#ch:Luce

[nelllraiser]

of the same blood | luce & nell (ft. ???)

SUGGESTED LISTENING: if i go, im goin’ & deep end. TIMING: the night of beltane, following these. ( 1 ) ( 2 ) LOCATION: the vural home. PARTIES: @divineluce and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: the sisters remember that they don’t always have to do things alone. CONTAINS: sibling death mentions, sibling death grief.

Hair still damp from the shower, Luce made her way to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. The house was quiet, though it was almost always quiet now. Ever since Bea had gone to New York with Felix, the house felt empty without her presence. Just like it had felt nearly a year ago. Fuck. A year ago. A year ago, she’d been… she’d been at the Beltane ritual with Nell. They’d watched August fall, she’d held her flames to his face, threatened him. She should have killed him, she’d done the right thing. She’d hesitated, she’d shown mercy. No. No, no, no. What was done was done. She couldn’t go over the what if’s, not any more. Shutting the refrigerator, Luce grabbed a glass from the cupboard and the whiskey from the bar. She wanted something stronger than beer. Popping the cap off, Luce poured herself a generous glass of whiskey and took a long sip. She leaned against the kitchen island, hands cradling the glass. What’s done was done. The past was behind her. Life went on. Life went on. But the echoes of the past still remained.

Nell had stayed in her tree until the flames of the coven’s fires had turned to ash, and every spellcaster had left the clearing empty. A desperate part of her had wanted to go up to where the bonfires had been burning— to touch the ash and see if it was still warm. But at least she’d had enough self-respect to prevent herself from doing so, taking the long route home instead. She hadn’t yet realized that the cinders of the fires had flown up into her roost in the branches, leaving a few smudges on her face as she walked through the door and into Luce’s party of one. The sight of whiskey was a welcome one, and the younger sister wasted no time in grabbing herself a glass before leaning next to Luce. “Are you going to share?” She didn’t want to think of the past anymore tonight, but as she looked at the liquor in Luce’s hand she couldn’t help but remember the memorial drinks they’d raised to Bea nearly a year ago. Could this be the same bottle of liquor? No, she was pretty sure Luce had downed the rest of that spirit when she’d gone out to set the trees ablaze.

The smell of smoke was what caught Luce’s attention, moreso than the sound of the door opening or even the sight of her younger sister walking in. It was the familiar scent of fire, fueled by magical intent. It was the scent of home. Of family. Had Nell been to the coven? She couldn’t have been there, there was no way. The excommunication had fallen like an iron curtain between them and the rest of the coven, final and unyielding. “Nope.” Luce said as she poured Nell a glass of whiskey. “Ice?” She asked, sipping again from her own glass. The whiskey burned, hot and familiar, but not in the way that she wished to burn. She wanted her fire back. She wanted her life back. But that was never going to happen. “So, what have you been up to?” She asked, wiping at her own forehead purposefully. 

Nell’s eyes rolled in response to Luce’s brief answer, though she wasn’t surprised in the least. It wasn’t as if she’d expected her sister to have suddenly become the waitress of her dreams, despite Nell’s best efforts to make her one ever since she could string a sentence together. Still, there was whiskey in her glass, so Nell was happy. Or...as happy as she could be after witnessing a scene she wanted both to be a part of, yet have nothing to do with. “Yes, ice.” Hopefully the chill of it would wake her up a little in addition to the sting of the whiskey, bringing some life back into the numbness that had set into her bones on the walk home. A brief look of confusion settled on Nell’s face as she mindlessly mirrored Luce’s motion, taking the hint as she rubbed her own hand across her forehead. When it came away with a smudge of black she knew she’d been caught. A sigh later and she was taking a long drink of her glass before answering. “Oh you know- just sitting in trees in the forest.” She knew the answer wasn’t the one her sister was looking for, nor one Luce would accept. “I just went out to see Beltane or whatever. Mom sends her love,” she finished sarcastically, an age old shield from the true weight of the words.

Turning to the freezer, Luce grabbed a few cubes from the ice box and dropped them into the bottom of Nell’s cup, careful to set them in before they could melt against her skin. She stared at the amber liquid in her glass, thinking about drinking from the same glasses last year. That night, that terrible fucking night when she’d learned that Bea was dead. The night that she had learned that someone had killed her sister without a second thought. And she’d tried to drown the ache in her heart with whiskey, to burn it from her soul with fire. It hadn’t worked. None of it had worked. Even now, even with Bea returned to the world, she still couldn’t shake the hollow sense of loss. Particularly not on days like this, when she remembered just how different life had been one short year ago.

Luce raised an eyebrow skeptically at Nell’s words, but the expression shifted to shock when she admitted to what she’d been doing. “You went to the ritual?” She repeated. “Nell…” Why had she done that? If she’d been caught, the consequences would have been severe-- they were exiled from the coven, banished for practicing necromancy. What would she have had to gain by going and risking her neck like that? “Why’d you go?” She asked. 

Bea was in the living world once again, but her ghost was one that still constantly haunted the sisters, forcing Nell to live her future as if she were doing it from the past. Almost a year ago she’d barely been able to come into the kitchen let alone stand in it to have a whiskey along with Luce. It had been Bea’s place, it was still her place even as the eldest sister was off in New York along with Felix, hopefully living her new life to the fullest. But it was nights like these that made it hard to remind herself that Bea was still alive when she wasn’t here in the flesh to remind Nell. The witch looked to the scars on her arms, the ones she’d earned from Bea’s resurrection to make it more real. The scars were here, so Bea was here...even if she wasn’t here with them. 

Why had she gone to the ritual? Nell hadn’t particularly planned on it until she’d found herself walking the familiar path, and climbing her hidden tree. “Habit?” she joked stupidly, as if she could blame her actions on the fact that they were the same ones she’d been doing on this day for as long as she could remember. “I didn’t go, go. I just sat in a tree where no one could see me and watched.” She’d felt like something of a vulture, perched in the leaves as she feasted on whatever scraps of gathered magical intent managed to fly her way. But again— she knew Luce would want a better answer than that. No more secrets. That’s what they’d promised one another after the youngest witch’s secrets had killed the eldest. “I don’t know…” she grumbled a bit more sincerely. “I just wanted to see it.” Did Luce miss their coven in the same agonizing way of knowing it was wrong to want something that didn’t want them?

Luce snorted at Nell’s initial answer, knowing it was a knee jerk reaction. Because that’s how Nell played the game-- she joked. She made fun of herself, brushed things off with a silly joke or some off-beat observation. It was what she’d always done to keep the focus off her problems. And Luce knew that. She’d always known it. But, she’d never really cared to call her sister out on it because, fuck, she had her own ways of brushing people away. They were a result of their mother’s singular bid for perfection with Bea and it showed. Tracing a triangle against the cool marble countertop, Luce mulled over Nell’s words. She’d stayed hidden, even though that must have hurt even more. To be so close you could hear the words, feel the magic in the air, smell the smoke and ash in the wind?

A lump formed in the back of her throat and she nodded once. “I wish I’d gone with you.” Instead, she’d run to the woods. Just like she always did. She’d run to the woods before, separating herself from her family for years and now she wished she could take that time back. Five years. Five years, she’d lived in this town but never realized just how much she had. She’d been selfishly devoted in her pursuit of what? One upping her sister who’d never wanted to make their shared existence a competition? “We’ve only got each other. And Bea-- always Bea. But… for now, it’s just us.”

Luce’s answer was one that surprised Nell, still not all that used to the concept of doing things as one with her sisters rather than apart— even nearly a year after being reminded that they were a unit of three, broken when the circle was disrupted. “We could go back, if you want. I bet the ashes are still warm. You know...together.” But even that felt like the wrong answer. They were supposed to be moving forwards, not going back. Alone, Nell could barely remember to pluck herself from the past, but alongside her sister it was easier to see that a return to what they’d had before wasn’t a path that led onward in the least. “Or...or we could…” Nell trailed off uselessly, still not knowing how to step into the shoes of someone who knew how to move on, even if she’d just barely started to realize that by obsessing over things that were done, she might be left behind along with them. But the lessons those things had taught...those were what she couldn’t let go of— the things she needed to remember to ensure that nothing like what had come to pass ever happened again. She just hadn’t figured out to sift through them, didn’t know how to pick up the pieces she could carry without strapping the rest of it onto her back, inevitably crushed under the weight of it when it proved to be far too much to handle. 

Still, Nell nodded at the mention of Bea, knowing Luce’s words were true. They were another reminder of the most important thing they’d stumbled upon in losing one of their own. They’d found each other along with the knowledge that so long as there were two of them standing alongside the other...they would manage. “I know. And I’m- I’m glad you’re here. And I want to do something with you tonight- I really do.” She still had plenty of time to be with Luce before she went to see Adam for the rest of the evening. “I just...I miss her, too. I miss Bea.” It was hard to remind herself that she and Luce were two, when she could barely remember that all together they were three.

Nell was trying. She was trying so hard. And Luce knew that, they both knew it. They both knew how hard it was, being cast out from everything they’d ever known. Growing up, the coven had been a second family to her, the other members helping to raise the three of them alongside their parents. But they had been banished from the coven. Locked out of one of the only places that could ever understand who they were. It was only now that Luce realized just how much she’d taken the coven for granted and how much she truly valued the community they’d grown up in. As much as she would have loved to go back, to try and reclaim what was lost? “We can’t. We can’t do that and you know it too. We’re not… We can’t get the old days back and trying will only make it worse.” She shook her head. The words made her heart ache, because there was nothing more that she wanted to do than to go to the ritual spot, to see the familiar grounds, to see the ashen remains of the Beltane celebration. But there was no going back to the way things had been. Life moved on. And she was trying her best to be at peace with that. She just hoped that Nell could too.

Taking another long sip from her glass, Luce offered a weak smile. “You better be glad I’m here.” She joked, though a part of her wondered if she could actually do it. Could she ever leave this place? Could she ever leave Nell? She’d done it before and hated herself for leaving. She’d abandoned the people she’d cared about for a month, left them at the mercy of this town-- this fucking town. She couldn’t do it again. She wouldn’t. She’d stay by Nell’s side for as long as her sister needed her, wanted her. And when Bea returned, she’d stay by Bea too. “I want to do something too. I… I went into the woods earlier today. By myself.” She said with a shake of her head. “I’m still trying to break the habit of doing shit alone. But yeah. I’d like to do something with you too.” At the mention of their sister, Luce let out a sigh before looking around the kitchen. She could see echoes of her sister still lingering in this space. Bea, cooking at the stove, music playing from a speaker as she watched a pot on the stove. Drinks shared late at night in the corner nook, the three of them tipsy and giggling. Remnants, that was all they were left with now. “Yeah. I miss her too.”

The house they lived in was haunted, but not in the traditional White Crest sense of ghosts and ghouls. They’d lived some of their worst moments in these walls— couldn’t look at certain corners of it without being thrown back into the memories of a year ago. The feeling was only exacerbated by the missing sister of their trio, Nell constantly needing to remind herself that Bea would cook in this kitchen again, that the home would fill with the eldest daughter’s spirit sooner, or possibly even later rather than never. “If you weren’t here I sure as hell wouldn’t be,” Nell answered with a chuckle, perhaps a little too honest in her attempt to be brief. But it was true. The house was only bearable because Luce was in it. Living together was good for both of them despite the fact that it ended out days in shouting matches as often as it did with laughter. Sisters would be sisters, and Luce gave Nell a grounding that she desperately needed simply by being here. She couldn’t know for certain whether the same could be said for Luce, but she suspected as much. They needed one another whether they wanted to or not. And Nell wanted to. “Then let’s do something. It’s not like we can’t go out and make our own bonfire, right? I’m sure Taki would be more than happy to provide some flames.” She didn’t want to poke at her sister’s struggle with her magic, but figured addressing it off the bat was a decent method of getting it out of the way. “How was...the woods for you? You know I’m shit at doing stuff together too, sometimes. But I think the fact that we’re trying is something, right? And I mean...I appreciate it- knowing that you’re trying and stuff.” As for Bea… “What do you think she’s doing today? Maybe we could FaceTime her or something if we decide to burn something.”

As for going back to days past, Nell knew it wasn’t something she should be doing. “It’s not even necessarily that I want the days back I just-” She didn’t know how to find a balance between bitterness and longing, the two so thoroughly wrapped up in one another she could barely tell them apart when it came to the coven and the rest of her family. It felt as if she’d hit the ground running last year and just...never stopped running. And now it was too late to adjust— she didn’t know how to slow down and force herself to find a new normal that didn’t make her sneer in judgement at both those she’d lost as well as herself for missing them. “I can’t even figure out what I want.” How could she give herself the peace she sought, when she didn’t even know what peace she was looking for?

Luce let out another wry chuckle and nodded in agreement. If Nell wasn’t here, Luce wouldn’t be here either. She’d be back at her cabin, most likely. Living there, staying in the woods. Isolating herself from the world again, but without the coven this time. She would be truly alone, without either of her sisters at her side. Even if Nell still lived in the town, even if Bea was still alive and breathing and walking on this plane, she would be alone. And Luce wasn’t sure if that was the right thing for her now. Losing her sister, losing her family, losing her coven-- did she really want to lose more?  “Yeah, neither would I. This place… it’s hers, you know? At the end of the day, it’s Bea’s.” She said, gesturing to the kitchen around them with her whiskey glass. It was Bea’s through and through. Every wall and fixture, it was a part of their sister. And living here without her in it, was… hard. Because they had to live with the memory of those terrible, silent weeks without her. “I like the sound of a bonfire though. It’d be nice to do something like that here. And hey, it gives Taki the opportunity to cut loose.”

At her sister’s question, Luce mulled over her experience. “It was… peaceful. Good, in its own way. Reminded me of the purpose of Beltane, you know? Spring turning to summer, the seasons passing. Life moving on. It was grounding. Sometimes I just get so stuck on how things used to be,” How I used to be, “That it gets hard to remember that life is always going to change.” She said. At Nell’s mentions about doing things together, Luce shrugged. “None of us are great at doing things together. But yeah. I’m glad we’re trying too. And I know that you’re doing your best, Nellie.” 

Listening to Nell speak, Luce rolled her glass between her hands contemplatively. “And that’s okay too. It’s okay to not know what you want.” She nodded. “I’m not going to pretend like I know what’s going to happen or that things will work out for the best. Because they might not.” Luce’s fingers flexed, the absence of her flames even more present than normal, “But I’ve got faith in you finding your way. Might not be tomorrow or even a year from now, but you’ll find it.” Tossing back the last of her whiskey, Luce glanced at her phone, “Yeah, FaceTiming Bea might be a good idea. I’m betting she’s gone full nocturnal living with Felix.”

Nell nodded as Luce outlined the ways in which this place belonged to Bea. “Yeah...it really is her’s.” Even before she’d died, the sisters had only owned spaces of it, holed the bits of them up into their rooms to make their own little homes within a house. And Nell hadn’t minded. Not when Bea was here to liven the spaces up with her own energy, and there’d been only good memories that filled the walls. But living here without Bea felt as if she were stuck in that month long hell of getting their sister back— a tape that simply looped over on itself countless times as Nell was forced to stare at the screen. How was she meant to move forwards when she lived in a place that forced her to relive the worst days she’d had? She couldn’t move on with her life when she was still stuck in the one she’d been living a year ago. 

“Oh absolutely. It’s been a minute since Taki got to really go to town. And I bet Iggy’d have fun too what with all his...frustrations as of late.” Nell snickered at the tail end of her words, not to subtly alluding to the familiar’s horny mating season state. “But I mean...like witch, like familiar, I guess.” A somber air returned to her as she listened to Luce, happy that her sister had begun to find her peace. There was a flare of envy trying to work its way into her throat, but Nell tamped it down before it could truly surface, unwilling to risk this moment and future that Luce so thoroughly deserved. “I’m glad you got to do it for yourself- even if it was hard in a way. But I guess you’re right about the change and stuff.” A half-smile showed up on Nell’s lips as Luce granted the affirming words. “And I know you’re doing your best, Lulu.” They were trying, and that’s what mattered most. 

Perhaps it was okay that Nell wasn’t sure of what she wanted, but she wished she could pin it down nonetheless. It was exhausting having the things she wished for constantly trying to battle one another for dominance, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to stomach if before making a choice born out of simply wanting it all to end. Still— at least she had Luce’s faith in her, which was more than she’d ever gotten from their mother. “Thanks, Luce...really. You’re usually pretty dumb, but sometimes you’re kinda smart, I guess.” The heavy tone of the evening was settling into something else as they spoke of Bea and bonfires, and a full chuckle found Nell’s head titling along with it as she spoke. “You know how she only wears white, now? I bet she’s so fucking pale she’ll blend right in with her shirt on the screen. Here— I can just call her now, and we can laugh at how much of a vampire she looks like.” Tugging her phone out of her pocket, Nell clicked on Bea’s name, waiting for her sister’s face to show up on the screen.

If there was anything Bea was certain of, it was that her sisters were finding a way to make this holiday far more morose than it needed to be. It was their first Beltane being outside of a coven, but Bea had not celebrated with the Coven before. She knew they didn’t need a coven to make the holiday and she would teach her sisters. Her fingers had been twisting through Felix’s hair in the dark comfort of their bedroom when she thought of her sisters alone, stumbling through this new terrain. She had left White Crest to find herself in a new light, to learn to keep her chin up with the new crown of shadows she had obtained, and she had. There was no part of Bea that felt broken or wrong any longer. She had been put back together and for too long she felt the tug of the stitches holding her, but now that tug was no longer felt. Her skin was her own, stitches and all. Beatrice Vural had evolved and grown, she had become something no one had expected. She was as much a monster as anyone else in White Crest and that was the only reason she could drive her car across the boundaries of town. Wicked’s Rest had missed her and she had missed it, but before she made her reappearance in town, she had sisters to celebrate with. Her phone began to vibrate in her purse as her keys slipped into the familiar lock of her home. She swung open the door, lowered her sunglasses as her cherry red lips split into a grin. “If this is how we’re celebrating this year, I should have stayed in New York.”

[willcwthewisp]

monkee see, monkee do | luce & willow

TIMING: before mother’s day. PARTIES:  @divineluce and @willcwthewisp. SUMMARY: two artists meet a new challenger. OH YEAH!

Washing her hands in the sink, Luce looked around at her cabin with a wistful sigh. She’d had a handful of tourists book it over the last few weeks, which was helpful. But, she missed living here. She missed quiet nights with Iggy, a fire in the grate, working on a new design or practicing some of her more precise manipulations of the flame. She missed the comfortable solitude of it all, back when she was… herself. Letting out a sigh, Luce locked up the cabin. But, instead of getting back into her Jeep, she went into the woods, following the familiar trails. She missed being able to just throw herself into the woods. But the forest wasn’t the same for her, not anymore. She’d destroyed it, burned it, had some angry spirit of the forest confront her with that fact. Maybe she’d go back to the grove she’d burnt down today. Check how it was.

As Luce moved deeper into the forest, the earth beneath her feet began to shift, becoming soft and loamy. Frowning, she glanced around and was startled to see-- “What the fuck..?” She said as a strangely animated looking river began to flow through the trees. Animated as in like, it looked as though a fucking 90’s Disney artist had drawn this shit. But the water soaking through her boots was very real. As was the scream that rang through the air.

One moment, Willow had been taking a solitary walk along the edge of White Crest’s Outskirts and the next she’d found herself careening down a watery pathway. The river had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and the only warning she’d had of anything mysterious being afoot had been the sudden appearance of a cute, monkey looking creature. It had even been holding its tail between it’s little paws as if it were nervous or something of that like. She’d blinked, and next thing she’d known her clothes were wet, and she was sputtering amongst the throes of a gushing river. “Help!” she yelled out frantically. There was no reason for her to think that someone might hear her cries, but what else was there for her to do but seek assistance? The river wound its way downhill, and a nearly inhumane scream wrenched itself from her lips. “Help! I can’t- the river- it just-” For the brief moment her head was above water, she managed to make out a human shape along the banks of the water, and made her best effort to swim towards it. “The monkey! Where’s the monkey?!” Why she cared about a strange little monkey at a time like this, she couldn’t say.

As Luce watched the strangely textured water flow through the trees, she saw that there was a monkey creature, tapping its chin thoughtfully as it bobbed up and down on a flamingo inner tube that had the same dark lines as the water. “Fucking, of course. Saetimps.” She rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the woman who was yelling and trying to swim-- badly, it looked-- to the edge of the river. Gritting her teeth, Luce waded out into the water and held out her hand as far as she could reach, “C’mon, get over here! Before that thing whips out a shark or something.” She yelled. As she said that, she could practically feel the Saetimp’s eyes turn onto her and she watched to her dismay, as it drew a very Little Mermaid-esque looking shark that flopped into the water and began to swim towards them. “Shit, shit, shit, let’s go, dry land, right now!” She yelled, dragging the woman behind her as she pushed her way through the river back to the dry forest floor.

Willow grabbed for the other woman’s arm in desperation, clutching onto it as if it were her only lifeline in the world. For all she knew, it was. As she was yoinked from the river, her chest heaved with the effort of her panicked breaths, eyes almost impossibly wide as she watched the newly drawn shark circling beneath her and the other woman. “What’s wrong with it?” she nearly screeched, referring to the strangest monkey she’d encountered in her entire life. “Sharks aren’t even native to rivers!” she yelled, as if the Saetimp cared anything about that. “Or well- there’s a species of river shark but- that does not look like one of them!” Apparently the hell monkey took insult to this, and soon enough an accurate river shark had joined the other in the waters. But it didn’t matter anymore. Willow and the other girl had made it to dry land. “At least they can’t get us here,” the medium breathed, trying to catch her breath. “It’s not like they could grow legs or something.” Yet again, the Saetimp took this as a personal challenge, and in a blink of her eyes the sharks were suddenly crawling up the side of the bank, strange, arm-like legs protruding from their bodies as they crab-walked closer. “No!” Willow denied, as if she could forcefully put them back. “No! That’s not right! Go back!”

Holding on tight, Luce hauled the woman out of the animated rapids, shaking water from her face in an effort to get a clear look at just what was going on. The fucking Saetimp was watching them with that same stupid look on its face, tapping its paintbrush against the side of its inner tube. And when the woman spoke up, Luce’s eyes widened as the sharks began to sprout legs with hands attached to them. “You just had to fucking say something!” She said, glancing around them. The woods were thick with tree roots that made running nearly impossible. And the water, it was rising and rising. But, the Saetimp was still scratching its head as though it still didn’t like the scene it’d created. She’d seen that expression before-- not on a magic monkey before, but she’d seen it often enough. “Oh no! What would we do if there were attack hamsters!” She said, shouting the first thing that came to mind. Apparently, she’d spent too much time with Hamtarot, because that’s what came out. The Saetimp seemed just as confused as her, but suddenly the water was full of fuzzy creatures in mechanized hamster balls. The arm-legged sharks began to snap at the brightly colored hamster balls, distracted for a moment. “You got any other ideas?” She asked the woman.

