to afford the place in Sycamore Hills. Though lately it’s been hard, and she’s been working nonstop just to make ends meet, as she’s been stubborn about getting a roommate due to her distrust. But, she’s getting desperate and may have to cave.

At the moment, she works at a local pet store and volunteers at an animal shelter. She also attends university, vet school to be exact. She’s extremely professional, polite, and warm when at work. A lot of coworkers like her! But she always turns down any hangouts offerred and goes home. Though the loneliness can be suffocating, Sabine knows it’s safest for now... but, well, she figures things might change soon considering she needs a roommate and things are getting weird in Los Santos.

MUSE AESTHETICS  Cozy coffee and books with the long sleeves for sure, being super happy with dogs and cats all over her, a cozy fort for one in front of a tv while she rewatches the office some more, or some other show, and some suspicious smoke wafting around.

CONNECTIONS ◇ ESTABLISHED: NONE! I NEED SOME

WANTED: Roomie! At the moment, Sabine needs a roomie even though she’s been reluctant this entire time to get one. But, shit’s expensive! She’s giving in and looking for a roomie which means, yes, having to go out and socialize and meet people. Weed Dealer: Girlie oes smoke. Helps her sleep. Helps her relax. ‘Cause she’s always anxious honestly.  Potential friends: I have to say potential ‘cause she’s so stubborn about having any close friends but IIII would very much like her to have a close friend or more. This includes acquaintances she sees, maybe professors, other students, or workers in the city because she’s just mature enough to have a conversation with anyone—and if she talks to you more than once on her own accord, it’s a great sign. Maybe the worst person ever?: It’d be interesting for her to meet someone who seems promising and while shes always on her guard when meeting people and letting people in, how wild would it be if she met someone who was lying amnd manipulating her? For some pain Hookups: No doubt she’s had hookups. It’s purely physical. Which, some hookups don’t really get too much because they get attached and Sabine does the most to not get attached (she craves connection, I swear, she is just scared). Anyone who may want a helllla bond with her bc she’s never bonded with anyone!: Witch or otherwise. This would have be a longggg road due to all her trust issues and walls put up but it’d be so nice :/ 

[romanrhodes]

connections.

FAMILY. 

father [npc] - Eric Rhodes, 68.  mother [npc] - Pamela Rhodes (nee Sanderson), 43 (deceased).  grandfather, paternal [npc]  - Walter Rhodes, 82 (deceased).  grandmother, paternal [npc] - Bonnie Rhodes (nee Cavanagh), 85 (deceased).  older brother [npc] - Ryan Rhodes, 45. younger sister [0/1] - WANTED CONNECTION.  sister-in-law [1/1] - Reyna Kendall, 39. The former wife of Ryan Rhodes. She works as a waitress at Sunny Side Up Diner, but Roman only knows her as an employee. Roman is unaware of Reyna's connection to Ryan - Reyna and Ryan married and divorced in the five years that Roman went no contact with his father and brother. cousins [2/?]; - Waverly Erickson, 30 (Meghann Fahy). Related through their grandmothers, who were sisters. Being 12 years older, Roman bonded with Waverly mostly through extended family events. He left town when Waverly was 8, but saw her occasionally when he returned home for holidays and special occasions. He learned the details of her life mostly from gossipy family members and the occasional conversation with the woman herself. He has reunited with Waverly since returning to East Haven, and she has offered her services to help at the farm.

PLATONIC. 

childhood & school friends - WANTED CONNECTION new friends; - Andrew Jackson, 36 (Richard Madden). One month after Roman moved back to East Haven in early January, Andrew randomly turned up on Rhodes Farm, a nosey, helpful do-gooder. Roman’s first instinct was to turn him away, but the farm was in such a state and he really needed an extra set of hands, so he reluctantly accepted. Since then, the two have fostered a friendship, and Roman really enjoys Andrew’s company. After seeing Andrew eating sad-looking, store-bought sandwiches, Roman started to provide lunch as a thank you for his hard work. He developed a crush on Andrew, and for a long did he didn't make a move, not knowing if Andrew was interested in men. (See ROMANTIC for more details.) - Chantel Bedford, 40 (Hilarie Burton) Ranch hand at Davis Farm. Roman met Chantel in early March when he visited Davis Farm, and they struck up a conversation about livestock. Roman is wanting to get chickens and ducks for Rhodes Farm in early spring and Chantel offered helpful advice. She later turned up at Rhodes Farm, surprising Roman with a ‘starter package’ for his farm, and even offered to help out in the future. Roman understands Chantel to be a generous and supportive member of East Haven, and she’s helping to restore his faith and trust in building community.  - Haven Sinclair, 37 (Shantel Vansanten). Roman met Haven when they both attended the local grief counselling group. Roman realised Haven lived in Maple Hills and that she didn’t drive to the counselling group, and offered to drive her home and pick her up in future.  old friends - OPEN drinking buddies - OPEN wing-man/wing-woman [0/1] - OPEN friends with garden/kitchen benefits; - Andrew Jackson, 36 (Richard Madden). One month after Roman moved back to East Haven in early January, Andrew randomly turned up on Rhodes Farm, a nosey, helpful do-gooder. Roman’s first instinct was to turn him away, but the farm was in such a state and he really needed an extra set of hands, so he reluctantly accepted. Since then, the two have fostered a friendship, and Roman really enjoys Andrew’s company. After seeing Andrew eating sad-looking, store-bought sandwiches, Roman started to provide lunch as a thank you for his hard work. He developed a crush on Andrew, and for a long did he didn't make a move, not knowing if Andrew was interested in men. (See ROMANTIC for more details.)

friendly rival businesses;  - Stevie Rivers, 33 (Brianne Howey). Owner of Patty’s Cafe.  - Sydney Haywood, 34 (Rebecca Rittenhouse). Owner of The Garden.  - Nancy Thompson, 53 (Winona Ryder). Owner of Nancy’s Bar & Grill.  - Ruby Austin, 32 (Billie Lourd). Head Chef at Nancy’s Bar & Grill.  mentor & mentee; - Charlie Davis, 55 (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Owner of Davis Farm and Davis Sports. 

STAFF.  (employees at Sunny Side Up diner) 

manager [1/1] - Luciana 'Lucy' Medina, 34 (Melissa Barrera). chefs/cooks - OPEN servers & pot washers; - Verity Wagner, 26 (Madelyn Cline). Part-time server @ Sunny Side Up diner. 

ROMANTIC.  situationship/dating [1/1] - Andrew Jackson, 36 (Richard Madden). One month after Roman moved back to East Haven in early January, Andrew randomly turned up on Rhodes Farm, a nosey, helpful do-gooder. Roman’s first instinct was to turn him away, but the farm was in such a state and he really needed an extra set of hands, so he reluctantly accepted. Since then, the two have fostered a friendship, and Roman really enjoys Andrew’s company. After seeing Andrew eating sad-looking, store-bought sandwiches, Roman started to provide lunch as a thank you for his hard work. He developed a crush on Andrew, and for a long did he didn't make a move, not knowing if Andrew was interested in men. During the Spring Celebration (early April 2023), Andrew told him he was gay, Roman confessed his crush, and they kissed. He wanted to ask Andrew out properly, but due to personal reasons, he held off on asking him out on a date. In mid-May, they have been on their first date. first love & first same-sex experience [0/1]- WANTED CONNECTION high school girlfriend - OPEN flirtationship/s - OPEN one night stand/s - OPEN friend/s with benefits - OPEN exes on good terms - OPEN dating app match/es - OPEN

ANTAGONISTIC.

former friends turned enemies - OPEN rival chef/s - OPEN mutual jealousy - OPEN  frenemies - OPEN exes on bad terms - OPEN negative influence - OPEN

MISC. 

neighbours on good terms; - Haven Sinclair, 37 (Shantel Vansanten). Roman met Haven when they both attended the local grief counselling group. Roman realised Haven lived in Maple Hills and that she didn’t drive to the counselling group, and offered to drive her home and pick her up in future.  - Andrew Jackson, 36 (Richard Madden). One month after Roman moved back to East Haven in early January, Andrew randomly turned up on Rhodes Farm, a nosey, helpful do-gooder. Roman’s first instinct was to turn him away, but the farm was in such a state and he really needed an extra set of hands, so he reluctantly accepted. Since then, the two have fostered a friendship, and Roman really enjoys Andrew’s company. After seeing Andrew eating sad-looking, store-bought sandwiches, Roman started to provide lunch as a thank you for his hard work. He developed a crush on Andrew, and for a long did he didn't make a move, not knowing if Andrew was interested in men. (See ROMANTIC for more details.)

neighbours on bad terms - OPEN have mutual friends - OPEN friends of a sibling - OPEN

[driver-training-school]

Conditions Where Driving Test Would Become Mandatory

Driving test is certainly a stressful situation and the joy you get out of passing this test is certainly real. Mostly people pray to god that they don’t have to appear in this test ever again, but God has other plans most of the times. There comes different situations in life when it becomes important to take driving lessons Bonny Hills all over again because you have to reappear in driving test. The question here is what are these situations and we will try and find the answer here in this blog post.

Do You Need To Retake A Driving Test?

Drivers have to reappear in driving tests every time they want to renew the driving licence, but there are other situations too, where services of driving instructors Bonny Hills become mandatory. They are –

Medical Condition Or Disability

In case, you have developed some medical condition, the licensing authority might ask you to go for driving test all over again. Different kinds of medical conditions could affect your driving abilities like –

•    Diabetes

•    Epilepsy

•    Strokes

•    Glaucoma and so many more

The list of these medical conditions, diseases, disabilities, etc. can be found on the official website of your state’s licensing authority’s website.

Driving Disqualifications

If a conviction in a driving related offence has banned you from driving for a certain amount of time. You will have to reappear for driving test once the tenure is over. Meanwhile, you can sharpen your driving skills further and emerge as a better driver by going for learners driving lesson Bonny Hills. You will have to reappear for driving test and the licensing authority would determine whether it’s the right time to give your licence back.

You will have to reappear for driving tests in several other conditions too like driving licence age restrictions and if you have crossed the upper limit, this test would become mandatory. You will have to produce your medical certificate and pass the driving test to obtain the driving licence.

[planetdream]

on the topic of music, I’m making playlist for each skz member— what songs remind me of them/ have their vibe yk?

I love all of your works so I trust your judgment ;) any song recs ?

okay, first, honored that you trust my judgement for this ☹️ here are my thoughts + suggestions (tried to add a little description for everyone but im running on my last brain cell rn oops)

chan reminds me of any song that grooves. need a really nice bass line, or maybe a piano. tbh it just has to vibe rlly nicely idk. not quite sure how to capture the feeling so let these songs do the talking:

-> let it happen by tame impala, after last night by silk sonic, special affair by the internet, pursuit of happiness by kid cudi, beautiful oblivion by issues, all i do is think of you by troop, breakin my heart by mint condition, candy rain by soul for real, wolf by exo (yes im serious), versace on the floor by bruno mars

minho reminds me of steadiness. something sexy. unironically, love songs (and some not love songs). some perfect rnb. tbh these are all songs i either scream to or dance to so yeah

-> be with you + speechless by beyonce, my boo by usher ft alicia keys, beauty by dru hill, forever my lady + feenin by jodeci, unthinkable by alicia keys, bad man by rain, dressing room by after school, luna by oneus, playboy by exo, die for you by the weekend, hate the club by kehlani ft masego, bad girl by usher

binnie ... idk how to even describe this song selection but its him ok!!!!! these songs are fun(?)!! and they all have pussy parts ok!!!

-> kiss me thru the phone by soulja boy ft sammie, lollipop by lil wayne ft static major, saturday drip by nct dream, ok! + 90s love by nct, 134340 by bts, transformer by exo, need to know by wale ft sza, that$ money by p1harmony, let me see it by megan thee stallion

hyune makes me think of any song about love ever. but also, generally the ones that make ur heart hurt, songs that make you miss someone that’s far away or someone that was never quite in your grasp in the first place. songs that hurt and make you cry but also make you smile. just love, really.

-> the love cats, friday i’m in love + lullaby by the cure, the one that got away + teenage dream by katy perry, teddy bear by nct dream, in my dreams, blue hour by txt, blue dream by jhene aiko, truth by india.arie, kingdom come by red velvet, what if + first love by exo, first love by hikaru utada, last kiss by bonnie pink

jisungie makes me think of songs you’d play on a late-night drive—like coming back home from being with friends all day. or maybe that slight melancholic feeling you get on the way home from a party.

-> options + been like this + i don’t do drugs by doja cat, spotlight by lil peep, tide pen by smokepurpp ft jack harlow, jet pack blues remix by fall out boy ft big k.r.i.t, n 2 deep by drake ft future, shimmy by lil wayne ft doja cat, crying out for me by mario, baby by exo

lixie makes me think of songs that sound shiny or like sparkles. songs that feel like big, bright stars. sunny, summer days with just the right amount of warmth.

-> red velvet — bamboleo, rock with you by micheal jackson, blast off + skate by silk sonic, im your baby tonight by whitney houston, just like magic + get well soon by ariana grande, froot by marina, comeback kid by sleigh bells, garden by meet me @ the altar

seungmin makes me think of songs that are pretty with pretty vocals. something that's kinda longing and yearning.

-> light by ateez, from home by nct, try again by d.ear ft jaehyun, here always by seungmin (hehe), rock with you by seventeen, nothing even matters by lauryn hill ft dangelo, lonely by chloe x halle, this is all i have for you by makoto matsushita, worldwide by big time rush

jeongin reminds me of songs that are bright! songs you could play in the car, with friends, with ur favorite cousin, etc. maybe life is fun and cool after all

-> run by bts, after school by weeekly, pang! + crush by seventeen, electric shock by f(x), power up by red velvet, hazy + catch up by chloe x halle, get into it (yuh) by doja cat, sweetener by ariana grande, rise by tyler the creator ft daisy world

[gentleranium]

Loki(s): A Mini Playlist

Including songs from episode 2 ("Holding Out for a Hero") and episode 3 ("Demons").

"I'm Not Your Hero" - Tegan and Sara

I'm not their hero

But that doesn't mean that I wasn't brave

I never walked the party line

Doesn't mean that I was never afraid

I'm not your hero

But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same

"Running Up That Hill" - Placebo

You don't want to hurt me,

But see how deep the bullet lies.

Unaware I'm tearing you asunder.

Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts.

Is there so much hate for the ones we love?

Tell me, we both matter, don't we?

"House Burn Down" - King Princess

Oh whoa-oh, and I'm just waiting for this house to burn down Oh whoa-oh, and I'm just waiting for my luck to run out, ah-ah

"You're a Fucking Joke" - Bec Sandridge

Go, gotta leave this town And break these columns down Oh I'm holding from your skin And don’t let the fucker in.

"Holding Out for a Hero" - Bonnie Tyler

Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasy Somewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for me

"When I Grow Up" - Garbage

When I grow up I'll be stable When I grow up I'll turn the tables

"Gun" - CHVRCHES

Did it make you feel so clever Did you wear it on your sleeve Did you see another lifetime Where I was not a part so far entwined

"Demons" - Hayley Kiyoko

Please, forgive me, I've got demons in my head (in my head) Please, forgive me, I've got demons in my head Tryna eat me, tryna feed me lies until I'm dead ('til I'm dead) Please, forgive me, I've got demons in my head (in my head)

"I Eat Boys Like You for Breakfast" - Ida Maria

You've got a striking physique Don't underestimate the hunter Let's play hide and seek You came to my island You stepped on my lawn

"Gasoline" - Halsey

And all the people say You can't wake up, this is not a dream You're part of a machine, you are not a human being

Additional tracks:

"Going to Hell" - The Pretty Reckless

Father did you miss me,

Been locked up a while.

I got caught for what I did but took it all in style.

Laid to rest all my confessions I gave way back when.

Now I'm versed in so much worse,

So I am back again, and he said

"Purge the Poison (feat. Pussy Riot)" - MARINA & Pussy Riot

Need to purge the poison from our system

Until human beings listen

Tell me, who do you think you are?

It's your own decision

But your home is now your prison

You forgot that, without me, you won't go far

"Bulletproof" - La Roux

I won't let you turn around

And tell me now, I'm much too proud

To walk away from something when it's dead

"Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen

The highways jammed with broken heroes

On a last chance power drive

Everybody's out on the run tonight

But there's no place left to hide

"Cherry Bomb" - The Runaways

Can't stay at home, can't stay at school

Old folks say, "You poor little fool"

Down the streets I'm the girl next door

I'm the fox you've been waiting for

[onlyhaveeyesforyouxxx]

Summary: After dealing with the tragic death Elena Gilbert. Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt are forced to welcome a group of ragtag students from Grove Hill High School, after their school mysteriously burnt down. If that wasn't bad enough, The Mikaelson family have moved into the old Lockwood mansion, and have plans to take back Mystic Fall. Now Bonnie and her friends are left making new discoveries about themselves and their new comers, while the Parker twins make the strongest impression on the Mystic Fall gang.

Aka... The One Where Kai Drives Bonnie Crazy. 

Read on FF.NET (x)

[bagcitylights]

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper, and rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie style. Some of his best known songs include “Boogie Chillen’” (1948), “Crawling King Snake” (1949), “Dimples” (1956), “Boom Boom” (1962), and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” (1966) – the first being the most popular race record of 1949.

Early life

There is some debate as to the year of Hooker’s birth in Coahoma County, Mississippi, the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (born 1875, date of death unknown); according to his official website, he was born on August 22, 1917.

Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest exposure being the spirituals sung in church. In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided Hooker with his first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style). John’s stepfather was his first significant blues influence. William Moore was a local blues guitarist who learned in Shreveport, Louisiana to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the Delta blues of the time. Around 1923 his biological father died. At the age of 14, John Lee Hooker ran away from home, reportedly never seeing his mother or stepfather again.

Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in Memphis, Tennessee where he worked on Beale Street at the New Daisy Theatre and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at the Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit’s east side. In a city noted for its pianists, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly and, seeking a louder instrument than his acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.

Career

Hooker’s recording career began in 1948 when his agent placed a demo, made by Hooker, with the Bihari brothers, owners of the Modern Records label. The company initially released an up-tempo number, “Boogie Chillen’”, which became Hooker’s first hit single. Though they were not songwriters, the Biharis often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their labels, thus securing songwriting royalties for themselves, in addition to their own streams of income.

Sometimes these songs were older tunes that Hooker renamed, as with B.B. King’s “Rock Me Baby”, anonymous jams “B.B.’s Boogie”, or songs by employees (bandleader Vince Weaver). The Biharis used a number of pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Jules was credited as Jules Taub; Joe as Joe Josea; and Sam as Sam Ling. One song by John Lee Hooker, “Down Child”, is solely credited toTaub, with Hooker receiving no credit. Another, “Turn Over a New Leaf” is credited to Hooker and Ling.

In 1949, Hooker was recorded performing in an informal setting for Detroit jazz enthusiasts. His repertoire included down-home and spiritual tunes that he would not record commercially. The recorded set has been made available in the album Jack O'Diamonds.

Despite being illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting the occasionally traditional blues lyric (such as “if I was chief of police, I would run her right out of town…”), he freely invented many songs from scratch. Recording studios in the 1950s rarely paid black musicians more than a pittance, so Hooker would spend the night wandering from studio to studio, coming up with new songs or variations on his songs for each studio. Because of his recording contract, he would record these songs under obvious pseudonyms such as John Lee Booker, notably for Chess Records and Chance Records in 1951/52, as Johnny Lee for De Luxe Records in 1953/54 as John Lee, and even John Lee Cooker, or as Texas Slim, Delta John, Birmingham Sam and his Magic Guitar, Johnny Williams, or The Boogie Man.

His early solo songs were recorded under Bernie Besman. John Lee Hooker rarely played on a standard beat, changing tempo to fit the needs of the song. This often made it difficult to use backing musicians who were not accustomed to Hooker’s musical vagaries. As a result, Besman would record Hooker, in addition to playing guitar and singing, stomping along with the music on a wooden pallet. For much of this time period he recorded and toured with Eddie Kirkland, who was still performing until his death in a car accident in 2011. Later sessions for the VeeJay label in Chicago used studio musicians on most of his recordings, including Eddie Taylor, who could handle his musical idiosyncrasies very well. His biggest UK hit, “Boom Boom”, (originally released on VeeJay) was recorded with a horn section.

Later life

He appeared and sang in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Due to Hooker’s improvisational style, his performance was filmed and sound-recorded live at the scene at Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market, in contrast to the usual “playback” technique used in most film musicals. Hooker was also a direct influence in the look of John Belushi’s character Jake Blues.

In 1989, he joined with a number of musicians, including Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt to record the album The Healer, for which he and Santana won a Grammy Award. Hooker recorded several songs with Van Morrison, including “Never Get Out of These Blues Alive”, “The Healing Game”, and “I Cover the Waterfront”. He also appeared on stage with Van Morrison several times, some of which was released on the live album A Night in San Francisco. The same year he appeared as the title character on Pete Townshend's The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend.

On December 19, 1989, Hooker appeared with the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton to perform “Boogie Chillen’"in Atlantic City, N.J., as part of the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels tour. The show was broadcast live on cable television on a pay-per-view basis.

Hooker recorded over 100 albums. He lived the last years of his life in Long Beach, California. In 1997, he opened a nightclub in San Francisco’s Fillmore District called John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room, after one of his hits.

Death

Hooker fell ill just before a tour of Europe in 2001 and died in his sleep on June 21 at the age of 83, two months before his 84th birthday. He was interred at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California.

His last live in the studio recording on guitar and vocal was of a song he wrote with Pete Sears called "Elizebeth”, featuring members of his Coast to Coast Blues Band with Sears on piano. It was recorded on January 14, 1998 at Bayview Studios in Richmond, California. The last song Hooker recorded before his death was “Ali D'Oro”, a collaboration with the Italian soul singer Zucchero, in which Hooker sang the chorus “I lay down with an angel.” He is survived by eight children, nineteen grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren, a nephew and fiance Sidora Dazi. He has two children that followed in his footsteps, Zakiya Hooker and John Lee Hooker, Jr.

Among his many awards, Hooker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom” were included in the list of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. “Boogie Chillen” was included as one of the Songs of the Century. He was also inducted in 1980 into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, Hooker was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Music and legacy

Hooker’s guitar playing is closely aligned with piano boogie-woogie. He would play the walking bass pattern with his thumb, stopping to emphasize the end of a line with a series of trills, done by rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs. The songs that most epitomize his early sound are “Boogie Chillen”, about being 17 and wanting to go out to dance at the Boogie clubs, “Baby, Please Don’t Go”, a blues standard first recorded by Big Joe Williams, and “Tupelo Blues”, a song about the flooding of Tupelo, Mississippi, in April 1936.

He maintained a solo career, popular with blues and folk music fans of the early 1960s and crossed over to white audiences, giving an early opportunity to the young Bob Dylan. As he got older, he added increasingly more people to his band, changing his live show from simply Hooker with his guitar to a large band, with Hooker singing.

His vocal phrasing was less closely tied to specific bars than most blues singers. This casual, rambling style had been gradually diminishing with the onset of electric blues bands from Chicago but, even when not playing solo, Hooker retained it in his sound.

Though Hooker lived in Detroit during most of his career, he is not associated with the Chicago-style blues prevalent in large northern cities, as much as he is with the southern rural blues styles, known as delta blues, country blues, folk blues, or front porch blues. His use of an electric guitar tied together the Delta blues with the emerging post-war electric blues.

His songs have been covered by Buddy Guy, Cream, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Tom Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Van Morrison, the Yardbirds, the Animals, the Doors, the White Stripes, MC5, George Thorogood, R. L. Burnside, the J. Geils Band, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, the Gories, Cat Power and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?lang=en&q=John+Lee+Hooker

[teenwolfhot]

Cried enough tears isaac lahey imagine part 9

" I'm not done yet " katherine didn't like this blood wasn't supposed to be spilled this much " we leave now by chance they'll will comr after us especially....." screaming

" fine ..... so be it for now but we need to do something about the girl " katherine chuckled " she's a lost cause anyways she's a monster i can't wait for her so called firends to eventually deal with our kind " katherine getting in the car " plus the old man is dead three bullet wounds to the chest ..... we will come back i need to speak to our hostage anyways " kate was reluctant but dropped the rifle and got in the car

" his not responding..... gerard....gerard " braeden was shaking him " we have to go too much blood his losing " Derek lifting him up " get the car "

Everyone was very reluctant to move but someone life was on the line " and call melissa maybe she can help saving his life "

As everyone drove to beacon hills memorial isaac got a text from allison " guys is allison she found out about the mikaelson and its not good " looking up everyone was on edge " tell the girls meet at argent place and tell them to gear up "

------------------------

Meanwhile kol was thinking how to tell you that you're not ordinary anymore because your new and alot stronger " so what are we going to eat ?"Smiling at the young mikaelson " how about burger and fries i know a place " dropping a text to Elijah and klaus about their whereabouts

" so you going to tell me who's the brunette girl that held me hostage and why she was with my supposedly dead firend aunt " in the car kol rolled his eyes " all in due time for now you been through alot and i want you to enjoy freedom for now shall we " using the same old mikaelson charm

You know kol isn't telling you the whole truth what you want to know is why you were kidnapped since your human " soo what's this special place that you find kol " as his pulled up

" this place makes killer bugers and amazing icecream "

As kol went to seek a chair he got a text

( don't move we may have some complications her firends may have some information on us , keep an eye were heading up so stay alert even the salvatore are here )

Shoving the phone in his pocket he started to rumble " so you going to tell me who texted you " standing in front of him " it was my brother .... he wanted to meet you " a bit sketchy but by pass as headed into the cafe

----------------------------------

Elena didn't like that katherine got an innocent girl into her plans " stefan .... do we have a location?" Looking at her ex lover " we do bonnie tracked her down but we don't know how this girl is going to react especially when she's not alone " elena sits up " what do you mean not alone " damon walks in " oh brother do tell her...please tell her its driving me crazy "

" the mikaelson have her especially a raging physco kol mikaelson " damon smirked while drinking bourbon " what do they want with this girl " elena is confused about this situation " how does she fit in i don't understand... katherine wouldn't go through all this trouble for a girl .. even if she's human " the salvatore brothers were right katherine would bolt the moment she found out the mikaelson were in town

" unless its not the girl she's interested in what about her firends " which Jeremy got everyone thinking " i think its high time we visited this girl "

Matt and Jeremy fist pumped in the air " no no no .... no humans a big mistake one drop of your blood sends the mikaelson crazy "

" Elijah.... " damon looks at elena " no absolutely no elena we can't trust him like last time remember he tried to kill you..... no "

" damon im a vampire no im not a pathetic human like i use to be plus bonnie and caroline will be with me " caroline rolled her eyes " fine as if i had a choice " the blond walked out

" what is everyone problem?"

" its the mikaelson and a human elena " matt heading out to seek caroline

" gear up vampire slayer....I'll call Rick about the plan if we go we need backup i dont want a bloodbath understand " as stefan imforms everyone elena is frustrated about the while situation while damon looking at her " what is it elena do you in tend to find with this human.... by now she would what be food to katherine or dead ... even worst a vampire herself " elena wad thinking all those scenarios but katherine plans didn't add up

--------------------

Argent place

" we have a major problem " flinging the flies on the table " we have no chance against them noting " lydia sitting across from kira while malia didn't know what to say " what do you mean ?" The girls didn't know how to tell the guys what they've found so lydia fling opened the file

" everything we know about them is in this file and this " placing down stake " not any old eops stake Stiles.... white oak steak " silence came " did you guys seek (y/n) " stiles " shes missing again "

" what if she's not missing " liam piped up for the first time " what do you mean ?" Mason didn't like this " earlier this evening me and liam were with some of our firend and we surely saw (y/n) with someone " argent sighed" do you so happens to see who she was with Dunbar " derek eyeing the boy Liam looked at the file " him.... definitely him " pointing to kol mikaelson

"She looked happy " mason add " that's great one of our firends is with what a family that sucks life out of a person by draining their blood .... more so she was kidnapped and no shes what with the enemy " stiles voice was booming across the whole house

" right lets get reading in gonna call melissa check on gerard....meanwhile we needs to find something else other than white oak to kill this monsters " argent turning to the kitchen while braeden headed to call her firends on intel on mikaelson and derek headed to the computers

------------------------------

" so kol hows the little one then ?" Klaus starring out to the lawn while everyone was thinking of a plan

" sooo we have a newbie .... katherine intentions are unknown.... McCall his up to something i can feel it " klaus turning to his family " what will a bunch of school children do klaus " Rebekah don't underestimate them they've got more than humans "

The blond caught on " another supernatural in beacon hills ..... thats why katherine here to seek teenagers who's powers are unknown " kol laughed

" not unknown sister.... the McCall boy is a werewolf and we have a banshee including a family of hunters dating back to our human time " Rebekah didn't like that her family are fighting with a group of people whose powers are unknown

" sooo we found out about them ... use their weaknesses against them .... why we waiting for "

Suddenly walking out " sorry to intervene but .... i was wondering if i could get spare cloths and .... maybe food " standing there timidly " hi sorry to wake you im Elijah..." smiling at him " i belive you met my younger brother kol " you nodded

" how about we all go find food and get to know each other shall we " smiling Rebekah was a little judgey on you but she can sense you aren't going nowhere

Heading inside the house klaus got sense kol haven't told you everything klaus pulled kol aside and closed the door while freya saw and got you comfortable while kol and klaus talked

" does she know kol?" Looking at his brother " no she doesn't know .... especially she's blind to the supernatural world " sighing " i doubt her firends told her anything about this especially when i found her she barely....klaus this is more than just one girl .... its her firends especially when we've been at her house and her parents know what we look like " immediately klaus throws a vase " YOU DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH PLANS .... PLANS TO NOT GET US KILLED OR WORST " freya step outside " sorry to intrude but ummmmm we all can hear you and the girl she asking why every time she looks at the sun it hurts "

Elijah sneaks in " her transition is finish she needs a daylight ring freya get her one " the girl nodded " ummmmm " freya paused " her name .... " kol rolled his eyes " (y/n) ( l/n) she likes the colour (y/f/c) and she's super intelligent " looking at you talking to finn unbeknownst to you about the shock when they tell you

----------------

Katherine and kate were fighting for two hours " THIS ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE.... WE NEED TO FIND THE GIRL .... SHE HAS MY BLOOD IN HER VAINS ... " katherine pulling out bullets while Kate was painfully healing

" fine we start at her school .... better yet maybe her house " katherine wants to find everything about you and why you matter "

[dcnativegal]

Day 55 of Pandemic, & I’m sick

Monday, May 4, 2020. Day 55 of the global pandemic (declared by World Health Organization on March 11th.) We as a planet hit 3,500,000 cases today, and 250,000 deaths. There are many more than that, but the planet doesn’t have enough tests.  But then, there was this announcement:

So obviously we’re in good hands. [Sarcasm alert.]

 The entire planet has slowed down, such that seismologists can detect the quieting of the earth: less shuddering of industry, cars, construction. Check out the drop in electricity usage:

Here’s a bit of perspective from Instagram:

The Lesbians of Paisley have been fertile ground for viruses. Valerie is nearly recovered from the viral pneumonia she was diagnosed with on March 26 at the emergency room at Lake District Hospital. She’d begun to feel feverish and achy, with violent coughing on March 15th, 2 days after what turned into my last day in my office at the hospital’s primary care clinic, and a day and a half after we’d dined with our friends Toni, Al, Bonnie and Bruce in person, sans masks. We began 100% isolation from the outside world the minute she felt sick. She recounted the ER adventure to a friend thusly: We drove in and they have organized a system that resembles getting on a [military] base after 9-11. We sat in the pickup at the checkpoint until a somebody in protective attire had taken my temp and saturation levels and asked a bunch of questions. Then they slapped a red sticker on the dash, told us to park in the ER lot and "don't get out of the pickup." Five hours later I had donated blood and been CAT scanned. I had two pneumonia shots that were current and two flu shots, also current. They checked the blood against 14 different virus strains and came up blank. The chest showed white lungs and my saturation levels were iffy. So they used one of the tests they had been sent, gave me antibiotics (just in case) and sent me home. Took me three days to sleep off all that fun.”

Me and Griffey the poodle waited in the pickup for her. At every sound, he got up from the passenger’s seat and looked at the ER entrance where she’d disappeared. No Valerie? Back to sleep. I walked him 3 times.      Hope, her RN daughter, told us that her flow through the ER was great practice in maintaining distance and perfect hygienic process through the CT scan, taking blood, even pushing her food on a tray to her. Lake Health District Hospital is prepared, and still, technically speaking, zero cases in the county.

I was so anxious about her health, her ability to breathe, that I gave up all thought of working from home. I listened to her breathing and coughing, brought her tea, and finally, asked her to write out her last will and testament. She did, and put it away. I figured, her kids are wonderful and won’t fight about stuff but, better for her to express her wishes, even if the paper wouldn’t be legally binding.

Apparently, I get the FrankenDodge (the pickup which has hit one too many deer and who’s grill is sewn together by wire). I’ll take it but I’d much rather have her.

We waited 10 days for the nasal swab results. While we waited, she got better. Never had that cytokine storm, nor that respiratory crash. Storms and crashes; pretty apt words for the medical horror of end stage COVID-19. Once her test came back negative, despite the warning of her PCP who says that nasal swabs miss between 30 and 47% of positive cases, I was able to go to town on the 10th of April, get some software downloaded onto the computer so I could work from home, and hit Safeway while wearing a mask. I also dropped off one of Valerie’s homemade masks to a friend, along with some toilet paper illustrated with Trump’s kissy face. The moment of levity was greatly appreciated.

I started feeling lousy six days after my jaunt to Lakeview (April 16th). Cough and release of gook high up in my chest. Headache. No fever. Who knows if I have COVID-19. We listen to a British gentleman, Dr. Campbell, daily, as he reviews what’s going on globally, and he interviewed a woman who had exactly my illness course, before she moved on to fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. She never got tested. Too much hassle. Which is so ridiculous, criminal really, and in the USA, a direct result of American hubris and incompetence. Fine. Anyone with any symptoms of any illness is isolated until we have a vaccine and treatment, is my prediction. I’m still feeling shitty, though better. Started taking antibiotics just in case and in the hopes of recovering SOMEDAY.

 My son Jonah and his girlfriend June escaped just in time the terrible plight of New York’s COVID19 deluge of infections and hospitalizations. They’ve been in Baltimore at June’s mother’s beautiful home. He spent his 26th birthday in the basement because they were still in quarantine. See adorable picture, below. Now they’re allowed upstairs, enjoying the quiet. Apparently, writing and directing music videos is not an essential service during a pandemic, but he’s writing pitches and living off the most recent lucrative gig with Kesha, thank goodness.

One of the most moving things that is happening in the USA during this time is the 7pm clapping ritual for medical workers and first responders in New York City, in all the boroughs:

There’s a firefighter in DC who’s going to hospitals and nursing homes to play the bagpipe.

That’s where my daughter Clara lives, in DC, but right now she’s staying with a friend in Laurel, MD, since her group house dynamics are stressful and had a symptomatic guest at last report. She’s working from home to make sure the Latinx school children are getting the tutoring they need now more than ever. We worry about her husband Jose and his country, Guatemala, since there are COVID-19 cases down there, and refugees seeking asylum are being dumped there, with and without the virus. Over 700 cases in Guatemala as of today. We hope he will get to the USA this year. However, Trump referred to it as a shithole country, which doesn’t bode well.

My sister and her husband are well, thankfully. They work fulltime from home in the company of Pepper the cat and Darcy the chocolate lab. Yuuki, 25, stays there, too, mostly in their room; they are out of work and applying for unemployment. Kohji, age 28, works from home in DC and makes more money as a web designer than I ever will after 34 years as a social worker, but who’s counting. (I remember well the admonition of a field instructor back in 1987: don’t go into social work for Power, Pay or Prestige.) His girlfriend is probably out of work; she works for a nonprofit that plants trees in DC. Probably not essential work right this very minute. Makoto, 23, is out of quarantine and looking for something to do; he’ll be a senior at the University of Delaware this fall. As far as I hear on Facebook and email, the rest of the folks with whom I share DNA are well. So that’s good. I worry about my Aunt Mary Lee who is 87. But she says not to:  she’s fine and her ritzy retirement community in McLean, VA is on “lockdown.”

Psychologically, in the experience of quarantine and ‘social distancing’, there’s me, and then there are my clients.

My moods go up and down, but a little further down than usual. The terror that Valerie might die of COVID-19 has passed, but I figure I will always need therapy.  I have “Facebook messenger” video chats with my therapist, Darcy of Bend, every other week now, which helps. Having ‘Generalized Anxiety Disorder’ and a tendency toward major depression, I find therapy to be a corrective. A bimonthly tune up. Without it, I naturally veer toward negativity and neurosis, and a hypervigilance that served me well when I was a child, but is exhausting, overwrought and over-thought as an adult.

Psychologically, Valerie is always fine. Seriously. She was once told as a young woman by a therapist who’d tested her with the MMPI (the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) that she was outrageously and puzzlingly normal. Now that she’s feeling mostly well again from the pneumonia, she’s been tearing up the joint, fixing the sump pump that apparently keeps this little house from drifting down main street on the wetlands it’s built on. Digging out the leaves from our irrigation ditch, chopping and clearing the wood from our front yard.

The BEFORE picture:

The AFTER Picture.

 And this happened one morning in March. Just a cattle drive past our front door.

Valerie’s planning a garden at her daughter’s place, which has a deer-proof fence and lots of sun up on the hill above us. A delivery of horse manure is scheduled, and the garden bed has been rototilled. Val’s granddaughter Jessica and her husband Alan are living up there now, working from home for their Portland-based gigs. They’re almost finished the 14-day quarantine since they moved down here. The new normal: anytime anyone leaves one locale for another, they disappear into strictest quarantine, not to leave their abode. Groceries are delivered to the doorstep. A recent day turned out to be Jess’ 25th birthday: I’d bought a canvas bag with a picture of a pug on it, like her dog Archie, and Valerie found something gluten free flour mix with fresh jam to give her. Birthday gatherings are suspect at the moment.

Here’s a lovely idea for quarantined birthday celebrations:

What a kind and generous offer.

Even in isolation, Val and I do socialize, on zoom. The one pictured below is church.

We ‘visit’ with our fellow parishioners from St. Luke’s on Sunday evenings. Then we say Compline together, from the Book of Common Prayer. My favorite prayer of all time is this one from that service.

Yes, shield the joyous. Because joy is fleeting.

Our writers’ group, Easy Writers, ‘meets’ on zoom every Monday now. I wrote this bit about my yarn for the prompt, ‘write something in your home that means a lot to you.’

I am doing a great deal of crochet and a little knitting.

Yarn is my comfort and my joy. It is the raw material I create blankets and scarves and hats with. My tools are hooks and needles made from wood and plastic and metal. My fingers are also my tools.

Some of the yarn is like cotton candy: spun mohair from a goat is said to have a ‘halo’ or ‘aura’ because of the gentle cloud of color you can see an inch or two away from the spun thread. Some yarn is like twine: you can see every string of ply. My favorite is merino wool and single ply. A unity of color that will not split. All for one and one for all, the fuzzy stuff is twisted and bound into a single string of strength…

My clients are stressed out. The pandemic adds a layer to the stress they were already experiencing. I listen and knit, from within the cocoon of the yarn room which my folks can see behind me.  One of my clients wanders about with her phone in her hand while I get slightly dizzy. I like this kind of counseling since I get a glimpse of my clients’ homes. Reminds me a little bit of being a geriatric care manager. You can tell a lot about a person from their home. From my home you can tell that I have a lot of yarn, and I work multiple projects at a time because there are piles of them alongside my recliner.  

One of the sad weights of being present for my clients is their level of estrangement for most if not all social connections, especially people with whom they share DNA. And every single one has what is called in the mental health world “complex PTSD” from multiple traumatic experiences.  I sit with them, on the phone or via video. I hope to model for them what Carl Rogers called ‘unconditional positive regard.’ I breathe deeply to release my own distress at their sadness. We explore one tiny step toward reducing their isolation, the sense of trust. All during a pandemic where other people could be carrying a potentially deadly virus.

It’s no wonder I’m pawing mohair out of screen for my own comfort.

Sometimes I email clients links or articles on how to keep their spirits up, or about good things that are happening instead of the dire predictions they’re listening to or watching. There is much to share that is hopeful.  I sent one to a client on creative ways to care for everyone and she shot back:

“I believe this is Liberal rhetoric. 

Esp the paragraph below:

 This current emergency provides the possibility for a new emergence—the birthing of a truly civil civilization dedicated to the well-being of all people and the living Earth. “

Oh well. We can’t have a truly civil civilization dedicated to the well-being of all people, now can we?

Sigh.

 Brilliant writing is being penned right now, since the entire planet’s human inhabitants are barely one degree of separation away from this virus, which is apparently ‘barely alive’ and therefore hard to kill, as it spreads onward to make millions miserable and hundreds of thousands die.

I’m saving articles from The Atlantic, The NY Times, and the Washington Post, and following a historian named Heather Cox Richardson who writes a daily blog called Letters from an American. In a recent post she writes:

“The big news … has been the ‘protests’ of state governors’ stay-at-home orders and mandatory business closings to try to contain the novel coronavirus …These protests are a classic example of trying to control politics by controlling the national narrative. The protests are backed by the same conservative groups that are working for Trump’s reelection. …These are not spontaneous, grassroots protests. They are political operations designed to divert attention from the Trump administration’s poor response to the pandemic. Even more, though, they are designed to keep the American public divided so that we do not protest the extraordinary economic inequality the pandemic has highlighted.

These protests have diverted the national conversation by turning a national crisis into partisan division along the lines the Republican Party has developed since the 1980s... The change of subject protects not just Trump but also the ideology at the heart of his Republican Party. Since 1981, Republicans have argued that the economy depends on wealthy businessmen who know best how to arrange the economy—the makers-- and that it is vital to protect their interests. Under their policies, wealth in America has moved upward. The pandemic has highlighted how these policies have removed economic security for ordinary people. They cannot pay their bills, and they might well turn against an ideology that uses our tax dollars to bail out corporations while they must risk their lives to pay their rent.”  [Emphasis mine]

I am so glad someone smarter than me can reveal the interconnections of what’s going on politically.

There is food for thought on Facebook and Instagram: in the guise of a rewrite of Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese, this poem.

Mary Oliver for Corona Times (after Wild Geese)

by Adrie Kusserow

You do not have to become totally zen, You do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better, your body slimmer, your children more creative. You do not have to “maximize its benefits” By using this time to work even more, write the bestselling Corona Diaries, Or preach the gospel of ZOOM. You only have to let the soft animal of your body unlearn everything capitalism has taught you, (That you are nothing if not productive, That consumption equals happiness, That the most important unit is the single self. That you are at your best when you resemble an efficient machine). Tell me about your fictions, the ones you’ve been sold, the ones you sheepishly sell others, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world as we know it is crumbling. Meanwhile the virus is moving over the hills, suburbs, cities, farms and trailer parks. Meanwhile The News barks at you, harsh and addicting, Until the push of the remote leaves a dead quiet behind, a loneliness that hums as the heart anchors. Meanwhile a new paradigm is composing itself in our minds, Could birth at any moment if we clear some space From the same tired hegemonies. Remember, you are allowed to be still as the white birch, Stunned by what you see, Uselessly shedding your coils of paper skins Because it gives you something to do. Meanwhile, on top of everything else you are facing, Do not let capitalism coopt this moment, laying its whistles and train tracks across your weary heart. Even if your life looks nothing like the Sabbath, Your stress boa-constricting your chest. Know that your antsy kids, your terror, your shifting moods, are no less sacred than a yoga class. Whoever you are, no matter how broken, the world still has a place for you, calls to you over and over announcing your place as legit, as forgiven, even if you fail and fail and fail again. remind yourself over and over, all the swells and storms that run through your long tired body all have their place here, now in this world. It is your birthright you be held deeply, warmly, in the family of things, not one cell left in the cold.