“What?!” Willow exclaimed as the other woman spoke of hamsters, briefly looking towards her as if the unknowing savior had lost her mind. “Ideas? Why would I want to give it more ideas?” But as she watched she realized the hamsters had served a purpose, and the purpose was actually working out quite well for her and the brunette. “They...like the hamsters?” she asked with a nonplussed look on her face, beginning to connect the dots when it came to more things being drawn as a means of buying them time. “Oh...oh!” she began excitedly, trying to name the first thing that came to mind. “And if there were books with teeth? Ones that could chomp and crack hamster balls? That’d be really bad!” Sure enough the Saetimp began to draw just that, the books gnashing their way through the hamsters that were trying to make their way through the sharks. “Oh that’s...I mean they were a little cute, weren’t they?” she asked the woman standing next to her, suddenly feeling a little guilty for the little fuzzy creatures. 

Watching with dismay and irritation as half a dozen toothy books fell into the river, Luce watched as the animated little hamster balls began to sink in the waves. “No, don’t give it more weapons, Jesus.” But, it seemed as though it was working. The hamster balls were being crushed and the sharks were snarling, distracted by the fuzzy little creatures swimming around. Were they carrying tiny knives? Luce watched as one of the hamsters let out a tiny Rambo yell and launched itself at a leggy shark, stabbing twin bowie knives into the shark’s fin. “They’ve got tiny knives too. Wow. I mean, they’re cute if you like getting shanked?” Luce said, squinting at the very confusing fray. Meanwhile, the Saetimp had noticed that the chaos it had created had missed the mark-- it hadn’t killed either of them. Seeing the frustrated look on its face, Luce grasped at straws, “Oh boy, I’m so afraid of… the fucking… Kool-aid man! Yep! Super afraid of him. Boy, it’d be shitty if he popped up!” The Saetimp glared at her and for a moment, Luce was afraid that it’d just draw a pit with spikes in the bottom and she’d get turned into a kebab. But then, exploding out of the water with a loud “OH YEAH” was… the fucking Kool-aid Man. Looking over at the woman, Luce shrugged helplessly, “Listen, I didn’t hear any other better ideas. We can take the Kool-Aid man, right?”

Willow screamed as the Kool-Aid man himself popped out of the water, and her rampant telekinesis was quick to respond to the jump-scare of the century, even though she wasn’t realistically all that afraid of the oversized punch pitcher. One of the sharks was suddenly launched into the glass side of the Kool-Aid Man teeth first, leaving a shark-sized hole in its wake as red punch began to spill into the river. Sure— there’d been a couple of nightmares she’d had about him bursting through her wall as a kid and getting stuck in his big head of punch, but she was thirty-two now! She shouldn’t be afraid of the Kool-Aid Man. But he was just so big. Not to mention unpredictable. Nevertheless this felt like a victory for her four-year-old self. “Ah- if that’s what you meant by taking the Kool-Aid Man, sure!” Nevermind that it hadn’t exactly been intentional. What next? What else could they make this thing draw? Or maybe...what was the thing artists hated most? Ignorant critique, wasn’t it? Unfortunately Willow’s mean streak was about a centimeter wide, but that didn’t stop her from doing her best to frustrate the Saetimp. “You call- you call that a Kool-Aid Man?” she tried to goad despite her stammering. “My grandma could draw a better one!” She could have sworn the monkey turned a shade that was almost as red as the pitcher it had drawn, and in an instant it was trying to pop out another, better one.

Flinching at the loud shriek, Luce glanced over at the woman for a moment before a loud shattering sound filled the air. What the fuck? Had that shark just been yeeted through the Kool-Aid Man? What the fuck? Luce stared back at the woman-- was she some kind of psychic? Or, fuck, hadn’t Peanut done something like that before? A medium? Whatever, it didn’t really matter. As the woman yelled at the Saetimp, Luce rolled her eyes. At least the creature wasn’t bright, because it took the bait hook line and sinker. “Yeah, look at those lines! They’re so thick and wobbly, I wouldn’t even want that hanging up on my fridge!” She said, gesturing to the shattered Kool-Aid Man that was thrashing in the water, now being devoured by sharks. The river was still flowing through and the Saetimp was steadily being taken down stream, but she wanted this thing gone. “I bet you couldn’t draw anything with real detail. Like-- Like a yacht! You wouldn’t even know where the sails go!” Did yachts have sails? Who fucking knew, but Luce had a feeling the Saetimp sure didn’t.  

Willow laughed despite herself, the mental image of the mess of drawings on a fridge tipping her over the edge when it came to finding humor is as ridiculous a situation as this. And Luce had been right about the Saetimp’s lack of nautical knowledge. Even now it was drawing some sails attached to the smokestacks of a very strange looking yacht. “That’s not where the sails go!” Willow called out, trying to figure out how they might tangle this Saetimp in its own drawings. Would it just...get tired after a while or something? “Plus it needs bigger sails! Sails as tall as the trees!” Willow’s arms raised above her head as if she could personally model how tall a tree was. After all, it was a part of her namesake. “A big willow tree with lots of branches and birds, and- and monkeys!” Maybe a self-portrait would send the creature into a downwards shame spiral. 

It seemed like the Saetimp was at its last wits, creative juices sputtering out as it muddled its way through adding an absolutely atrocious willow tree, with lumpy, ugly monkeys with their hands fused to its branches. “Jesus fucking christ, that’s horrifying.” Luce muttered as she watched the potato shaped monkeys screamed angrily at them from the deck of the yacht/steamboat/pirate ship that was sailing down the river. Just as she was about to wrack her brains for more ideas to feed the Saetimp, she watched as the creature threw its paintbrush down in disgust and stamped its foot on the deck of the yacht. As it did so, the yacht continued to sail down the river, lumpy looking monkeys screeching as the boat disappeared from view. Luce sank to the ground and let out a long sigh. “Good fucking christ.” She said, wringing out her water logged clothes. “You good?”

Willow looked at the abomination of a creation in slight wonder, head tilted in interest as she tried to make sense of what the monkey had drawn. As she watched the monkeys with their hands stuck to the tree she felt a small stab of guilt in her gut. They weren’t...real monkeys in the way a normal one would be right? They wouldn’t actually suffer while being trapped against the tree? But at least the head monkey was gone, and the two girls could finally have peace. Except… “Isn’t the monkey and everything just going to run into someone else down the river?” Nevertheless, she settled herself onto the ground as well, suddenly tired after swimming in the currents of the river. “Um- I’m fine. Are you?” Now that the monkey was gone, she could recover decently well, instead of letting her panic overtake her. “Thank you though- for helping me. I’d probably still be going down the river if it wasn’t for you.” Willow’s doe-eyed gaze filled with gratitude as she finally took in the other girl, trying to figure out why she looked somewhat familiar.

“It might. But, I have a feeling that guy’s gonna be tired out enough after making all of that. He’ll probably pass out in a hammock somewhere.” Luce said as she squeezed water from the ends of her hair. She was really only guessing; she’d never really interacted with Saetimps before. Most of what she knew about them came from her general interest in the strange Fae when she was younger. But, she’d never really looked for them around town. “Just peachy.” Luce replied as she stood up, her clothes damp and uncomfortable against her warm skin. “No problem.” Luce said slowly, a bit caught off guard by the way that the other woman was staring at her. What, did the Saetimp draw something on her face? “I’m Luce, by the way.” She said with a nod.

“I hope so…” Willow trailed off, trying not to think too hard about the future harm the strange monkey could bring to people. It wasn’t as if she could do anything about it, anyway. She was no hunter, and she wasn’t sure she had the stomach to sign something’s death warrant anyway. Willow made her own efforts to get the water off her clothes, still disappointedly wet and dripping by the time she was finished. Shaking her hands with a sigh, she tried to look at the bright side of the situation. At least they were...in one piece? The girl's name finally struck the bell that had been faintly ringing in Willow’s head, and recognition lit her eyes. “Bea’s your sister, right?” She chose the phrasing carefully, knowing how annoying it was when people asked if she was Forest’s sister and not the other way around. “I was friends with her for a while until…” Forest had made a mess of things. “Well- it doesn’t matter, I just knew her. But really- thank you for helping me,” she repeated, already thinking about the pile of blankets she wanted to tunnel under one she got home.

At the mention of her sister, Luce’s eyes narrowed slightly-- not as harshly as they might have a year ago, but she was confused all the same. “Yeah. She is.” Luce said with a slow nod, now eying the woman with earnest. Blonde, honestly pretty basic looking, about Bea’s age. Which made sense if she said that they were friends for a bit. A girl on the cheer team? No, that couldn’t be it. Luce would have known her-- she’d “reluctantly” waited on the sidelines during Bea’s many cheer practices. She recognized most of the girls who’d been on the team back then, the result of stealing glances up over her sketchbook. But, this girl definitely wasn’t one of them. Hm-- “Hang on. You’re Willow, right? Fo--” Forest’s sister, she almost said, but caught herself quickly, “Finch. Willow Finch. You had that art studio in town.” She said, remembering how envious she’d been when the place had first opened.

Curiosity tempered slightly by how reluctant Willow seemed, Luce nodded again, “No problem.” She repeated. “I’ve dealt with worse out here.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I have a cabin up here. Do you… want to borrow a towel or something?” She asked belatedly, realizing she probably should have offered sooner. 

Willow shifted uncertainly under Luce’s gaze, not entirely certain what it was the other woman was looking for until she finally came up with the medium’s name. “Oh- yes! I’m Willow,” she realized sheepishly that she’d forgotten to give her name in return when Luce had offered her own. “Sorry- I guess I just got caught up in recognizing you.” For a moment Willow brightened at the mention of her studio, but an instant later the gleam had dulled into disappointment and regret as she nodded confirmation. “Yes- the one that closed a few months ago. It was the one with the gallery in the front, and then I had my studio in the back.” But that was long gone, a dream broken just like she’d broken that man’s arm. She was curious about Luce’s reasoning for asking after the gallery, but decided that was a conversation that could wait for when they were both nicely dry. 

A vigorous shake of Willow’s head served as her initial answer to Luce’s invitation, already feeling rather squirrly the longer she stood here with Luce, accurately aware of all the things that could go wrong if her telekinesis decided to flex its muscles. “Oh no- no, thank you. I mean thank you, but I really should go home.”

“Yeah. I just said that.” Luce nodded, a bit of her old sense of humor trickling back into her tone as she regarded the woman. “And don’t worry. Not a lot of people from high school recognize me.” She said with a shrug. She’d always been quiet in school and, outside of a few people she was friendly with in her art classes, no one remembered her as anything other than “Bea Vural’s younger sister.” A lot of people didn’t put together the fact that the moody girl who doodled in the back of class was now a heavily tattooed artist at Ink Inc. “It’s a bummer it closed down. I wanted to take a look at the gallery but,” Life went off the rails for the past year, “I never got the chance. Sucks, though.” She said offhandedly.

The amount of nervous energy coming off Willow was really something else-- Luce was distinctly reminded of the shivery looking Chihuahua on the old Taco Bell commercials. Raising an eyebrow, Luce raised her hands in surrender. “Suit yourself. Stay safe out there.” She said before heading back in the direction of her cabin, boots squishing noisily as she walked. It just had to draw up a river, didn’t it? Fucking Saetimps. 

Willow was trying to make sense of whether or not Luce was joking with a tired mind, deciding to play it safe and simply shoot the other girl a tentative smile. “I don’t think we actually went to highschool together. Just missed each other or something like that. And um- well it’s been a while, right?” She didn’t want the other girl thinking she’d been unmemorable or something as depressing as that, and she vaguely remembered Bea saying something about how Luce would be entering her freshman year once Willow graduated all those years ago. “Or...Bea is Luce’s older sister?” Willow tried to offer kindly with a gentle hint of a joke, knowing how frustrating it could be to only be known by a sibling’s name at times. A sigh of relief escaped Willow when Luce didn’t push the subject of the cabin, and she too began her trek home. “Thanks- you too!” At least the only things she’s thrown today were badly drawn sharks.

[amystronghold]

|| amy & luce

“Luce, you said if I needed you I could come. I need you, now. I do.” She said, calling him on the phone. Amy had just gotten into a fight with Nico, and she needed to talk to someone. “I’ll meet you there, yeah.” Amy wiped a tear from her eye and ran to the place Luce said they’d meet - his dorm. She felt antsy and got there within moments of calling him. She slid down his door, waiting for him to arrive. When she saw him, she couldn’t help but run to him. “Luce...I don’t know what happened. I don’t...”

[nelllraiser]

no good deed | luce & nell

LOCATION: nell’s greenhouse. PARTIES: @divineluce​ and @nelllraiser​ SUMMARY: luce asks for nell’s herb supplies to help with her phoenix cleansing. absolutely NO emotional talk or introspection follows. CONTENT: discussion of the lydia plot without specifics, very brief and vague sibling death allusion.

Luce washed her hands in the sink, wincing as the hot water and soap stung the healing wounds. She glanced at herself in the mirror-- she looked like she’d been through hell. Deep purple bruises had blossomed across her skin, but most were covered by winding bandages she’d wrapped over the jagged cuts that ran along the back of her legs. Her back was a mess and it made sleeping a nightmare, but she couldn’t do much about it. A crooked butterfly bandage kept the cut over her eyebrow shut, and the wound was purple at the edges. She looked like shit and she felt it too. But, she couldn’t stop now.

Leaving the bathroom, Luce returned to her room and sat back down at the books she’d borrowed from Rio. The ash had been collected, a piece of the cursed earth for good measure too. The Bloodroot sat in a vase next to the window, the stems dying the water a light pink. Which left… tears, from a phoenix and cleansing herbs. The tears wouldn’t be too difficult-- Leah had said she’d help her with this, so she’d probably be alright parting with a few tears. The cleansing herbs though. Luce couldn’t pretend to know which ones were best suited to a ritual like this. Plants had never been her thing and she didn’t have the coven’s knowledge at her disposal anymore. But… there was someone else who might know. Taking the book with her, Luce made her way out to the greenhouse. And, as she suspected, Nell was there. 

Knocking lightly on the door, Luce spoke up, “Hey.” 

It was no surprise that Nell was puttering about her greenhouse after everything that had happened over the past week or so. In reality, it wasn’t all that much in comparison to the things she’d weathered before. The mad rush to save someone she loved, the devastating blow of losing that same person merely days later— though it hadn’t been in the way she’d anticipated. Frank hadn’t been the one to fell the curtain between Nell and Bex by stealing her life, it’d been Bex herself that had made the severance. The witch wasn’t trying to throw herself a pity party, it was simply that the only way she could think to keep her storming thoughts at bay was to create something, and to care for the plants she nurtured with a gentle hand. The greenhouse had always been a sanctuary of her’s, a place of peace that was her’s and only her’s where she could be alone with herself. She never needed to find the strength to draw her armor within its walls because she didn’t need it’s defenses between the fragile glass panels lining the perimeter. Here she was free to be happy, or hurt, or whatever else she might be feeling at the moment.

But with the sound of a soft knock that changed, and Nell rolled the softness from her shoulders as she went to the door, setting them into their usual and proud position. “Hey-” she began thoughtlessly when she heard the sound of her sister’s voice. A moment later shock was flitting over her face, brows drawn together with concern as she took in the ugly picture Luce made with her collection of injuries. “Luce- what the fuck. What happened? What the hell is wrong with you? I could have closed whatever cuts you have instead of whatever shoddy job you made of your legs,” she chastised while she took in her sister’s bandages. 

A grimace spread across Luce’s face as Nell stared at her, face shifting to an expression of surprise. Maybe she should have put on a jacket or something. Heatstroke would be preferable to getting a lecture. “Slipped and fell on a hike.” Luce said. It wasn’t entirely untrue. She’d been on a hike and she had fallen. Nell didn’t need to know that Morgan had helped with the fall. That Morgan had shoved her down, that she’d thought the other woman was going to kill her. “Yeah, you know me. I’m shit with first-aid.” She said offhandedly, glancing down at the haphazardly wound bandages. “It’s fine, though, I’ll be fine with some time.” Moments like this reminded her of how lucky she’d been all her life-- their mother had always been an option, even if they didn’t necessarily want her help. Now? Mixed messages aside, Luce was never stepping foot in her parents’ home again, not if she could help it. She didn’t need her mother’s help. She didn’t need her pity either. “I’ve got a question for you,” She held up the leather bound book and flipped it open to the page she’d been staring at. “Do you have any idea about what sort of herbs would be used for this sort of thing?”

Nell fixed Luce with a scrutinizing look, arms crossed over her chest as she decided whether or not she wanted to fight her sister on the lackluster answer she’d given. But for once in her life she decided that she was simply too tired, and Luce could give her the answer in due time. Nevertheless, that wouldn’t stop her from mildly calling the fire witch out. “Right. Slipped and fell.” Another disapproving glance flitted over her face before her chastisement continued. “Yeah, but you live with someone who has an entire greenhouse of healing herbs. I’m literally just upstairs in case you forgot. I could have at least scabbed the shit over and lessened the amount of ‘time’ needed.” The mention of a question and the book being presented was enough to spark Nell’s interest, if only for the sole reason that it could provide a distraction from the pity party she’d been throwing herself, wondering how she’d so spectacularly failed at teaching Bex. She should have known. Just because she wasn’t the girl she’d been a year ago didn’t mean she was suddenly equipped to take in a baby witch with her newfound emotional maturity. For a long moment, Nell scanned over the text, lips pursing further the longer she read. “This is about the phoenix that Adam told me he was helping you with? Loved finding out about that from him and not you, by the way.” 

Luce wearily rubbed the heel of her hand against her eye, ignoring the sharp twinge of pain that shot across her forehead. “It’s a long story.” She said lamely. She knew that answer wouldn’t be enough for her sister, but hopefully it would do for now. Later. She’d tell her the details later. Right now, she needed to focus. She had the flowers, she had the ashes, she had the dirt. She just needed the herbs and then the hard part-- the phoenix. And the fire. She didn’t have any idea how she was going to get that whole situation figured out, but… she had to try something. Hopefully the ritual wouldn’t be too affected by a couple cans of gasoline. “I mean, no time like the present? Care to help a sister out?” Luce joked weakly.

At the mention of Adam and the phoenix, Luce blinked. Ah. Yeah, that made sense. They were dating, Adam was a decent guy. Of course he would have told Nell about the situation they had on their hands. “Sorry. I’ve been caught up in trying to figure out how to fix shit. Spent a lot more time in the scribrary than I wanted to. Rio-- Winston’s ex? He’s lending a hand with it. Hence the book.” She said, holding the book up again.

A long story. Nell was growing increasingly tired of the ‘long stories’ that seemed to make up the majority of her life since she’d returned to White Crest. How many ‘long stories’ could someone fit over the span of a year and a half, anyway? “I’m sure it is,” she mumbled lamely, once again proving herself to be uncharacteristically not nosy for the time being. Luce had meant her words to be joking, but Nell failed to continue in that vein, unable to find the energy needed for sarcasm in the moment. “Of course I’ll help you,” she said a little too seriously, clutching onto one of the only constants in her life now that she’d lost yet another person in the form of Bex. It was beginning to look as if the only people she’d always have in her life and at her side would be her sisters, and that was a gift she couldn't afford not to treasure. Leading Luce towards a nearby chair, she began to gather the healing poultices she’d made, the ones their mother had taught her. “So you need lavender and sage.” It wasn’t a question as she took another look over the book. “That’s easy enough.” Squinting at the last plant, she was already beginning to search her brain for what the words could mean. “And a white flowered herb?” Of course a ritual wouldn’t be complete without a sufficiently vague ingredient.

“You know I could have helped ‘figure out how to fix shit’.” Nell had failed at making sure Bex didn’t feel alone, she wouldn’t do the same for her sister. “You mean the guy you punched, and then refused to apologize to?” Perhaps she was still a little bitter about the argument she and Luce had following the happening. “Yeah, that makes sense that he’d help. He’s a good guy.” 

A wave of guilt washed over Luce at the defeated sound of her sister’s voice. Fuck. “It’s-- just don’t fucking… fly off the handle, alright?” She said before running a sloppily bandaged hand through her hair. She paused, not entirely surprised by how quickly Nell figured out what kind of purifying herbs they’d need. Sage and lavender. She should have known that. But she’d never paid attention to purifying rituals, she’d never really paid attention to the plants they used at the coven meetings. She’d just accepted the bundle of herbs and lit the ends, allowing the smoke to waft through the air and mingle with the combined power of the rest of the coven. How she’d taken it all for granted. “Cool, yeah. You’ve got that growing in here, right?” Luce said as she followed Nell to a chair, looking around at the greenhouse as she walked. She’d done enough lavender tattoos to be able to spot the tall sprigs of purple. But, she refocused on her sister and stared over at Nell. “The white flower-- it’s Bloodroot. It grows at Lyssa’s Peak and I needed the stuff that grew at the top. Lunar cycles, drawing power from the moonlight, you know.” She said. Rip the bandaid. Just tell her sister what happened. No more secrets.

“I went hiking up there to get to it the other day. And I ran into Morgan. She showed me a way up the mountain and we got to talking and I was in a… mood about shit. About… Lydia.” Luce said, wondering if Nell would understand why she was in a mood, if her sister would get just why the killing didn’t sit well with her. “And she kept trying to figure out what it was and I snapped at her. And then she snapped at me. Because she’d cared about Lydia. Even though she was a fucking…” Monster. Murderer. Torturer. “Even though she was what she was. Morgan lost her cool, I lost my footing, I took a tumble down the peak. But, it’s fine. She helped me down the mountain.” She didn’t need to. She could have kicked me off. She could have let the coyote finish me. She could have let me die up there. 

Swallowing, Luce blinked at her sister’s words. Yeah. Nell could have helped her. Bea probably could have helped her too. But, again, she’d felt like she’d needed to do this on her own. And where had that landed her? Right fucking here, with no magic to speak of and just struggling to make things work. “Sorry. Old habits. And I’ve said that before, and I’m sorry. I just-- fucking, it’s hard to remember that I don’t have to do everything alone.”

“Me? Fly off the handle? Where would you get an idea like that?” There was the sarcasm Nell had been missing before, but it was short lived as she unwrapped the bandages from Luce’s legs, her frown renewed while she took in the extent of the scrapes and cuts. “Yeah, of course I’ve got those growing. They’re pretty good staples. So the sage is obviously for cleansing…” That made sense, she supposed. They had to rid the phoenix of whatever it was that had made them this way. “And the lavender...it’s for healing.” Healing couldn't take place without the cleansing. After all, you had to clean the wound before it could properly heal. Otherwise you risked it becoming infected, a festering thing that wouldn’t even get a chance to scar, let alone fade. “Sure- the moon. It makes sense.” The great glowing woman in the sky was like butter to a witch’s bread, always ready and willing to lend her strength to those who sought it. 