-Adrie Kusserow

 Not one cell left out in the cold. Yes.

There is so much to be grateful for. I have a place to live, and even while paying off my bankruptcy debt, I have plenty. Enough that I can make small donations here and there. Here’s one cause I found: supporting foster children who were in college and now have no place to go. (Terrible visuals for the logo: it’s “Together We Rise.”)

Soon, the nights of below freezing temperatures will pass, and both Lesbians of Paisley will be healthy at the same time.  Perhaps I’ll get my Tricycle-for-Grownups serviced and toodle around for exercise. Perhaps the Stitch & Bitch knitting/crochet gatherings will resume, maybe in a park for physical distance and social connection.

And maybe I’ve already had Covid-19, and so has Valerie. Looks like 50-70% of all the people on the planet, not quite 8 billion humans so maybe 4 to 6 billion people, need to catch this thing in order to give our species herd immunity. Or WILL catch it because we have no way to stop it, only to slow the infections so that health care is not overwhelmed. We live and Love in the Time of Coronavirus, to paraphrase Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I maybe a libtard, a snowflake, a lily-livered liberal, who’s heart bleeds. But I agree with this sentiment, found on Facebook, our American ‘commons’:

Love absurdly and abundantly, my people. And wash your hands. 

[untitledscut]

Nyashinki -Lucky You Album Review (9.5/10)

Nyashinski has dropped what is arguably the album of the year so far in Kenya, I mean it’s only April, but Lucky You is pound for pound a solid album. Given this is his first solo project, I know I know there were the albums with Kelptomaniax (M4E — Maniacs forever) and a catalog of very solid singles over the past 3 years ranging from Malaika to club bangers like Free, Finyo, and Aminia to name just a few. But Lucky You takes us to a different level of storytelling and maturity that we have not seen Nyash expose us to yet (hope he still goes by this name).

Greener — Prod by Nyashinski

The album starts with Greener which is a self-produced song by Nyash, In this song we see the classic Nyash using his voice as one of the chords and laces a more mellow flow. The song is about comparisons and as it goes the grass always looks greener on the other side. It's basically an intro to set course for what is to unfold in the rest of the album. The song is more of a statement of Nyash reminding us that people will always be comparing and whatever he does people will always have an opinion that may seem otherwise (the other side).

Sweet Aroma — Prod by K Da Great

I gotta admit this is one of my favorite songs in the album. The beat by just gives the song such musicality and the combination with Nyash almost laid-back effortless flow gives it such a good finish. The song is a celebration of his success, as he hints at his come back in the first verse and how some folks are not feeling his success — neighbors complaining. Reminds the haters that he’s here to stay and the future is really bright. He continues his celebration telling us how he’s now living in penhouses and how he is enjoying his time. Best hint “watu wakingonga cheers wakicelebrate, na-wish kimoja kingekuwa kinarotate”. Certainly, Nyash is not hiding his feelings to the world.

Glory — Prod by Desmond “$ire” Bosire

Certainly, the song has a west coast feel to it…the beat starts off feeling like you’re in a low rider. The song is loaded with punch lines. Starting off with the title itself Glory, almost an oxymoron here Nyash saying he gives God the glory while the fans/industry glorifies him. He goes off to offer his first dose, “mamember hurudi home na hope, Pastor anaenda na ganji” an all too familiar situation in prosperity gospel scenes. He continues to diss promoters “Small talk yukuwa job. Ubaya ni hailipangi. Nimemaintain najiskizia, msiniite kaamnikanji”, simply stating show me the money and save your talk. “Hi ni miracle baby, Naona nikamnanidare”, he again reminds us of his rebirth into the scene, funny wordplay to compare to Pastor Deya bring miracle babies. Another diss to haters or people who aren’t putting in work and just want to shine on others backs (slay queens) “Kama ushachange na unapewa lift, Sijui utakuwa nani ukibuy kibenz”. The rest of the song is another reminder of how Nyash has turned the industry on its ears.

Traveler — Prod by K Da Great

Another solid display of producer and artist chemistry. I’m beginning to think these two have found a working formula like Nyash and Cee-do. This is one of those pick-up songs…reminds me of a bonnie and Clyde but only for a night. Nyash is putting himself in a traveler’s shoes and he’s throwing game on the road. Telling the shorty, don’t worry you will just be another memory on my mind, coz tomorrow I’ll be gone. Reminds me of his line in Sauti Sols Short and Sweet “And by sunrise, I’m gone. I’m not here that long. Keep it short and sweet”.

G.O.A.T — Prod by K Da Great

By this track, I have stopped being surprised by the levels Nyasha and K Da Great have pushed the music quality. This song reminds me a lot of a Latin song but with a very nice tempo that makes it work so well for a rapper. Nyash takes us back to how he has inspired the industry and how he is still on top of his game hence the term G.O.A.T. A key mention is the comparison to the two groups Mushrooms and P-Unit both made up of several members like Nyash used to be in Klepto, but now he’s reviving the industry (Industry ilikuwa flat kila vital sign) as a single artist. Another reminder that Nyash is back and here to stay and gives a shout out to Sauti Sol at the end as another group that has shown longevity.

Time — Prod by K Da Great

If you are a fan of artists like J.Cole, this is one of those songs is very similar to forest hill drive tracks. Nyash goes a bit philosophical on the song, showing us he is thinking of his time on earth and how he wants to maximize his time. The first verse is all about the industry and how he struggles with trust. While the second verse is more personal, he's implying there is someone in his life who makes him open up a bit more, “All gangsta mpaka tucatch mafeelings, Alafu alafu, jealousy..”. As I said this is more of a J.Cole type vibe…reminds me of G.O.M.D.

Everyday — Prod by K Da Great

Another track that brings that other side of Nyash out that we saw in Malaika. He is probably longing to see his partner/soul mate, it seems like he is writing the track while on the road. He gives credit to the Mrs and how she saw his potential, “Uliona Bima mahali kulikuwa na bicycle”. He is longing to see her and it seems she came and changed his life around and he is hoping she says I do. I guess this song is inspired by the Mrs 😊.

Lucky You —��Prod by K Da Great

This is one of those songs when the artist tries to show people how what you think of the artist may not always be true. He is struggling with fame, lack of privacy and all he does is under a microscope. Takes us back to the first song — Greener…where he lays the theme that it's not always what it seems from outside. “Najua fame kutoka far inakaa painless” and “Room iko overcrowded after shows. Matym mi nataka tu kudoz” are just a few of the lines that show his struggle. In the end he reminds people that he has worked hard for his current status and it’s not just luck. Taking us back to Kapuka days and how he’s among the last surviving artist from that era.

Wach Wach — Prod by Sam “Are” Ali

Another one of my favorites from the album, such an old school vibe, you find yourself just head bopping as the beat flows. He pays tribute to Makaveli on the track, as it is one of those cautious rap tracks citing the state of the government and the levels of thievery in our society. The second verse is giving advice on how to stay on point and stay on course and ends the song with Nyash reconfirming he’s on top of his game.

Too much — Prod by Sam “Are” Ali

This feels like one of those songs were Nyash was probably just in his zone and lets out his feels. The song is more about him being on the edge and warning folks not to try him out otherwise he will unleash that stress on them.

Fathela — Prod by Nyashinski

Nyash is back on the dials with a second self-produced song in the album. You can feel the coastal influence on his flow, as he gives prop to God/ Fathela (deep Sheng meaning Father). He also plays on the word, taking the role of the Fathela as he gives advice like a father does, Usije ukapenda za bure bure pekee. Atokee anayekupa cha bure kwake upoteen.

Flowers — Prod by Sam “Are” Ali

The album comes to a close with another sweet track that fuses some traditional African sound with a nice modern Afro-beat. Certainly, another song destined to be a big club banger with a very relaxed feel of high life music. Could almost be mistaken for a Safaricom themes advert (sorry just had to throw that in there).

Overall this is a solid album with a very good mix of afro-beat, some daring tracks, and lots of culturally relevant topics. Nyash has truly demonstrated his breath and growth in the music scene. Coming back from a hiatus to still be not just relevant but setting the pace in the scene. I would have loved to see a song or two by Ceedo as I think their partnership was fire. But we know artists need to show their growth by working with other producers and Nyash didn’t disappoint.

Untitled’s Cut — by the Untitled.

[scotianostra]

Here's tae us. Wha's like us? Damn few, and they're a'deid.

On July 27th 1882 the actor Donald Crisp was born in Aberfeldy, Scotland.

Well the truth is he was born in London, a fact that surprised everyone, the Oscar-winning actor and director enjoyed a career spanning more than 50 years and 400 movies. He was, for a long time, the most famous Scot in Hollywood. Renowned for his distinctive brogue he played a wealth of Scottish characters in popular movies such as The Bonnie Brier Bush, Mary of Scotland, Lassie Come Home, Greyfriars Bobby and many more.

He was clearly a world class actor but his greatest performance was off-screen. Crisp spoke with a soft Scottish burr and maintained throughout his life to have been born in Aberfeldy where he remembered that as a boy his family was so poor they couldn’t afford sugar.

Every so often the actor, who died in 1974, would return to his “homeland” on holiday and recount his days among the hills of Perthshire.

Such was his popularity the Scottish Film Council honoured Crisp and his reported birthplace with a commemorative plaque as part of the Centenary Of Film celebrations and that was when the truth was uncovered.

Librarian Lorna Mitchell began digging into his past and discovered that far from being a Highland laddie Crisp was actually a Cockney, having been born in Bow, East London on 27 July 1882, two years later than the date in most record books. And his real name was George.

It appears the Londoner with no known Scottish connections deliberately developed a Scottish accent to help his career in the hope that it would appeal to movie moguls.

Whatever the reason for his deception Crisp is not alone in elaborating his Scottish connections.

James Robertson Justice, a big man with a voice to match, was a familiar face in British cinema of the 1950s and 1960s, especially for his portrayal as the grumpy surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt in seven Doctor In The House comedies.

For most of a career that spanned 30 years and 87 movies Justice claimed he was born underneath a whisky distillery on the Isle of Skye. Other versions of his birth claim he was born in Wigtown.

Although he often wore the Robertson tartan proudly it appears he had no legitimate claim to the moniker. He only added it as middle name when he was in his mid-30s because he thought it sounded more Scottish.

In reality Justice was born in Lee, South London, and was brought up in Bromley, Kent.

There is no doubt he was fond of the country. He loved hunting with falcons in the Highlands, was Rector of the University of Edinburgh for two terms, and he lived on and off in the country up until his death in 1975.

Then there’s David Niven, another Londoner, but at least he served in a Scottish army regiment, The  Highland Light Infantry. 

He also played Bonnie Prince Charlie, a favourite subject on my page, especially with all you Outlander fans! 

Being Scottish is not just an old trendy thing either, more recently we had the late wrestler ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. 

The kilted wrestler was a major star on the wrestling circuit and was billed as coming from Glasgow. He used to enter the ring to bagpipe music and was given the nickname ‘Rowdy’ supposedly due to his trademark ‘Scottish rage’ .Credited as being “the most gifted entertainer in the history of professional wrestling” Piper was actually from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada, although he did have Scottish ancestry.

And it’s not just the stars that have a penchant to claim to be Scottish, enter  Dr Scott Peake, at first glance he  was Scottish through and through. Born on the island of Raasay, my own ancestral homeland,  he had a soft lilting accent, spoke Gaelic, wore tartan trews and Harris Tweed jackets at every opportunity and even claimed to have represented his country internationally in the sports of shinty and cricket.

Having graduated from St Andrew’s University he was teaching classics at a leading private school when, in 2001, he was appointed director of the Saltire Society, promoting Scottish culture to the world.What should have been a crowning moment for any proud Scot turned out to be his downfall. Publicity surrounding his post revealed cracks in his story, not least the fact that nobody on the tiny island of Raasay had heard of him and neither had the governing bodies of shinty and cricket.It finally emerged that Peake was actually an ordinary lad from a council estate in Woolwich, east London. He had adopted his false background while studying at St Andrews in 1991, much to the bemusement of his English family.

Peake was forced to resign from the Saltire Society and was last heard of teaching Latin in a school in Hertfordshire. Even after being unmasked for his pretence ne continued to spin the lie that he was Scottish. When questioned he said "It's a health thing," the lilting Isles brogue still very much in evidence. "I can't talk about it because I'm mentally shot.”

Read more on this wannabe Scot here. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/goodbye-mr-fake-teacher-forced-to-quit-bedales-after-exposure-as-a-serial-fantasist-69755.html

While it may be understandable that the idea of being Scottish could bring on delusions of grandeur some people take it too far. Sometime around 1988 the soft spoken Baron of Chirnside arrived in Tomintoul and began buying up large parts of the village.The Borders aristocrat who claimed his heart belonged in the Highlands was a blessing for the 320 or so inhabitants of the small settlement in the heart of whisky country.

He paid for the police pipe band to play at the Tomintoul Highland games, which he attended in full tartan dress, and he was always happy to give generously to local causes.Over six years it is estimated that ‘Lord’ Tony Williams sunk up to £2 million into the local economy, buying businesses and doing up properties. It is said his businesses employed around 40 people in the village which has a population of around 300. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t his money. The self-styled Laird of Tomintoul, who bought his Baronetcy at auction, turned out to be an accountant from New Malden in Surrey who had embezzled some £5 million from his employer the London Metropolitan Police rather appropriately at Scotland Yard!!!  

He was caught only after staff at the Clydesdale Bank in Tomintoul became suspicious of cheques going into the account of Lord and Lady Williams and tipped off the police. He was later jailed for seven years and was last heard of driving a bus in London.

The full sorry story is here https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/double-life-of-laird-at-centre-of-pounds-4m-inquiry-accountant-with-metropolitan-police-adopted-1377515.html

But, perhaps the most famous of wannabe Scots has yet to be born.

The Annet House Museum in Linlithgow already has a blue plaque on its wall celebrating the town as the birthplace of Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, even though he is not due to enter this world until 2222.

Canadian actor James Doohan, who immortalised the character in the television series Star Trek, claimed to have come up with the Scottish accent of the Starship Enterprise’s chief engineer during a pub crawl in Aberdeen.

However, fans of the show have claimed scripts from the original series suggest Scotty was (or will be) born in Linlithgow on 28 June, 2222 – and that’s enough for the town which is already cashing in on the Trekkie tourist trail with a plaque to commemorate the occasion. 

So beware, sometimes all is not what it seems, you never know I might also be a wannabe Scot living in middle England and fooling you all of my Scottish credentials!  ;)  

[aivaehdaevis]

The More Things Change: Ch 6

The More Things Change

by Aivaeh

Disclaimer: Familiar characters, plot elements, and settings belong to L.J. Smith, Julie Plec, and the CW. The author of this work of fanfiction has made no money from it. Summary: I have no idea how it happened, but one morning I woke up in the world of The Vampire Diaries. Which, aside from the insanity of waking up inside a television show made real, might not be so bad—if I weren't stuck in the body of vampire magnet and doppelgänger herself, Elena Gilbert. Pairing(s): OFC x Damon, OFC x Stefan, OFC x Elijah, OFC x Klaus Rating: M Warning(s): Graphic descriptions of violence on par with the show itself. References to sex and drug use. Mind control and all the issues of consent that go along with it. Character death. Master List External Links: AO3 | FF.Net | Wattpad

Chapter Six

I found the bulbs in a downstairs storage closet.

Hunting for them gave me something to think about other than Damon's threats and the insanity of being stuck in a television show. I went to change the bedroom's first, but when I threw the switch, the light turned right on. A test of the rest of the lights were the same. The lights worked just fine.

I tried to convince myself it was a wiring issue, but there's no denying I felt more vulnerable in the Gilbert house.

Replacing the bulbs back into the supply closet, I continued snooping around. I didn't find anything exciting. The vampire-related weapons and diaries were at the lake house. My biggest discovery were the heirlooms and a ton of documents related to the family's history stored in the basement. I only glanced through some of it before going back upstairs.

Back in Elena's room, I settled in for some homework. My poor performance in Biology and Tanner's comments in History convinced me to finish it before the party tonight. Besides, it was a normal thing to do, nothing supernatural involved. Trigonometry took the longest, but by the time I was done with the chapter questions for history, the sun was getting low in the sky. "Hope you appreciate this, Elena," I muttered before huffing out a tired breath.

I was scouring Elena's closet when the phone rang.

Picking up a cordless handset from her desk, I said, "Hello?"

"Elena," Caroline said in a frantic rush, "I needed you here an hour ago!"

Crap. "Sorry. I lost track of time." I grabbed the first thing I could reach that had long sleeves. Elena had nothing but nice clothes, anyway. I couldn't go wrong.

"Well, get over here."

Uh, where was here? I wondered if there was a non-suspicious or weird way to ask this when the phone clicked and the dial tone hummed in my ear. "Great."

I ended up looking the park up online. It wasn't that difficult to get to from highway seventy-five, one of three roads that led out of town.

I hurried through another shower and was drying my hair when there was a knock on the connecting door. I fiddled with the hairdryer until I found the power button. "Yes?"

There was a beat of silence. "I heard you're driving again, but the car was in the garage," Jeremy said, voice muffled by the wood.

"Someone else took me to school today, but yeah. I drove to the Grill."

"You driving to the party?"

"I'm leaving as soon as I'm done. Caroline wants my help."

"Can I ride along?"

"Oh. Sure."

"Cool."

"Let me finish up."

Jeremy agreed and left me to it.

Once I was dressed and ready, I knocked on his door. He walked out in a hoodie and jacket. Together we made our way down to the kitchen. Jenna hadn't come home yet, so I left a note on the fridge saying we'd be at the falls.

The sun was on the last leg of its journey across the horizon. The sky was flush in pastel pinks and violets, gradually settling into molten gold. It was pleasant enough out to roll the windows down as we pulled out of the garage, letting in the song of crickets. Jeremy plugged his mp3 player into the stereo and alternative rock pounded out the speakers.

"Doesn't driver pick the music?"

Jeremy's answering shrug was largely swallowed up beneath all the layers he wore.

Well, this would be fun.

This time, it was a right out of the driveway. I paid attention to the signs as I navigated the neighborhood. I needed to take Grotto Avenue instead of Washington. It would lead to the infamous Wickery Bridge and connect to seventy-five.

Once we'd turned onto Grotto, the speed limit picked up to forty-five, and the wind rushed past the window as I sped up. I had to speak louder to be heard. "How have things been lately?"

Staring out the passenger window, Jeremy's reply was bitter. "How do you think?"

I had nothing to say to that. I watched the dashed yellow line on the road, the trees lining either side speed by as I tried coming up with something more innocuous. "How are your classes?"

Another half-hidden shrug. "Alright I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah." Jeremy fitted his hand through the crack in his window and sliced through the wind.

"Good talk," I muttered.

I thought the wind would've taken my words, but Jeremy lifted his other hand in a thumbs up.

The wind and music replaced any attempts at conversation after that. The only time I wondered if I should try to say something was as we approached the Wickery Bridge. I ran a critical eye over the structure. Whatever damage had been caused when their parents' minivan had gone into the river must have been repaired.

Jeremy stared out the window as he'd been doing that the whole way. Something changed, though. Like a heavy and colorless smog that saturated the car, the mood turned dark and toxic, suffocating any attempts at conversation.

It didn't let up until the bridge disappeared behind us and we'd reached the highway. The rush of wind turned into a roar. The sun glared off the horizon and made it hard to see even with Elena's sunglasses and the visor. It was a relief when it sank beneath the treetops, and I was able to see comfortably again.

The sky was all deep merlots and dark heather by the time I saw the turn off. Rocks ground beneath the tires and pelted the undercarriage as we drove down a gravel road that twisted snake-like between the woods. Once we were half a mile in, the road turned paved. The smoother drive led up a steep hill to a large parking lot. Several vehicles were already there, a mixture of cars and trucks and vans. I pulled in and joined them.

Jeremy and I got out. Distant voices drifted through the trees, almost drowned out by the frenzied chirrup of crickets. I followed Jeremy, who didn't hesitate to step off the pavement to a dirt trail that led further up a gently sloping hill. Old trees stretched overhead all around us, growing darker as the last light of the sun surrendered to the silvery glow of a distant half-moon that had begun its ascent.

I hugged my jacket tighter around me. There was a humidity to the air that made it chillier than it had felt during the drive. I supposed it came from the falls that granted the park its name, though I had no idea where they were.

We found Caroline at a series of pavilions that had carved out a small space in the middle of the woods. Basically, the giant frames of empty houses. She was busy tearing plastic cups out of their packaging and stacking them on the fold-out tables pushed flush against one of the open-air railings. Bonnie was beside her.

"Hey Elena, Jer," Bonnie greeted.

As Jeremy raised a hand and gave a close-lipped grin, Caroline spun about. "Good! Jeremy, help Aaron and Matt hang lights over the bridge."

She must have meant more lights like the ones strung around the pavilion. Outdoor Christmas lights by the look of them, except with bigger, colorless bulbs. They were pretty, if unnecessary. Several outdoor floodlights that must have been put up by the park provided more than enough light, and a bonfire was already flickering away in a pit a safe distance away.