But the mention of Lyssa’s Peak had Nell remembering her own time in the shadow of it, watching the yellow-eyed wolf and Layla attempting to murder Adam while she and Ariana did their best to prevent it. “Lydia?” That hadn’t been a name she expected to surface, and Nell hadn’t heard it since the brief conversation of guilt she and Luce had following her death. Besides, what did Morgan have to do with Lydia? The zombie had cared about the woman who kept innocent people in a basement? Nell wasn’t all that sure what to make of that— especially when paired with the recent revelation that Morgan had befriended Miriam as well. “Her losing her cool was related to you losing your footing or not?” There was a vagueness there that Nell wasn’t ready to let go of. Not when it concerned her sister, and her injuries. “You tumbled down the fucking peak,” Nell hissed, knowing that Luce was lucky to escape with her life, let alone her bones intact. 

Nell sighed, knowing it was hypocritical of her to call Luce out for refusing help while she was guilty of the very same. She knew accepting assistance wasn’t so easy as flipping a switch. “I know.” Apparently Nell was in a forgiving mood, too tired to fight in the wake of the heaviness the past few weeks had held. “Why are you helping the phoenix, though?” Nell knew her sister had a decent heart beneath her barb-like exterior, but she’d never much gone out of the way to help an utter stranger. “Obviously I’m glad someone is- I just didn’t expect it.”

Settling into the chair, Luce cast Nell a wan smile as she listened to her sister speak. As she unwound the bandages, Luce could see just how sloppy a job she’d done. Nothing looking infected-- she wasn’t that stupid, she’d done enough tattoo aftercare to know how to wash wounds-- but it didn’t look great either. The roses on her legs were bleeding red angry cuts, the backs of her knuckles were scratched and raw, and she knew her back looked fucked to hell. None of them seemed too serious though, so with enough time, they’d fade away. “Sage for cleansing and lavender for healing.” Luce repeated, wincing as one of the bandages pulled at scabbed skin. “Good to know.”

“Hey. What did I say about handles and flying off them?” Luce reminded her sister. She’d had a brief vision of what would happen if Morgan had let her die up there, if Morgan had shoved her just a bit too hard. And it was that endless cycle of blood and vengeance, one that she didn’t want Nell to continue. It didn’t matter that she was hurt, it really fucking didn’t. “I’m alive, aren’t I? Didn’t even break anything.” She said with another grin, though the motion made the cut over her eye sting.

Why are you helping the phoenix, though? Luce looked down at her hands. The million dollar question. Why. Why was she doing this? Why was she helping them? Because it was the right thing to do? That had never mattered much to her before. “I don’t know. Because I can. Because I should.” But even those weren’t quite right. She’d never been more powerless in her life, she didn’t possess the flames to be able to really help them. She didn’t need to help them, they were nothing to her. “I just… I don’t want more people to burn. You see the news?” She gestured to the night sky through the glass of the greenhouse. “There are fires sprouting all over the forest, burning shit, running animals off their land, threatening people. Adam called me to help him deal with the situation. And I know more about fire than almost anyone in this town.” Except Mom. And Dad. And probably Bea. “And fuck, I have to try and do something.” 

While Nell continued to work with Luce’s legs, she nodded in confirmation as her sister repeated the words. “Cleansing and healing- and lavender’s also about serenity, and the peace that comes about healing.” It was clear enough why these herbs had been chosen for a ritual such as this, used to drive out whatever had brought the phoenix to this point to begin with. Cleansing, healing, peace. It was a cycle she herself hadn’t yet mastered, not even sure whether she’d washed over the wounds of the past years. If Beltane was anything to judge by...Luce had taken better care of her spiritual wounds. But the problem with letting wounds heal was that you didn’t remember them as vividly once they were gone, no longer a thorn in your side as a reminder of how they’d come to be in the first place. Healed wounds could make for complacency, and make one forget to be cautious enough to avoid the same cuts and breaks a second time around. Her cuts made her stronger, more willing and ready to take care of the people she loved. More vigilant. Was it right to give that up?

A healthy eye roll later, and Nell was tugged from the stormy seas of her thoughts, all too ready to deny Luce’s words. “You know better than to think that’s flying off the handle,” she teased back. All three of them had more than healthy tempers, though all in their own ways. Nevertheless that didn’t stop them from burning bright and hot when the time called for it. Morgan losing her own temper was something of a surprise, but Nell knew Morgan would have never willingly hurt one of the Vurals— even in the case of Luce and her tendency to push away the kindest of people. Morgan was family as well, and she wouldn’t steal another sister from the Vurals. 

Lydia, the phoenix, Morgan, and not wanting to burn others paired with the fact that Nell was more than familiar with the expression on Luce’s face had the younger witch’s sneaking suspicion reaching a boiling point. She knew the look- had seen it and felt it enough in her own features to recognize it in a face that was half her own with their family resemblance. She let loose a long sigh, shoulders deflating while she finished working with Luce’s legs. “I’m glad you wanna help. And you’re obviously right about knowing fire. But it...doesn’t fix it. It won’t fix that way you feel inside about things that already happened.” Bringing food and caring for the families whose loved ones she stole with a rampant shark demon hadn’t fixed it. Hadn’t made it any easier. “I want you to help with the phoenix I just...don’t want you to be disappointed. If it doesn’t do what you think it’ll do when it’s all over.”

The peace that comes with healing. As thought such a thing existed. And maybe it did, but it wasn’t something that Luce was familiar with. But, had she ever really healed from the wounds that she’d suffered this last year? She didn’t know. Maybe this was part of the healing process too. The pain and the anguish and the guilt. Everyone thought of grief as just being sad and healing as just recovering from pain. When her grief had never just sadness-- it had been deep-seated rage and helplessness, frustration and guilt. And so was healing. “Sounds like it’s just what this person will need.” She said with a nod. “I don’t know how much I’ll need but I think a lot? The more we have, the more potent?”

Luce arched her good eyebrow at Nell, nonplussed by the eyeroll. “And that’s not what I’m talking about. Seriously, Nell. I’m okay.” She said, reaching out to grasp her sister’s hand, to squeeze it tight. Her hand was still hot against Nell’s skin, still burning with the flames that refused to listen to her call. She was still here. And she didn’t want Nell to go off and do something that might change that. 

Watching as Nell wound clean bandages over the wounds, freshly daubed with healing poultices, Luce reflected on how things had changed. A year ago, this would never have happened. A year ago, she would have licked her wounds back at the safe isolation of her cabin, maybe drowned her feelings away with more whiskey than she ought to have, and have pretended as though she was fine. But, she wasn’t pretending anymore. She was too tired to play those games, to pretend that the world was anything other than it was. But, as Nell’s words continued, Luce’s gaze snapped up, expression shifting. “What do you mean by that?” She asked abruptly. “I know that this doesn’t change anything I’ve done. And I’m not-- What do you think is going to happen? Nell, if this doesn’t work, I’m going to keep trying. I’m not letting this go.” I’m not letting them go.

Nell held Luce’s gaze for a long moment, feeling far too tired to actually address their shared trauma at the moment. They both knew what was on each other’s minds, and that was enough. She was so tired. They’d both been fighting for so long— all Nell had ever truly known how to do was fight. To refuse to give in, refuse to let the day win and simply allow herself a moment’s rest. She didn’t know who or what she would be without that fight, but occasionally she wondered what it was like for those who allowed themselves peace, whether they were truly happy with the battles they’d let lie, or if regrets haunted them as well. Maybe there was no actual winning. You just lived with the path you chose, and that was it. “Yep- sounds like just what the phoenix doctor ordered.” Not that she actually knew all that many details of the phoenix, but all anger stemmed from somewhere, and most often it was a product of hurt. “Sure, the more the merrier. It’s not really like you can over cleanse something when it comes to things like this.” 

The feel of Luce’s hand against her was enough to melt a little more tension from Nell’s shoulders, and the distant memory of crawling into bed with her sisters as children to hoard their shared elemental warmth was brought to mind while she let herself feel the momentary salve of nostalgia. “I know,” she assured softly. “I’m glad you are.” Her overprotectiveness wasn’t subtle, and Luce understood the source of it better than anyone in tandem with Bea.

Nell straightened from her place before Luce, standing as she began to rifle through the greenhouse towards her sage plants. “I just mean...I don’t know if this is what you’re thinking or whatever but- helping people isn’t gonna make the past sit right. Not really. And also...saving someone from something you think you’ve gone through isn’t gonna fix you either.” Hadn’t she just finished learning that with Bex? Or maybe they’d just been too different. Maybe the feeling of loneliness wasn’t as universal as Nell had thought, and she couldn’t fix her own by putting love into another person who was caught in the throes of it. “It’s not that I don’t think it’s gonna work, and I know you’ll keep trying. I just don’t want you to expect something of it that’s not gonna come.” 

Good to know that burning fuck tons of sage and lavender wasn’t going to create some kind of flower monster-- christ, Luce realized how fucking little she actually knew about magic outside of the flames. But, at least she had Nell here to help. Because she did, even if Luce didn’t often think about it that way. Her sisters were here. They were all here and, ever since they’d been excommunicated, they were all each other had to rely on. She had Nell, she had Bea, they were three and… in the past six months, she’d somehow forgotten about that. She’d drifted back to her old ways, of trying to handle things on her own. But she couldn’t now, it was impossible. She needed them, needed people. She couldn’t do this alone.

“Yeah. Same here.” Luce said, giving Nell’s hand another squeeze before slipping away, pulling the sloppy bandages from her hand to treat the wounds on her hands herself. The poultice stung a bit as she spread it over the open cuts. She kept her gaze trained on Nell as her sister moved away from her, aware of the distance that had just grown between them. “I’m not trying to make it sit right with me. And I’m not trying to fix me, either.” She said sharply. “I know that what I did was fucked. And maybe you don’t think it is, but I do and I’m making… some kinda peace with that.” She wound the bandages back around her hand, covering her raw skin once more.

Staring down at her hands, Luce could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was the stress, maybe it was just the crushing weight of everything that she’d been going through that had finally pushed her to the breaking point. Luce cleared her throat. “I just want to do something good, Nellie. I want to be someone good again.” She said, though the words came out as broken and hollow as she felt.

“I didn’t say that,” Nell replied instintcively in a defensive tone, even if she thought Lydia was far better off dead from what she’d heard. Even though she’d shared her own surprisingly introspective conversation with the fae, there was no question of whether or not the woman was doing more harm than good in the world. But she knew Luce wasn’t as accustomed to life and death judgements as she was, not when she’d simply been an artist with a grumpy streak. She didn’t want her sister to become wrapped up in such things anyway, not when it most often led to a life of constant stress, or having a target on one’s back. “But if you want peace...then you deserve it,” she finished stubbornly, her tone not quite matching the well meaning nature of the words. 

The hardness in Nell’s voice was washed away instantly as she looked over her shoulder back to her sister, recognizing the picture of a person desperately trying to keep themselves together at the seams. Had Nell been so wrapped up in her own world that she’d completely missed what was going on with Luce? She’d known her sister’s fire wasn’t in the best of straits, and that in itself was a flashing red sign in the direction of emotional turmoil. But she hadn’t thought— hadn’t realized it had gotten to such a point as this. Had Nell been too wrapped up in her own troubles and world to see it? A flash of guilt spread through her chest, and she went back to the other side of the greenhouse, moving to check over the bandages Luce had wrapped around her hands.

I just want to do something good. Nell could understand that— when one got to the place of wondering if they’d gone past the point of no return, and grasped at straws for a win. Nell needed a win, too. The feeling of being unclean after going too far...she’d felt it herself on more than one occasion though it was less centered on the suffering of her victim, and more about the shockwaves her actions had set into motion. Adam with August. Jared with the Ring. Bex with Frank. Dave and the shark demon. She’d made more than enough mistakes to know the feeling of desperately wanting to look for the light in oneself no matter how dim it might be- to know that you weren’t just darkness and sharp blades, as much a monster as the thing you’d killed. “I understand.” If this is what Luce needed to face the days coming, Nell would do anything in her power to make sure her sister got what she needed, that she crossed the finish line with arms raised, and a peaceful expression on her face. “So if that’s what you need...then that’s what you’ll get.”

Luce continued to stare at her hands, remembering the way that the blue flames had spread from them to consume the flesh from Lydia’s body, burning away the sinew and skin until there was nothing left. “Sure you didn’t.” Luce said, tone neutral. “I’ve spent the last six months trying to rationalize shit like… she would have hurt other people if I hadn’t killed her, she would have come back to kill us. But there’s no way of knowing if that’s true because I made a call that took away any chance she had to change her ways. I decided that I knew better. And I’m not… that’s not okay. It’s not fucking okay.” She said.

When Nell took her hands again, Luce let her sister fix the bandages wordlessly. For a year, it had seemed like everything she’d done had fallen into the same cycle of anger and rage and pain-- sometimes on the receiving end of that punishment, other times delivering it to others by her own hands. The anger and rage would burn wild and out of control until everything was dead and charred to dust. And it would lie low for some time, before flaring back to life because someone else was hurt, someone else was hurting her-- and endless fucking cycle. She just wanted to be free of it all. This phoenix situation, it was something... different. It was something that she could do and know, without a trace of doubt, that she had done something good. She just wanted to prove to herself that she was still capable of that. Of being more than just an instrument of death, bringing fire and ruin to the world around her. She just wanted to do one good thing. “Thanks Nell.” Luce said quietly. “Really. Thank you.”  

Nell couldn’t rightly say she agreed with Luce— not when she’d been ready and poised to kill Frank in the middle of the Outskirts. He’d been a threat so she was going to eliminate him. It was as simple as that. Except it hadn’t turned out to be so simple as Bex had begged for his life, and Nell had withdrawn her knife. How many chances did people deserve when it came to changing? She’d given Kyle his chance in that basement with Morgan and Bex, even taken it upon herself to help him succeed. But Kyle wasn’t a woman keeping people in his basement. It was different...wasn’t it? “I didn’t know Lydia well enough to know whether or not she’d change.” That was the gamble you took with people, the not knowing. And there was always the chance they could change back if they decided their new route was too hard. Would Lydia have made a 180 turn back to where she’d started if she’d decided ethical eating wasn’t quite the same? What was the straw that would break the back of Miriam’s new life?

“I don’t know if it was wrong,” Nell finally admitted. “I don’t know if it being wrong would have kept me from doing it, too. Probably not. And I’d probably still do it if no one stopped me or you hadn’t already done it.” She was selfish with her wanting to protect the people she cared about. “But I...don’t think it’s fair to condemn yourself with it. Maybe rationalizing it isn’t the answer, but burning yourself at the stake isn’t either.” Nell swallowed briefly, still not all that accustomed to being so open and honest with her sister. “And...I think you deserve to forgive yourself instead of needing to use a phoenix to prove you’re worthy of it. I think you’re worth it on your own. Just because of who you are. I think you can be good without having something to point at as proof.” 

But it wasn’t about that. Not really. Why did Nell want to summon the murderous selkie to her? For control. To have just one thing she knew she could do right. “But I think I get it. Sometimes you just...need one thing to go right. Just to know that...that you’re not a fuck up who ruins everything they touch.” Nell didn’t have fire like he sister’s, but she’d always been just as destructive. “There’s one thing you can do, and not burn a hole through. So...we’ll make this work.”

“Neither did I. But Morgan seems to think that she could have. And maybe she’s right, maybe she’s not. But we’ll never really know.” Luce said wearily. She’d spent so many nights mulling over that exact question. “I don’t want to make those calls, Nell. I don’t want to hold someone’s life in my hand and decide that I’m worth more than them. Because that’s exactly what happened to us and I’m… I’m fucking tired of it.” This town, this fucking town. She’d grown up here, been a part of this world but only now had she really learned the price that White Crest demanded of the people who lived here. This town was steeped in blood and suffering and senseless death. She didn’t want to contribute to that anymore than she already had.

“Maybe.” Luce shrugged, before regretting the action as a fresh wave of pain ran down the wounds on her back. “I also think you have to say that as my sister.” She said, a ghost of her old sarcastic grin flitting across her face. Luce stood up from the chair, collecting the herbs that Nell had gathered for her. Sage and lavender. Healing and cleansing. And the promise of her sister to help her see this through. Side by side, they’d be able to move forward. Luce didn’t know how Nell was holding up with all the grief and trauma they’d experienced in the last year and she wished that she did. Once this was all over, once the dust settled and she could finally rest… She’d try harder to be there for her sister. For both of them. Maybe Nell said that she didn’t need to prove herself, but Luce couldn’t believe that. If she couldn’t be a good person, at the very least, she could be a good sister. 

Reaching out, Luce took hold of Nell’s hand again, looking at her sister intently. “We’ll make this work.” 

[nelllraiser]

best served cold | group chatzy

LOCATION: pat’s place. SUMMARY: revenge is a dish, and pat’s is serving it up. PARTIES: @nelllraiser, @beatrice-blaze, @divineluce, @whatsin-yourhead, @humanmoodring, @themidnightfarmer, @seizethecarpe, @faecurious, @detective-keen, @sgtrolandhills, @normallee, @detectivedreameater, @chasseurdeloup, @theskyeandsea, @mor-beck-more-problems, @theshadowandvalleyaremine  CONTENTS: mass poisoning, food poisoning vomit (brief description)

Nell wasn't entirely sure why she'd been chosen to receive a VIP invite to the grand re-opening of Pat's Place, but she certainly wasn't complaining. After all, it meant she got an entirely free meal instead of only getting 20 percent off like the flyers around town were advertising, and she'd never say no to free food. Perhaps she should have been a little more suspicious about the invitation, but only hindsight is 20/20. And she was hungry. With Bea by her side, she presented her special invitation to the host at the door, who promptly showed Nell and her sister to the long row of food laid out on a table. But not before being presented with two free drink tickets. "Oh, hell ya." As others filtered in with the regular flyers, they were also shown to the large spread of Americana style food, tall tables meant for standing and eating scattered around the dining area after paying at the door with their discounted price. "Where should we even start?” Maybe she should have waited a bit with the truth serum still working its way through her system, but it would be fine...right?

Remmy was excited to be going out tonight. It'd been a while since they'd done something just for fun, and even better, they were there with someone who they'd recently made friends with. Nadia was nice, and fun to talk to. And she made Remmy stutter and ramble, like some other people could make them-- and though they felt a little guilty, still, Luce had made her position clear. They stepped up and pulled the door open for Nadia. "Ladies first," they said with a big grin, trying to push away the nerves and anxiety that trembled their fingers each time they left the house. But this would be fine, right? They were out with someone they trusted, and it was a big public place. Nothing bad would happen here. "Thanks again for inviting me," they said as they headed inside with her. "You'll have to introduce me to your friend so I can thank them sometime."

When she first got the invitation, Bea had assumed she had been given a VIP ticket because she was also a business owner. Turned out that she wasn't quite so special and her sister got one too. "Well, I want a free drink to start the night," The eldest Vural answered, finding herself moving to the bar without seeing if her sister was following. She placed her free drink ticket down and the bartender smirked at her before making her drink and sliding it to her. She turned to her sister, "That guy was weird."

Dave wandered in curiously. Hell, he was always down for a cheap meal. Circumstances of their reopening sounded fishy (seriously, a whale shark had crushed the place?) But with two free drink tickets he wasn't about to complain. Food smelled good too, although he was only hankering for the meat section. Not knowing anyone yet, he went right for the table, picking up a plate and starting to serve himself with the tongs by each option.

Skylar blinked at the flyer she'd found around town-- it seemed a little too good to be true, but a part of her was curious about Pat's Place. She'd heard about it, but never got a chance to go before the fish rain incident had taken out the roofing. She wondered if Shiloh had helped fix the restaurant and idly wondered what the other woman was doing. Maybe she'd bring her back something? As she entered, she saw the long buffet set up and shrugged. Ah. Maybe not. Oh well. As she took a plate from one end of the line, she glanced at the drink tickets that had been handed to her. "Oh-- I don't..." But she was left with the drink tickets all the same. Looking to the person next to her, she offered a slight smile. "Um... I'm not really a drinker. Do you want these?"

Jared was already inside. He wasn't adverse to cheap food and definitely wasn't deterred by the thought of eating alone. He was too busy loading up a plate with as much as he could get his hands on from the table to notice others filing in behind him. He only had eyes for the food. Jared only glanced over when someone else came close. "Great spread huh?" He commented to the bloke with a grin.

Morgan couldn't believe she'd let Remmy talk her into visiting a restaurant of all places. They were zombies. They didn't need to eat, there was nothing here for either of them but--oh. Morgan arched a brow as she saw her friend playing chivalrous with a pretty girl. Well, maybe there was something here for one of them, and she supposed she could play wingwoman if Remmy felt a little awkward. And maybe give them a tinsy bit of a hard time if they weren't. "Wow, and here I thought I was your date," she teased. "You guys really know how to pick a place. It's so packed, I think half the town is here." She scanned the room, looking for someone familiar, or at least unaccompanied in case the maybe lovebirds needed some privacy later.

Dave nodded at the guy talking to him. "Better taste as good as it looks. Did you go to this place before it had shut down?" He carefully balanced his plate on one hand to offer Jared his to shake. "I'm Dave."

With an easy grin on her face, Nadia let Remmy hold the door open for her as she walked into Pat's Place. "Why, thank you," she said with a wink. The place was pretty nice in kind of an old school kind of way. Nadia could definitely see a crime boss of some sort owning a joint like this. Definitely the kind of person that Tommy would work for. Speaking of... "I'd love to introduce you to him, some time. Don't see him around at the mo, though." Truthfully, she didn't expect to. Probably for the best. She didn't want him to get distracted. She looked over at the other woman that came up to her and Remmy, giving her a smile. "I wasn't expecting it to be this packed. Really hoping it lives up to the hype."

Nell followed her sister over to the bar, all too ready to get that started. After getting her own drink and taking the first sips, she made a mocking face at her sister before saying, "You think tons of people are weird. But now it's time for food, come on! I wanna be rolled out of here." Somehow...the truth serum had allowed her to say such a thing which meant it was, in fact...true?

Norma saw the flyers for a gathering. It was not taking place at the best restaurant in town, the Bottomless Booty, but she would hardly hold that against this Pat's Place place. And if she was lucky, perhaps a fight would break out and she would get some delicious chaos energy to feed on. For now she hopped inside and saw a bar and many tables full of food. None of it was necessary for her but where there was lots of human food, there was usually lots of humans to feed from. She took a plate and picked up many of the green leafy things on the platters to put on her plate on the way down. "Oh, you don't need water to survive?" she asked the woman in front of her who was brandishing her drink tickets. "That's rather unusual. I'm perfectly fine with my two tickets, however. Thank you! I'm Norma! Norma Lee," she said holding out her hand.

Luce had found a flyer hanging outside of Ink Inc after a particularly long shift and you know what? Fuck it. Why not. Pat's Place had been decent enough before it had been taken out by that fucked up fish rain bullshit. And if they were trying to get more people in the door, she couldn't blame them too much. Pushing open the door, she raised an eyebrow as she noticed that her sisters were already here, with Nell eyeing the buffet spread and Bea leaning against the bar. "Bitches." She muttered under her breath before freezing when she saw who else was inside. Remmy. They were here too? Why the fuck-- they didn't even need to eat. Catching sight of the woman next to them, Luce felt the color drain from her face. Fuck. Shit, fuck, fuck. Taking her drink tickets, Luce made a bee-line to the bar and glared at her sisters. "Whiskey. What are you guys doing here?"

Jared grinned and nodded. "Yeah, lived in town all my life. It's real tragic about Pat, but I'm glad the place could re-open." Shuffling his two plates into one hand he offered the other a free one to shake. "I'm Jared."

"Luce!" Nell exclaimed at the sight of her sister, before brandishing her VIP invitation by waving it in the elder girl's face. "I was invited. You weren't?" she teased the fire caster. "So was Bea."

Agatha was a big fan of the place before it shut down, but after having heard that the staff had died crushed under a whale (which sounded like bullshit, by the way), she was no longer sure that the restaurant would ever be worth it ever again. But none of this mattered anymore, Agatha had spotted the buffet spread, and all she could think about right now was food. Some people were more interested in the bar? Their loss. Her plate full, she made her way to an empty table. She did not come with company, but it was fine. Nothing unusual for her.

"Tons of people are weird. Do I have to remind you of the man at the Stacked Deck or that lady in the grocery store? They were all weird." Bea frowned at her sister before taking a drink. She raised an eyebrow at the middle Vural. "We're VIPs." She said with a little smirk. "Did your VIP ticket get lost in the mail?"

Q was a bit over his head here, but he had promised his dad that he'd try to get out more and not lock himself away in the laboratory until he had a white beard. Everyone seemed friendly enough, even if that familiar feeling crawled under his skin. He moved with a small plate towards the woman sitting alone. "Hey, I didn't realize this would be so busy. Can I sit with you?"

Luce raised an eyebrow at her sisters, waving at them with the drink that was slid her way. "Bitches. Both of you. And yeah, I guess it did. Worked out for me, though, I found a flier next to work so I decided to pop by cuz it's apparently pretty popular." She said, bending her head to hide behind Bea's taller form. "Knowing Nell, she probably tossed my invite in the trash." She replied.

"Jared, nice to meet ya," Dave said with a grin, taking the kid's hand. Working hands, at that - this wasn't a guy with some office job. Then again, considering the long narrow scars that stretched along Dave's face and hands, nor did he. "Yeah, I heard. Sounds real shitty, what happened here. Did you know the staff at all?"

Skylar was a little confused by the woman's response and her head cocked slightly. Had she misheard her? There was a lot of noise happening around her, but... "Um, I mean, I do need water. But these are for beer or alcohol or other things?" She said, looking at the little tickets closer. Mhm, yeah, that's what they were for. At the woman's introduction, Skylar awkwardly shifted her empty plate from one hand to the other and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Norma. I'm Skylar. McKay." She said and nodded. "Did you find a flyer too?"

Tilting her head at her sister, Bea looked over to Nell, "Nellie, does it seem like Lulu is hiding from something or is it just me?" Over the last few weeks, it had gotten easier to be outside and in crowds. She was growing more confident every day, finally feeling like maybe her paranoia could ease up a bit.

Morgan snorted. "Aww, you're Nadia? That's so amazing, we talked so much when we first moved here! I didn't realize you knew Remmy. They are, I gotta say, one of the best people in town I've ever met. I'm sure they've got an amazing night planned out for you." She side-eyed Remmy and lowered her voice. "Does she know you don't need to...you know?" This might be more awkward than she wanted in her night. The loner tables in the back were starting to look a lot more cozy.

Agatha, her cheeks filled with food, raised her eyebrows as a young man approached her to get a seat. She glanced around her. Yeah, he was talking to her. "Mmmh," she nodded, wiping her mouth clean. "You know, you could have gotten more food?"

"I probably will, I was feeling indecisive at all the choices and didn't want to seem greedy," Q shrugged, but he did notice her plate. "Not saying that you were greedy-- maybe you have the appropriate amount. I’ll know for next time." He grinned and sat down. "I was at this place before, why is it so popular?"

"Oh definitely, Bibi. Poor Lulu, looks too upset to not be hiding anything." Nell knew it was only a matter of time now until Luce decided to take a swipe at either one of her sisters, so Nell took another gulp of her drink while she still could. "Sure you found a flyer, but did you get in free?"

Jared began to say, "Likewise bud." Taking both his plates back in a more steady grip the nymph shrugged one shoulder. "Knew of them, Pat was the knowable one if you get me? Always happy to chat to the customers. Wasn't here for the funeral or I woulda gone, he was a cool guy."

Norma's brow furrowed. Had she said something incorrect once more? "Oh, why would they call them drink tickets if they were meant for alcohol? That's odd," she said as she tossed one of the garnishes back over her shoulder. She had seen that's how children ""ate"" their broccoli, she assumed it would work here, too. "Nice to meet you too, Skylar! And yes, I did find the flyer. I work at Bottomless Booty, you know. I needed to check out the competition." Her eyes scanned the food table. 'Tell me, is any of this worth consuming?"

"That's me!" Nadia said, though mentally she was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Fuck Nadia for talking to people. "Yeah, Remmy and I are new friends. I took a bit of a fall, and they were there to help me out. Totally agree with you, though. They're the fucking best." She gave them a smirk. It was strange, that both of the people around her were complete emotional and literal dead zones. She looked over to the bar, watching as people took their drinks. Huh. Well, there was one familiar face, and she didn't look too happy.

Bea took another long sip of her drink before half choking as her sister called her Bibi. God, she hadn't been called that in a long time. "Do you think you got in for free because they know you're broke, Nellie?"

Remmy couldn't help but blush. "Morgan," they muttered, "shut up." But then Nadia was agreeing and they sort of wished they could sink into the floor. Clearing their throat, they pointed towards the bar, not even noticing the familiar faces by it yet. "Anyone want a drink? I'm gonna go get us drinks," they said with a squeak, getting ready to head off.

Dave walked them over to a standing table, mouthing back Jared's words to make sure internally he'd gotten them all right. "Right, that sorta guy. I hear it was some sorta freak weather event. Anyhow, you probably don't want to dredge all this back up." Dave picked a chicken drumstick, and took a big bite. He hated eating with his teeth caps on, but needs must and all. "So, Jared, what do you do? You a student, working?"

Luce clenched her hand around the whiskey, the glass heating slightly in her fingers. "Yarrağımı ye, both of you." She gestured to the two of them. "You can both fuck off. I'm not hiding from anyone. You're hiding from someone." She growled. Leave it to Nell and Bea to make shit even worse. Christ. As she glanced around the restaurant, Luce froze as she caught sight of Nadia staring at her. And fuck. Remmy was coming up to the bar. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me." She mumbled, leaning against the bar, head ducked low.

Nell's shit-eating grin she'd been wearing for the roasting of Luce quickly disappeared at Bea's words. Hold on. That wasn't fair. They were supposed to be going after Luce right now. "If I'm broke, so are you!" Apparently hospital bills did that to a person when they didn’t have insurance. So caught up was she with Bea's betrayal, that she didn't realize Luce slipping even further down. "Your’s is probably just a pity invite, anyway."

"I was invited because business owners support business owners," Bea sniffed. "I am not broke. I just have less money than I did before." She patted Luce's back. "Do you need me to distract someone if they notice you?"

Morgan pulled Remmy back. "No, I'm good. I don't really drink much these days, you know? I'm on this great all protein diet and don't really wanna mess up my insides. I'm gonna check out who else is here but--" she kissed her fingers and reached to smush them into Remmy's cheek. "You two kids have fun. I'm sure we'll circle back after the line gets less long. I definitely want to spend more time with you, Nadia, when I get back." Pleased to have thoroughly embarrassed her friend, she slid away from the entrance and sidled up to the back by the more empty tables. There was a woman and what looked to be a college kid sitting together, plates piled high. "I gotta respect people who have their priorities in line. Does it taste any good?"

Jared nodded. He'd heard the same, despite not being in town. Fish rain had been a particularly interesting story to hear. Stuffing a whole wing in his mouth Jared nodded. "Farmer. Own a farm just in town. So not devoted enough to be a student or anything like that. Sounds like too much school to me." he laughed. "What do you do, bud?"

Skylar shook her head apologetically. "It's a little weird, right? I've never really worked in food service, but I think it's because of the cost of alcohol?" She offered helpfully. But, she was only more confused when Norma tossed one of the lettuce garnishes onto the ground. "Um, I don't think--" She said, but was too caught off guard by the woman's words to do anything other than flounder. "Ah-- I mean, I think the ribs look nice? And the fried chicken smells nice too." Skylar said as she put a few pieces of each on her plate. "Bottomless Booty? I've heard of them, that's the pirate restaurant, right?" She asked, a little confused how Pat's would have any kind of competition from the kitschy themed restaurant.

"...Dude, people are going to get food, and you'll be left with the stuff no one likes," she eyed at the vegetables, then back at Quintin. "I'm Agatha by the way," she didn't take notice of his comments. She did not mind being called greedy if it was about food. Being greedy about good things was not a sin. Or maybe the exact definition of a sin. Sin sucked. "I don't know, maybe because for one, there's no mimes here?"

"Oh I'm with ya. Just about scraped my GED, and that was enough for me," Dave replied with a rough laugh. "You got animals or crops on your farm? Oh, I'm a fisher, deep sea angling. Keeps me busy and fed, and the van working."

Norma nodded and then grabbed some of everything Skylar pointed out. That was perfectly normal, she was sure of it, asking for recommendations and then taking them with no questions asked. "Oh yes, it is perfectly pirate themed. I wear a hat when working there. Where do you work?"

Skylar nodded at Norma's words. She didn't really understand what she meant about the hat thing-- did she mean a pirate hat? She couldn't really imagine that Norma meant she showed up wearing a ball cap or something. Wandering down the line, Skylar picked out a few more meat based items before adding a couple vegetables just for appearances sake. She didn't really want anyone to ask any questions about what she was eating. "I work for the school district. I'm not a teacher," She added quickly, trying to avoid that particular rabbit hole. "I do interpretation."

Jared "Got one up on me there, I didn't manage to graduate." He laughed heartily. Looking up at the other man and spotting a congregation of people at the bar he knew. He smiled and then refocused. "Animals. A small greenhouse for flowers though. Oh a sea dog huh? Sounds pretty rad. Got a boat and everything of your own?"

Norma could not imagine working with children. Normal mortals were far too young to have anything in common with as it was. "You do interpretation? Of what? Ancient languages?" She didn't quite understand why small children would need to know demonic languages but that did make some sort of sense given their nature as tiny agents of chaos. "I'm going to go get an alcoholic beverage with my drink ticket, would you like some water of which you need to survive?"

"Q, or Quintin--" Q responded, happily munching on his plate as he never enjoyed enough good food. "So you are on team 'no mimes'." He air quoted, glancing up towards a few other people. All, he didn't know. "Do you know anyone else here?"

Luce rolled her eyes at Nell and Bea. "Broke. Both of you. At least I own my cabin outright." She muttered, head still bent low. For the first time in her life, she wished that her tattoos didn't make her stand out so much. She'd probably be able to blend into the background and just slip out the door if it wasn't for them. But, Nadia had already seen her. "I really don't think that will work. But thanks for everything, Bibi." She shook her head.

Jared took a water from a passing waiter.

It was kind of amusing to watch Luce sink away from the way Nadia watched, but she wasn't super focused on the witch. When Morgan left, Nadia gave a slight wave. "Looking forward to it." She watched Remmy walk away as well, enjoying the blush on their cheeks while she could. Then, she opened her phone and checked the time. She made eye contact with one of the bartenders.

"Cool, what sorta animals? Not at the moment," Dave replied, polishing off the last of the meat on his plate. He eyed the buffet table, that was beginning to look somewhat crowded. Eh, he was a grown man, he could wait for a bit. "Used to have a pretty little ship, but I had to move inland for a while, so now I'm boatless. If I end up staying here long enough I'll get a new one, but for now I'm renting."

The thing Bea had started to notice about herself was sometimes she didn't need anything to make her feel unsafe for her body to begin to react. Tonight, apparently, was one of those nights. Her heart had begun to pound. She put her drink down, the sharp click of it against the bar ringing in her ears. She took a deep breath, far too aware of how fast she was breathing now. "I'm... I'm just going to go to the bathroom for a second okay?" She slipped away from her sisters then and only made it so far before bumping into someone as she tried to walk fast to the bathroom. She wasn't going to freak out in front of all these people. "Excuse me. I didn't mean to hit you." She swallowed hard, trying to control her breathing, but couldn't seem to make it regulate. "I'm just- I have to... I'm just running to the bathroom."

Nell wasn't entirely sure what to make of Bea's quick departure, but she knew that her sister didn't seem quite as social as she'd once been in situations like these ever since she’d been resurrected. Maybe she just needed some air? Still, she wanted to make sure that the eldest Vural was doing alright, and took a quick step after her. One step in, and her head was spinning. What the hell? She'd barely had half her drink at this point. Dizziness wasn't something she should be feeling this early on in the night. Another step forwards, and she had to clutch the end of the bar to steady herself.

For what felt like the third time in as many minutes, Skylar blinked in confusion. "Ancient languages? Like... Latin?" She guessed, not sure what the other woman was talking about. She didn't think that ancient languages were part of the White Crest curriculum. "I-- No, I'm a sign language interpreter." She said before shaking her head. "Oh, no, I'm good. Thank you for the offer, really. I'm okay." She said before wandering away from the buffet. As she wandered through the crowd, her face went slightly pale as she saw Jared and Dave talking to one another. Two people who knew what she was? Mmmmmm, nope, nope nope. Hurrying away, she settled into a booth at the back, sighing as she relaxed into the seat.

"Q? That's funny, my other name is 007," Agatha deadpanned, although a smile soon followed. As much as she liked chit-chat, she was no longer eating. When he asked about mimes, her mouth was, thank God, full again. The food was alright, but there were really too many people in here. Another person had approached the table, and Agatha glanced at her with her eyebrows raised. Nice. "I really think you should hurry to get a plate if you ever want to find that out by yourself," she replied with a smile. "But to answer your question, it's pretty good, yeah."

Remmy swatted at Morgan. "I hate you," they mumbled at her before she left and they headed to the bar to get a drink for Nadia. On their way over, they felt a slight pang in their stomach. That was weird, they shouldn't be hungry? They'd eaten before Nadia came over. "Two whiskeys," they said to the bartender when they arrive, ignoring the feeling. They glanced idly around, noticing just down the bar were two familiar faces. "Luce?" they said. Two drinks were set down in front of them and it echoed loudly in their ears, glass clinking. Remmy shook their head, went to grab a glass. "Nell, are yo--" they started, but the glass suddenly fell from their grip and shattered on the floor. Remmy blinked, looking down. The world swayed under their feet. "S-sorry..." they mumbled as someone came around to clean up the mess. They looked at Luce again, went to say words, and found their throat too dry.

Jared blinked rapidly. His heart sped up and his head started to spin a little. It was faint at first but was building rapidly. He leaned his elbows on the table, taking a larger drink of the water he'd gotten, finishing the glass in the hopes it'd help. "Some cattle mostly." He lied in answer to Dave. He thought he spotted Skylar whiz past behind Dave but couldn't be sure as he got more dizzy. "Renting hah right..."

Norma thought that Skylar girl was rather odd, but nice. Once she got her drink, a tea from a long island, though she was unaware of which one, and took a sip. As she did, she felt a familiar sensation. It was like a pit dropped into her stomach and churned and turned it. The room started spinning and she gripped to the edge of the bar to try and hold herself up. "Fucking bounty hunters, not again!" she growled as she felt herself falling and tumbled to the floor, her heart pounding in her chest and the world starting to go black around the edges of her vision. Why these idiot hunters thought this could take down a fury, she'd never understand.

Quintin laughed. "That's awesome, do you have the scars to prove it?" The question didn't need an answer, clearly he was also playing along. "Hello," he said to the person who plopped at their table. "You alright?"

Jared's face grew a little slack, his eyes unfocusing as he leant heavily against the table. Dave's brow creased, leaning in concern. "You alright, kid?"

Morgan was bumped not once but twice on her way to the booths. One couple rose, spilling their drinks, and as she sidled down the aisle, one more person ran into her so hard she slipped and had to brace herself on the nearest table. There was something...off about all this. "Uh, I am, but I'm not sure if everyone else here is," she said to the young man. "Are you?"

Jared shook his head before realizing that made everything worse. His legs grew wobbly and he closed his eyes firmly hoping the feeling would pass. That was until his attention caught someone to his left falling to the floor. "Something is wrong."

The second Remmy dropped the glasses, Nadia moved over to where they were at the bar. Some poor fuck dropped their glass and stumbled in front of her, but she side stepped them, eyes on her target and concern in her eyes. "Remmy?" she asked as soon as she approached. "Hey, are you alright?" She completely ignored Luce, not seeing any sort of reason to pay attention to her. She wasn't getting paid to watch over Luce.

There was a tightness in her chest that seemed like it was set to stay, and no amount of air that Nell drew seemed to be enough. He hand slipped off the end of the bar as weakness gripped her, and she didn't even notice the floor coming up to meet her as her knees gave way. One second she was standing, and the next she was simply...not standing, trying to scramble to all fours on the ground. "Remmy? Luce? Bea?" Where did her sister go? Was she still here? Her brain was trying to connect dots, but the fuzziness around its edges was making it hard to understand.

Luce stared in confusion as Bea wandered away from the bar, her face pale. And then Nell-- she seemed to be holding tightly onto the bar. "Are you--" Before she could finish her words, Remmy was next to her, equally startled and just as out of sorts as Nell. Looking from her sister to Remmy, Luce slid her untouched whiskey away from her, glaring at the bartender for a moment before reaching out to steady Nell. "Nellie, are you okay?" She asked. In a moment, Nadia was there. Glancing over to the other woman, her eyes narrowed for a moment at the way she seemed to ignore her. "Are they okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, no shit," Dave replied, putting his hand on Jared's back. He looked around, eyes narrowing, as people staggered, looking green in the gills and falling over. Food poisoning usually took a whole lot longer, but... this was a lotta sick people. Could be a spell, could be, well, real poison. Shit. He smacked Jared's drink away. "Don't drink anymore of that. Don't eat. Hold tight kid. Think there's something in the food."

Bea pushed her way through the crowd, trying to get out of the thick of it. She found herself leaning close to the entrance, head beginning to pound as she slid down to the ground. This wasn't just a panic attack. No something was really wrong. "My sisters," She called out. "I need help finding my sisters."

Skylar quietly ate at her table, idly looking around as she ate. The dining room was quite crowded and, now that she was out of the fray, she could see that there were quite a few people that she recognized. Besides Jared and Dave, she could see that Nadia was there-- she hadn't seen her in ages, Skylar idly wondered if the woman had been keeping up on her ASL-- and then, Morgan. That was a little surprising, given.... Morgan's new situation. She didn't think that zombies could eat normal foods. But, the more she looked, the more she realized that things weren't quite right. People seemed to be stumbling around, people were rushing away from the bar? Glancing down at her plate of food, Skylar pushed it away before wandering towards where Morgan was standing, "I, um, hi Morgan." She said before dropping her voice slightly, "I-- Are things off to you too?"

The world was getting sluggish, fuzzy. So were Remmy's arms. And legs. And mouth and tongue. They blinked, heavy lead eyelids, and looked over at Nadia. Nell had collapsed, Luce was on the floor with her, asking if she was okay. If they were okay. Remmy stumbled backwards a little. A jarring pain ripped through their stomach and they jerked, keeling over a little. Wide eyes looked up at Nadia. "S-somethings wrong," they muttered, barely able to get the words out. "I'm not-- supposed to feel--" but another jolt of pain made them jerk wildly again, this time lower down in their stomach. They collapsed to the ground, hands digging so hard into the counter the wood gave way under their fingers.

Morgan tried to wave the woman’s attention away. “No, I’m good. I’m good, really.” But then she was off, darting into an increasingly unstable crowd. Then she saw another familiar face. “Skylar! No, I’m okay, just knocked around. Are you—?” She looked between her and the other kid at the table. “Are either of you okay? Are y’all seeing this?”

Jared was shaking, his knees knocking together like he was some sort of scared cartoon character, but there was nothing he could do. But he could hear voices he knew and he forced himself to move. "In the food? Pats would never." he whisper yelled stumbling towards a nearby table and almost toppling over someone on the floor, crashing to his knees next to the woman. "Fu-dge."

"Hey, I've got you," Nadia told Remmy soothingly. She slipped herself under their arm and wrapped her own arm around their waist, supporting their weight against her. "I've got you." She looked at Luce long enough to shoot her a look that said Not now. Then she pulled Remmy away from the bar. "Gotta be a fuckin' bathroom around here somewhere."

Things had gone to shit real fucking quick. Luce gently patted Nell's face, resting her hand on her sister's head for a moment before glancing over at Remmy, who seemed to be in an equally bad state. What the fuck? How could something be affecting them? They were a zombie this-- Watching as Nadia held onto Remmy, Luce felt a wave of emotion-- jealousy? Relief? Confusion? She couldn't fucking tell-- wash over her. Whatever was going on... it didn't matter. She needed to make sure Nell was okay. "Nellie? Nell, hey, what's going on. Talk to me."

"What the fuck is happening," Q frowned, standing up to catch a guy falling down to their knees. Was someone killing these people? Could he really not have a normal time anywhere? "I'm okay," he said to the woman asking. He didn't know how to help them.

"Pats ain't here kid, and new management don't seem too friendly," Dave said, and tried to catch Jared as he stumbled to the ground, the kid just slipping out his grip. "Shit!" He yelled, pulling out his phone to dial emergency service. "Got a whole lot of people suddenly sick at Pat's Place. Haven't been going long enough for it to be alcohol." He frowned as the call operator said there were already people on route, but was grateful someone had made the call before him. Putting his phone away, he knelt beside Jared. "Keep talking to me, kid."