Jeremy's expression didn't so much as twitch. "Hello to you too, Caroline."

Caroline's lips pressed into a line as she sent Jeremy a look. "Hello, Jeremy. So nice to see you." She flashed a plastic princess smile. "Please help Aaron and Matt."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and, hands stuffed into his pockets, headed out of the pavilion to one of the paths that led deeper into the forest.

"There's a bunch of six packs in the back of Aaron's truck," Caroline then informed me with all the command of an empress. I didn't know what Aaron's truck looked like, but it shouldn't be hard to find. Just look for the liquor store in the back.

I ended up trudging back and forth through the woods as night crept over the forest. Caroline and Bonnie just set up tables and coolers. I had a feeling I was being punished for 'forgetting' to arrive earlier.

Teenagers started to trickle in, a strong bass beat began to pulse through the trees, and the lot was filling up. I was halfway through—she wasn't kidding about it being a bunch of beer—when a distinct rumble echoed through the trees. I squinted as headlights pierced the darkness and shone in my face.

I wasn't surprised when those headlights slowed as they approached, stopping a short ways after passing me, revealing the distinctive blue camaro with Damon in the driver's seat. "Hello, Elena."

"Damon," I sighed.

His eyes darted towards the six packs and back to me. "Am I too early?"

"No. I think it's just starting." I picked up four more six packs. The pair I carried in each hand clinked merrily as the bottles swayed. Carefully, I hopped off the truck bed.

"I prefer to be fashionably late," Damon said.

"Why am I not surprised." I turned and headed back up the path.

The camaro gave a purr before gliding away as I stepped off the pavement and onto the hard-packed ground. There was still enough space that he'd find something. I anticipated it wouldn't be long before he was pestering me again.

Sure enough, I wasn't a quarter of the way up when he appeared beside me. He sidestepped around until he was doing his backwards walk in front of me, reaching out for the cases of beer. "Allow me."

I held them back. "I've got it, Damon."

"Elena."

"Damon." I wondered if he was actually tripping every other step, and just moving too fast for me to see it.

"I can have this done before you even reach the top," he reminded me.

"And how will I explain that?"

The expensive silk shirt, top few buttons undone, stretched across his shoulders as he shrugged. "Who will care enough to ask?"

I did want this task to be over. I slowly held out the beer. "Fine."

He smirked as he took the cases from me—and promptly disappeared from sight. I did hear the stir of leaves every other second. It was less than a minute when he appeared beside me again. "Finished." If smugness were a resource, Damon would've had enough for every man, woman, and child on the planet.

I replied with a grudging, "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Elena." Before I could start up the hill, his arm ended up around my shoulders. His warmth still managed to surprise me. "Why don't you introduce me to your friends?"

I shook my head. "No."

Damon's arm slid off me. He started walking. "Maybe I'll see if Caroline wants—"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He allowed it. "You promised."

"As long as you," he tapped my nose, "were agreeable."

"Do you have to threaten all the girls?" I groused.

"No. Not usually." Arm back around my shoulders, he grinned. "You're special."

"Why?"

The trail crunched underfoot as he guided me towards the pavilions. "Why what?"

"Why am I special?" I knew it had to do with Katherine, but wasn't he supposed to still be in love with her? Why spend so much of his time bothering me?

Something in his stare set my nerves alight with a nervous energy. It skittered along my spine and spread out until every inch of me was alive and awake. "You're beautiful. Very seductive."

Uncomfortable in my suddenly hypersensitive skin, I squirmed. Afraid it'd tip him off to his effect on me, I tried for nonchalant. "Seductive?" I scoffed. "And you've met hundreds of beautiful, seductive women."

"None like you," he returned.

I gave him a flat stare.

His brows rose. "It's true."

I pictured a certain self-centered vampire in period clothes. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because you have major trust issues."

"Can't imagine why."

We reached the top of the hill and the clearing. The pavilions were lit, strung lights adding a softer, magical quality the harsher park lights lacked. A good gathering of people was strewn about, arrayed in clusters around the wooden structures, the grass and the fire, to the treeline. The conversations were already lively. Even as we stood there, I could hear more coming up the trail behind us.

"Lets get a drink," Damon suggested, guiding me towards the coolers I'd spent the early portion of the night filling.

I eyed him. "What do you mean by a drink?"

He tilted his head towards me and smirked. The closer we moved towards people, the more tense I became. Thankfully, he went for the beers instead of the teens hanging out beside them, snagging a pair of bottles by the neck. His thumb slipped under the edge of one's cap, popping the top off without effort. He held it out to me.

I accepted, still fixing a weary eye on him as he opened the other. I wasn't a fan of beer, but I definitely wanted a drink. I endured the yeasty flavor for a good-sized gulp. Pulling the bottle away, I'd have wiped my lips, but I had lip gloss on. I settled for rubbing them together.

Damon guided me back up to the largest of the three pavilions. The creak of our steps almost lost to the shifts and pounding of all the other feet. The smell of pine was strongest here. The people parted before us like a school of tiny fish breaking apart and gliding around a bigger predator.

Caroline and Bonnie were at the back railing, each one with a cup of what I assumed would be beer. Madison, Sarah, Aaron, and a few other cheerleaders and football players made up the rest of Caroline's entourage. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Damon. "You came!"

"I said I would," he answered.

Still trapped under the hard muscle of his arm, I settled for another swig.

"Everyone, this is Damon. Damon, this is everyone," Caroline introduced.

"Yeah. Elena's mentioned most of you." He pointed with the hand holding his beer. "Bonnie, right?"

Bonnie nodded before her gaze slid to me, a clear question in her pale green gaze. I just shook my head.

Damon proceeded to freak me out by naming the rest of the little group, even the three I wasn't familiar with. He knew Elena's friends better than me.

"When did you and Damon get together, Elena?" A blonde cheerleader that Damon had called Sophie had a pixie's face and a beauty mark over her left eye.

"Yesterday," he answered before I had a chance to say anything.

We exchanged a glance, mine already finished, his full of mischief. I fumed, wishing I could shrug out of his hold, and took another drink.

Caroline's earlier enthusiasm had dimmed. "So this is, what," her smile threatened to fall off her face, "a date?"

"Mmhmm," Damon replied, pulling me closer to him.

Bonnie's brows flew up. "Oh."

Half of my bottle was already gone.

"In fact, I really should be thanking you for tonight, Caroline," he went on blithely. "Elena wasn't sure about going out with someone as old as me. Then your name came up, and she became much more agreeable."

Mother fu—

"Really," Caroline replied. Flatly. Her stare was piercing, like a dagger. One she probably thought she'd pulled out of her back.

A series of looks exchanged between the others ensured that this news was going to be around the whole school by tomorrow morning.

"Elena, can I talk to you real quick," Bonnie interjected.

"Absolutely Bonnie," I said, relief lightening my voice.

Damon shot me a close-lipped smile. "Don't wander off too far," he said into the top of my head. "Wouldn't want to run into any animals."

I nodded, and Damon's arm left my shoulders, but not before his hand skimmed my spine. I shivered before hurrying to Bonnie's side, and the two of us headed over towards a spot near the fire pit while Damon went about charming the rest of Elena's friends.

As soon as we were down the pavilion's steps, Bonnie turned to me. "What's going on, Elena?"

I wasn't sure what to say. Damon had to be listening. "Damon said he wanted to go with me to the falls." I shrugged.

"You said he was using you to get to Stefan," Bonnie reminded me.

My lips twisted of their own accord. "Yeah. I think I maybe judged him a little harshly." I forced myself to add, "He's been great so far."

"And when Stefan shows up?"

We reached a spot a few feet from the fire, close enough to see one another in the dancing light, but far enough for some privacy. "I told you. Stefan and I are friends."

"Friends don't look at each other the way you two did the other night and at lunch, Elena." Bonnie shook her head. "This seems like a bad idea."

No kidding. "It'll be fine, Bonnie." I forced a smile. "Just like you predicted."

She shot me a thoughtful look. "Maybe it's worth a try."

"What?" But I had a feeling of what she'd say.

"Reading your future." Bonnie shook her head. "It's crazy, I know. But Grams says I can."

"Long as you aren't charging ten bucks a minute," I quipped with a small smile.

Bonnie snorted. "Here," she held out a hand. "Let me see your hand."

Remembering she'd seen the crow and Damon in the show, I let her close her eyes to concentrate and took her hand.

Bonnie's eyes popped open immediately. She dropped my hand like it was red hot and took a step back, a strange look on her face.

I frowned. "What?"

"I—I don't know."

"Bonnie?"

"A woman."

What?

"I was holding her hand instead of yours. You were behind her, yelling at me." My blood turned to ice. "I couldn't hear what you were saying. It was like some kind of fog separated us. But you were frantic. And scared."

I stared. I couldn't think of anything to do or say, so I did and said nothing.

Bonnie shook her head, throwing up her hands. "I… I don't know. I don't know what I saw." She looked around and then said, "I'm going to get another beer."

I watched her rush off then turned far enough to look over my shoulder. There were a few people further back, but no doppelgänger.

That couldn't have been Elena, could it? Maybe Katherine?

Shivering, I rubbed at my arms. I could feel the fine hairs standing on end, tickling as my sleeves rubbed against them. Blowing out a breath, I turned to head back to the pavilion.

And nearly ran into a solid wall of muscle. I took a startled step back, head snapping up. "Stefan?"

He smiled. "Hey." His brows pinched together. "I didn't scare you, did I?"

"Just startled," I assured him.

His lips softened into that small smile. But it only lasted a moment before melting away. "Is something wrong? You look upset."

I took a breath and shook my head. "No, just—something weird Bonnie said."

"Oh?"

"It doesn't matter." I let my hands fall to my sides. "You made it."

His eyes were still searching my face, his expression concerned. He didn't think it was nothing. But his, "I did," suggested he was willing to drop it.

"Stefan!"

We both stiffened at the sudden greeting. Standing right behind Stefan, Damon sported a wry smirk.

Stefan levelled a low-browed, guarded stare at Damon. Damon met it with a smile, his crinkled eyes glinting like arctic light off an ice sheet. "Beer?" he offered, holding up an unopened bottle.

"What are you doing, Damon?" Stefan stared so hard it was as if he was trying to see into Damon's head.

"Well, Stefan, I'm enjoying the party I was invited to. You should give it a try sometime." Damon's gaze shifted to me. "Finished with your friend?"

Bonnie. I looked around and found her back up on the pavilion with Caroline and the others. She was hugging her arms, eyes darting around until they fell back on me. As soon as she met my stare, her eyes widened and slid away.

My brows gathered. "I guess so."

Damon shoved the beer into Stefan's hand and strutted over to my side. "Why don't we go look at the falls?" His arm found it's favorite perch across my shoulders.

Stefan's eyes fixed on me. I offered an apologetic smile before finishing my drink and setting the empty bottle on a log behind me. "Whatever."

Damon gave Stefan a little wave with the hand draped over my shoulder. "Later."

As Damon guided me back towards another trail, he turned to look over our shoulders behind him. "Oh, he's pissed," he gloated.

I caught sight of disappointed Caroline, eyes down on her cup while Bonnie looked troubled beside her. "Is there anyone you don't enjoy screwing with, Damon?"

"Hmm, let me think—nope." Damon and I rounded the trail and moved into the trees. Eventually the pavilions became a distant twinkle of lights through the leaves, and then disappeared.

There were more lights strung up along the trail. "Why do you want to make Stefan miserable?" I knew the story but wanted to hear it from him.

"Ask him." Damon lifted a bottle, and from the swig of beer inside. "Although Steffy's not being very open with you right now."

"What do you mean?"

Damon smirked. "Mm, not yet." He pulled me closer. "I want to see the look on his face when you figure it out."

That I was the spitting image of Katherine and that's why he's so interested in me? Yeah, Damon was going to be disappointed.

A bridge strung with lights waited ahead of us. It must have been the one the boys had worked on. Our footsteps thumped against the wood as we crossed to the middle. Damon guided me to the railing, where the lights twinkled along the arch overhead. Leaning an elbow on the rail, he nodded off in the distance. "Can you see them?"

I squinted and saw a hint of the falls in the glint of the moonlight. Mostly I heard them. A constant, low spray of churning water. "Not well."

"Want to get closer?" Damon asked before throwing the rest of his beer back and then tossing the bottle down into the river.

"It looks pretty far," I said doubtfully.

Damon moved his arm off my shoulders and turned around. "Hop on."

I blinked. "What? Like, on your back?"

"Like, yes. Duh."

"What, so you can get me somewhere secluded and feed?" I folded my arms, ignoring the excited tingle in my belly. "No thank you."

Damon looked over his shoulder. "I won't feed on you tonight."

"And I should believe you because…"

"Because I haven't lied to you."

"My bag," I corrected.

"I haven't lied to you today," he amended. He sighed. "Just get on, Elena. Do I need to threaten someone again?"

As I grit my teeth and walked over, I heard him mutter, "Most stubborn woman I've ever met." Knowing I was frustrating him me smile slightly.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. He extended his arms out to the side for my legs. Frowning, I hopped up. His hands cradled the backs of my thighs. I was glad I'd picked out a pair of jeans and not leggings or, heaven forbid, a skirt.

"Hold on tight," he said. "And don't let go."

I tightened my hold till, if he'd been human, he'd probably be choking. I also locked my ankles over his abs and said, "This is very Twilight."

"If you're expecting me to sparkle later on, you're going to be sorely disappointed."

Before I could reply, the bottom dropped out of my stomach. It was like one of those barrel rides, where they spin around so fast, you're pressed up against the wall while all your organs feel shoved back. If it weren't for Damon's grip on me, I doubt I'd have been able to hold on.

The world was a smear of darkness. I had to close my eyes and hide my face in the crook of his neck as gorge rose up my throat.

Thankfully, it was over almost as soon as it began. "Alright," he yelled over the roar of crashing water.

Able to breathe without feeling as if my lungs were being squeezed, I took a breath of humid air. I was cautious as I opened my eyes. Fortunately, we'd stopped. I lifted my head higher.

We were on the edge of a cliff overlooking the falls. The water looked like mercury in the moonlight. It flowed over the edge into a misting veil of cascading silver, plunging into the churning river below. Fireflies danced along the shore. Without the city lights, the stars were a bright dusting of glitter across a velvety darkness.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

Damon looked back. His eyes were bright, more silver than blue, like the water and the stars. They stared for several long moments. Unable to endure the building tension any longer, I asked, "What?"

He blinked and turned back around. "Want to go skinny dipping?"

I shoved his shoulder. "No!"

"You're no fun, Elena," he complained.

I was about to make a comment about perverted crows when his muscles stilled beneath me. His head swiveled to the right. He walked towards the edge of the cliff, until he was close enough to lean over the ledge. Which he did… with me still riding his back.

I held on tighter, heart pounding against his back as the wet air rose up to hit my face and blow back my hair.

Then he stepped off the ledge.

It happened so fast I barely had time to draw a gasping breath before my stomach flew into my esophagus as we plummeted. The ground slammed into his feet, sending a shockwave up his legs. Damon merely straightened up and started walking, not so much as a twitch in his stride.

"Don't do that!"

"Shh." He nodded his head, letting go of one of my thighs to point. "Looks like I wasn't the only one with the idea to go skinny dipping."

I squinted in the direction he was pointing and discovered two distant figures bobbing in the water. They were—well. Yeah. They'd had the same idea. Their faces were mashed pretty firmly together. Averting my eyes, I turned to look back, and saw a pile of clothes strewn over a large boulder that had cracked apart from the cliff face.

Damon let go of my other leg, and I slid down his back to the ground. Before I could ask what he was doing, he had his shirt up and over his head.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "What are you doing?!" I hissed, mortified at the expanse of naked back. I could trace the muscles with my eyes as they shifted beneath pale skin. The scapula of his shoulders slid together and apart. Biceps bulging as he moved his arms to— "Don't take off your pants!"

"SHH!" he hissed. "I swear, Elena, if you scare off dinner…" he threw a warning glare over his shoulder.

"Scare off—" my eyes rounded again. "You can't… eat them!"

"Uh, yes I can." Damon moving his hands around to grip either side of the wasteland of his jeans was the only warning I had that he was about to drop them.

I looked away as I heard the rustle of stiff fabric and clicking of the zipper. "Damon, don't!"

"Stay here," he ordered.

Before I could think better of it, I looked around and grabbed his upper arm. I was careful not to look down, but to meet the annoyed stare of the vampire whose eyes were already darkening in anticipation. "Don't, Damon," I entreated again. "You don't have to. I'll drive you to the hospital myself. Help you get to the blood supply."

He stared at me as if I were mad. Considering his black and red eyes, it was a terrifying glare. "Elena. We've had this discussion. I can't feed from you, so I'm going to eat them," he flung a hand out, "instead."

I quivered, and my throat seized, but despite my suddenly chattering teeth, I managed to say, "Feed from me, then."

He paused, his dark eyes rounding in surprise. "You'd let me?"

I trembled but nodded.

His sights narrowed, face tilting down as his gaze flew over my body. He scoffed. "You care about a couple of strangers that much?"

"You won't kill me," I reasoned. Whether I was trying to convince myself or him, I wasn't sure.

His sights narrowed. "I won't? How can you be so certain of that?"

I couldn't admit to my knowledge of Katherine. "Because you like me. Enough to find out where we put the spare key to the front door and what my friend's names are. You wouldn't go to all that trouble just to murder me."

"You know, plenty of murderers go to that much trouble," he pointed out amiably.

I stared. "You care."

"I told you, I'm a vampire, Elena. I don't have any humanity."

"I don't believe that." I chewed my lip. "I think, somewhere deep down, you regret hurting people." His eyes narrowed. "And you want to go back to being human."

Damon stood still, the moonlight reflecting off his pale skin as if he were glowing. He stared with those monstrous eyes, veins pulsing beneath his eyelids, until they began to drain to his normal arctic gaze.

Relief so powerful I could have collapsed washed over me. I smiled, real and wide and unbelievably happy. Damon smiled back.

And I realized I'd made a terrible mistake.

His smile was a dead thing. His eyes empty of all emotion except fury. His cheeks pulled back so far it was almost as if he meant to snarl, instead. He ducked, grabbed his pants, and pulled them back up. By the time he had them fastened, the smile had fallen from my face.

His hadn't. It was like it was carved there.

He grabbed my arm. "Upsy daisy," he said, all faux-cheerfulness.

He nearly threw me as he swung me onto his back. I barely had time to wrap my arms and legs around him before he was leaping up the cliff. I couldn't watch him punching the rock with his fingers, instead I shut my eyes and did my best to endure the gravity-shifting speed at which he moved.

When we came to a stop, I heard voices off in the distance. The sharp and emotional words of two people fighting.

"I want you to know, you can thank Stefan for this."

"What?"

Damon grabbed my arm and dragged me with him. I had to step quickly to keep up. "I do love that Gilbert blood, and you did offer. But since I can't have yours, I'll have to take it from somewhere else."

I was confused as to what he meant, until we rounded a tree and—

Vicki and Jeremy.

Damon's hand was gone, along with the rest of him. Suddenly he was in front of Vicki. She only had time to widen her eyes in shock before, "You're thirsty. You're going back to the party for a drink."

"Hey, whatever. I'm out of here," she replied before turning around.

"What the hell?" Jeremy demanded. He put his hand on Damon's bare shoulder as Vicki continued walking away.

"Jeremy!" I shouted, terrified.

Damon whirled around. His eyes were black. His lips were drawn back, revealing all his teeth. His canines were pointed and glistened. His jaw opened so wide it looked as if it couldn't be attached to his skull.

"Damon! No!"

Jeremy shouted. Damon struck.

It was so fast and hard, it was as if Damon had tackled him. Jeremy fell back, Damon on top of him. They hit the ground. Something squelched and Jeremy screamed. Damon snarled.

I stared, horrified. Then I was moving. Skidding over rock and moss and leaves and dirt as Jeremy wriggled and shouted in pain. As the slurping continued.

At their side, I stood frozen for too long, trying to figure out what to do. I finally grabbed a handful of Damon's hair and tried wrenching him off. He ignored me. Blood was pooling on the ground. Some of it slid to the tip of Elena's shoe.

Jeremy had stopped screaming and was gazing up at the treetops with glazed eyes. I realized Damon intended to kill him.

"DAMON!"

I grabbed another fistful of hair and yanked. I ended up with handfuls of black hair, but Damon was still draining Jeremy. I yelled, kicked at his ribs. Jeremy's eyes slid shut.

And then Damon was flying away from him.

His side slammed into a distant tree, hard. He grunted as he landed on the ground.

And standing over Jeremy and in front of me was Stefan.

Damon, rubbing the back of his hand across his chin, smearing Jeremy's blood over his face, let out a mocking laugh. "Really, Stefan? This again?"

Stefan's jaw ticked. "I won't let you hurt her."

Damon snorted. "That's what you said last time." He grinned, showing off his pink-stained teeth. "Didn't stop me then, either."

"You've gotten what you wanted," Stefan said. "Leave."

"I don't know. He's still breathing."

I grabbed Jeremy and leaned over him.

"Is this helping, brother?" Stefan asked. "Does it make you feel less like a traitor to her memory?"

Damon grinned. "As if she compares."

"You're right. They're nothing alike."

The two stared silently as the leaves rustled overhead.

Damon grinned. "I can enter anytime. You can't protect them."

"Leave," Stefan demanded.

Damon shrugged, bare skin still gleaming in the dim light. He licked up the blood from the back of his hand and smirked at me. "See you soon, Elena."

And he was gone.

I collapsed to my knees, staring off into the darkness. Then turned to the boy on the ground. He was ashen, his neck smeared with blood where the skin had been torn into. I didn't know what to do. "Stefan!"

Stefan knelt beside me, frowning. "He's dying."

"Help him. Please, Stefan!"