Skylar's eyes darted around the room as she tried to make sense of what was going on. All around her, people were doubling over, some of them stumbling into tables, others of them just dropping where they stood. What was going on? She swallowed and nodded. "I-- I'm okay. This, there's--" She struggled with words as she caught sight of a familiar form falling to the ground. Remmy. And Nadia, she was carrying them away. "Remmy-- they're here too? They don't, I don't think they're doing alright." She said, her fingers instinctively signing the words as she spoke.

 “Good! Okay is good!” Morgan said. “Maybe don’t touch anything on your plate to make sure it stays that way huh? I mean it’s gotta be the food, right?”

Roland rushed out of the station as quickly as the police had received the tip. On the way over to Pat's Place, he radioed paramedics and a good deal of the officers who worked under him to make sure they could get to the bottom of this. His team was still tracing the tip, but they'd been told a special strain of cyanide was planned to be used at this event. Worry was evident in his features as he rushed over. He didn't bother with parking in an actual space and sirens were still blaring when he arrived with a slew of cop caps and ambulances behind him. He ran into the restaurant and it seemed people were already starting to feel the effects of the poison. "Everyone, remain calm and don't eat or drink anything else." Medics were already rushing over to those obviously affected.

Norma tried to talk but her words were slurred. "H-hey, wa-watch it!" she said as someone tumbled over her. The world went black. She fucking hated poison. Why poison? It was so slow. A stab to the heart was so much easier. She could simply pull out the knife and walk away then, but poison. What a trip. Ugh she would have to wait a bit until she could wake up again.

Back with a glass of water, Agatha felt like this was not going to be much of a help. What a mess. The sound of sirens stopped her in her tracks and she put the glass of water down on the table, heading toward the Sergeant hurriedly. "Hey, do you have any idea of what is going on?"

Jared mumbled an apology to the woman he'd fallen over, looking back at Dave as he reminded Jared that Pat was gone and something was definitely in the food. He squinted up at the new face as well. "Who're you, soft landing." he mumbled incoherently before looking back to Dave. "What if I stop? Will I die? This is far too early for that right?"

Roland looked to Agatha with a worried look on her face and immediately asked, "Do you feel okay?" He examined her for any sign of illness before he finally explained, "We received an anonymous tip that a special strain of cyanide was supplied for the reopening. Paramedics are on the scene and ready to treat anyone affected. Police are looking for whoever is in charge of this shindig."

Morgan barely heard Skylar over the noise of panic and sickness. But she caught her signing out of the corner of her eye and followed her gaze. “That...shouldn’t be happening,” she said. “C’mon. We gotta go.” She took the girl by the hand so they wouldn’t get separated but turned quickly back to the boy. “Hey, I mean it about not eating anything else weird. I’ll check on you later if I can.”

Kaden had planned to stay at home until the stripes were gone completely, he would use up all his sick days at work and then some if he had to. But when he got the call, the tip of a mass poisoning, all hands on deck, he couldn't let his vanity outweigh the risk of human lives lost. Putain. He grabbed gloves and made sure to wear long sleeves. His face and neck were harder to cover, but Regan could be mad about his attempts at using her makeup later. It wasn't great, but a least it hid most of the fucking face paint as he ran out the door and sped directly to Pat's Place, bursting in right behind Sarge and the rest of the crew from the station. The place was pure chaos. Fuck, he didn't even know where to start. Then his eyes landed on a familiar face by the door. "Bea!" No, no, no, she looked bad. But she couldn't die again. She couldn't. No. He ripped an antidote kit out of someone's hand, he didn't see whose. "Bea, talk to me!"

Nell was only slightly aware of Luce, only able to focus on her breathing and the fact that she felt like the world was quickly fading. Was there someone yelling about poison? Who the fuck would poison an entire restaurant? Whoever the hell thought they could get away with poisoning was in for a rude awakening when she was done with them. Luce was hard to make out, the edge of everything blurring. But wait. What about Bea? Was Bea poisoned? she wanted to ask. But instead when she parted her lips, there was nothing. Only the sound of her gasping for air and coughing. 

Marley had gotten the call while she was out on patrol. It was an emergency broadcast, which meant Jane had gotten the call, too. By the time Marley arrived, the place was in disarray. She had her kit in hand and rushed in, ignoring the swells of fear she felt as she waded through the crowd to the closest person passed out on the ground. Sarge was talking to Agatha, Kaden was with Bea-- Kaden knew Bea? Ugh, small towns-- and other officers were filling in behind her. She came to a man, collapsed on a table, an older gentleman helping him. "Is he sick?" she asked the man who didn't look like he was about to collapse.

Q's skin crawled in that familiar, warning way from the weight of the other. "Just listen to him," Q said to the one in his arms, talking wasn't the worst thing to keep doing when the threat of closing your eyes forever was the other option. "The cops are here, it will be fine." Though the words were stale on his tongue if this was supernatural related and not human.

"Medical's here," Dave replied, ignoring Jared's question about death entirely as he looked up as police and paramedics came up. A woman approached her, holding a kit, and Dave couldn't help breathe a sigh of relief. "Yeah, he is. Started about five minutes ago. What is this, you know?"

Remmy watched the floor slide by them as Nadia carried them off somewhere. Where were they going? Why couldn't they move? At some point, they'd stopped moving. Remmy slid to the floor, barely able to keep themself upright. "Nadia...what's..." they muttered, looking around for her, reaching out to try and grasp her as the world went fuzzy, dark, then sprung back to life again. They gripped their stomach in agony, trembling. "What's happening?"

Norma couldn't tell how long she had been asleep, or dead, it was hard to say, she never really knew, but her eyes flew open and she sat up and then turned to her side, the contents of her stomach spilling out on the floor beside her. Disgusting. She looked around and saw there was a man halfway fallen on top of her and another man helping him. And what she presumed was a medic. Oh no. Should she have played dead? "Wow, I must have eaten something horrible. Oh no, so tragic. How is it going here?"

Skylar let Morgan slip her hand into hers before offering an apologetic grimace to the two people the other woman had been talking to. "I'm sorry-- I--" She managed before hurrying away with Morgan towards where she'd last seen Remmy. They'd been by the bar, she'd seen them with Nadia. Where had they gone? And then, she saw that the two of them, Remmy's arm flung over Nadia's shoulder. "Morgan, over there." She said, tilting her head towards where she'd seen the two hurry off.

Bea looked up at Kaden's face, dizziness making it hard to focus on him. "Why do you look like that?" She asked, voice a bit choked. She coughed and the reality of what was happening began to hit her. She couldn't control the tears that started to leak from her. "I don't want to die again, Kaden, I can't die again," She told him, not even able to attempt to control how panicked she sounded. She grabbed his arm suddenly, looking back into the crowd. "My sisters are here," She wheezed out to him. She didn't want to die again, the thought terrified her in ways she couldn't even begin to understand, but her sisters couldn't experience what she had. She had told the truth when she said that she was willing to die for them again. She tried to push him toward the crowd. "Please."

Luce glanced around her as police began to flood the room, paramedics following close behind them. As Nell began to gasp and cough, Luce scooped her younger sister up in her arms. No. Not today. She'd resurrected Bea, summoned lightning for Nell, blown up a building and murdered countless people for her sisters. She wasn't going to let fucking Pat's Place hurt her family. Not today. Hurrying towards the entrance, she noticed Kaden kneeling over Bea, her sister saying words she couldn't quite hear, "Grab her and get her out of here." She growled at the man before pushing past him out of the building. She needed to get Nell to the ambulances outside, needed to make sure she was safe.

Jared's vision swam as yet another person arrived. He tried to raise his hand to show a peace sign but all he managed was a weird sort of wave at the newcomer, his arm falling heavily back into the guy holding him up. "Dave the fisherperson is a hero, I'm naming my next kid after you Dave." he decided his mind full of cotton.

There weren't supposed to be cops here. That was all Nadia could think about as she dragged Remmy away from the chaos. She flinched as they reached out to her, though she tried not to let it show. "It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine," she kept muttering over and over, though it was more for her benefit than Remmy's. When she got somewhere less crowded, she set them against the wall and leaned down in front of them. "I don't know what's going on," she said, glancing worriedly back as the cops all filed in, "but it's going to be okay, alright? I'm gonna get you some help."

Agatha 's eyes grew wide. She knew that her belly was more than full and her nervous smile, that probably looked like a freaky grimace told exactly that. "Never better, Sarge, never better," either way, she would have to do her job, anyway. "I'll go gather the staff in the kitchen." And with those words, she turned her back on the sergeant and crossed the restaurant countless times, each and every time with the same strict directions.

Marley took the dizzy man by the arm and shuffled around him. "I need you to open your mouth for me," she said, that firmness to her voice. When he obliged, she popped in the breathalyzer antidote before motioning over to a paramedic to administer the IV. "He'll be okay," she said to the older man, "we've been told it was cyanide. The EMTs will know more. Are you okay, sir? Not feeling any symptoms?"

Nell's heartbeat was growing weaker by the second, her head lolling uselessly as Luce carried her to...to...where were they going? Was she floating? Something felt wrong. Where were they going? There were so many people yelling. There were people in danger. She wanted to stay and help, but the thought was faint as her body continued to shut down, and finally the world faded away as a whole.

Morgan followed Skylar’s lead, all the way up to Remmy, not fleeing the place so much as being dragged away by Nadia. "This is not supposed to be happening, this is definitely not supposed to be happening, flipping universe, this just not..." Chaos was erupting around her. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the Vural sisters in similar distress, but she couldn't split her attention right now. She grimaced, pulled Skylar along until they were outside with Nadia and Remmy. "What happened?" She asked Nadia, voice shrill. "How long have they been like this?" She dropped to her knees to examine Remmy, though for what, she wasn't sure. "What happened to Remmy?"

Roland was relieved to hear Agatha hadn't been poisoned though he did notice Luce rushing outside with someone in her arms. He'd have to check in on her later. Right now, it was imperative to find whoever was behind this before they got away. Agatha made her way toward the kitchen and he decided to check out the bar first. Not everyone was sick and this was a buffet. There was a chance the beverages were behind this. He walked up to the bar and demanded, "I need to see whoever is in charge of your bar immediately."

Kaden scrambled to get the antidote kit open. This wasn't going to happen, she wasn't going to fucking die again. Once was more than enough. "Open your mouth, you're not fucking dying, Bea, you're--" Her sisters? And then she was up and trying to move. Fuck, he grabbed her and pulled her back, maybe harder than he had to. Just then Luce brushed past cradling Nell. "They're okay, they're fine." He pushed the breathalyzer antidote towards her and called for a medic. "You're not dying. Nell's not dying. Neither is Luce. Now sit still and where the fuck is a medic?" One finally ran over to administer an IV at his second shout.

Dave shifted backward on his knees as Marley leant over Jared, giving him the antidote. "I feel right as rain. Guessing whatever it was wasn't in the meat, that's all I'd eaten so far, and hadn't got to drinking yet." He eyed Jared in concern, rubbing his jaw in concern. "Don't name no one after me, kid. Just keep talking. You already got kids?"

Remmy wanted to cry out, it hurt so bad. Pain torn through the stomach, like swallowed lava. A burning so deep inside they wanted to tear their chest open and rip it out. "Get it out," they muttered, clawing at their chest, "g-get it out. Morgan, get..." they could barely see now, the world spinning around them so fast it made them fall over, even as they were sitting up. Someone's hands caught them. They couldn't see who it was, only hear familiar voices. "Make it stop," they gurgled, feeling something rising in their stomach, their chest, their throat, "make it stop."

Luce made her way out of the building and blocked the path of a passing paramedic, her eyes burning with enough anger and fear to stop them in their tracks. "You're going to save my sister, right fucking now." She snarled as she lay Nell down on the ground. Without a word, the paramedic bent over her sister and opened up the antidote kit. She gripped her sister's hand, holding it tightly as she looked around. So many people were in the same state as her sister, so many people were hurting. "You better fucking save her." She said. "You better fucking save her."

Q let the medic help the person near him, and after setting them down, stood up to aid anyone else to get over towards the medics so there wasn't delay in their care.

Marley patted the younger man on the shoulder. "You're gonna be okay," she said, as the EMT arrived to take over her spot. She gave a glance to the older man, nodding. "We're not sure yet. Count yourself lucky, though," she said, turning to head off to the next person, but-- finding that she was already up and alright. Marley eyed her warily, and the pool of wet next to her. "Everything okay, ma'am?"

Bea fall against Kaden, looking at him with wide, panicked eyes. She finally opened her mouth at Kaden's instruction. He said that her sisters will be okay. She had to believe him. He'd take care of them or make sure they were being taken care of. She knew he would. Her friends took care of her family, she had to trust that. As the medic administered her IV, she realized how hard she was shaking. Through gasping breaths, she asked Kaden and the medic, "What's happening?"

"Get what? Get what out, Remmy! I don't know what you mean!" Morgan shrieked, hands fluttering everywhere and nowhere at once. "Did you actually eat something, Remmy?" She looked helplessly over at Nadia. "I don't understand! Did you see anything?”

Agatha stood in the kitchen with the restaurant's staff. "Everyone here?" She watched them look at each other else before nodding. "Alright. I'm going to need whoever was in charge of food to go over here, and whoever works at the bar to go over here." She had not had anything to drink, so clearly, there was something in the water.

Jared "Got tons of kids. Farm full of 'em." he told Dave. "Don't have a Dave yet so it's perfect." He winced at the IV going into his arm and make a face at Dave. "Feels like a movie, no one gets poisoned in real life do they?"

"I don't know," Nadia said, her tone matching Morgan's. She began to back away, her hands shaking as she watched the two undead. "I--" she needed to get out of there and fast. But there were too many fucking people around. She couldn't be suspicious. Inwardly, she willed herself to calm down, while outwardly she put all of her effort into looking concerned and panicked and horribly inept at handling this situation. "I'm going to get help," she said, backing into the main room. On the way, she saw a discarded drink tray. Fuck, she didn't sign up for this. As slyly as she could, she downed the drink and headed back into the main room, hoping the effects hit quickly. In the mean time, she pretended to look for someone to help Remmy. Not that they could. Zombie poison really was a real bitch.

Skylar followed behind Morgan, doing her best to dodge the people who were between them and Remmy. Before she knew it, Skylar was staring at Remmy, their hands pulling at their chest, their body wracked with pain. Her eyes widened, memories of the last time she'd seen them in pain coming rushing back to her. The way they'd been ripped in half, the way their insides-- "No, no, no, no, no." She mumbled, frozen in fear. She shook her head, trying to force away the memories. She didn't-- they didn't-- she couldn't handle seeing them like this. "Help! Someone, someone help!" Skylar yelled, not knowing what else she could do. She just knew she needed to get Remmy help, and fast. They were in so much pain.

Dave nodded as the officer walked away, turning back to Jared with a bemused smile that didn't quite mask his worry. "Right, your cows're your kids," he agreed, looking around. "Pretty shitty movie, if you ask me. Whoever made that first call saved a fuckload of lives."

Roland gave the timid looking assistant bar manager a harsh look. "Are you the one in charge here?" His words had a bite to them and he was frustrated. A mass poisoning was horrific and he couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around it. The younger man stuttered, "Oh, I-I- I don't know what happened. I was walking a-around seeing if everyone enjoyed their meals. I'm nn-not sure where the bartenders ran off too or what's making everyone sick." Roland narrowed his eyes. It was hard to tell if the nerves were because he was lying or because of the utter chaos ensuring around them. "I'm going to need you to come back to the station with me and answer some questions."

Kaden could feel Bea shaking, closer to death than she had any right to be right after just coming back to life. "Got a call about a poisoning. Breathe, I need you to breathe." Because if she stopped fucking breathing, it would all be for nothing. He couldn't handle that, not again. And he knew Luce and Nell couldn't even begin to handle that. "Luce looked okay. She had Nell. There are medics everywhere, I'm sure she's okay." God fucking help him if he was lying to her right now. He'd never live it down. But he couldn't leave her to go check. He had to trust that Luce would kill someone to keep Nell safe. Had to admit, that wasn't a stretch to believe.

"Get it out, it burns!" Remmy nearly screamed, tearing at their clothes. Sweat was beading on their head, pooling under their shirt. Their arms felt stiff, slow. Their entire body heavy. They sank to the floor, curling up. Exhaustion rushing into them. "It burns, everything burns, it--" they choked on their words, shaking. Wished that the darkness would just take them over, wish they could slip into that release, too. "Please, please," they begged.

"Ma'am-- I need you to--- Ma'am! Get out of here!" The medic yelled and Luce found herself being pulled away from her sister. "Alright! Alright! But, you better fucking, you better save her!" She swore as she stumbled down the pavement. Breathing hard, Luce stared up at the restaurant again, saw Kaden next to Bea, watching over her while the medic administered the treatment. Hurrying back towards them, she glanced around and stopped dead in her tracks. Through the doorway, she caught sight of Nadia... Saw the glass in her hand. What the fuck? What the fuck? Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Nadia drain the glass dry.

Morgan tried to reach out for Nadia before she backed away. "NO, no, you have to tell me what they did! Fucking--Nadia!" But the girl was gone. Yeah, she definitely didn't know that much about her date if she thought the paramedics were going to have anything to help a zombie in distress. Skylar, nearby, was feeling some distress too. "Hey," she said, her voice firm with determination. "We're gonna figure this out, okay? Just not here, and not with the help of human cops. I'm going to take Remmy back to my place. Can you cover for us, Skylar?" She heaved her arms under Remmy's body and picked them up. It was awkward with their difference in size, but she was going to make it work. "If Nadia comes back, tell her we're okay, make sure she doesn't ask any questions?" She tried to lock eyes with the young selkie. Tried to sound as confident as she wished she was. "We're gonna handle this, and we're gonna be fine."

"That's right." Jared’s head still felt wrong, but the cotton was clearing a little as the medic monitoring the IV in his arm gave a nod to someone to help Jared to his feet. "The worst movie I've ever seen bud." he agreed, being hauled into a chair to be moved. "Coming for the ride in the ambulance? A cyanide come down is a great way to meet new friends."

Norma tried to stand up, but still felt weak. The poison was no longer killing her, but the effects always lasted far longer than she would like. It was unfortunate that someone had noticed her fall. She glanced around her, every other mortal who had fallen was being given intense medical care. Gods, how could she explain this one? Hopefully this human approaching her was very stupid. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I think the poison just didn't stick. It's a miracle! Praise your deity of choice!"

Instead of looking for someone to help Remmy, Nadia immediately went over to the EMTs, stumbling by the time she got to one of them. "I think-- Fuck." Fucking cyanide. Fucking cops. She wasn't getting paid enough to poison herself. She groaned and allowed the EMT to help her out. Tommy was going to be getting some choice words after all of this.

Poison. Some fucking bastard poisoned her and her sisters. Bea was going to fucking kill them. She was going to burn... No, not burn anymore, but she was going destroy whoever fucking did this. Her tears started to clear as she was worked on and she looked up at Kaden, face set in rage, "I'm going to kill them." She looked to the side, trying to find her sisters and saw Luce. Reaching out to her, she called to Luce, voice rough. "Luce!"

Skylar focused on Morgan's words, doing her best to hold herself together, though her shoulders were shaking violently. "Mhm, mhm,. I can-- I can do that. Just, make sure they're okay. Please, please make sure they're safe." Skylar glanced down at Remmy, watched as they screamed and cried, and curled on the ground. Tears burned in the corners of her eyes as she nodded. "It's all going to be okay, it's gonna be okay." She said, more to herself than to Morgan. It had to be okay.

With the sergeant handling this, Agatha left the kitchen, passing a woman who was thanking God instead of medicine with a judgemental look on her face. Yeah, no, no time to argue. Besides it looked like someone was taking care of her. It seemed things were getting slowly under control. But time would tell how bad this truly was.

Marley eyed the woman carefully. "Didn't stick, huh?" she said with a low voice, glancing around them before leaning in, "sounds pretty...supernatural to me." Before leaning away. She didn't exactly have time for this, there were more people who needed poison kits. She backed away from the strange woman, smiling, gave a wave, before heading off to another sick person. This town sure was strange sometimes.

Roy Chambers couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face if he tried. What was there to be upset about? The day had been good to him. Another day with the sun warming his skin was a good one, in his book. Coupled with the sound of ambulance sirens cutting through the air? Oh, that tickled him in more ways than most people could properly understand. What did it mean? What was going on? That was probably what most people were thinking. Roy, however, knew exactly what it meant. It meant success. It meant his plan had gone off without a hitch. As he neared the restaurant—Pat’s Place—he watched the chaos from the sidewalk. No way this place was going to pick back up after a catastrophe like this. Shame. They had the best cheesesteaks in the area. With the mess unfolding, everyone was far too consumed with the sick and dying to notice him. He halted at the sight of a familiar face. Remmington McAllister. 30. One of the parties to blame for the Ring explosion. He was sure Penelope Vural was around here somewhere. Preferably dead. Remmington didn’t look too far from it themself. He caught their gaze, lowering his sunglasses to fully take in the picture. Phew, boy. Looked like that hurt. He winked, his grin spreading wider across his features. Tucked his hands into his pockets and carried on down the road, a melodic whistle on his lips and a pep in his step. The day had been very good to him indeed.

[nelllraiser]

comet’s return | bea, luce, nell, & montgomery

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Summary, Plot Drop Page

LOCATION: The White Crest Catacombs

TIME: Current

PARTIES: Bea Vural, Luce Vural, Nell Vural, Montgomery de Ville

CONTENTS: Sibling Death mention, Torture implication, Gun use, Animal Injury

“and though the villain 'scape a while, he feels. slow vengeance, like a bloodhound, at his heels.”

Montgomery drew in a long, steadying breath. Vampire spawn. Scum, but scum that paid well. Vampire dust -- to the discerning eye -- was of course only purer and more valuable if you were able to get the older vamps. Fortunately, Montgomery was selling vamp dust to someone with far less discerning eyes then his own. Machete gripped in his right hand and a stake gripped in his left, Montgomery crunched down into the gravel of the catacombs. The dim light didn’t hide the obvious signs of the spawn and it didn’t take Montgomery long to pull the vial of bait from their belt. Within moments they were swarmed with three spawn. Easily more then Montgomery would’ve needed for this particular job, but a few extra supplies weren’t going to be the end of the world. The first Spawn snarled, darting forward through the dark. Montgomery’s machete sliced through the air, decapitating the vampire into a pile of ash. Montgomery pivoted on their heel, bringing the stake through the second vampire’s heart and watching it collapse. Without hesitation, Montgomery ripped the stake from it’s chest. Satisfied by his work, Montgomery began to whistle at a low pitch as they began collecting the vampire dust. 