Staring down at Jeremy, the blood vessels in his eyes pulsing, Stefan eventually shoved down his sleeve and bit into his wrist. "I don't know if there's enough time," he warned as he held the open wound over Jeremy's mouth and squeezed his forearm. Blood trickled from his wrist and dropped between Jeremy's lips.

Transfixed, I waited, everything in me a bundle of wrought nerves. I looked for the slightest sign that Jeremy was healing. Nothing happened.

I was about to ask Stefan to try feeding him more when the side of his neck began to meld back together. It merged completely, smooth and unblemished, as if the wound hadn't happened at all.

Jeremy opened his eyes, wide and terrified and darting to and fro as he gasped awake. He met my stare, and then Stefan's small smile, and lifted a hand to his neck. "What?" he asked as he brought his hand before his eyes, staring at the blood staining his skin.

Stefan frowned. Meeting my eyes before looking down at Jeremy. As soon as Jeremy locked eyes, searching for answers, Stefan's pupils contracted. "You had too much to drink. You fell down and hit your head. You weren't attacked."

"I wasn't attacked," Jeremy repeated slowly.

Stefan blinked and Jeremy looked woozily around before holding a hand to his head. He grimaced at me. "Think I drank too much."

"I'll take you home," I said, soft and gentle as I took a hand. Stefan took the other, and together we helped him up.

As soon as Jeremy was standing on his own two feet, Stefan looked to me. "We should talk."

"Yeah."

Stefan glanced at Jeremy before gazing back at me. He lowered his voice as Jeremy wandered towards the trail. "Tonight. Once everyone else is asleep. I'll be waiting outside your window."

The idea should have terrified me, but Stefan had just saved Jeremy's life. I nodded. "Okay."

Stefan nodded back. "I'll make sure you get to your car."

Together we followed the lights back towards the pavilions. Jeremy would occasionally stretch his neck and rub at his head. It was quiet except for the distant music and the rustle of leaves.

Except the closer we got, the bigger commotion we heard.

When we stepped out into the open, several eyes turned to me. "Hey, Elena! This some kind of prank?" a boy I didn't recognize asked as we strode near him.

"What?"

"Elena!"

I turned to see Caroline hurrying across the grounds, a frown on her face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything."

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked.

Caroline huffed, holding out her phone. "Elena's gone nuts. She's texting a bunch of crazy stuff at everybody." Caroline scowled. "It's not funny."

"Caroline, Elena doesn't have her phone," Stefan said.

Caroline's brows flew up. "Then who's doing it?"

"What do they say?" Stefan asked.

Caroline turned her phone back. "A bunch of stuff. Like, a dozen nine-one-ones. A whole wall of text that's just help me over and over. And another that says imposter. And thief."

Stefan held out a hand. Caroline handed her phone over. I leaned over his arm as he began to scroll through all the texts. There were dozens, just as Caroline said.

"Whose gotten them?"

"Like, everybody," she said, waving an arm.

"I haven't," he said.

"Everybody in her contacts? I don't know," Caroline returned.

A cold chill had my body hair standing on end as Jeremy pulled out his phone. "Me too. Must have happened while I was out."

I looked around to find the whole party staring at me, a confused murmur of voices sweeping through the gathered teens like a spreading virus. Bonnie was back at the bonfire and met my stare with the same unsettled look on her face. Our eyes met.

All the lights blew in a flurry of popping bulbs, and darkness swallowed us.

[beatricethecat2]

if/then (2.0) - 18 (new edit)

This is not a new chapter, instead a highly edited version of what came before, taking into consideration the notes given to me by a certain someone (you know who you are, thank you!) I did a crappy job initially because my head wasn’t in the game. Fast forward to now, after an absurdly busy spring work-wise, and I’m back to taking a crack at it all. I had to push this out to move forward, but the first draft of the next chapter is written and in edit mode so that’s proof the wheels are turning. And I am confident where this is now heading - so many twists and turns, so many little details to add, it’s never-ending. Quick recap: Helena revealed that she’s been working with Bonnie to keep Mrs. Frederic from framing Myka. A police interrogation ensued and Myka has no idea where it’s all heading. Typos are all mine, I’m sorry my mistakes are beyond what robots can correct. When that day comes we should all probably run for the hills. (see reply for link to previous chapters.)

/////////////////////

"Hey Claud, I'm coming up." Myka pushes through the front doors but pauses in the lobby. “If you're there, text me or something, ok?” She smiles at the front desk guy as she ends the call.

“Hey Doug, you seen Claudia today?"

"Uh-uh. Just started my shift. Want me to ask Tony?" He picks up his walkie-talkie.

“That’s ok." Myka hurries past him as the elevator doors open. Two people step out as she steps in. She taps Claudia's floor and checks her phone, no reply, but she's not surprised. Every message she's left this week has gone unanswered.

Claudia should be home as it's late for a school night, but, no wait, it's already Friday. Maybe they're eating out or watching a movie really loudly. Or maybe Claudia's so miffed she won't pick up the phone.

Claudia's antics at the police station are still a conundrum to her, they could have been for show or totally sincere. After the harrowing group interview, she didn't see Claudia or Helena again, so she has no idea how clued in Claudia is. She'd feel more confident moving forward if she had talked to at least one of them. This holding pattern she’s in is making her paranoid.

The doorbell rings and rings, so she waits a beat, then knocks twice and inserts her key card. When she opens the door, Dewy whooshes out immediately.

"You don't want to go down there," she calls, dropping her bag and following him down the hall. She scoops him up near the stairs and walks back, holding on tightly as he squirms. She wedges her foot in the door and swings it open then crouches down to pick up her bag. Dewy wriggles free, but she blocks his second escape with her bag.

"Claudia? Christina?" she calls from the entryway. No reply, so she checks the bedrooms and terrace.

"Where's your moms?" she says to Dewy as he rubs up against her leg. He's purring so loudly she can hear him clearly from the floor. This level of affection must mean he wants something. She glances his bowl, it's completely empty.

"Let's get you some dinner, mister," she says and walks into the kitchen. Its surfaces are oddly clean, but the cat food cabinet is its usual mess. She sets the food on the counter then grabs Dewy's bowl. It could use a good cleaning before filling.

The sink is unusually devoid of dishes as they often linger for days. She checks the fridge, also sparse, but maybe Claudia hasn't gone shopping yet. An empty fridge is not as uncommon as a clean sink.

Dewy mews plaintively and Myka snaps back to her task. She opens the food bag and he hops up on the counter. "Dewy, chill!" she says and swipes him to the floor. He's way more anxious than she remembers.

As he eats, she strokes his head and rubs behind his ears, his purrs vibrating vigorously up her fingers. Such good cat, she thinks, so good-natured, and mostly well behaved. We're lucky to have him, even if he is a little dumb.

She looks towards her corner, then traipses through the living room, into her space. There's far too much stuff to take in one go so she'll have to divide it in two. She starts plucking out what she needs and laying it on the bed.

A picture of Helena hangs on the wall with one loose corner flopping forward. She drags a finger over Helena's likeness then peels it off. She studies the curve of Helena's lips as she sits on the bed.

"Would it be bad for you if I see them? I want to know they're ok. But I don't want mess this up for any of us." Second guessing her movements has already been difficult. Subterfuge isn't her strong point.

Dewy bounds into the room and jumps on the bed. He sits on his hindquarters and mews insistently.

"What's up?" Myka asks as he smushes his head against her, then drags his body in long strokes along her side. She rubs his head again, then swings her legs up and reclines fully, lying down. Dewy obviously wants the company, so she really should stay, if only for a few minutes longer than needed.

"You're lucky, Dewy. You can't fall in love. At least not the way humans do." She holds the photo of Helena at arm's-length and smiles. What a lovely day that was, laughing and lounging at the beach, with Helena beaming with positive energy. It’d be nice to get back to that happy place someday.

Dewy headbutts her cheek then flops on his side. She lays the photo on her chest and turns to look at him.

"She did this all for me, you know, but you don't know that means. I should be thankful, but…" She reaches over and scratches Dewy's belly. "I can't stop thinking about Bonnie."

Dewy claws at her wrist, lightly, as a warning. Myka yanks her hand away.

"Exactly! I don't know if I can trust her. But she's helping me, I guess. She's supposed to be an ally." She looks at the photo again, remembering the undercurrent: they were only pretending everything was ok. But if Helena knew that Mrs. Frederic planned to frame her then, was she already in cahoots with Bonnie? And was Bonnie's price a roll in the hay or is that the jealous girlfriend talking?

Dewy stands and turns, then lowers himself down, smooshing his back into Myka's middle. She scratches under his chin and turns on her side, pulling her knees up and hunching over to spoon him.

"She wouldn't do that to us, would she?" Dewy's purrs soar as she rubs behind his ears again. What lengths would Helena have gone to spare her? She skims a hand over Helena's pillow, smoothing a non-existent head print. She closes her eyes and summons Helena's form.

Helena often laid awake as the clock ticked toward her deportation. On those days, Myka would nudge her on her onto her side and spoon her from behind. She'd bury her nose into the bend of her neck, letting her warm breath graze over Helena's skin. When Helena would let out a whimper, she'd press kisses into her shoulder until Helena rolled over and kissed her back. And then quickly, but quietly, their bodies would meet, instinctively quelling each others lingering anxieties.

In comparison to now, those times seem simple; if only being deported was the worst of their fears. It's not fair their last night together was fraught resentment. She'd wasted precious time and energy being angry in Poland.

Dewy rises and blinks as she shifts to lie flat. He then settles into her armpit after a few turns. He lets out a huge yawn as Myka slips an arm around him. She yawns reflexively, then scratches his head.

"I wish I could stay and nap with you," she says as Dewy lays his head on his paws. "But I don't want to scare your moms when they get home. And, well, I probably shouldn't be here anyway." Myka turns to leave, but Dewy lays a paw on her arm. She slips it free. "Sorry, little dude. Say hi to them for me."

"I hope you're ok," she says to Helena's likeness as she plucks it off of the bed. She tucks it neatly into a bag and continues packing.

----------------

Myka's phone rings as she waits on the sidewalk for her Uber.

"Steve, hey!" She'd called earlier to ask about Claudia.

"You're back!"

"Yeah."

"Claudia's back, too?"

"She should be."

"Great! Then we don't have to feed Dewy anymore?"

"You're still feeding him?" A car pulls up to the curb with an Uber logo in its window. "Hang on a sec." Myka waves and points toward the trunk. After it pops, she throws in several overfilled tote bags and a garment bag. She slams the trunk closed and climbs into the back seat.

"Ok, back," she says to Steve, but gets no reply. "Steve?" She pulls the door shut and checks her screen; no service. The driver drives away as she waves the phone left and right.

"No use, dead zone," the driver says.

"There're no dead zones in New York," Myka snips. She scrolls through her settings and taps buttons, but to no avail. She glances at the driver, her voice is familiar, but her fair hair bunched up under a baseball cap doesn't give many clues. "Hey, your not..." She consults her app, but the phone won't connect. "I thought my driver was a dude."

"Change of plan," the woman answers. At a red light, she turns toward Myka. "You and I need to talk."

There's a thunk as Myka's phone drops. "B-B-Bonnie?” Bonnie's tone is deeper than she remembers. Plus the American accent threw her off.

"Morgana Kurlansky, Interpol," Morgana says, extending a hand over the seat. "Though apparently, you know that already."

"I, um..." Myka takes her hand and shakes it, limply.

"You should know, this whole business has gotten way out of hand. We're doing our best, but there are many loose ends."

"Am I a loose end?”

Myka jumps as a horn blares. Morgana turns back to the wheel and drives away.

Myka looks out the window to orient herself, is theist way to her apartment She feels trapped, too close to Bonn— Morgana, who is driving her who knows where. She yanks on the door handle as if to escape but the door doesn't budge.

"Child locks," Morgana says, then the locking lever clicks open. "Be my guest, jump out on the bridge." She motions forward toward the ramp they’re about to enter. “But I am taking you home."

Myka grimaces. Morgana knows where she lives, but then again, she probably has this whole time. To avoid Morgana’s smug gaze, she looks out the window, watching Coop Village fly by. It occurs to her that’s where Giselle lives, and if had she bailed, although it would have been complicated, she could have possibly run to her for help.

"Is Helena in jail?” If she’s stuck in this car then Morgana better pony up information.

"No. She's being monitored, held for questioning."

"Have you seen her?"

"I can't. Not as Bonnie Belski. But Helena's not alone, her daughter and friend are with her at home. Both are under our protection."

"They're in danger?"

"Potentially. MacPherson's a threat, but Mrs. Frederic's our main concern. We're worried she'll use Christina to force Helena's hand."

"She wouldn't do that," Myka says, "that's just wrong." Christina shouldn't be a pawn in this, ever.

"There's no limit to what she might do." Morgana glances at Myka in the rearview mirror. The sincerity in her eyes takes Myka aback.

"You and Helena…did you, really? You said you had proof.” Myka slumps back in her seat.

"What do you think?"

"I…I don't know," Myka says, narrowing her eyes.

Morgana mirrors the action. "Everything Helena's done has been to keep you in the clear. Do you think really she'd go that far?"

"No.” Myka looks down at her hands.

"She loves you, Myka. Remember that. Use your doubt wisely."

"What does that mean?"

"Go with your gut."

Myka groans. More cryptic bullshit. Great.

Blocks whiz by as Myka stews in silence. Too many questions swirl in her head.

"We have eyes on you, but stay on your toes. Has anyone at work asked about your trip?"

Myka mulls over her idle conversations. "Just normal stuff, like my show and Thanksgiving."

"Even Vanessa?"

"I've barely seen her."

"Steering clear until there's a verdict, hm. None of this is public yet."

"I know, I've looked." Myka stares at the back of Morgana's head as if that will force Morgana to divulge all. "How long will this last?” she asks when Morgana doesn’t continue.

Morgana drives on until a red light then turns to meet Myka's eyes. "There's no timeline I can give you. But if things go further south—"

"They could get worse?"

“—there's a contingency plan."

Myka scoots forward. "What is it?"

Morgana glances at the light then drives on.

"What about Christina's school? And Kenpo? And drum lessons?"

“All will be handled."

"Steve and Liam? Claudia's neighbors?"

"Claudia will be in touch."

"And if Steve asks what happened? What do I say?"

"You already know."

"I have to tell everyone Helena cheated on me?"

“That's the protocol.”

“There’s no other way?”

“This is the plan. How everyone stays safe."

Acting like a scorned lover is going to be difficult, but if it keeps Helena and Christina safe, she’ll have to do her best. "Do you really work or Interpol?" Myka asks as the car pulls up to the curb.

Morgana nods.

"And the other stuff Claudia dug up on you, is it true?"

"Don't forget your phone," Morgana says peering at the floor over the back of her seat.

Myka grabs it up then looks up at Morgana. Morgana's expression offers no answers, and while Myka could push, she’s unsure she wants an answer.

"Remember what I've said. And be mindful about what you say," Morgana warns. "This is a critical time and we all need to play our parts. Everyone's looking for faults, especially Mrs. Frederic. Be extra careful if she contacts you."

The remark stings like a slap in the face. It's still foreign Mrs. Frederic wants to hurt her and the ones she loves. "They're ok, right? All of them?"

“They’re fine, as far as I know," Morgana says. Her lips lift into a small smile, the first glint of hope Myka's gleaned this whole trip. "I'll be in touch when I can."

"Thank you," Myka says. She exits the car takes a few steps toward her building.

"Forget something?" Morgana calls.

Myka looks down at her hands, she has no bags. She walks back, shaking her head, cursing under her breath. The trunk pops open but the mass of stuff inside no longer seems as pressing. She unloads everything onto the sidewalk and Morgana drives away.

---------------

There’s no new news as December crawls to a close, exacerbating the dull, constant worry lodged in Myka’s gut. Lying to friends has left her questioning her every move, especially with Abigail, who innately knows when she's bending the truth. She's dreading meeting up with her after the holidays, worried she'll break down and divulge everything.

While she’s home for the holidays, there's little mention of Helena, except for her sister, who begs for details. Unable to stomach the tale in full, she babbles about visas and compromise, until Tracy seems appeased.

On Christmas afternoon, she hides upstairs, sifting through boxes her mom said to "take back with her." Nothing strikes her worth keeping, though lukewarm memories abound, displacing thoughts of Helena's whereabouts momentarily.

She’s weighing a vacation-related trinket’s worth when her phone buzzes, startling her into the present. The number on her screen's oddly long but her gut tells her to answer anyway.

"Hello?"

"Happy Christmas! Did you know they say that instead of Merry Christmas?"

"Christina?" Myka's heart leaps.

"It's Nadolaig Llawen in Welsh. Mom's been teaching me."

"Nadolay…huh?" The last word sounded like a phlemy version of "lawn."

"But on TV, everyone says Happy Christmas, and the Queen gave a speech to address 'her royal subjects!' Mom said I'm one of them, but Aunt Claudia's not because she's American."

"There was a war, back in the day. A revolutionary one. So she's right." Myka sags against the wall. They're ok; they're all ok. This is the best present ever.

"We opened Christmas crackers and mine had a hat, a bracelet, and a joke. Wanna hear the joke?"

"Sure!"

"Who delivers presents to baby sharks at Christmas?"

"I don't know."

"Santa Jaws!" Christina laughs like she doesn't have a care in the world. "Oh, oh, and we made fruitcake! Mom said the store-bought ones were gross but the one we made was kinda gross, too."

"I've never had fruitcake."

"Don't, ever, yuck!"

A mumbly voice sounds in the background. Christina says "Ok."

"Mom wants to talk to you."

"I want to talk to her, too."

"I wish you were here."

"So do I, honey."

"Merrrrry Christmaaaaas!" Christina says, words fading as the phone is passed on.

"Hello, Myka."

Those two words, spoken in that rich, velvety voice, make Myka's knees wobble. She swallows back a sob, pulling herself together, at least enough to reply. "D-Does this mean that you're..."

"Unfortunately not. There's been little movement since we last spoke. All that fanfare for such little gain."

"How are you calling?

"Many strings were pulled. A tantrum may have occurred. One in front of several key officers and not by Christina."

"Oh my." Myka pictures a distraught Helena pleading with suits with Claudia concocting a covert communication scheme in the background.

"You're at your parents, I assume?"

"Yeah."

"Good. You shouldn't be alone."

"Where are you—"

"How are you coping?"

"I'm…" Should she tell her how lying's been eating away at her soul and waking up without them every day is torture? "I'm managing ok, I guess. But it sucks, not knowing where you are or how you are."

"I apologize."

"It's not your…this is my fault. You did this for me.” And the weight of that's still sinking in. "It's just hard being here without you."

"As it is for us."

Myka tears up; bottling up the truth's taking its toll on her resolve. "I, um…I got that residency, in LA. I'm going in February. Unless you think I shouldn't."

Helena sniffs once then clears her throat, she must be affected, too. "Go on. Focus on your work. Move us into the background if possible."

"What if you come back while I'm gone?"

"That's highly unlikely."

"But it's already been a month. How long will this take?"

"As long as it needs to, so we all may be safe."

"I get it, it's just..." Myka pushes a box of out of the way and sits on the bed. "I'm being encouraged, 'for appearances,' to move to LA."

"By whom?"

"By Morgana."

"You've spoken?"

"Briefly. Twice."

“Good. I asked her to watch over you."

"I guess she is. Do you think I should go?"

"If she thinks it's best, perhaps consider it. I know it's a lot to ask."

"I have to move anyway because Charlotte and Bennett are leaving for London. And Vanessa introduced me to a museum there that has a job opening."

"Clever move. If she hands you off, you're no longer her problem. I imagine she's keeping her distance, riddled with guilt."

"Maybe, yeah. I don't know. It's been weird at work in general." Everyone keeps giving her these sad, concerned looks, and she's worried they know more than they're letting on. "A fresh start might be good, but I've never been to LA. I might hate it."

"It's awfully showy."

"You really think I should go? I want to be in New York when you get back, not on the other side of the country."

"Claudia will be back eminently, but Christina and I…"

"'Christina and I' what?"

"Christina and I will be moving on after the holidays."

"Moving on? Where?"

"Somewhere safe."

"You're not safe now?"

"We need somewhere permanent."

"You'll call me when you get there, right?"

"There'll be strict rules once we're settled."

“Settled.” Myka’s stomach sinks. "You mean witness protection."

"Myka—"

"For how long?" Myka yelps. "God, I sound like a broken record."

"We'll miss you terribly if that helps."

“Not really.” Myka drops her head into a hand. "This is bad, Helena. Really bad. What if I never see you again!"

"I won't let that happen."

"How?"

"Let's get through these next few months first."

“Months. Months!" Myka's hand curls into a fist. She looks around for something to hit, but nothing satisfying presents itself. "Does Christina know what's going on?"

"In as much detail as a highly intelligent eight-year-old can."

"She's almost nine, Helena. Nine! I'll miss her birthday. I don't want to miss her birthday."

"Nor do we want you to. You'll be there in spirit, I promise."

"What if—"

"Hold on."

There's mumbling in the background again.

"Please, not yet," Helena says.

More mumbling.

"They're saying I must go. The line's unstable."

As if on cue, the line crackles.

"Helena?"

"I'm here, love."

"Merry Christmas."

"Happy Christma—"

"Helena. Helena!" There's a click, then dead air, but Myka stays on the line. "I love you," she whispers as if the phrase will reach Helena anyway.

"Who ya talking to, sis?" Tracy says from the door.

“Tracy. Hi!" Myka swings around. "How long have you been there?"

"Just ran up. Mom's having a coronary because you haven't come down yet."

"Has she been calling?"

"Like a zillion times."

"Oh."

Tracy eyes Myka's phone. "What was that about?"

"Um..." Myka looks at the phone and lays it face down on the bed. “Abigail’s family's driving her nuts."