Tracking down a target wasn’t anything new for Nell— not when she’d made a life of it in the past few years. But this was different. This time, her prey was more important than it had ever been before, and much more personally charged as well. The man who had hunted her. The man who had killed her sister. The man who was responsible for her still troubled sleep, always on edge as if he or someone else were going to appear out of the woods, tranquilizer in hand to hurt her, her friends, and her family. The sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears was a testament to the adrenaline pumping through her veins, razor sharp in her focus as she made sure Bea and Luce were beside her, in position and ready to go. She nodded to each of them, signaling that Montgomery had finished his own hunt, and it was time to finish their’s. Her hellhounds were already summoned beside them, and with a tap on Shaggy’s shoulder, she sent him towards the Hunter, cast in the darkness that the catacombs provided. He was low to the ground, careful per Nell’s instructions as he let out a low whine that almost melded with the tone of Montgomery's whistles, joining the hunter’s song until the hellhound’s whines grew into a low, eerie howl that echoed off the craggy walls. They’d waited long for this, and with the full moon quickly approaching she’d known they needed to act now, or else she’d be left magicless to deal with the man whose actions  seemed to have been the beginning of everything going wrong. Tonight would be the night he'd finally pay his penance for the scars he’d left on each of their souls.

When Nell had led them down into the creepy tunnels under White Crest-- the Catacombs?-- Luce had been less than thrilled. But, it did little to dampen the vengeance that still burned within her. Montgomery had gone for far too long without facing the repercussions of his actions. But, just as retribution had come for August, it was coming for Montgomery now. What did they have to lose now anyways? Their coven? Their family? They’d already lost those. All they had left was each other. And they were going to make him pay for all the anguish and suffering he’d put them through. As Shaggy made his way to Montgomery, his belly practically pressed down against the dirt, Luce glanced over at her sisters. She wanted to let the fire dance from her fingers, let the flame lick the sandstone walls of the catacombs. Can I set the fires? Or should we wait? She asked, relying on the magical link that they’d set between the three of them. She would wait, if that’s what the others thought was best, but she wanted to watch the panic grow in his eyes when the fires spread. She wanted to witness the very moment he realized there was no escaping the Vural sisters. 

Months. They had to wait months to begin the hunt. Bea understood why, of course, the injuries they had all sustained, both physically and mentally, needed to heal. She hoped that the Hunter had let himself forget the women he had wronged, she hoped that he thought himself safe from them. She wanted to see the realization in his eyes when he understood what their presence meant. Start the fire, Bea thought to her sisters, nodding forward for them to start their approach. Bea couldn’t be sure he would remember her, but she did her best to make it easy for him. She had purposely dressed similar to the outfit she had died in. She wanted her sisters to appear before her. She wanted the Hunter to think this was a simple case of revenge rather than knowing his kill had crawled her way out of death. She used her magic to begin to rattle the bones around them in the catacombs. Let the Hunter know he is prey now. 

Montgomery heard the low whines of something, and turned his eyes on the darkness. Spotting nothing. Hairs stood on end. Shivers trickled down his spine and he couldn’t help but swallow nervously. Normally everything was planned for and accounted for. But there was always some level of surprise to every hunt. Whether it was a change in the wind or whether it was an extra kill to be made. As the bones of the catacombs began to rattle, sweat poured down Montgomery’s back from the exertion that he’d given to the killing of the spawn. Clutching the vials of vampire dust that he had collected, Montgomery’s hand slipped to his holster and his hand curled around the revolver sat there. “Who’s hiding there?” Montgomery asked curiously. Fake it till you make it. It had been a hunter’s motto. He couldn’t remember the fool's name. Montgomery had never had been one for faking anything, but maybe just this once. Swallowing, they peered into the darkness, daring someone to make a move. 

As Montgomery turned, and his face came into focus, Nell’s stomach began a tumultuous gut reaction. First, it dropped like a rock, her fight or flight reminding her that this was the man who turned her life upside down. This was the face she’d seen when she’d been convinced she was going to die. The hands that had ended Bea’s life. The heaving feeling was quickly replaced with anger, pure and hot as he reached for his gun. They’d have to get rid of that. Without warning, Shaggy dived forwards, aiming to clutch Montgomery’s hand and gun between his teeth, trying to disarm the hunter of his initial weapon. In tandem, Nell darted out from the shadows, taking advantage of the distraction to jerk a hard and swift knee between Montgomery’s legs. They needed to get him down before they could do what they wanted. To make sure he couldn’t fight back. To make him pay for all he’d made them and countless others lose. “Hey, Monty.” Her tone was sickeningly sweet. “Thought we could do with a rematch.”

At the nod from Bea, Luce sent the fire creeping around the edges of the room, low and barely flickering. Like snakes, the streams of fire wrapped around the perimeter, docile and low. She watched. And she waited. Watched him pinch vampire dust into tiny vials, watched the sweat drip down the back of his neck, watched him reach for that gun. In an instant, Shaggy and Nell struck, the two of them lashing out against the man. With a laugh, Luce fed the flames, their blue tongues leaping into the air. The room was illuminated in an eerie glow as she stepped forward. He didn’t know her, hadn’t seen her that night. He didn’t know that he’d wronged all three of them when he’d raised his sword against her sisters. But he would now. Stepping forward, she let fresh flames trail across the skin of her arms. With a smile, she nodded at Nell. “We thought it was about time for a little hunt of our own.”

Bea let her sisters walk forward some paces before slowly following them. She heard the sounds of Nell attacking him, heard the hellhound, heard Luce’s fire. There was no way this man had a chance against them. Bea hoped he thought he had a chance, she hoped he fought and failed. As she saw the Hunter, a shark-like smile began to tug on her lips. She had been starving for sometime now, hollow without her vengeance, and now she was staring into the eyes of her meal. Unconsciously, Bea licked her lips. “I don’t think we got a proper introduction last time we saw each other, Montgomery. I’ve been dying to change that, I’m Beatrice Vural. I hope you don’t mind that we’re here to return the favor.” Her shadows swam at her feet, vicious little things ready to strike out if it came to it.

Montgomery was confident that he could deal with one Vural and her pet mutt, after all dealing with her sister and taking her head as a trophy had been easy enough until the arson attempt at his home. As a knee caught his legs, Montgomery grunted in pain and collapsed down to one knee, bringing him to eye level with the hellhound. As it leaned forward, saliva frothing from its maw as it prepared to snap down on Montgomery’s hand, his finger curled around the trigger and tugged at it, letting off a shot. The explosion at the end of the revolver rang out in the cavern catching the hellhound in its front shoulder. It yelped in pain but Montgomery realised that they should’ve been more concerned with everything other then the hound. A sapphire conflagration enveloped a second figure who stepped out of the shadows. Montgomery didn’t recognise her, but she looked like Penelope and Beatrice. Confused but ready for a fight, Montgomery’s stomach didn’t truly give out until a third figure came into view. “No, you’re dead…” Montgomery’s tone was rough and hoarse, full of disbelief. He’d spent hours gazing into her eyes as they hung suspended In formaldehyde. “I guess I’ll just have to do it again.” Montgomery could barely grunt the words as he tightly gripped his machete, turning and slicing at Nell in an attempt to gain some space. Any advantage that he could gain might get him out of here. 

Nell��s ire only grew stronger as Shaggy yelped. It tugged at her heart, but she knew the hound would be okay. After all, the demonesque dogs were built to take a hit or two. Next came the other two hellhounds from the shadows, eager to taste the blood of the man who’d hurt their brother. Almost as eager as Nell was to spill it- to savor it. Montgomery dropped down, and Nell didn’t have to imagine how he’d felt on that day while he stood over her anymore. For as he went down to one knee, and she watched the top of his head droop, the sense of power she’d been chasing after ever since that day had come to pass blossomed in her. It mixed readily with the rage pooling in her belly, and her eyes watched sharply as the machete that had most likely been the one to behead her sister, swung in her direction. “Drop it,” she demanded in a darkened tone, letting the magic she’d been practicing on Bea’s reanimated corpse flow through her savagely as she tried to twitch the gun and knife from his hands, bending his fingers against their own will. The same magic that had been unlocked in her on that cursed day.

The otherworldly glow of the blue flames danced across her skin as Luce stalked behind Nell. She could feel the fire within her growing, changing, just as it had the night she’d rescued Nell from the Ring. It sparked and crackled within her body, but she tamped the magic down. The delicate patchwork of scars across her chest tingled at the sensation of the lightning that rippled beneath her skin, but now wasn’t the time. No. This was just the hunt. She’d save the lightning for later. Instead, she curled her fingers, the blue fire  from around the room slithering across the floor, encircling the four of them. She kept her magic in check near her sisters, taking care not to burn them, but spurred the eager flames near Montgomery, She let them dance and jump, barely restrained. He was the reason for her blue flames, he was the source of their misery. It was about time they inflicted a little misery of their own.

“To have survived as long as you have, I expected you to be smarter,” Bea tsked as a shadow began to move toward the Hunter. “You aren’t going to do anything again, not after us. I won’t die again because of you.” The shadow slid up his ankle and tugged. She had little control over her shadows, but fueled by her anger, they seemed to listen carefully to what she wanted. Once he drops the weapons, we’ll restrain him. Bea was under no assumption that he wouldn’t be dangerous without his weapons. Each other magicks were newly acquired and Bea didn’t want to give him a chance to run.

Montgomery was sure that he had been in worse situations then this. He always survived. That was why he was such a damn good hunter. That and preparation. But he hadn’t been given the chance to prepare to have his own body betray him. As he fought the sensation of his fingers releasing the gun and the knife, he watched them clatter to the ground. Unable to speak for a moment as he fought against them, but whatever magic these women had access to kept him in place and Montgomery wasn’t sure how to beat it. He of course had plenty of other weapons hidden around him. A flash bang grenade in the small of his back. A small pistol in his boot. A knife strapped to his calf. More weaponry on his belt. But weapons wouldn’t help him now. “Three against one is so very brave of all of you,” he spat the words out with vitriol and hatred, “I get it, you couldn’t take me on my own so you had to team up. Real smart. You’d better hope that you kill me because if you don’t I’ll make you wish you’d never come back from the dead.” He wouldn’t keep her head as a trophy this time. He’d burn it.

The rage that was burning in her had been building ever since that day in the clearing, ever since Montgomery had dared raise a hand against Nell and her sisters. It was wild within her, calling for blood and agony and vengeance with a greediness that demanded more. And she’d give it more. She’d give it all that it wanted once they took Montgomery with them to face what they had planned for him. “You know what’s fucking brave?” Nell spat back, hand clenching into a fist as every cell in her body screamed to lash out at the hunter, to make him regret ever being alive in the first place. “Tranquilizing someone so they can’t even fight back. Cutting the head off a woman that wasn’t even your fucking target.” But then his words drew a sharp and short laugh from her. “You don’t get it, do you? We don’t give a shit about whether or not it’s brave or whether we could take you on our own. Don’t worry- we plan on killing you. We just want to have some little fun, first. You’ll be wishing for death by the time we’re done.” A snap of her fingers, and chains were seemingly summoned from thin arm, wrapping around Montgomery to bind him in place, arms against his sides and legs as one. A hog trussed for dinner.

[nelllraiser]

severance | bea, luce, nell, & nisa (ft. rosemary and helena)

LOCATION: the council chambers of the witches of the silver flame. PARTIES: @beatrice-blaze, @divineluce, @nelllraiser, and @nisavurcl. SUMMARY: the vural sisters answer for their crimes. 

"And I will go if you ask me to. I will stay if you dare. And if I go I'm goin' on fire. Let my anger take me there"

When Clementine had come running to the coven council and Nisa about the strangeness of the Vural daughters, the matriarch had been ready to dismiss whatever was happening as one of her youngest daughter’s typical shenanigans. Certainly she wasn’t pleased, but it was hardly worth bridging to the council. But the longer Clementine had talked, the more dubious things became, and the harder the rock in Nisa’s stomach had grown. It was too elaborate of a story to be made up, and she herself knew of the animosity that August and Penelope had shared for the bulk of their life. How could Bea and Luce have gotten caught up in such things, though? They were meant to be more responsible than this. How had everything gotten so tangled when she’d only been gone for a couple of months? She waited with the other council members for her daughters to appear in the chambers. The only choice they’d had was to summon the three witches in for examination, to question them just as they would have done to any other coven member. For a long moment, Nisa had played with the concept of warning her daughters. She’d always been one to believe in facing the consequences of one’s actions, but this was a step up from that in severity. She hadn’t reached a decision, and her lack of decision had found her running out of time to warn them, thus the Vural daughters went unaware of why they were being brought forth to the council. As the three of them filed in, she cleared her throat, straightening her back in her chair to become the formidable council member she was known to be. “Beatrice Vural, Lucinda Vural, and Penelope Vural— you’ve been summoned by the Witches of the Silver Flame to answer for accused crimes that fall outside of this coven’s parameters.”

Rosemary clasped her hands tightly around the wooden arms of her chair, her eyes dark and unreadable as she stared at the girls who stood before the council. The Vural girls. She should have known that it would be them, but she’d doted on them as children. She could still remember the three of them being tutored with the other young children of the coven-- bright, studious Beatrice, quiet, moody Lucinda, and excitable, energetic Penelope. With no children of her own, she’d viewed all the young spellcasters of the coven as extensions of her own family. But, the allegations Clementine had approached the council with, talks of murder, of dark magic and necromancy? The women who stood before her were not those same children. They had gone down an unforgivable path, done unspeakable things to one of their own. A member of their coven. “You stand before this council facing the following charges: the practice of dark magic, the practice of necromancy and human resurrection, and the murder of another member of this coven, August Thompson.” Rosemary spoke, doing her best to keep her voice level and calm. Just as she remembered the Vural sisters as children, so too could she remember young August, always trying so hard to prove himself. How could they do this? How could these girls do… any of it?

When Clementine had come forward with her claims, Helena had been beyond thrilled. The Vurals had been good enough members of the Coven and she had no issues with them, but this gave her the opportunity to gain more standing on the Council. Everyone would be looking at Nisa now and if Helena was lucky, the woman would step down with grace after this scandal. Then there was room for someone new and more aligned with Helena’s thoughts to join the council. Her chin tilted upward, face stern as she looked over the woman. “We have witness testimony and evidence against you. Telling us the truth will make things much easier for you.” Helena hoped they would be too much like their mother to step down from a challenge of their pride. “How do you plead?”

Nell hadn’t seen her mother since she’d returned from Turkey, not knowing how to explain away the scars that encompassed her entire arms, nor the one that went a third of a way across her neck. Especially in conjunction with the matching one Luce had, and the one that spanned Bea’s entire neck. But it seemed that someone had done the explaining for them. Standing in front of the council on trial for their actions was not how she’d expected it to go, though. As she took in the council, a sinking stone formed swiftly in her gut, weighing her down in a way that made her push her shoulders back forcefully, as if trying to prove that she wouldn’t be defeated by it, or the witches sitting before her and her sisters. They wanted a plea, and there was really only one way this could go. The council already had the information, and there was no use in fighting it. In addition, the truth spell placed on the chambers wouldn’t permit any of them to lie. At this point, it wasn’t a matter of whether or not they’d be found out, but what their punishment would be. Maybe she could draw a good amount of the attention. Take the blame like she always had growing up. Nisa’s favorite target. So Nell stepped forward, apart from her sisters to say. “I plead guilty.”

On some level, Luce had known that their actions would come back to bite them. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, had instead taken to hiding her fears with violence and anger and lashing out with magic. Of course, that was the reason for their whole situation wasn’t it? When she’d received the summons from the coven, there had been some fear, some anxiety. But, for the most part, she’d resigned herself to her fate. Luce’s fingers brushed against the choker around her throat, covering her scar. It had served as a reminder of what she’d done. She cast dark magic, practiced necromancy, committed murder, slain another member of their coven. Even without the magic that seeped into the very walls of the council chambers, she would readily admit it to them. When Nell took a step towards the council, Luce’s eyes widened. What was she doing? Why was she doing that? Casting a glance over at Bea, Luce clenched her jaw before taking a step forward as well. “I plead guilty.���

There had been a part of Beatrice that had thought their mother might have tried harder to protect them from the Council’s wrath. She was disappointed to see that her mother only had loyalty to her daughters in small measures. She had worn an outfit her mother had once picked for her, crisp white lines of a suit that screamed look at me. Hiding her scar was the scarf Felix had gifted her. Anger simmered under her skin as she looked at each of the Council members. She stepped forward, pulling the scarf from her neck and linking hands with her sisters. “I plead guilty, but I feel no guilt for what I have done.” She pressed her lips, trying to force herself from snarling at the Council. “Were you told the whole story or just the parts that painted us badly?” She asked, rage making her voice even more ragged than what it usually was.

The scar on her daughters’ necks and arms were ugly, and not just for cosmetic reasons. Nisa’s lips tightened as the three of her daughters said the most disappointing words they’d said in their entire lives, but it was hard to weigh the council responsibilities on her shoulders against the heart of a mother, even one that was as demanding as herself. The scars were obvious marks of magic gone wrong to the trained eye, and this was magic that had gone very wrong. Her daughters could have died. One of them had died. And she’d been in Turkey. She wished she could have protected them from all this, but now it was too late. They’d made their choices, and now they’d have to deal with the consequences. She wasn’t Nisa Vural, mother of three in these moments. She was Councilwoman Nisa of the Witches of the Silver Flame. And exceptions couldn’t be made, especially for her family. “I’m sure we’ve yet to hear the whole story. We’re eager to hear the rest, and are waiting. As it stands, though— there are still crimes to be atoned for.

As Nisa began to talk, Bea’s eyes went to her mother’s. They were mirrors of each other. Bea was the spitting image of her mother and many had thought she would do great things just like the matriarch. She glared at the woman now, she didn’t want to be like her mother. Bea wouldn’t pick the coven over her family. “August paid a man to kill Nell. He was going to butcher her because of petty jealousy. Every single one of you knows how he felt about her.” Her lips pressed together as she took a moment to shove her emotions down,“I got between her and the Hunter that coward brought and I had my head cut off. I died because of the actions of August Thompson. So personally I don’t see it as murder, but rather retribution. Something we were owed.”

Rosemary flinched in her seat at Beatrice’s blunt explanation of what had occurred. Clementine had already told Nisa about what she’d overheard, but still. Little August Thompson had done such a thing? He had paid someone to take Penelope’s life? How could he have done that? She’d always known there had been friction between the two of them, but Rosemary had dismissed it as little more than the rivalry that came with youth. She looked over at Nisa, her heart breaking for the woman. Nisa was a member of the council and her daughters had flagrantly disregarded the rules and measures of the coven. They’d done unspeakable, dark magic. Shifting uncomfortably, the woman shook her head, “We are aware of the general circumstances that occured. The murder of August Thompson… that is not our primary concern.” She said, though the words hurt to say. A member of their coven, dead. Though, she supposed, there was no other way things could have gone. Beatrice, Penelope, or August, one of them would be dead regardless. “The matter of necromancy is what troubles me the most. You three know that necromancy is prohibited by the tenants of our coven and yet, you thought to exert power over forces beyond your control.” Her eyes flickered to Penelope’s arms and she swallowed, “Clearly, you are aware of the consequences of this. However, the blatant disregard for our sacred laws cannot go overlooked.”

Everything felt as if it were slipping away from Nell. The coven had always been a safe haven for her, a place to belong when the rest of the world shied or ran away from here. Part of her wanted to clutch it to her chest, and hold it tight, as if it were her last security blanket left in the world after everything had happened. But they were also wrong. Her mother’s detached words weren’t a surprise. Nisa had always been big on punishment, especially when it came to the coven and her youngest daughter. Now it seemed she was finally extending it to Luce and Bea as well. But would she have been harsher if it were just Nell on trial? It was something the young witch couldn’t help but wonder. “If we’re talking about blatant disregard for sacred laws, is it not the most sacred of laws that we look after one another, that we protect our sisters in both magic and blood? Bea was doing just that, and Luce and I did it for her in return by bringing her back from death. Are we really going to be punished for going to the ends of the Earth for another witch and our family? Weren’t you the ones who taught us to do that?”

Helena could laugh, they were making it easy for her to spin all of this. She tutted at Penelope,“You went behind the Coven’s back to perform magic that goes against the Coven’s rules. If you had come to us, perhaps this would be different.” She glanced over to Nisa with a faux pitying look,“After all your mother did to drag her family name from the dirt where her mother left it, you go and betray her and our trust. It seems like this type of behavior runs in the family.” Idly, she flipped a few pages in her notes. “Now, you say that August did this because of ‘petty jealousy’. However, we have multiple witnesses who claim to have seen August in pain at Beltane and Penelope and Lucinda Vural dragged him away from the scene. Doesn’t seem a little odd to anyone else?”

As both of her sisters argued against the council, Luce’s lips pressed together into a thin line. Rosemary had a point-- they’d gone against the laws of the coven and while she didn’t just want to lie down and just accept what was happening, there wasn’t any way to get around what they’d done. But, Helena’s words had her frowning, the words slipping from her mouth before she could stop herself. “‘If we’d come to you?’ You’re seriously trying to say that you would have just signed off on us bringing back Bea? We all know that’s a load of-- that’d never happen.” She caught herself as anger burned in the pit of her stomach. “Don’t you bring our grandmother into this. That has nothing to do with what’s being discussed here..” She glared at Helena. Bitch. She’d never liked Helena and even less so now. 

Nisa’s eyes flashed towards Helena, the witch having hit the sorest of spots when it came to her family and history. She was right. Nisa had worked hard to continue to build on the family legacy her mother had tried to tarnish by dabbling with demons. But she knew better than to think that Helena was bringing it up for any productive reasons. “Yes— well, I wouldn’t expect you to understand what it is to uphold and grow a family legacy, Helena.” The Matsdotter family was relatively young in comparison to the Vurals and some of the other witch families, yet to have a place on the coven council until Helena had come along. “Thankfully, Lucinda is correct in saying that the crimes of the past are, indeed, past.” But there was some truth in the other parts of Helena’s words. What had antagonised August? “There is still a piece of the puzzle missing, though. Why did August feel the need to hire a killer?” She looked each of her daughters’ directly in the eyes, showing no mercy when it came to needings answers. “As for what this council may or may not have done in the face of Beatrice’s death, we can’t possibly assume anything one way or the other. For we weren’t given the chance to pass judgement.”

An amused smirk grew on Bea’s lips as Helena spoke to their mother, though she quickly schooled her face. She had expected the Council to act like adults and yet here they were, digging into past issues. “Because he was a cowardly man who realized he would have no chance against Nell? He was a mediocre spellcaster at best and Nell is one of the better in the Coven.” She couldn’t help the snort that came out then, “We all know what would have been done. I would be condemned to rotting in the ground because you all would have never allowed for them to learn my craft.” She had pulled away from the coven for many reasons, but this right here was one them. She never wanted to face people who refused to learn that there was beauty in necromancy. “No one trusts this Coven to do what’s right when it comes to things of this nature. So we have to do them behind your back. You all would rather stay in the past than to see why what we did was good and just.”

Though Rosemary hardly liked drudging up the unpleasantries of the past, Helena brought up a fair point-- this behavior, going against the ways of the coven, taking matters into their own hands, practicing dangerous magic were all hallmark traits of Nisa’s mother. And these girls seemed to have inherited that desire to test the limits of what could be done. Or rather, what should be done. At this point, what alarmed her was how blatant they had been with their practices. It seemed as though the girls hadn’t even attempted to hide what they’d done. That sort of thing was sure to attract attention, from the wrong kinds of people. People who would seek to harm the coven. “Penelope, do not cite the ties of family to me-- this coven is my family. And the laws exist for that precise reason, to protect us all from harm. What you did, it could attract unwanted attention. By practicing this magic, you endanger not only yourselves, but the rest of the coven.” She said, her voice trembling with worry. “How dare you insult this coven, Beatrice. Nature has laws, magic has laws that must be abided by. Your very presence is... “ She swallowed, “Unnatural.”

“Well you’re not acting as if it’s your family,” Nell retorted hotly before listening to the rest of Rosemary’s words. Not even her mother was acting like family in these moments. Family would fight for one another, just as Bea and Luce and Nell had fought for each other. It shouldn't hurt. Not after all these years of similar treatment. Nell had expected as much, but foresight couldn’t help her when it came to saving her from the twist of Nisa’s distanced knife. As the council member carried on, she wondered if there was perhaps the smallest grain of truth in the older woman’s words. Would outside forces try and bring harm to the coven for what the girls had done? But no. Certainly there were other ways. “There wouldn’t even be any unwanted attention if it wasn’t brought to light! Who’s going to tell people? I sure won’t. The only reason there’d be any danger would be from the council telling people about it.” Still, what if people did come after her sisters? If they somehow stayed in the coven, would that make the two of them safer? She had one more card to play— didn’t she? Something that could hopefully distract from what Luce and Bea had done. “August wanted to kill me because I stole his memories. Took them after he caught me summoning a demon. He was going to out me to the council, but I stopped him. I guess I take after my grandmother Suna more than we thought. So really, this was all my fault.” Let the blame fall to her.

Being scolded wasn’t unexpected and Helena could deal with the ire of Nisa. All she wanted to do was remind those on the council that Nisa’s blood sang with issues. With this blow to her reputation, perhaps it would be easier to start sowing distrust in the other council members. “You three have brought unnecessary danger to our coven. You were selfish and went against everything we have taught you. You children turned your backs on the people who raised you.” Helena regarded Nell with a cold look,“You admit to more crimes then? I suppose we should discuss punishment.” Helena turned to look at her fellow council members, before looking forward to the guilty. “You have admitted to murder and breaking our most sacred rules. You have become things unnatural and have hurt the cycle of the universe by doing so. Some of the council members would not be opposed to sacrificing your lives to bring order again. Others wish to be lenient and simply excommunicate you from the coven.”

Luce resisted the urge to groan when Nell stepped forward, telling them about the demon summoning, the circumstances surrounding why they’d been involved with August in the first place. They weren’t on trial for any of that, they weren’t being asked about it. Why the fuck had she brought it up? Before Luce could intervene, Helena spoke of… sacrificing their lives? Her eyes widened and she stared, first at Helena, then to their mother. She knew that the coven would deliver punishment for what they’d done, but-- death? That was what was on the table here? How could the council even consider that. “Who on the council wants to sacrifice our lives to the great order of things, Helena?” Luce snapped, leveling the woman with a searing glare. “A life for a life, equivalent exchange-- yes. We sacrificed August, but it never would have happened if he hadn’t attempted to-- no, if he hadn’t killed Bea. She’s only here because we intervened. Because the council would have never helped us and would have never punished him for what he’d done.” Her hands shook with anger at her sides, but she held herself tall, proud. The coven… they couldn’t kill them. They couldn’t. 

For a small moment, utter shock had paralyzed Nisa. Demons as well? Had she failed her daughters so miserably that they were repeating the sins of her mother and more? Where had she gone so miserably wrong that all three of her children had even brushed against the illegal practices of the coven? Had she not hammered into each and every one of their heads how important family was? How they needed to protect one another and hold the family name in high esteem? Perhaps she’d taught them a little too well— to the point where they were willing to save their sister’s life over all else. And if she’d been given the chance to save her brother, killed by that Miriam bitch all those years ago...would she have done it if it meant throwing away everything she’d worked to build back after the shaming and excommunication of her own mother? But breaking through the anger and shame of these thoughts was the mention of death. To kill her three daughters? The little girls she’d raised from diapers, and cleaned the scrapes of? To watch them fall? It was unthinkable. She’d spent her entire life trying to steer them right, cornering them into protective and approved spaces where they wouldn’t be hurt. “We’ve never made ourselves a coven that doles out death, and I don’t anticipate we’ll start now,” her tone was steely and cold, the protectiveness of a mother finally peeking through. “Playing with death is one of the very reasons necromancy is banned, and why these three women are on trial now. To dabble in it would make us hypocrites.”

Bea’s shoulders grew tense as she heard the words sacrifice and without even meaning, she looked toward her mother. Nisa wouldn’t allow that. She wouldn’t make her die twice. Bea’s jaw clenched, she refused to cry at the prospect of death, not in front of these people. They would take that as a sign weakness and Bea couldn’t afford to be weak here. Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly as her mother spoke against the penalty of death. Her mouth was dry, but she spoke anyway. “I take then we’re excommunicated and not allowed to contact those in the Coven? Or use your resources?” Bea might have distanced herself but she still had friends there. Her grandmother was still there and Bea loved her grandmother. Her parents were there and even though she was angry and disappointed in them, the isolation this punishment would give her made her throat tight. They would miss out on so many moments in her life and her sisters’ lives. Guilt pooled in her stomach. Bringing her back now meant the loss of their family. She straightened her back. They were deciding this. It wasn’t as though she had chosen to die. Their parents were deciding to leave them behind, she could live with their decision, even if it stung as badly as the blade that had taken her life. 

Rosemary’s breath caught in the back of her throat when Helena said those words-- there had been murmurs of bringing the girls to justice, of meting out punishment in order to demonstrate what became of those who attempted to fight against the natural order of things. And, their crimes, their crimes. Demon summoning, necromancy, murder, violence within the coven? Such things would attract so much attention to the coven. People would notice, people were bound to talk. And what then? What fate would befall them all? Helena’s methods were brutal, but punishment… it needed to be delivered. And the girls, though she loved them dearly, were far too dangerous to be affiliated with the coven of the Silver Flame. At Bea’s words, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I hope you all understand that I take no joy in this. But, yes. It is far too dangerous, for all of us, for you to remain within our coven. We cannot extend our protection to those who would bring harm to the very community they are a part of.” Looking around at the other members, she spoke in a clear voice, “I vote for excommunication. Council?”

In the span of a short moment, death as a sentence had come and gone. If she’d blinked, Nell might have missed the entire interaction. Still, she had felt her magic pool in her gut. If the council had been set on killing her and her sisters, she would have been ready to fight, to tear their way out of here and never look back, or at least try not to. Things of the past often had a way of making themselves unforgettable. As it stood, the council had begun to vote, and that familiar sense of powerlessness began to creep along Nell’s neck. They wouldn’t take the coven away from her. They couldn’t. Even if it was full of rules she broke, and council members of hypocrites, that wasn’t all this place was. The coven was her home, her literal family with the Vurals making up a good chunk of it, a place she’d always been able to be herself when there was nowhere else in the world she’d been able to do that. And now it was going to be ripped away? Just like that? It’d be taken from her sisters, too. Control was slipping out of their grasps along with the coven, and Nell tried vainly to grab the fraying ends of it, to tie a knot on the last of the rope. She turned to face her mother. “Do something! Can’t you just do something for once? Be on our side for two fucking seconds?!”

Nisa’s youngest daughter’s pleading voice fell on hard ears, though they weren’t entirely deaf. “I did so something, Penelope. I told you time and time again what would happen if you continued down this path, and now your sisters are on it as well.” There was only one way for them to learn, wasn’t there? They wouldn’t realize the error of their ways until they hit rock bottom. So if it was tough love they needed as a teacher, it was what they would get. Taking the time to make eye contact with each of her children, she simply said, “Let this be a lesson.” It would be as hard for her as it was for them. Then she turned to the council, her shoulders having never moved from their steeled position. “I cast my vote for excommunication.”

Bea stepped forward, grabbing Nell’s hand, trying to tug her back. She turned to glare at Nisa, rage rolling off of her as she stared her mother down. “This path was my own and I took them down it. I taught them necromancy. This isn’t Nell’s fault.” Stepping forward, Bea pointed at Nisa, hand shaking with anger as her voice raised. “This is your fault. You have blamed Nell since she was a child. You ignored Luce. You were a bad mother! You were fucking blind to what any of us needed unless it fit what you wanted! That’s what put us on this path.” She lowered her hand, head shaking,“I wanted to be you, Nisa,” She pronounced her mother’s name sharply. She would never call that woman Mama again. “I’m disappointed that you’ve picked a coven over your children. I hope they’re as loyal to you as you are to them.”

Death seemed almost preferable to excommunication as Luce heard her mother cast her vote against them. They were being thrown out, tossed aside, abandoned by the only people who could ever understand their struggles. Had she done terrible things? Yes. There was no denying that. And she had known there would be a price to pay. But she had tricked herself into believing that their mother would never turn her back on them, would never choose the coven over them. And now, reality was staring her hard in the face. "We are exactly the women you raised, Mother. Nothing more and nothing less than that! We did what we knew was right, what you taught us was right!" Luce yelled before shaking her head. But, she knew their fates were sealed.

Nell was crumbling in a way only her mother could cause, the rockfall known as Nisa Vural taking no prisoners as she barreled through the three of them. She recognized Bea and Luce’s anger, had experienced it herself for years growing up when faced with the injustices of their mother. She still felt it even now, boiling down beneath her broken heart as their mother laid down her verdict. It’d taken her far too long to learn that chasing after her mother’s approval was a fool’s game, and now her sisters would have to realize it for themselves. “She’s not worth it,” she said in a trembling voice, linking hands with her sisters to pull them towards the doors of the chambers. It was time to go. “She’s not fucking worth us. We’re better off without her.” Maybe if she said it aloud to her sisters, she’d believe it was true. Nell had told herself long ago that she wouldn’t let her mother break her heart anymore, that she wouldn’t let Nisa Vural have any power over her and the way she felt. But no matter how many times she’d whispered the words to herself, a part of her still struggled to make them true. “We don’t need them. We don’t. We’ve got what we need right here,” she said with a squeeze against her sisters’ hands. But it was hard to believe what she was saying when an errant tear was sneaking down her cheek. “We’ll show them,” she finished hotly, refusing to address the way her chest felt like it’d been cleaved in two. Replace it with anger and empty spaces and move on.

The only phrase that could describe Helena in this moment was ‘cat got the cream’. Watching the almighty Vural family crumble in front of her was absolutely amazing. How amusing to see them go after each other over and over again. “I cast my vote for excommunication.” The other two members echoed her cast and she looked towards the former Coven members. “You have been officially excommunicated for the crimes you committed against the Witches of the Silver Flame. You can not seek protection from our coven, you can not use our resources, and you can not reach out for assistance. Current members of the coven will not speak to you or risk receiving punishment themselves. You have made your bed, now you must lie in it. Good luck without us, darlings.”

[nelllraiser]

bea-day party | group chatzy ft. jack

LOCATION: illusions of grandeur.  PARTIES: @beatrice-blaze, @divineluce, @nelllraiser, @phoenixleah, @halequeenjas, @streetharmacist, @mor-beck-more-problems, @chasseurdeloup, @jane-the-zombie, @whatsin-yourhead, @professoranieves, @harlowhaunted, @themidnightfarmer, and best boy jack. (picture in link courtesy of rhi) SUMMARY: bea’s birthday party goes off without a hitch, apart from one very friendly sea-man. CONTENTS: strippers. (of the non-mime variety.) 

Luce finished off her second glass of champagne, looking around at the party that was in full swing. Literally. Swing dancing, who'd have thought. Setting the empty glass down on a table, she made her way towards the wall of champagne again. A wry smile slid across her face as she took another glass of very expensive champagne. Fuck the coven, fuck their mother, fuck their parents for abandoning them. This was their little revenge, a party fit for a queen, with a bill to match. Glass held loosely in her hand, she glanced over at a person lingering near the wall of champagne. "Help yourself, seriously. We went all out for a reason." She said with a grin before raising the glass up in toast. "Did you watch the show earlier?"

For the moment, Nell had placed herself by the entrance of Grand Illusions, showing those that had been invited to Bea's party to the private box and party room. Now, as she made her way back upstairs to the main events, champagne, and poker tables, she looked over everyone's outfits with a careful eye, trying to spot those that might not have dressed to theme, and preparing some scorching words should they have denied that part of the invitation. But then she spotted something that caught her even more off guard, a certain blonde hanging by the champagne towers. "Blanche?! What the hell are you doing here?" Her voice was loud enough to carry to anyone else in the close perimeter.

Bea had a champagne glass already in hand when she went into the room where the party was truly happening. It was her birthday and she'd get hammered if she wanted to. Taking a long sip, she nodded toward the poker tables in the back. "Anyone care to join me at the table?" She was fully intending on taking her friend's money tonight through the tables and had no shame in that.

Kaden didn't feel a lot like celebrating after what had just happened, but it was for Bea so there was never a doubt that he'd show up for this party if he could. He was also pretty sure there as no way Regan was going to put herself in this sort of big public space with all the stress that came with these kinds fo gatherings. He had her present for Bea with him all the same. A quick look around and the place was immaculately decorated, of course. He hoped his suit was okay, it was all he could manage. But he tried. First thing after dropping of the presents was to grab a thing of champagne from the fucking wall of it before heading towards Bea. "Happy birthday, again. I'll join if you want." He wasn't very good but it was all for fun, right?

There was nothing Jasmine loved more than a good party and she had high hopes that Beatrice could deliver. While her party planning skills weren't quite on par with her own, they'd definitely had some fun in the past. Plus, who didn't love a Gatsby theme? Her flapper headband and red sparkly dress that hugged her in all the right places really was an absolutely look. Some good photos of her Bea, and Leah were a requirement before leaving. She greeted the younger Vurals as she walked in and helped herself to some champagne. "It was quite the show," she mused with a wicked smile, "You don't have to tell me twice to grab some champagne."

Felix had to laugh when he first saw the joint. All they really needed was a couple signs about how silly prohibition was and they really had the theme in the bag. As gilded as the time had been, the party was even more so. He loved it. Bea deserved it. He’d make his way back over to her in time. He sipped idly on his champagne as he fluttered about the party floor, a wide smile in place as he surveyed the crowd. With the way things were going, it wasn’t out of place to keep an eye on anything being just that. Too many parties gone wrong, or right, kept him on his toes. He paused for a moment beside someone and cocked his head. “You lost any money at the tables yet?”

Morgan sauntered in, pleased to have an excuse to wear heels and some of the jewelry Deirdre had bought and kept stashed in their closet all this time. She almost didn't feel the chill of not having her girlfriend on her arm to make the night brighter. The sight of the Vurals excited her enough to make up for coming alone. "Hey, guys!" She called, twirling to show off her black jeweled flapper style dress."Bea, this is for you," she said, rushing over to the oldest Vural, and the crowd gathering around her. "Kaden, looking extra dapper today. I don't know about you guys, but since I can't get drunk, I'm up to blow a ton of money at Texas Hold 'Em."

Anita felt a little out of place at the party. Normally she would be at the bar flirting with any and everyone. But now she had a girlfriend , and it felt weird to continue to flirt with random women given the agreement she had made with Marley. But, surely there were other things to do at parties than just flirt with people, so Anita made her way to the champaign tower and grabbed a glass. Then she just made her rounds, walking around all the elaborate tables and attractions trying to spot somebody she might know. She saw Kaden and Blanche, but she didn’t really want to strike up a conversation with either of them.

Blanche had enough of the hospital after only two nights. She checked herself out early that morning and told exactly no one as she headed home to get dressed, leaving the bandages on her back visible. There was nothing to do about them. Bea deserved to have a good birthday, and honestly, Blanche wanted some time to chill and relax. .... And then there was Nell, yelling at her. "Drinking champagne?" Blanche asked, holding her glass up innocently. "And thinking about winning money by counting cards."

Jasmine eyed the poker tables and decided to follow suit. Was it the best idea when Larry Bob still had a habit of crashing her showings? Probably not, but she was decent enough at poker. Her father always had tables at their parties and she caught on young. She placed Bea's present on the gift table before joining the birthday girl's poker table. "Happy birthday, Bea," she said in a bubbly tone, "You've really outdone yourself with this party."

Jared spotted his two part time roommates and took in Nells face before he even half registered Blanche herself. He made his way through the crowds hover handed appropriately. "Are you...what's going on?"

Jasmine. Of course this bitch wore a red dress too. Whatever. Red was her color and she damn well knew it. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Luce shrugged at Jasmine, champagne flute cradled gently in her fingers. "Bea has an eye for talent, she knows how to put on a show and holds the others to those standards too. But, they did good tonight." She said with a nod of her head. As the woman drifted away, Luce spotted Anita through the crowd. What was she doing here? Making her way across the room, Luce cast a crooked grin in her direction. "Hey, stranger. Having fun?"

Leah was never much of a gambler. She usually preferred to watch in the background, silently judging people's drunken risks from afar. But today was different. Today was Bea's birthday, and with a few drinks in her and surrounded by people she loved and was comfortable with, it was easy to lose her inhibitions. She couldn't help but laugh at Morgan's antics, giving her a little clap as she twirled around to show her outfit. "That sounds like a plan to me!" she said with a laugh, holding up her champagne glass. "I'll drink enough for the both of us." She glanced over at Felix standing next to them, shaking her head. "I think I'm saving it all to waste it in one big blow. That's the way to go, right?"

"Yes, join me!" Bea grinned at Kaden, before catching a glimpse of Morgan twirling. "Looking amazing, Morgan, and I love that energy." She wanted everyone to have that spirit, blowing their money and drinking was the name of game tonight. "Thank you, Jasmine. You look great tonight. Nell and Luce helped me plan a lot."

Squinting her eyes ever so slightly, Nell watched Blanche carefully, as if she might burst back into flames at any moment. "Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" But she knew from experience that if Blanche wanted to be here, there was no way of making her go back to any sort of medical care. It was, tragically, one of the many ways in which the two girls were alike. "You count cards?" The witch carefully left off the too at the end of that sentence, not wanting and unwitting potential poker challengers to be clued in. "I bet we could start a new table," she said, catching the eye of Bea at one of them already. Might as well spread their resources to bring in as much revenue as possible, right? "Then she turned to Jared to explain. "Someone decided to check themself out of the hospital early, but now we're gonna go legally steal people's money. Did you wanna come? Does anyone else wanna start a new table with us?" she asked to those nearest to them, hoping they'd brought a decent amount of cash.

Anita smiled slightly when Luce approached her. For a moment she regretted coming. The only reason she even did was because she felt like she deserved a fun night, and given how lavish a party this was, it was clearly the place to be. “Hey yourself,” she said as she finished up the liquor in her glass. “I just got here, but so far- yeah. You guys really know how to go all out.” Instinctively her eyes trailed down Luce’s body for a second with a small smirk, “And you really know how to clean up.”

Jasmine smiled at Bea. As much as they bickered, this had all the workings of a good party and this champagne was divine. "They did a good job, too. It's still so crazy seeing them all grown up." She turned and gave Leah a wave and noticed there were a few people at the table she hadn't met yet. She looked to the French sounding man and the pale woman who had joined. She extended a hand to shake, "I'm Jasmine. I don't believe we've met before."

Luce watched Anita over the rim of her glass, eyes drifting up the other woman's form. "We're the Vurals, we never do anything by halves. Besides, 30's a big deal." She said with a wave of her hand to the elaborate decorations around them. Tilting her head at her comment, Luce raised an eyebrow. "Mm. Our father made the dresses, so it's his handiwork. Besides, we set the dress-code. What kind of hosts would we be if we didn't stand out, you know?" She said with a laugh.

Kaden nodded. "Thanks. Looking good, Morgan." He settled down at the table and took his cards. He didn't consider himself a great card player, but he was competitive so he was going to try his best to keep his money in his pocket. He gave the new woman's hand a shake. "Kaden. Nice to meet you. How do you know the birthday girl here?" Kaden caught a glimpse of his cards and groaned. Bad hand already. "Putain," he grumbled to himself, under his breath as much as possible before taking another drink.

Felix looked between Leah and the tables. His smile widened. "Oh, certainly! Nothing really livens things up like losing it all in one fell swoop," he said with a sagely nod. "It happens to the best of us. Even Arnold Rothstein!" Geez, the guys from decades back would be rolling over in their graves if they saw the place. "I think Nell's looking for a crew over there. There's worse places to lose but you gotta watch her. She's sneaky." He waved at Nell and Blanche before he wandered over to Bea. He lightly squeezed her shoulder as he smiled at the small crowd she had gathered at her table. "So, she take anybody's money yet? How're the hands looking?"

Morgan beamed at Leah, primping her finger curled hair and jeweled headdress. "What would I do without you, Leah? I hope that's a promise." She said, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze before settling at the table. She gave Kaden another once over, a little impressed he found it in himself to have some fun instead of doing whatever hunter nonsense or fae damage control he normally got up to. It was kind of nice to see him at least trying to have a good time. "Thanks, handsome. You look pretty good yourself. Maybe we can keep each other out of trouble tonight." As she settled in, she caught sight of a new person and shook her hand. "No, I guess not!" She said with a careless shrug. "I'm Morgan. It's nice to meet you! You're looking very spiffy tonight, I gotta say." And Morgan's hand was looking pretty spiffy too, though she tried not to let it show too much on her face.

Jared looked at Blanche in worry, but didn't voice his concerns, she knew her own limits. And while it didn't sound like a very good thing to be doing, he wasn't one for a fight at the moment. Not that he believed he had any say at all, he was far too soft to win a fight like that with anyone let alone Blanche. "I'll come, got no cash to be throwing down though. More for moral support I guess."

Jasmine couldn't help the sly smirk on her face when Kaden swore in French under her breath. "Nice to meet you, Kaden. Bea and I have been friends since high school. We were on the cheerleading squad together." She wouldn't mention that Bea beat her out for captain of the squad. With a small laugh, she added, "You know, you're not supposed to give away the fact you have a bad hand, but hey, no complaints here." She looked over her own cards and kept her face neutral before responding to the petite woman named Morgan. "Why thank you, Morgan. Couldn't show up to a Gatsby party looking anything but. I'm loving your outfit, too."