"Join the club." Tracy rolls her eyes.

Myka chuckles once, but it borders on a sob, her belly caving too sharply for mirth.

Tracy walks into the room and sits next to Myka. "This is a big one, huh? Got your heart broken, didn't you?"

Myka hangs her head.

"You'll get over it. You always do. I bet there's tons of hot girls in New York." Tracy punches Myka lightly on the arm.

"I might be moving to LA."

“LA? Oooh, that’s new."

“Myka! Tracy! Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Ted are here!" Myka's mom calls.

“Coming!” Tracy yells. “I’ll help you make it through dinner in one piece if you tell me everything after."

Myka answers with a shaky half-smile. “Ok. Deal."

-TBC-

[spindlesandrosethorns]

Rolling Hills and Big Reveals  @@  War and Peace

In which Aurora goes home for answers to questions her dreams have brought to light, and Reza and Sabiha tag along for the ride. [Takes place in mid-March (i know)]

TW: death mention, blood mention, panic attacks

@rezares​

AURORA

Aurora was in a weird mood the whole train ride to her hometown. She knew she was acting weird; hyperfocused on her knitting or the passing hills and only barely responding to Reza’s rare question, but she couldn’t help herself. Every time her mind wandered, her mind went back to the last time she had gone home, or to Carabosse’s threatening words in the dream. No, better to keep her mind on more pleasant things so she could stick to her resolve than letting her fear and anxiety get the best of her.

She refused to run from this. She couldn’t depend on the reassurances of her family anymore, she had to guarantee her own safety now and had to find her own path.

The only thing that could pull her attention completely away was Sabiha, and when the little girl was awake and full of questions, Aurora was answering them with a fond smile. But Sabiha’s attention wandered, and Aurora was left on her own.

The whole mental exercise at least gave her an edge to her expression that meant that no one wanted to hold her up, and the small trio had an easy time getting off the train and into the station. Aurora hitched her day bag across her chest, bending down to make sure Sabiha’s arms were properly in her backpack straps before taking her hand. “I scheduled a cab to pick us up,” she told Reza, “so if you want to get some food to eat on the way, this is the time.”

Aurora wasn’t sure if they’d be staying for dinner, after all.

REZA

When Aurora had angrily slammed shut a spellbook, pushed her chair from the table, and hopped to her feet a few days ago, Reza hadn’t been sure what to expect. He didn’t think he’d done anything to piss her off lately… but had run over the previous few days in his head anyway.

She’d opened her mouth and Reza prepared for a tongue-lashing, but when the gist of what she shouted basically ended up being ‘Fuck this shit, you’re coming to Scotland with me to be my cheerleader while I confront my parents’ he was equal parts surprised and relieved. Relieved she didn’t want to yell at him, because being yelled to by her was scary enough. Surprised, because he sort of had assumed they’d made up.

After all, other than Christmas, she hadn’t really mentioned the fight with her parents and aunts.

Then again he hadn’t asked. For one, it wasn’t his business; and even if it was, asking would have been rubbing salt in the wound. He did give her opportunities to talk about it. Asked her how she was doing, asked her if she wanted to do Not Easter But Easter dinner at his house this year.

(Sabiha was fascinated with the concept of Easter egg hunts. He told Rory he figured he wasn’t ‘too bad a Muslim’ if he hid plastic eggs full of candies for Sabiha to find.)

He didn’t ask her directly, but she had chances to bring it up.

Her outburst made it clear that they hadn’t patched things up, which, he felt bad about. Of course he’d come with her, he said. Let me come, too! Sabiha had shouted from the loft upstairs.

And that’s how the three of them ended up on a train to Scotland to confront Aurora’s anti-sorcerer family.

… Great.

“I packed food for Sabiha, and I’m not hungry. We can grab something for you if you want.”                  

AURORA

If Aurora ate, she was going to puke from nerves, honestly. So instead, she gave Reza a smile and shook her head. “I’m good, but thank you.” The train station was as familiar to Aurora as the halls of her home, and as they walked, Aurora pointed out different venues or landmarks she knew and thought Sabiha or Reza might find interesting.

“How do you know so much about this place, Amma Rora?” Sabiha asked in French, their joined hands swinging slightly between them.

“Back when I still went to boarding school, this was the station I left from to get to school and back,” she explained with a small smile. “My house is pretty far in the country, so this was as close as I could get. Thankfully, it’s only a twenty minute drive from here to my parents.”

They stepped out of the doors into the brisk Scottish air, Aurora immediately taking a deep breath and feeling more settled than before. Even knowing her parents were at the end of this trip, even not knowing what kind of response she would get or what answers she would find, there was something about coming home that just made her feel a little bit better. It didn’t hurt that Sabiha was looking around, fascinated by their new surroundings, and that Aurora could feel Reza behind her.

The driver of a black sedan stood up straighter as the trio headed down the stairs, knocking back the brim of his hat so he could smile up at them with a gap-toothed grin. “Miss Briar, welcome back ta Perceforest,” he greeted, and Aurora smiled brightly at the familiar driver.

“Ay, thanks Bill,” she said, finally letting go of Sabiha to give the driver a hug. “Thanks for comin’ on such short notice.”

“For you, lass? Anything,” he reassured her with a laugh. Once the two broke away from each other, he gave Reza a nod and Sabiha a small bow. “And who is this wee bonnie lassie you’re travelin’ with today?”

Aurora moved to stand behind Sabiha, resting her hands on the young girl’s shoulders comfortingly. “This is my friend from Swynlake, Reza Kasraoui-Müller, and his daughter Sabiha,” she introduced; careful to get the pronunciation of their names right even though her accent had naturally thickened in response to Bill’s. “Sabiha, this is my old friend Bill,” she explained to the young girl in French. “I’ve known him since I was smaller than you.”

REZA

Sabiha was getting much better at English! She was! But Mr. Bill talked very, very funny, so she was glad her Amma ‘Rora helped her out a little by speaking French to her. Well, then! If he was a friend of ‘Rora’s, she liked him!

“Hi,” Sabiha said quietly, waving to him, before tugging on Aurora’s sleeve and whispering in French. “Tell him I’m from Tunisia and am very shy in English, but I promise I don’t not like him.”

Reza’s resting bitch face broke into a smile at Sabiha taking care to make sure Rory’s friend knew she wasn’t rude just because she might not talk to him. He wondered if anybody at school ever implied that. He hoped not. He’d ask her later, have a little chat before bed sometime.

“Aslema, pleasure to meet you.” He said, shaking Bill’s hand. “Ya Sabiha, do you want me to put your stuffy in your backpack now?”

“I’ll hold ‘im.” Sabiha replied in mumbled English, clutching her bear close to her chest.

AURORA

Aurora’s smile went all soft and fond as she leaned down to hear Sabiha’s whisper, giving her a nod and quick kiss on the head. “Of course, little bear,” she promised. Bill took it all in stride, more than used to Aurora and her mother breaking into random Portuguese at random points in the conversation, and shook Reza’s hand back firmly.

“Pleasure to have you both with us,” he said with a grin before offering to take their bags and put them in the trunk. Aurora helped Sabiha climb into the taxi, making sure she was safely buckled in the middle before sliding inside after her. Once everyone was inside the taxi and they were pulling away from the curb, Aurora made sure to pass Sabiha’s message along and Bill laughed and gave Sabiha a grin through the rearview mirror. “Don’t you worry, lassie,” he reassured, “Ol’ Bill here is used to doing all the talking!”

“Ain’t that the truest thing I ever heard,” Aurora teased.

During the ride, Aurora and Bill slipped into an easy back and forth, talking rapidly as they caught the other up on what had happened in their lives. Bill told them about his dog going into remission and his third granddaughter being born, Aurora told him about her yarn shop and Reza’s successful campaign for Town Board. Occasionally, Aurora would look over at Sabiha or Reza, silently checking up on them to make sure they weren’t feeling too awkward or ignored.

REZA

Reza didn’t mind sitting there silently as Rory caught up with her friend. He was perfectly happy braiding and unbraiding Sabiha’s hair to keep his hands busy, and whispering to her in Arabic, reminding her of her manners.

Sabiha nodded along - she was an obedient child for the most part - but at a certain point on the drive, she clearly was tired of sitting still. She looked between Rory and Reza, and in French so as not to upset Mr. Bill, asked the obligatory question.

“Are we there yet?”

“Sabiha,” Reza cautioned behind a huff of laughter.

AURORA

Aurora giggled at Sabiha’s question, grabbing her hand and giving it a small squeeze. “Not too much further, Sabiha,” she promised. They were only about five minutes out, actually, and wow didn’t that just bring back all of the fear and anxiety she’d been fighting against since before they had gotten on the train. She didn’t drop Sabiha’s hand, instead just holding on gently as she looked out the window and tried not to hyperventilate. Bill, even mundane as he was, easily sensed the shift in her demeanor and stayed quiet for the rest of the ride, only asking Reza an occasional question.

Soon, they turned onto a familiar, twisting road, and Aurora’s hand gripped Sabiha’s a little tighter as they drove deeper into the woods. Through the window, Aurora thought she could spot several floating lights, but they quickly vanished, and she wondered if they had been fairies. Off to tell either the Queen or her aunties that little Rose had come back.

She reminded herself that she was too old to lean out the window and yell at them to not tell anyone she was coming at all.

They broke through the trees and a large, stone manor stood before them. It had been in her father’s family since one of her ancestors had been titled by some long-dead monarch and given the property and surrounding fields for his own. Though the fields and farms had long turned into the bustling town of Perceforest and her family only owned some of the older, historic buildings, their house was still as grand and well-kept as the day it had been built; just updated to keep with the times. The creamy stone shone in the sunlight, all of the windows sparkling as they swung open in the spring breeze, and Aurora wanted to tell Bill to just turn right back around and drive them back to the train station.

“Here we are,” Bill said cheerfully as he pulled around the circular drive and stopped in front of the main doors. “All to shore that’s going to shore!”

Aurora hesitated, hand on the door handle as she tried to convince herself she wasn’t scared. She was brave, and confident, and came for answers. And she was going to open that door, march up those steps, and demand she got them!

… After she stopped shaking like a leaf.

REZA

As Reza stood in Rory’s driveway, all he could think was ‘Holy privilege, Batman!’ Really, he’d never even seen a house this big in person, let along been in one before. He felt almost like it was a fuck you to British colonialism by being a North African Muslim standing on the property.

Rory was shaking, and even Reza wasn’t too emotionally inept to know she was terrified.

“Hey,” Reza said, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing. “You’ll be okay.” He took his hand away in favor of holding Sabiha’s hand, and smiled at her. “I’ll be on my best behavior, don’t worry.”

And standing behind her for moral support. But mostly on his best behavior, which he’d said to make her laugh.

AURORA

She had eventually gotten out of the car, an excited Sabiha nearly falling out of her lap, and was staring up at her family home when Reza’s hand came up to her shoulder. She turned to look at him with wide eyes, and sure enough, his comment about being on his best behavior made her smile and chuckle. It was just a little huff of a laugh, but it helped unwind some of the tension lodged in her throat, and Aurora could feel some of the stress bleed from her shoulders. The reminder that she wasn’t alone helped more than anything, and Aurora gave him a soft, grateful smile.

(She wondered for a moment what he would do if she rose up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek to thank him, then immediately took that silly urge and buried it deep in her mind where it could never see the light of day again.)

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said instead, playfully shaking her finger at him as she stepped around him to say goodbye to Bill and pay him their fare (plus a generous tip). The cab pulled away and this time when Aurora looked up at her house, it was with the same determined expression she had worn on the train. She took a deep breath before approaching the front doors, easily going up the steps and raising the large knocker that was hung just above her head and letting it drop three times.

“Coming!” came a thickly-accented voice through the open windows, and Aurora’s determined expression faltered and turned into something smaller and vulnerable.

The door opened only a few moments later, a plump woman with dark skin and a colorful hair wrap greeting them with a smile. The smile fell the moment she laid eyes on Aurora, the woman gasping and bringing a hand to her mouth. “Rose?” she breathed, and Aurora smiled at her shyly.

“Hi Mum.”

Leah let go of the door to step out and draw Aurora in, immediately pulling her daughter into an all-encompassing hug. “Oh, Rose,” she said, voice thick with emotion as she clung to her daughter and Aurora clung back just as tight. “I’m so glad you’re alright. We were all so worried!”

“I’m sorry, Mum,” Aurora said softly, her face tucked against her mother’s shoulder as she melted into her embrace.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Leah said, pulling back to cup Aurora’s face in her hands and gently wipe the tears that had started rolling down her daughter’s face. “You did nothing wrong. Except not call your mother when you got home safe.”

Aurora’s laugh came out as a wet hiccup, and the two women hugged each other even tighter than before; muttering to each other in Portuguese as Leah gently rubbed Aurora’s back.

REZA

Ah, you know what? This made Rory’s thing for hugs make sense. Her mother being all one hug, two hugs, eighty-nine hugs, it seemed fitting. What surprised him about her though was how African she was.

No, not black - he knew Aurora was biracial - but like, genuinely African. She spoke English with a thick sub-Saharan African accent, and he’d venture to say hers was thicker than his North African accent. Like she purposely learned to speak English clearly but just as intentionally kept her natural cadence and pronunciation.

Despite her living in Scotland for at least almost thirty years, Rory’s mother looked and sounded so African. It was cool, and against Reza’s better judgement, he really wanted to ask The Question.

An African who spoke Portuguese? She was statistically from one of six countries, but Reza could only remember three. Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. There were more, he knew...fuck, but he couldn’t remember.

Was it...Guinea? Equatorial Guinea? Guinea-Bissau?

AURORA

Aurora was completely oblivious to Reza and Sabiha as she just soaked in all of the love pouring off of her mother in waves. Ever since becoming a sorceress and being able to feel and see reagents, her mother had reminded her of the beaches of Mozambique, and basking in her love felt like standing with her feet buried in the sand and her face turned towards the sun as the water lapped at her legs.

God, she had needed this.

Finally, the two had had enough, and pulled away from each other with matching wet giggles. Aurora smiled warmly as Leah kissed her cheek, her mother pulling back to wipe her own tears as she finally took notice of the other two people on her stoop. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice you had brought friends with you,” she said, smiling at Reza and Sabiha. She looked over the two quickly before looking back at Aurora.

“Is he your boyfriend?” she asked in Portuguese, smiling when Aurora’s cheeks immediately turned dark red.

“Mum!” she yelped, all too aware that Reza could see how flustered and embarrassed she was, and that he wouldn’t even need to be a sorcerer to do it. “No! Oh my god, no he’s not.”

“That’s a shame, he’s handsome.”

“Oh my god stop, please.”

Leah laughed, patting Aurora’s cheek as her daughter attempted to shove her face into her hands before turning to face Reza and Sabiha again. “I’m Leah, it’s nice to meet you both,” she said kindly, holding out her hand to Reza.

REZA

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Leah.” He said, giving her hand a firm handshake. “I’m Reza, and this is my daughter Sabiha.”

“You’re from where we’re from!” Sabiha said in cheery Arabic, forgetting to use her English in her excitement, and pointing to her headwrap. “Kind of.”

“Ya Sabiha, don’t point at the nice lady. That’s very rude.”

Tunisian women didn’t really dress like Leah, but, Sabiha had met plenty of sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia for business or pleasure, so knew how people around the continent of Africa dressed. For a small child recently taken so far from home, it was exciting seeing somebody that looked like people she often ran into back home.

“She’s not trying to be rude, Leah. Sabiha’s actually very excited, because she knows you’re from Africa like she is. If I can ask; are you Angolan, Cape Verdean, or Mozambican? The Portuguese narrows it down.” Reza asked, before gesturing to himself and Sabiha. “We’re Tunisian.”

AURORA

Aurora wasn't worried about her mother being offended by Sabiha pointing; not only was she obviously Not White, but her mother had been in Scotland too long to be bothered by something as small as that. Instead she was worried that her mother would recognize Reza's name from Christmas and the whole conversation would crash out now.

If Leah did recognize the name as that of Rose's Controversial Sorcery Master, she didn't show it. She smiled at the two. “Oh, it's no problem at all,” she told Reza, “and well spotted. I'm from Mozambique.” She took Sabiha's hand in her own, giving it a soft pat. “It's nice to meet you, Sabiha,” she said in rusty Arabic.

“Please, come inside,” she said to all three, taking Aurora's hand in her own and pulling her daughter in close to her side. “Your father will want to know you're here, as well as Jo and the others,” Leah said, and Aurora's stomach dropped for half a moment.

“That's good, because that's why I'm here,” she said softly. “I have… there's something we need to talk about, Mum. Some questions I have for you all.”

Leah glanced back at Reza and Sabiha out of the corner of her eye. “Should we wait for after dinner to have that conversation?” she asked in Portuguese. Aurora shook her head.

“It's why they came with me,” she explained. “Reza's a sorcerer, mum. My teacher. And we have some questions about Carabosse.”

Leah came to a halt, looking at Aurora with that familiar, haunted expression she wore any time the curse came up. She looked at Reza again with new eyes, but didn't say anything. Instead she gave him a small, sad smile and turned back to her daughter. “Of course, Rose,” she murmured. “Whatever you need to know.”

As they walked along, Leah stopped by a gentleman dusting a painting and quietly instructed him to go find her husband. “We can go to the sun room,” she offered. “Your father can meet us there and then we can call for your godmothers.”

REZA

Sabiha gasped and bounced on the balls of her feet, chattering away in fast-paced Tunisian dialect. “You speak Arabic? Oh, good! Nobody in Swynlake does, at least none of my baba’s friends. Amma ‘Rora knows French, and I know French too, because we speak two language in Tunisia. Arabic is my favorite language though because it’s the prettiest and the most fun to write.”

“Sabiha, breathe,” Reza reminded her, patting her head. He didn’t apologize for her because he didn’t want Sabiha to ever feel bad about feeling excited, only smiled apologetically at Leah.

He didn’t say anything else, though he sensed the tension as Rory spoke to her mother in Portuguese.

AURORA

Leah gave Sabiha a gentle smile, and the similarities between mother and daughter became incredibly clear. “My Arabic is rather rusty, I’m afraid,” she admitted as she led them into an open room made mostly of glass. There were several comfortable couches arranged around a long coffee table, facing towards the glass wall and the view of the gardens beyond. You could see the forest at the edge of the grounds, and to the right, a path that led out to the cliffs and the sea.

“Sabiha’s French is wonderful,” Aurora told her mother in French so the little girl could be included, “and her English is improving every day. Soon she’s going to teach me Tunisian, and I will try very hard not to butcher it with my accent,” she joked. They were all about to sit when they heard running footsteps approaching the room, and Aurora looked to the doors in confusion. Only to yelp when they were flung back open and a tall, thin man with greying hair and a brilliant smile burst through, making a beeline for Aurora.

“Rose!” Stefan said gladly, and Aurora laughed as she ran to meet him halfway and was immediately swung into the air. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming back to visit!”

“Surprise?” she said, still giggling in her father’s embrace. He pressed a loud kiss to her forehead, cuddling her close as Aurora beamed.

“I missed you so much,” he said. “I’m so sorry, lass.” Stefan pulled back just enough to meet his daughter’s eye. “Forgive your stupid old man?”

“We’ll see,” Aurora said with a soft smile in return, leaning up to kiss her father’s cheek and laughing when he dramatically swooned on the spot.

Leah was watching the two with a fond smile, one hand pressed to her heart as Stefan made a show of turning Aurora under his arm so he could get a good look at her. “Dear, control yourself,” she said with a chuckle. “She didn’t come alone.”

Stefan finally noticed the other two people in the room and gave them a bright smile as well. “Hello! Friends of Rose’s, I assume?”

“This is Reza and Sabiha,” Aurora introduced, gesturing at the two. “Sabiha just moved to Swynlake from Tunisia and Reza is my sorcery teacher.” She watched her father’s reaction, meeting his eyes when his head snapped back towards her and giving him a pleading look. Stefan hesitated for a moment before giving her a soft smile in return, letting go of her to instead approach Reza and hold out his hand.

“Well it’s lovely to meet ya’ both,” he said, shaking Reza’s hand and bowing dramatically to Sabiha.

REZA

Again, the words ‘holy privilege, Batman!’ echoed in Reza’s skull, bouncing around like a DVD screensaver.

His cynicism wore off at the absolutely dweeb Stefan Briar was with his daughter, only to be replaced with confusion. If they loved Aurora so much, why were they so mean to her at Christmas? Why had it been months since they spoke in any meaningful capacity?

So much seemed off about this entire thing.

And even through Stefan’s awful thick Scottish accent, Reza could sense the uncertainty about Reza’s presence even before he physically felt it when they shook hands. “Likewise.” Was all he said, his grip on Sabiha’s hand getting just a tiny bit tighter.

Sabiha, at least, was very entertained by Stefan’s dramatic bow, giggling at the funny older man. “I’m Sabiha.” She said, curtseying just as play dramatic.

AURORA

Stefan beamed at Sabiha’s little curtsy. “Why, if I had known we had a wee princess in our midst, I would have worn my nice shirt,” he said, making a show of straightening out his polo shirt. “Rose, you’ve passed on your crown already?”

“Daaa,” Aurora groaned with a laugh, coming over and gently pushing his chest until the chuckling man was upright. “Behave.”

“I am behaving! It’s not my fault kids love me!”

“It’s because you are a child,” Leah cut in with a grin, causing Aurora to snort with laughter and Stefan to gasp at the betrayal. “Come now, sit,” she said to the group. “I’ll get us all some snacks in a moment, but first, how was your trip here?”

“Fairly smooth,” Aurora said, sitting next to Sabiha as her parents sat together on the couch closest to her. They immediately held hands, gravitating to each other in the seamless way that Aurora had always loved. There was no question her parents were still as helplessly in love with each other as they had been the day they had met, and Aurora wondered not for the first time if she would be so lucky one day. “Bill met us at the station.”

“Aye, good man, Bill,” Stefan said with a grin.

Leah was the one who asked “How have you been? Since… since Christmas?” The mood in the room took a notably somber turn, Stefan’s bright smile dimming just a bit and Aurora’s fingers tangling in her lap. “We hadn’t heard from you,” Leah continued. “We were worried.”

“I’m sorry,” Aurora said softly. “I… I should have let you know I was safe. I was just…” She took a deep breath. “I had to take some time to think about what had been said,” she told them. The two adults at least had the sense to look guilty. Aurora opened her mouth before shaking her head, all too aware of Sabiha and Reza next to her. “But that’s in the past,” she said. “I’m not here to talk about that. I- something happened, last month.”

Stefan and Leah both looked at her in concern. “What happened?” Stefan asked, reaching out to lay a hand on Aurora’s knee. Aurora immediately gripped it back. “Rose?”

“Sabiha, sweetie, can you go get one of your stuffies for me out of your bag?” Aurora said instead, looking at Sabiha with a small smile. “I’m going to need some help.” And I don’t want you hearing what I’m about to say next.

Sabiha already had nightmares, she didn’t need a peek into Aurora’s.

REZA

At Aurora’s request, Sabiha crinkled her nose all confused and looked up at her father. She might get lost in this big house! And, she wanted to listen to what the grown-ups were saying.

Reza ran his fingers through Sabiha’s hair and whispered gently in their native language, “Go on, listen to Amma ‘Rora.” and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. The little girl opened her mouth to protest, but upon receiving The Look she obeyed and slid off the couch.

He watched Sabiha wander off, and once she disappeared from sight, turned to Aurora and nodded that it was safe to continue.

AURORA

The Briar’s watched the interaction carefully and their eyes were back on Aurora as soon as Sabiha was gone. It wasn’t far to the front door and all the hallways led back to the sunroom anyways, so Aurora wasn’t worried. It would be just enough time to tell her parents about her dream.

If her father hadn’t narrowed his eyes and looked between Reza and Aurora speculatively. “Is there something you two want to tell us?” he asked, trailing off while Aurora went simultaneously red and deathly pale at once. Leah immediately turned a dangerous frown on her husband.

“Stefan.”

“What!? You weren’t thinking it too?” he defended, and Aurora squeaked.

“Da, no,” she said, pointedly not looking at Reza and pointedly not thinking about the knots forming in her stomach and throat. “I’m not here because of… anything like that.” She looked down at the floor. “I’m here because I saw Carabosse,” she said quietly, not needing to see her parents’ faces to know how quickly their confusion had turned to horror. “In a dream. She spoke to me, telling me…”

Her hands were shaking in her lap, eyes squeezed shut as she relived that awful moment. The freezing water up to her ankles, rushing in faster than she thought possible. Carabosse stalking towards her, her perfectly coiled black hair coming undone and messy. The headache blooming behind Aurora’s temples as each word from her mistress threatened to bring her to her knees.

“You’re running out of places to hide, little Rose,” she said, lilac eyes wild with fury. “I will find you, and when I do, I’ll take back what is mine.” Aurora stumbled back, clutching her head as she keened in pain. “You’re mine, Aurora Briar,” Carabosse hissed. “Every breath you take is mine, every heartbeat is forfeit to me. I won’t be denied any longer, and your pitiful Mundus family with their little fairies can’t keep me from collecting their debt.”

Carabosse lunged at Aurora, her form rippling into something straight out of a nightmare as her long, thin fingers reached for her eyes. Aurora screamed, grabbing her wrists and holding her back even as her back slammed into the metal walls of the ship. “I will take what I am owed! What is MINE!” Carabosse screamed, eyes black and veins protruding under her paper-thin skin. Aurora looked at her mistress in horror, wrestling her back as the woman continued to reach for Aurora’s eyes. There was something burning inside of her, wild and untamed and furious as it writhed in her chest. Her hands burned where they met Carabosse’s skin

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Aurora screamed, kicking out at Carabosse and sending the sorceress back. She turned and ran, splashing through the water as fast as she could as she heard Carabosse’s scream following her. She ran to the end of the hall, turning and slamming the door shut behind her as she grabbed a chair that was nearby. She nearly got it under the handles to block it up when something heavy crashed into it and opened the door enough for a single, gnarled hand to shoot through and grab Aurora by her throat. She gasped as the hand didn’t squeeze, but instead there was the familiar feeling of magic draining from her body. A single black eye peered at her through the crack in the door, and the wild thing in her chest thrashed back and howled. No, she wouldn’t die like this.

Aurora reached back through the door and grabbed Carabosse’s neck in return, and tried something she had never done before. Tried to take the energy Carabosse had drained from her back.

Her skin was hot, and Aurora could feel the heat travelling through her veins and up her arm, foreign and familiar and too much and not enough all at once. Carabosse’s wide grin had turned into a snarl, and Aurora whimpered as she felt her knees begin to weaken. No, no no no no no no no-

Aurora glared back at Carabosse and held on tighter, the heat growing until she was filled to the brim with fire. It threatened to tear her to pieces, to scald her from the inside, but when Carabosse fell to her knees first, Aurora just changed her grip and held on to the wrist at her throat. Lilac eyes looked back at her with hatred and fear, and Aurora had never felt stronger.

“Leave. Me. Alone,” she rasped, tearing Carabosse’s hand away from her as the pull on her energy was replaced with something Aurora could not describe.

“I will find you,” Carabosse hissed, beating weakly against the door. “Your life belongs to me.”

“You don’t get to have any say over my life ever again,” Aurora snarled, throwing Carabosse’s hand away from her and slamming the doors shut. She propped up the chair under the handles and ran away even as the slamming began. It didn’t take long for it to get weaker and weaker, until it finally stopped.

In the next window Aurora passed, she saw her eyes were now a bright, vibrant lilac.

Aurora hadn’t realized she had been retelling the nightmare out loud until she looked up and saw how pale both of her parents had gone, Leah’s hand over her mouth in shock. She quickly looked away again. “Swynlake dreams that take you to another place and time are normal, but that wasn’t,” she explained. “It was like Carabosse knew it was really me, like she could remember the real world inside of the dream. Like she was there.”

Aurora reached up to take hold of the amethyst necklace around her throat. “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she admitted. “I don’t even know what she meant.” She looked up at her parents. “Why did she say I was a debt that she was owed?”

Leah looked haunted, and Stefan suddenly looked twice his age.

REZA

Reza had heard most of the story, but Aurora had glazed over some details or completely omitted others. Ever the expert as suppressing his emotions and reactions, Reza shoved up any questions he had for Rory in a tiny box and crushed it.

He had to talk quickly, before Sabiha came back.

“I don’t think the two of you understand, or can comprehend, how powerful that magic has to be to follow Rory into an alternate universe and communicate with her there. That is powerful, seriously dark magic. Magic that powerful is inherently dangerous to whoever is toying with it.” Reza said, only now realizing that so far, his point wasn’t even being made, he hadn’t even been saying what he wanted to say.

“Shit. Okay, so.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “My life story isn’t relevant here, so I’m not going to get into it. Nothing about me is relevant except my magic. I am a cursebreaker. That’s my whole-” and he made a series of gestures with his hand “-thing. My specialty is getting in the face of dark magic, coaxing its secrets out of it, and figuring out how to solve the problem.”

He cleared his throat and looked from Stefan, to Leah, to Rory, and smiled apologetically at Rory.

“The first day I began teaching Rory, with I first held her hand to get a feel for her magic and what I was working with, I was equal parts perpexled and terrified. It was like...like when you soak lemon slices in water. The water tastes like lemon but isn’t lemonade. It was magic that felt like Rory because it’d been in her so long, but wasn’t Rory. It was like it had become part of her, but it didn’t come from her. And it didn’t, did it, Stefan?”

Reza addressed her father directly, figuring he would be easier crack. Leah clearly was the stronger personality of the two. And maybe his status as a father himself might soften Stefan to him.

“I understand wanting to protect your daughter. Believe me I do. I was clinically dead for two minutes and twenty seconds to save my daughter’s life. So I get it, I get it. But keeping something that is literally all about something so vital to her entire being is not the way to do it. I know you’ve not been forthcoming about the truth, and so does she. I-” Reza paused. He turned to face his apprentice with a sheepish smile “Sorry, Rory that’s the only time I will speak for you, forgive me.”

And he immediately turned back to Stefan, stone-faced, and ready to get down to business. “Your daughter’s story about her curse, the one she relayed to me, it doesn’t make sense.”

“What-” he cut himself off, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “What actually happened? What is the real truth? Tell her - tell us - so she can know and I can help her. Why does Carabosse think she’s owed Rory? Who is she in the first place? If she’s so powerful she’s able to harness the magic she does, why can’t she simply show up here and hurt her like she obviously wants to?”

“Lying up to this point has been foolish, irresponsible, and dangerous. Continuing to withhold the truth would be, frankly, willfully putting your daughter in danger.”

AURORA

Aurora watched her parents silently as Reza spoke, only looking away from them a few times to meet Reza’s eye or to lay her hand on his forearm and give it a warning squeeze. Yes, she wanted the truth, yes, she wanted the lies to end, but they were her parents.

Even if their reactions hadn’t been incredibly reassuring.

They had both looked equal parts angered and ashamed, although Leah had been the one to look up, almost hopefully, when Reza had told them he was a cursebreaker. That hope hadn’t lasted long.

Stefan was turning red, which Aurora knew from watching long conference calls and meetings between her father and his business partners, meant that he was about to blow up. “Da, please,” she said softly, reaching out for his hand. “I need to know. I’m twenty-seven, I think I can handle it now.”

Stefan looked at her, sad and confused and defeated, but it was Leah who spoke up. “Your father had nothing to do with it,” she said quietly, back straight as she met Aurora’s eyes. “If you want the truth, it will be from me.”

“Leah,” Stefan said quietly, before she held up her hand.

“Go find her godmothers,” she told her husband softly. “They need to be here for this.”

Stefan hesitated, looking back and forth between Leah and Aurora, before nodding. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured, kissing Leah’s temple before standing; giving Reza one last warning look before his eyes drifted to Aurora.

She didn’t notice. She was staring at her mother.

“What do you mean?” Aurora asked quietly as her father left the room. Leah took a deep breath, eyes closed.

“Aurora, I… The best thing I have ever done is raise you,” she said, looking at her daughter with warm golden eyes. “Being your mother is my greatest joy, and I have loved you with my whole heart since the moment I knew you were growing inside of me. But I did wrong by you, even before you were born,” she admitted.

Aurora’s hand stayed on Reza’s arm, trembling, as she looked at her mother with wide eyes.

“Your father and I were married for ten years before we had you,” Leah began. “And we had always wanted a big family. It was why we moved out here to Stefan’s ancestral home; plenty of room for plenty of kids. But no matter what we tried, we couldn’t conceive. We must have seen dozens of doctors, and they all told us the same thing. We would never have children.” Leah sighed. “It broke our hearts. I must have cried for weeks. Stefan started looking into adoption, but I couldn’t let it go. I wanted to know my own child, to see the beautiful baby Stefan and I would make. I thought I would die without knowing them.”

Leah pressed her clasped hands to her lips, eyes closed as she tried to steady herself. “That’s when I met her. A sorceress, looking out on the water from the cliffs, on the edges of our property. She asked me what ailed me, and I told her. I told her that I was barren, that it had always been my dream to have a large family, and she told me she could make it happen. She told me there would be a price, but I was so desperate that I was willing to give anything-” her words caught in her throat.

“She asked me for a sample of my blood, told me to go home, see my husband, and two months later the doctors confirmed I was pregnant. Stefan thought it was a miracle. I knew better.”

Leah smiled wetly. “The day you were born was the best day of my life. Oh, you were so beautiful. Our little Aurora, the light of our lives. For years life seemed to be perfect, watching you grow up. We were never able to conceive again, but we had you, and that was more than enough. When you were twelve, I found the sorceress again. I told her I had come to thank her, and repay my debt, but she told me it wasn’t time. She told me ‘Return to this place when your blossoming Rose turns sixteen, and invite me to your home to join the celebration. I shall stay for three nights, and when I leave in the morning, the debt will be repaid.’ And so I did.”

She shook her head. “I never thought- The debt was mine to repay, not yours. Never yours.”

Aurora didn’t know what she was feeling. The grip on Reza’s arm was the only thing keeping her on the ground. Carabosse had helped her mother get pregnant? Even before she was born, there had been an axe over her head.

“What…” Aurora started, her voice weak. “What happened next?”

Before Leah could answer, the door swung back open, and three older women rushed into the room. “Rory!” they all cried out, and Aurora spun to look at them with wide eyes. They all stopped dead when they saw the tears in her eyes, how wrung out Leah looked, and the stranger sitting next to Aurora.

“Should… we come back?” Jo asked, looking between the three as Verna and Lila tried to process the situation.

REZA

Reza pat Rory’s hand as a gesture of comfort as she rested it on his arm. He swallowed, as the story Leah told...well, it did tug on his heart. He hadn’t ever desired to be a father. It wasn’t until he agreed to get Rafika pregnant that he’d ever imagined passing on his genes. And it wasn’t until she was a few months pregnant that he realized he felt wrong about creating and child and not raising it.

He never purposely sought out being a father, but once he knew a child with his DNA was going to exist, he ached to be part of that child’s life. Reza wanted his baby so badly it hurt him to know that the arrangement was supposed to be zero involvement.

Rafika eventually saw things his way, and he never once regretted changing his mind about their original arrangement.

It would have killed him to not be able to hold Sabiha - and for the years they were separated, it tore him apart inside. So to an extent, he could empathize with Leah. About not knowing you’d get to have a baby. And then having a beautiful, perfect little girl that you loved more than anything. And her being all you could ask for and all you need.

He got it. He did.

As quickly as it came though, the empathy was gone. It was interrupted by three old white women bursting into the room. And three old white women never meant Happy Fun Times for Reza.

AURORA

The shock that had stopped her three aunties didn’t last long, and Lila was the first one to come around the couch and take Aurora’s hand. “Hiya, Rory,” she said with a small smile, perching herself on the edge of the couch with an ease that did not suit her size. Jo had gone to sit by Leah, wrapping an arm around the other woman and murmuring to her softly.

Verna was still standing in the doorway, arms folded as she stared at Reza with narrowed eyes.

“I believe this is a private conversation,” she said cooly. “Could you please give us a moment?”

“He stays,” Aurora said just as cooly, meeting her Auntie’s eyes. The floating feeling had vanished in a heartbeat, and Aurora was only too aware of herself. “I asked him to be here.” Verna looked at Aurora like she had just started speaking German.

“Aurora, this really isn’t the place-”

“He knows more about dark magic than any of us,” Aurora shot back. “I trust him. He stays.”

“That must make you the sorcery master,” Lila said casually, leaning around Aurora to wave at Reza like the temperature in the sunroom hadn’t dropped several degrees. “Nice to meet you. Stefan and your daughter are making sandwiches for everyone.”

“Verna, please, not here,” Jo said gently, holding Leah’s hand. “Stefan said-”

“I know what Stefan said and this is what I’m saying,” Verna snapped at her sister. “I don’t want a sorcerer in this house!”

“Too bad,” Aurora sniped, standing from her seat and whirling on Verna with a glare, stalking towards the woman. “It’s my curse, my life on the line, and if I say he can stay in this house, then his name can go up on the damn door.”

“That’s my girl,” Lila said proudly, shrugging in reply when Verna glared at her. The tallest fairy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Aurora, this is-”

“What, childish of me?” Aurora asked. Reza was the only one who could see the agitation and hurt curling and twisting around her like snakes. “Am I being too naive? Too trusting? Too unwilling to accept the truth?” Each word dripped from her tongue like acid, and every other woman in the room flinched from her words. “Reza’s the only one in this room who has been telling me the truth about what’s happening to me since day one. So either sit down and tell me what’s going on, or leave. Reza stays.”

Verna had about half a foot on the much smaller Aurora, but in that moment Verna cowered back from her. Her expression morphed between confusion, anger, and betrayal, and Aurora watched the emotions cycle around and around. “Work your shit out on your own time,” she told her auntie. “We’re all adults here.”

Aurora spun back around, only catching Leah and Jo’s wide eyes and Lila’s wide grin before sitting gracefully back down next to Reza. “I’m sorry for the interruption,” she told her mother before pointedly taking Reza’s hand. She’d apologize to him later for dragging him into her family’s drama. Maybe give him a week off from Aurora’s Bullshit.

“Please, continue.”

REZA

Reza sat there unfazed by anything the bitchy fairy - Verna - shouted about him. If ‘ew, gross, sorcerer’ was the worst she had to say about him? Ha! He could handle it. He’d been called all sorts of things from a monster, to a cockroach, to a pox on Tunisian society. He’d been arrested, interrogated, tortured, beaten, shot at, almost killed in a bombing, and had an assassination attempt on him for existing while being a sorcerer.

He thinks he can handle a fairy with a sharp tongue.

“No need to defend me, Rory, but thank you. I assure you I’m far beyond the point where words about how disgusting sorcerers are can hurt me.” Subtly, he pulled up the sleeve on the arm Aurora wasn’t touching, to flash her some of the battle scars of living in North Africa as a magick.

AURORA

Aurora gave Reza a small, tired smile as she reached out and laid a hand over his scars gently, but Lila - grinning widely behind her - mouthed “That wasn’t about you, dear”. Verna had taken a seat in the last chair in the room, trying not to look like she was sulking and pointedly avoiding looking at the two sorcerers sitting together.

“As I was saying,” Leah said, looking between the two parties warily. “The day of your sixteenth birthday, I went to go get Carabosse and bring her back to the house. We put her up in our nicest guest room, treated her like family… I’m sure you remember that.”

Aurora nodded. She had been curious about the stranger her mother had brought home with the old-fashioned style and the odd smile, but at that time the Briar’s often entertained business guests and other families from around the area. Aurora had been more excited about her birthday than anything, she hadn’t had the desire to pry about Madame Carabosse.

Maybe she should have.

“None of us know exactly what happened that first night,” Jo cut in, still gently patting Leah’s hand. “Just that when we woke up the next day, you seemed to be coming down with some sort of illness. You were lethargic and unfocused, and we were all rather worried.”

“That was the first night I had the dream in the museum,” Aurora said quietly, holding Reza’s hand just a little tighter; her other hand bunched into the fabric of her cardigan. Lila gently pet some of Aurora’s curls back.

“You know what happened next,” Verna said. Her tone had gone much softer. “The three of us decided to get you a charm to help you get some proper sleep, and went up to your room to give it to you a little after everyone had retired for the night. We found the door locked, so we flew to the window and scared her away.”

REZA

“Right, the hallway dream. With the portraits. The really fucked one— uh, sorry, shouldn’t swear.” He covered his mouth with his hand.

He shook his head as Verna paused. No, no, this wasn’t becoming any clearer. Not one bit. This still wasn’t answering a lot of technical questions he needed to help her.

But this wasn’t about him. It was for Rory. And it was his job to figure out the hard part anyway.

“That still doesn’t explain...so much.” Reza said quietly, biting his lip and just. Thinking. Thinking hard.

AURORA

Reza was right, it wasn't explaining much. After the bombshells her mother had dropped, Verna's explanation had just left her more confused.

“But what was she doing?” she asked. “What did she want from me? What does she still want from me? And why did she wait until then?”

“We don’t really know-” Verna started, before Lila threw a pillow at her.

“Oh be quiet, you're not helping,” she said flatly as Verna squawked. Lila turned back to Aurora. “When we came to the window, Carabosse was sitting on your bed, singing to you. I'm not an expert on dark magic so I'm not sure exactly what she was doing, but it tied the both of you together.”

Aurora reached up for her necklace, holding onto it shakily as she remembered her dream. Carabosse standing over her as she lay trapped in a body that wouldn't move, humming as she drew the magic out of Aurora's body and into her own. Playing with the amulet around her neck, runes shining all wet and red. Aurora hadn't thought it had made any sense, but the knowledge that Carabosse had given her mother a spell to help her conceive… that they were tied together before she was even born… that Carabosse had asked for her blood...

Vibrant, terrifying lilac eyes staring at her from a pale face framed in black hair. Aurora's mother had golden brown eyes, and her father's were blue.

Aurora reached up, fingers brushing along her cheek under her own eyes. All of the women in those paintings in the museum in her nightmares, their eyes were purple too. And then, when they died, they were gone.

Aurora, running through the ship after Carabosse died, with vibrant, terrible lilac eyes.

A small sob rose up her throat and Aurora covered her mouth, trembling. “She… She came back for her magic,” she whispered. Aurora looked up at Reza with wide, horrified eyes. “That's why my magic doesn't feel like my own, it's hers. And it's in- it's inside of me.”

Aurora finally let go of his hand, covering her face as the horror washed over her in waves.

REZA

Reza’s blood ran cold as Aurora came to the frightening conclusion on her own. He didn’t have time to process his ah-ha moment of I knew something was off about this magic! as even he wasn’t so callous. Being right, and letting it known he’d been right, didn’t beat out looking after Rory.

It was his job as her friend and Master sorcerer to consider her well-being. And prodding her like a frog dissection wasn’t it, chief.

“Rory, breathe,” Reza said gently, patting her back between her shoulder blades. He looked to the white lady who seemed least likely to kill him (Lila). “Could you grab her a glass of water, please?”

He could feel and see the panic, horror, and disgust (the kind that only could be directed at oneself) rising in her. The first two, he got. The disgust, he didn’t like one bit. And he wasn’t sure he had the right words. Or actions. He knew he didn’t, in fact. He only knew he could try his best.

“Hey. Habibti, listen.” Reza said, moving off the couch to crouch in front of her on the ground, wincing as it sent pain to his bad leg, mostly from the knee up. He rested a hand on if of her knees, and chased her eyes even as they moved to avoid his gaze.

“Try to breathe. She would be thrilled to freak you out, win by collecting yourself. I know this is scary, and I’m not telling you not to be scared.” He said, clipped Tunisian accent filling the room even as he spoke low and measured. It was silent otherwise. “I have worked against some serious dark magic, Rory. Okay? I’ve got you. That’s how people like us survive in my country, we’ve got each other.”

“So be scared, and shocked, but don’t let her win for even a little while. Breathe. We’ll figure this out.”

Still on the ground, he looked over his shoulder at Leah, Jo, and Verna. “Is there anything else you can tell me — us — er, Rory. It’s important you share everything with m— her. So I can help her.”

If Aurora was right about her being inside of her… holy hell, this was some of the darkest magic he’d ever heard of, let alone tried to interact with. He needed to know every precious iota of information.

AURORA

The rest of her family had jumped to their feet when Aurora had started to shake, but they all kept their distance; not wanting to crowd her. Instead they watched Reza kneel in front of her, speaking to her in a low, calm voice.

Aurora didn't see them move, didn't notice them at all. All she could think about was the magic in her body, pressing against her skin with an uncontrollable desire to escape. All this time, it had just been looking for a way out. Her aunties were right. Aurora wasn't a sorceress.

She was a bomb.

Her eyes were dry even as she began to shake and hyperventilate, staring into space and resisting the urge to pull her own eyes right out of her head. They were her's, so much of her was just what Carabosse had left behind! If she pulled the curse out of her, what would even be left?

Reza finally caught her eyes and held them; wide and frantic as she pressed her hands against her mouth so hard she could feel her teeth through her lips. His voice slowly worked past the blood pounding in her ears, and Aurora reached out for him; her hands fisting into the fabric of his shirt near his shoulders.

“Try to breathe,” he said, and she gasped in response. “I've got you,” he reassured, and Aurora pressed her face against his shoulder as she trembled. His shirt stayed dry; he was right, Carabosse did not get her tears.

She stayed that way, silent and shaking behind her hair, as her family watched in various states of discomfort and sorrow. “We haven't seen her since we scared her off,” Jo said, looking like being away from Aurora was physically painful. “Lila enchanted the grounds so she couldn't cross onto them, and Verna and I made Aurora's amethyst charm to keep Carabosse from being able to find Aurora again. Since then, nothing.”

“If we knew more, do you think Aurora would still be suffering like this?” Verna asked. “We've got no leads that we haven't already chased down.”

REZA

Reza… Did Not Do This Shit.

He wasn’t equipped to handle Aurora’s breakdowns, or anybody’s, really. But he knew how to talk someone out of self-destructing after trauma, and the tactic he was employing here was similar. ‘Don’t let them see you upset even with your friend’s blood on your cheek’ became ‘don’t let the bitch who cursed you win’ in a heartbeat.

“Yes, actually, she probably still would.” Reza said calmly to Verna. “You can’t just get somebody uncursed because you know the whole damn Wikipedia page by heart. Which is why it’s so important you’ve told me everything you all know.”

“Cursebreakers aren’t a half pence a dozen like some other areas of sorcery.”

AURORA

The conversation went in circles for several minutes after that, just rehashing the same information over and over, and Aurora honestly wasn't paying attention to most of it. She was busy trying not to fling herself against Reza’s chest where she could curl up and just hide from the rest of the world. It was obvious that her family didn't know much more about Carabosse or how she worked than Aurora did, and the realization that they were flying nearly blind dragged down at her morale.

She wanted to fucking sleep for a week.

Soon enough, Sabiha and Stephan came back with sandwiches and lemonade; the young girl taking one look at Aurora before curling up against her side as they ate. Her parents invited them all to stay for the night, and Jo and Lila talked enough that there weren't too many awkward lulls in the conversation. Even Verna started to loosen up a bit when she learned that Sabiha was half-fairy.

Once her food was eaten and she was sure Reza and Sabiha wouldn't be too uncomfortable, Aurora went to take a long nap, crying into her pillow for an embarrassingly long time. She did not sleep peacefully, and only looked more tired when she came back downstairs. She found Reza on the back porch, watching Sabiha and Lila splashing together in the stream behind the house as only two Water Talent fairies could. Aurora silently joined him, leaning against the railing as she fiddled with a long curl of hair.

“Thank you,” she said finally, her voice small. “For coming out here with me.”

REZA

Reza anxiously waited for Rory to wake up from her nap. He liked Jo and Lila enough to let Lila take Sabiha to play in the stream with her water talent magic, and Rory’s parents were nice, but he didn’t like being here.

Their home only reminded him of privilege, of the wealthy white European tourists whose asses he had to kiss while a server and bartender at resorts to afford to put Sabiha through good schools and English language tutoring. He knew it was irrational, to be so uncomfortable here. They’d been nothing but kind to him and his daughter. Still, he didn’t like being here without Rory as a buffer.

He didn’t talk much to anybody - except Jo and Lila - while Rory was sleeping. And when he recognized her soft footsteps approaching him, he almost sighed in relief.

“Hey. I was happy to do it.” Reza assured her, placing a hand on hers and giving a reassuring squeeze before taking his hand away to gesture to the stream. “Sabiha’s made a friend.”

AURORA

Aurora’s heart tripped a couple beats when he squeezed her hand, and she shot him a brief, grateful look as she squeezed it back before letting go. She followed his gesture and smiled softly as Sabiha laughed with water dancing around her. “I'm glad,” she said, watching the two playing together and remembering summers of doing the same thing; young and eager and completely mundane as she chased fish along the stream and splashed anyone who got close to her.

Part of her wanted to run out and join them. Part of her didn't want to ruin the moment.

Aurora hung on to herself as she leaned against the railing, trying not to shiver in the warm spring air. “Do…” she started, pressing her lips together when the words got caught in her throat. “I don't know what happens next,” she whispered. Her eyes dropped to the ground, and she tried not to think about how pathetic she must look.

REZA

As infallible as he liked Rory to think he was, Reza was no miracle worker and certainly no god. Much to his own chagrin he had to admit that he, too, was at a loss. He didn’t want to give Aurora false hope, but didn’t want her to think he would give up on her just because it was hard. And if she thought so? She didn’t know him, not really.

“Neither do I, to tell you the truth.” He said calmly, turning to his apprentice with an expression that was kinder than neutral while not quite a smile. “But I’ve worked with less before.”

“And, Aurora?”

A beat.

“The self-loathing is coming off you in droves, ya habibti. I’m glad Sabiha isn’t old enough to properly see and identify reagents yet.”

AURORA

It wasn’t that Aurora thought Reza was infallible, per say, it was just that he knew this part of their world so much more than her. He was a sorcerer born and raised. Aurora wasn’t even sure what she was anymore.

The fact that he wasn’t lying or sugarcoating anything for her was greatly appreciated, and she gave him a small, wry smile. His second comment, however, had her blinking at him in confusion before her cheeks colored in embarrassment. It was one thing to feel that horrible hatred and disappointment in her chest, it was another to know someone else was witness. Aurora was good at hiding that part of her; the ugly voice in her mind that screamed and howled day and night and made sure she stayed in her place.

Aurora looked away from Reza quickly, hiding under her hair and trying to make that voice as small as possible so maybe he couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” she said, unable to keep the edge of sarcasm from her voice. The smaller she tried to make it, the louder her thoughts got, and Aurora pressed her lips together firmly.

“Don’t worry, this is one problem you don’t have to help with,” she said tiredly. Reza had already shouldered enough of her baggage for one day. Her eyes slipped to Sabiha, laughing as she kicked water up at Lila and Jo, and her heart twisted even further in her chest.

No, she couldn’t ask Reza to help with this. This predated him by years; this was Aurora’s burden alone.

REZA

“There’s no need for it. You are so many wonderful things.” Reza said quietly, before turning away and walking a few feet across the porch to get a closer look at Sabiha playing.

Reza’s heart was so full of love for his little girl. Their four years of separation only made him appreciate having her more.

“It would be rude to decline your mother’s offer to stay for dinner.” Reza said slowly, changing the subject. “But I think Sabiha and I will just stay in a hotel in town tonight.”

He hoped she’d let him without protest. Admitting he was uncomfortable and why wouldn’t...go over great. Probably.

And he could see the bedtime conversation with Sabiha from a mile away. Being with fairies— a water fairy — again? She’d surely ask about Rafika. Ask her why she didn’t come here with her, and not for the first time. He didn’t want prying ears for that conversation between them.

She was eight. Soon to be nine. It would take several more rehashings of that conversation to actually understand.

“Verna hasn’t said anything nasty since she found out she’s half-fairy. She doesn’t trust me I don’t think; rightfully so, I’m a stranger to her. But I’m glad she’s partial to my baby. Some fairies from Rafika’s hollow were prejudiced against half fairies.”

AURORA

“You are so many wonderful things.”

It was a very good thing Reza had turned away from her, because her reaction to that quiet, simple statement was, frankly, embarrassing. She stared after him, mouth hanging slightly open as his words echoed again and again in her head. Her heart lept in her chest, a warmth spreading to her toes and fingers that smothered the fear and uncertainty that had been rising in her since her realization earlier. At her temples, flowers burst into bloom; a crown of affection and warmth and a feeling she wouldn’t name woven through her curls for only her and Reza to see.

That simple statement made her glow, as did the soft, shy smile that curled her lips in reply.

It felt like the world should have stopped, should have let her process the feelings a few words from her Master had stirred in her, but life continued at the same pace as before and Aurora was left to blink at him as he continued to speak. “Oh,” she said, voice soft. “Yeah, of course. If you think it would be best.” Normally Aurora might have protested a little more, would have insisted he was welcome to stay, that it would be an honor to have him and Sabiha as their guests, but she didn’t need to be able to see reagents to know her family’s home made him uncomfortable.

Did that make her sad? Yes. She wanted him and his daughter to find as much comfort in her home as she found in his, but she could acknowledge that it was… a lot.

Aurora drew closer as the conversation shifted to her aunt, arms still wrapped around herself as she came to stand by Reza’s side. Not too close, not in his space, but enough so they didn’t have to raise their voices and risk being overheard. “My aunt is being difficult in the extreme, but she wouldn’t say no to a fairy without a Hollow,” she admitted, still annoyed with Verna. “And it’s not like the others care. Hell, they let me hang around and I don’t have any fairy blood at all.”

She glanced up at Reza before looking back at Sabiha. “... It’s not the same as a Hollow in Tunisia, but if she ever needs it, they’ll open their arms to her,” she offered quietly. “My aunts will vouch for her and so will I. Just… if she needs it.” Aurora couldn’t drag Sabiha’s mother back to her sense by the ear, but she could try and make sure that no part of Sabiha’s heritage was denied to her. Even if all she had to offer was a watered-down version. “No pressure. None of us will be upset if you don’t take that up. I know it’s not the same.”

REZA

Aurora’s kind offer warmed Reza’s heart - while at the same time, it stung. It reminded him of how Rafika had left Sabiha, how Reza couldn’t give her a connection to that part of herself. It was by sheer luck his first apprentice since Tunisia was a woman partially raised by fairies.

Without Aurora, what would he do about that? No, really. He hadn’t exactly befriended any of the fairies around Swynlake. Aurora’s aunties were the first fairies Sabiha’s met since leaving home. It must have been so nice to meet them. He felt bad for being so adamant he and Sabiha stay in a hotel, but...it was for the best.

Reza and Sabiha needed to talk, anyway. He wanted to check in with her about how she was feeling about her mother, after meeting new fairies.

His anger at Rafika came back to him like an overdue boomerang, and he hated it. He was here for Rory, not to feel red hot rage at his baby mama. The sorcerer took a deep, measured breath, and turned to Rory with a thin smile.

(If he showed how happy he was on his face, he’d...honestly, probably cry. But she could tell. She was a sorceress, after all.)

“That’s the kindest thing anybody has ever offered me, Aurora.” Reza said. “Really. A chance to provide my daughter with a link to her heritage that I can’t myself? I’d owe you - and your aunties - forever.”

“I can teach her how to be Tunisian, Muslim, a good person, and a sorcerer. But I can’t teach her how to use her water talent fairy magic.”

AURORA

There was a flash of anger in Reza that scared Aurora, made her think she had overstepped her boundaries. But it was overshadowed by his happiness and Aurora could feel her own building up in her chest in reply. She smiled up at him, cheeks flushed.

“You wouldn’t owe us anything, it’s the least we can do,” she promised him. Aurora looked out to where Sabiha stood in the stream, giggling in delight. “She deserves everything,” Aurora said softly, clasping her hands together so she didn’t give in to the urge to reach out to him. She wanted to hold his hand, to rest her head against his shoulder as they watched his daughter play and laugh. It was nice to know that even as Aurora’s world got turned inside out, there was still plenty of joy to be found in the world.

“She’s a lucky girl, Hollow or not,” Aurora told him. “You’re a wonderful father. She’s going to be just fine.”

REZA

Reza’s eyes were glued to Sabiha. Y’allah, he loved her so much, she was the best thing that could ever have happened to him. Aurora was right. Sabiha deserved the world, but Reza couldn’t do that for her. He had his limits - financially, and, in his knowledge of what it was to be a fairy.

“Wonderful? I wouldn’t go that far. Sabiha at least shouldn’t grow up traumatized because of my parenting, so I’m okay with ‘decent.’ She deserves much more than what I’ve been able to do for her.” He smiled sadly as he watched Sabiha give a big yawn in the stream.

“Aw,” Reza pressed a hand to his chest and laughed. “She’s getting sleepy.”

They should go soon, leave Rory and her parents to talk. (Get him out of his far too large house, that just reminded him of some of the people he had to work for in Tunisia to help support his sisters after his mother left, or support Sabiha.)

“I just want her to stay small and cute forever.”

AURORA

Aurora saw Sabiha yawn too and giggled, covering her grin. Carabosse and her curse felt so far away in that moment, and Aurora understood all too well how Reza felt. She wanted to stay in that quiet, peaceful moment forever.

But time wouldn’t stop for them; Sabiha would grow up, Carabosse would come back for her debt. But there would be another spot of light, another moment like this. Aurora just had to make it from one to the next.

“Take a picture then,” Aurora teased, bumping her hip against Reza’s before leaning down to take off her shoes. She easily made her way down onto the lawn, approaching the fairies with a bright smile as she stepped into the stream with them. They welcomed her gladly, Sabiha throwing herself against Aurora’s legs as the older woman laughed. It wasn’t long before they were splashing each other, Aurora not caring if she got wet or not as she helped to tire the little girl out. 

Letting herself exist in younger Aurora’s skin for a few stolen moments before the world came back for her and she had to face it all with her blinders gone.

[policeadult92-blog]

I’ll Be There For You, When You Can’t Find the Door?

Nestled within the archives of the Detroit Historical Society are a pair of surprising pop culture artifacts–copies of the draft lyrics for both the theme song of the 90s T.V. hit Friends, and for the Pointer Sisters’ 1984 single “Neutron Dance.”  The Detroit connection for these two songs may not be readily apparent to many, but if you check the sleeve of your well-worn copy of the Pointer Sister’s album Break Out, and pay close attention to the end credits of Friends, you’ll find the common factor is proud Detroit native Allee Willis.  Willis’ signature works may be her collaborations with Earth, Wind, and Fire, including their funk classic “September.”  However she has worked with a myriad of other artists, ranging from Bonnie Raitt to DMC, and Patti LeBelle to the Del Rubio Triplets.  In fact, you very well may have recently joined Willis as one of the 5,000 Detroiters who contributed their voices to her recent anthem for the city, “The D,” which she recorded over the course of five years at various events across the area, including stops at both the Detroit Historical Museum and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.  Willis, hot on the heels of being honored with a Distinguished Detroiter award at the 2018 Detroit Music Awards, agreed to answer a couple questions for our blog about the draft lyrics, her creative process, and her other works.

On page 20, the chorus to “I’ll Be There For You” begins to shape up.

Across 27 typewritten pages, the lyrics to what eventually would become the 45-second Friends theme, “I’ll Be There For You,” reveal an involved process.  Willis began by working directly from the show’s pilot; “I watched the pilot and wrote down every characteristic of every character and then tried to make up lines about them.”   From these concepts flowed a litany of possible frustrations felt between the characters—ranging from dealing with the smells of second-hand aroma therapy to the tolls of freeloading roommates—contrasted with the now iconic affirmation of support expressed in the chorus.  Willis explained, “when you’re writing for something so specific as a TV theme you try every possible permutation of every line that you like. The only thing the producer of the show told me was that the title was to be ‘I’ll Be There for You.’ So I had at least 25 different choruses to sing for the producers with that line in it and at least 50 verses when I presented it to them.” About these unused lines, she continued, “if a line is really great and doesn’t get used in a song I catalog it and usually end up using it in something else. But the Friends lyric had to be so specific and so simple that I didn’t save any of those lines for further use.”

With Willis’ lyrics to set the tone, Friends drew millions of viewers each Thursday between 1994 and 2004.  Image courtesy imdb.com.

Reading the drafts today, there’s almost a sense of inevitability each time one of the final lyrics first appears.  Willis describes how these breakthroughs played out during the writing process; “The first line I got that I knew was a keeper was ‘Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA.’  I always liked internal rhymes, especially on long lines.  And the ‘A’ in ‘DOA’ is a great syllable to hold if the note is long. Second one I got that I knew was a keeper was ‘Well it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year.’  Something was falling apart in the lives of all the characters and I liked making a play on a common phrase.”

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In her notes, Willis mentions performing early versions of the theme for the show’s producers on the studio lot.  While reading the lyrics, it’s tempting to attempt to sing along yourself to see how these early drafts might have sounded.  When asked if these nascent versions of the theme followed the now familiar final melody, Willis responded, “The melody, written by Michael Skloff, remained the exact same from the time it was written to what we ended up with. I usually write both music and lyrics but I needed one more song to fulfill my publishing deal, which I was eager to get out of. So I agreed to just write the lyric. I never expected it to be a hit.”

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Willis’ “Neutron Dance” is widely remembered for scoring the chase through the streets of—appropriately—Detroit near the beginning of the 1984 classic Beverly Hills Cop.  However it was originally conceived for a very different movie, Walter Hill’s cult “rock & roll fable” Streets of Fire.  Befitting that film’s bleak yet musical retro-futuristic setting Willis bridged the concepts of 1950s doo-wop with nuclear devastation, and brought in a bit of her own experiences.  Willis elaborates, “I hadn’t seen Streets of Fire before writing the song but was told that people were trying to escape a nuclear holocaust. So I knew that the hook line had to have something to do with fire, explosion, or nuclear something.”

Even within that premise, Willis made the song’s themes personal and easily relatable.  She reveals, “The entire song was written in under an hour. It was very autobiographical. It was the first time in years that I had gone without hits and I wanted to write a song about not giving up and that if your life isn’t working it’s up to you to make a change. Someone could push the button tomorrow and we’d all be up in smoke so get off your ass and do something—i.e. Do the Neutron Dance. When we (co-wrote with Danny Sembello) finished the song in 58 minutes we had everything but the title.”

Willis brainstormed a series of concepts evocative of nuclear war, before settling on “Neutron Dance.”

Among the photographic reproductions of her handwritten notes, Willis included the page where she brainstormed possible titles; “As a working title we had ‘I’m just burning on the barbecue.’ I knew the ‘I’m just burning’ was right but knew ‘barbecue’ couldn’t stay, especially because the song wasn’t about barbecue. I kept wanting to use the word ‘neutron’ and was driving down the 405 freeway in LA one day and the words just popped into my head like a glowing neon sign. ‘Neutron Dance’ seemed appropriate as it got the burning point across but added some fun with the use of the word ‘dance’.”  Willis explains that the song was “thankfully rejected” from Streets of Fire, and instead recorded by the Pointer Sisters.  It was this version which made its way onto the Grammy-winning Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.  Perhaps as an auspicious sign, in that movie, Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley sports a t-shirt from Mumford High School, Willis’ alma mater.

Beverly Hills Cop opened with a chase through the streets of Detroit set to the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance.”  Image courtesy imdb.com.

Of course, I also had to ask Willis about the endearing legacy of “September.”  Every September 21st, the song leaps back to the forefront the popular consciousness, making its presence known both over the radio waves, and in recent years as a trending topic on social media.  Was this annual relevance by design?  And just what was the significance of that date anyway?  Willis explained, “The only thing I knew about September when I started writing it with Maurice White, who had already started the music with the Earth, Wind & Fire guitar player Al McKay, was that he wanted ‘September’ as the title. We wrote it the first day we met. We tried singing every date of the month but the 21st felt the best. I only found out a month ago from his wife, almost 40 years after the song was written, that September 21st was the due date of their son. But at that time as far as I knew it was just the date that sang the best.”

Along with the lyrics, Willis also donated copies of several records that she worked on, including this 45 of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” from 1978.

Last month, ahead of schedule, September became a topic of hot debate when Taylor Swift released a fiercely maligned country-tinged cover of the funk classic.  Willis was initially supportive of news of the cover, but her response became more measured upon hearing it.  Willis has promised to address the controversy in her upcoming performance, “Allee Willis Loves Detroit,” at the City Theatre on May 18th and 19th.  When asked for a hint as to how she’ll be tackling the Swift situation, Willis shrewdly responded, “For that you’re going to have to come to the show! No teasers. I will just say that the show is very very funny, stuffed with hits, filled with detailed stories about how the songs were written, I auction off stuff from my vast pop culture collection, and I guarantee it’s unlike any other songwriter show you seen before. And I talk about Taylor Swift. Prepare for a wild evening!”

Source: https://detroithistorical.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/ill-be-there-for-you-when-you-cant-find-the-door/