Bea nodded,"Yeah, sometimes I remember that Nell is twenty three and lose my mind." She let out a loud laugh at Kaden's groan,"You know, you're not supposed to let people know that you have a bad hand." She glanced at her own, mediocre at best, but she'd make it work. She looked back at Felix with a grin, flashing him her cards,"I haven't yet, but I will soon."

"Maybe," Blanche replied with a shrug, giving her friend a small grin. She was still in a fair bit of pain, but it helped to be distracted and surrounded by people she loved and cared about. She glanced at Jared a little sheepishly. "I hate hospital food." Not that she was feeling very hungry to begin with anyway. Blanche waved at Felix as she reached out to grab Nell's hand. "C'mon, let's go kick some ass with our friendly neighborhood cheerleader."

Anita let out a soft laugh, “I gotta admit I’ve never thrown a party that had a dress code. But you’re certainly right. This is a fancy party, and it deserves to have the people in it looking just as smashing.” She took a brief look around the room, finding herself relaxing a bit more when she spotted Morgan. At least there were two people here that she liked. “This is a bit awkward, but could you point out which one is the birthday girl? I’ve, uh, never actually met any of your sisters.”

Leah grinned widely and waved back to Jasmine, fully planning on pulling her and Bea into the photo booth at some point tonight to reenact some of their photos from high school. She laughed at Felix's comment, although she had no idea who he was talking about. Maybe some defamed poker star? She should have studied up before she came tonight. Turning her attention back to Morgan, she couldn't help but giggle again. As if to prove her point, she took another sip from her champagne, holding it out to Morgan like she was toasting to her once she was finished. Felix's idea was as good as any, though, and she called out to Nell, holding her bag up with a bit of emphasis. "I'll join a game, Nell!" she called, maneuvering through the crowd.

Morgan blinked with surprise at how close this Jasmine seemed to be with Bea. It's not every day Kaden got dragged in perfect stereo. "Neat party trick. Now I know you guys are real friends. It's good to finally meet you. Guess you've got your night cut out for you, Kaden. What're you gonna do about it?"

Felix weighed the pros and cons of asking Kaden how this party compared to the last one but thought better of it. With the sound of despair that the man gave at his hand, Felix figured he was already in for a rough night. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked over at Morgan. "You think he's gonna need any help or should we just see what happens?"

Luce finished off her drink, the alcohol making things nice and fuzzy around the edges. She fucking deserved to get trashed tonight after all the shit that had been going on lately. Letting out a wry laugh at Anita's admission, she nodded. "I'll do you one better." She said tilting her head towards the table Bea was settled at. She could see Leah and Kaden hanging around Bea, which wasn't... ideal, but fuck it. Whatever. Walking over, she took in the cards on the table, lips curling in a smile. Bea was going to clean them out. "Who's getting fucked over this time, hm?" She asked as she approached the table. "Anita, this is the birthday girl. Bea, Anita. She's a... friend."

Nell knew that now wasn't the time to fight Blanche on this, and finally decided to simply watch the girl closely for the night. Tonight was supposed to be fun, and no doubt Blanche wanted a distraction. So just let it be fun. An excited smirk came over Nell as they neared the table, and her head turned as she spotted Leah making her way over. Was she okay winning money from her sister's best friend? Yeah, she was okay with that. "Come and join us!" Would Leah know the Vurals reputation with poker since she was so close with Bea? That might complicate things. Grabbing a champagne glass on her way to the table, she waved at Leah as she settled in. "Great! Come on over. We even brought our own cheering section," she said with a motion towards Jared.

Kaden grumbled. "Well it's clear why you two get along. I was folding anyway." He tucked the cards away and waited for the next round. He shot a look at Morgan and then at Felix. "There's always next round. It's fine." He downed the rest of his champagne. Good thing there was more where that came from. "Hey Luce. Anita. Come to see them take my money, I see."

Morgan beamed up at Felix, batting her eyes fondly. "It's more fun to see the chaos unfold, right?" She whispered sweetly to him. "Parties are more fun that way. But I won't let him get hurt too bad." She elbowed Kaden gently, warmth shining through her mischievous smile. "And hey," she said to the hunter, "A positive mindset can do a lot for your chances. Aim a little higher, champ."

Jasmine let her laughter ring as she looked to Bea. "Guess we have a habit of doing that, huh?" It wasn't surprising Kaden folded, but Morgan seemed to be pretty giddy. She wondered which of them had the better hand. "Just don't ask us to do that one on command. It's gotta be in the moment." Morgan seemed to be sweet. "There's always next hand... though I don't think you magically develop a good poker face." She added with a shrug.

Leah continued her trek toward Nell and her friends, giving Luce a big smile as she walked by. There was no doubt in her mind that she was about to lose all of her money- she wasn't experienced in poker in the very least, and the Vurals were scary good at poker. Still, her vast experienced in, well, ...lying... it might make her a good bluffer. She sat herself down at the table and finished off her glass, pumping her fist at the mention of a cheering section. "Oh man, dude, that's normally my job!". She drummed her fingers on the table, eager to get started. She let her eyes fall to Nell's, pointing to her threateningly. "Are you prepared to get your ass kicked, Vural?", she asked, teasing. Maybe the alcohol was making her more confident than she should be.

Remmy idled. They had definitely gotten ready on time, but the last time they'd gone to a big public outing, it had not gone well. Morgan was already there, she'd gone early or on time or whatever people wanted to call it these days. Remmy glanced down at Moose. "Not this time, bud," cause no one would try something in a room with all three Vurals present, right? And so, an hour later, Remmy had found themself outside the doors, listening to the chatter inside. Someone came out and held the door open for them and Remmy was suddenly forced to scuttle inside. What greeted them....wasn't exactly what they'd thought it would be. If they had the ability, they might have paled. Still, they swallowed and gathered themself, tugging on the lapel of their suit, and made a beeline for the present table. Maybe if they could just leave their gift and go, it would count as having shown up.

Anita followed Luce across the room, dropping off her empty glass and picking up a full one on the way. She didn’t love that Bea was at a table with Kaden, but Morgan was there also, so that balanced things out. Plus, Kaden had a sour look on his face, so maybe he wasn’t doing so good at the card game. “Absolutely,” She shot at Kaden. “Sounds like a fun way to pass the time.” Anita smiled politely at the other people sitting playing poker, winking playfully at Morgan as she caught her eye. “So nice to meet you, Bea. Happy Birthday, welcome to the big 3-0 club. It’s not as awful as it sounds, I promise.”

A right hunk of a man walked into the building, dressed in a basic white long sleeved shirt and long linen trousers, with a black loose next tie and a white sailor's cap. If you looked closely, you could see the velcro fastenings on all his clothes. With an exaggerated strut and a million dollar smile, he walked up to a random individual. "Well hey now good gentlefolk! I seem to have stranded on this 'ere shore. Could ya point me to the captain of this ship, a Miss Bea Vural?" He winked, flexing his arms, but casually.

"Chaos? Here?" Felix's tone dropped into a conspiratorial one. Chaos in the presence of all three Vurals? "Say, Morgan, I think we got a long, eventful night ahead of us." The fae looked over to Luce and her friend. Raised his champagne glass in greeting. "Glad to meet ya and glad you could make it out. Hiya, Luce!"

"Hey Leah," Blanche laughed as she took a seat next to Nell. "You both talk big game, huh? I think - oh my god." Blanche went a little slack jawyed when she caught sight of a sailor. She swatted Nell and pointed. "Who the hell is that??"

Jared raised his arms in a shared cheer for the cheering section and mumbled about his cheerleader outfit before looking at the sailor who'd just arrived with curious eyes. "That's her." he pointed to the birthday girl.

Luce was about to say something to Kaden, make a pithy joke at his expense. But, as a muscled man made his way to the table, arms flexing and clothes far too tight, she resisted the urge to gag. "I think the fuck not." She murmured. Casting an apologetic glance in Felix's direction, she tilted her head away. "I'm gonna go... away from here. Have fun, Bea." She said, squeezing her sister's shoulder before hurrying away from the table. She was not interested in seeing stripper dick. Walking away, she hurried as fast as she could away from the table to one of the quieter corners of the room, the gift table.

Bea let out another laugh,"Aw, Luce, don't say it like that." She raised an amused eyebrow at Luce,"A friend, huh? Nice to meet you, Anita. I'm trying not to think too much about being thirty. Make sure to grab some champagne." She glanced at Jasmine with a grin,"We do that too much." Grinning at Morgan and Felix, she replied to them,"There is never chaos at a party like this!"

Jasmine peered over her champagne flute long enough to see the hot sailor man saunter on over toward the birthday girl. She set her glass down and arched an eyebrow. "I didn't realize this was going to be that kind of party, but I'm not complaining."

"Oh come on, Leah. You know I don't have the attention span for poker," Nell lied easily. "My sisters were always better at it, which is why I put slugs in their beds." Her face was complete with a sense of resentment, as if the words were true. But the arrival of a certain someone caught her eye, and a wide smirk quickly found her lips. "Oh, that? That is Jack. He's nice, isn't he? Very shiny. Very buff. Very good at dancing."

Morgan followed Felix's gaze to Luce and Anita, who seemed to be looking rather comfortable together. She couldn't help the way her eyes bulged at the combination, especially with Remmy finally strutting up the room behind them all. "You sure aren't kidding, huh," she whispered to Felix. She tried to recover quickly. "Hey! I didn't know you knew Bea and Luce, Anita! It's great to see you here. I hope you plan to drink enough for--" her conversation died into a snort as the sailor stripper came in. "Vural parties really do pull out all the stops."

Bea head whipped toward Luce. "What is this, Luce?" She asked as she was being abandoned. She downed the rest of her champagne before holding her hand out for more,"I need more champagne." What is happening? She hadn't planned for a stripper. She supposed it wasn't the worst thing, but this was a whole lot of a lot.

Remmy had successfully made it to the gift table. They could almost pick out their friends' voices through the haze of everything, spotting them all laughing over at a table. They considered, for a moment, joining them, but if they were playing cards, they weren't sure they could stop themself from card counting and that seemed unfair for a birthday party. So, instead, they set the card down they'd made Bea, turned to slip back through the crowd-- and ran straight into Luce. "Oh!" They stuttered, stepping back. "Hey, hi. Hello! Um-- I'm just-- I didn't see you there. You look--" they paused, staring a little slack-jawed at her. Tried to swallow. "This place is--" they tried to pry their eyes away, but couldn't. "I'm just gonna...." but didn't move. "Leave now."

Anita followed everyone else's glances towards the man in velcro clothing. She had to stifle her laugh because this man was clearly about to strip for the ‘captain’, the birthday girl herself, Bea. “This is gonna be fucking hilarious.” Anita said to Morgan as she finished off a second glass of champagne. After she acquired another glass, she sat down in the chair beside Morga, then looked around the party. “No girlfriend tonight?” She whispered as she mentally prepared herself for the horror that was the male body.

Kaden blinked a moment at the goddamn striper that rolled up to the table. And then he started laughing. "At least he's not a mime." He shot a glance to Felix. "This also your idea?" Knowing he was a fae surely explained a lot more of the chaos. He saw some champagne on the table somewhere, didn't care whose it was and handed it to Bea, still laughing at the whole situation.

Jack smiled beautifully as a couple people pointed him over to a table. "Oh I'll be sure to thank y'all properly later." He winked, strutting his way over to the table with a wide smile. He tipped his cap. "Ma'am. I heard someone was in need of the art of seaduction?" He shifted his pose, so under the thin cloth of the shirt his large, impressive pecs popped.

Luce had made a quick exit from the table, practically fleeing from the male stripper. In her hurry to get away, she didn't realize where she was going until it was too late. Remmy-- Fuck. Shit, shit, shit. "Oh. Hey." She said awkwardly. As she stood there, listening to them stutter, she weighed which was worse-- going back to the table and suffering through... that or stand here and talk with Remmy. Honestly? She wasn't sure. "You... look good. Nice suit." She nodded before frowning. "Leave? Didn't you just get here?"

Leah looked over to the new guest, her eyebrows furrowing at the intrusion. This man was not someone she recognized, and her eyes were accusatory as he walked through the guests. Oh, god, was he a stripper? It all became clear when he spoke, he's dramatic tone making it obvious. If she could have shrunk down into her chair, she would have. She desperately hoped that being situated at the poker table would make her go unnoticed by him... she did not want some random dude dancing all over her, no thank you. He'd probably be pretty distracted by Bea, anyway. She turned her attention back to the table, choosing to essentially ignore his presence. "He's certainly something", she said, responding to Blanche and Nell. Her eyes were accusatory again, and it was all she could do not to laugh at Nell's words. "I'll make sure to buy something nice with the money I'm about to win from you", she said, feigning confidence. "Maybe I'll even get you a gift!". She turned her attention around to Jared, winking at him. "Are you our dealer?"

Felix threw back his champagne in record time and took a moment to get a few more glasses for everyone before he took his own seat. He looked over at Kaden. "Nope," he said with a pop. A grin followed as he took a drink. "It's not my fault this time. I'm just happy to be here, fella."

"... Well," Blanche said, glancing at Nell. This had to be her doing. She started to snicker, tipping back her champagne. She was immediately distracted from counting cards and that was certainly fine by her. "He's certainly... a seaman." Blanche made a face. "And shiny??"

Morgan sniggered alongside Anita and used everyone's distraction to advance her hand in the game a little. "No, she's uh, a little indisposed right now. Although she might be sorry she missed this much fun later. She's a fan of just about everything here, booze, friends, counting cards, and a little chaos." The stripper popped his pecks and Morgan had to look away when she started to laugh too hard, even with her politeness reserve. "Kind of a shame we didn't get one of each, huh?"

"I did not do this," Bea let Felix know as a glass of champagne was placed in her hand. "Thank you," She told Kaden, laughing slightly. As his pecs popped, Bea was both impressed and a little startled. That was a sight. "I suppose that someone is me, sailor. Work your magic."

Something was going on over at the table of all their friends, but Remmy was always a one-track mind kind of person. Easily distracted. And Luce was certainly a distraction. They weren't sure if they wanted to stay there, though, when she was looking at them like that. "Oh, uh--" they blinked and looked up, "I can like...I was just-- maybe? It's uh-- I figured I can just go say hi to Bea and then, you know--" scratched their neck, "leave." Tried to smile, turning to look towards the table and-- "Is that a stripper?" they blurted loudly.

Leah looked over to the new guest, her eyebrows furrowing at the intrusion. This man was not someone she recognized, and her eyes were accusatory as he walked through the guests. Oh, god, was he a stripper? It all became clear when he spoke, he's dramatic tone making it obvious. If she could have shrunk down into her chair, she would have. She desperately hoped that being situated at the poker table would make her go unnoticed by him... she did not want some random dude dancing all over her, no thank you. He'd probably be pretty distracted by Bea, anyway. She turned her attention back to the table, choosing to essentially ignore his presence. "He's certainly something", she said, responding to Blanche and Nell. Her eyes were accusatory again, and it was all she could do not to laugh at Nell's words. "I'll make sure to buy something nice with the money I'm about to win from you", she said, feigning confidence. "Maybe I'll even get you a gift!". She turned her attention around to Jared, winking at him. "Are you our dealer?"

Felix threw back his champagne in record time and took a moment to get a few more glasses for everyone before he took his own seat. He looked over at Kaden. "Nope," he said with a pop. A grin followed as he took a drink. "It's not my fault this time. I'm just happy to be here, fella."

"... Well," Blanche said, glancing at Nell. This had to be her doing. She started to snicker, tipping back her champagne. She was immediately distracted from counting cards and that was certainly fine by her. "He's certainly... a seaman." Blanche made a face. "And shiny??"

Morgan sniggered alongside Anita and used everyone's distraction to advance her hand in the game a little. "No, she's uh, a little indisposed right now. Although she might be sorry she missed this much fun later. She's a fan of just about everything here, booze, friends, counting cards, and a little chaos." The stripper popped his pecks and Morgan had to look away when she started to laugh too hard, even with her politeness reserve. "Kind of a shame we didn't get one of each, huh?"

Something was going on over at the table of all their friends, but Remmy was always a one-track mind kind of person. Easily distracted. And Luce was certainly a distraction. They weren't sure if they wanted to stay there, though, when she was looking at them like that. "Oh, uh--" they blinked and looked up, "I can like...I was just-- maybe? It's uh-- I figured I can just go say hi to Bea and then, you know--" scratched their neck, "leave." Tried to smile, turning to look towards the table and-- "Is that a stripper?" they blurted loudly.

Jasmine considered sharing her champagne with the birthday girl, but apparently Kaden already had her covered there. She leaned over and whispered to Bea, "Kudos to whoever picked the stripper out. He's hot." She scanned back over to see Leah's reaction and grinned at her furrowed brows. "Not the classiest party favor, but hey, fun doesn't always have to be classy."

Anita couldn’t help but let out a fairly loud laugh when she saw the stripper talking about seduction and flexing his chest muscles. It was way too over the top. “Well, at least you’ll have a hilarious story to tell her.” She replied to Morgan, motioning over to the sailor. “Uh, could you imagine? That would be a real party.” Anita looked around the table, looking to see how everyone else was reacting to this man. “But hey, since we’re both here solo, we should have some fun, yeah?” She asked, lifting up her glass to cheers.

Jack met Bea's eyes and smiled temptingly. He saluted. "Aye aye captain. I hear this here's some sorta celebration, and I'm your gift." He winked, lifting up a part of his costume, the faux white belt that attached to his trouser. He offered the end of it to Bea. "So maybe you should unwrap me?"

"How could I refuse?" Bea replied with a chuckle, before taking the belt in her hand, sipping on her champagne. This was a hell of an experience, but she would remember this for her sisters' birthdays.

"I'm sure Bea would be happy to see you, but..." Luce grimaced as she gestured behind her, to the crowd that was growing around Bea's table. She watched as the man handed her the belt of his pants and grimaced. "She's got a little bit going on right now." She said before letting out a sigh and rubbing her forehead. "Yeah. Someone got her a stripper and it sure fucking wasn't me." She mumbled. "I need a drink. I need... many drinks." Luce said as she walked over to the champagne wall and took two glasses, downing one then the other in rapid succession. "Good fucking jesus."

Nell watched the stripper events unfold with far too much amusement in her eye, pausing from her game for a moment. "I don't know why everyone's looking like I did something. He's the one docking his ship at my sister!" She had definitely done something. If you could include hiring a secret stripper as doing something. "It's probably all the sea mist that makes hims shiny."

Jared shook his head to Leah. He was not qualified to be dealing them anything other than an awkward smile and a poorly covered astonishment as the stripper made moves towards Bea. The man took a full step behind Nell as if that would protect from from what was about to happen.

Morgan nodded at Anita, taking two champagne glasses from a passing waiter and holding them up in as classy a double toast as she could manage. "Oh, completely. If I manage to win anything, without her help, showing off her presents--well, she'll either be excited or jealous, and that's a win-win for me." She downed one glass in a single chug. "Sorry yours couldn't be here either. Sincerely. But I am all having a good ol' fashioned time without them." She turned over her shoulder to the stripper, "Dance, Magic Mike!" She called, laughing harder than she meant to.

"Okay, yeah," Remmy said, backing away from the gift table, "not going over there. My eye doesn't need to see that." They followed Luce over towards the champagne wall, not bothering to take a glass themself, feeling a little jealous that they couldn't also down two glasses in succession and get rid of the anxiety-- and the image of that large man unraveling his clothes next to Bea-- but decided it was fine. "So...fun birthday, huh?" Morgan's shrill laugh echoed and Remmy fought their curiosity to look over and see what was happening. "Wanna dance?"

Jared was looking anywhere but at what was occurring (he was bi but too innocent for this sort of thing) and caught eyes with someone he vaguely recognised. His mouth bloomed into a smile and he sidled over to Kaden. "No uniform? You didn't get hired for this one?"

Jasmine giggled with glee and gave a little "woop" as Bea took his belt in his hand. "Yes, sailor, we gotta sea this." She turned to Morgan with a wide grin and noted, "I like you, Morgan."

Leah let her eyes lock with Jasmine's, a clear look of panic gracing her features, though there was definitely playfulness laced within them, too. "I will murder you if something like this shows up for my birthday", she warned her, watching Bea and the stripper with masked amusement. "I think I need more champagne!" She rolled her eyes at Nell's joke, grabbing a champagne flute from a passing waiter.

Slowly, Felix slid off his glasses and blinked. That had to be against some kinda sea safety protocol. "...So anyhow, August is an alright month, huh?" He said absently as he looked at the stripper, his expression a little less than amused. Oh heck. It was August. The ring on the table from the champagne glass stared up at him. Oh, it was that time, wasn't it? So focused on crime and whatnot, he forgot about the dang mushrooms. He loosened his bow-tie before he sat back further into his chair. Nope. Not dealing with that today. He occupied himself with his champagne glass and turned his gaze away from the man who, as Nell gracefully put it, was docking ship.

Jasmine feigned innocence. "I would never, Leah!" She had to admit, it would be pretty hilarious to see, but she wouldn't do that to Leah. "I, for one, disagree. This sailor is more than welcome to my birthday bash." She gave him a sly wink.

Jack gave her a sultry wink, and once she held the belt tightly enough, he stepped back, flexing every muscle in his body as the outfit popped off it, one velcro fastening at a time, until it all dropped to the floor. All he was left in was his navy blue mesh thong, and his matching necktie. His dark skin glistened, every inch of him (and he did mean every inch) was toned and muscled to perfection, a physique that could make anyone jealous or horny. He rolled his hips slightly, letting them look and salivate.

Kaden was sitting back and laughing at this whole thing. And hey, still not a mime stripper so it was really still a win. His brow furrowed when the kid with the tractor came over to him. "Oh, hi. Uh, what are you talking about?" A quick glance to the stripper and then back to the kid, it became clear what he meant. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not a mime. Or a stripper. I'm Bea's friend. You must be mistaken. Who are you anyway?" He was never admitting that was him the other day. Ever.

Luce made the mistake of glancing over at the loud laughs that rang out from Bea's table. And immediately wished she hadn't. Some things just couldn't be unseen. At least, not without far more champagne. "Fuck me." She said and took another glass from the wall, head already beginning to spin from the alcohol. "Dance? I--" She blinked. Dancing. "I... Sure. Why not." She said, taking their hand and walking with them over to the dance floor.

Oh this was much easier to deal with when this man had his pants on. Bea sent a look over to Felix that she hoped conveyed, Oh dear, lord what is happening? "Wow, consider me seduced." She finished her drink quickly. Was there going to be more after this?

Jared was taken aback for a second and then he made an oh shape with his mouth and grinned at the other. "Riiiiiight, not a stripper! Of course. No worries, I won't out you. Not dressed as a mime can't blow your cover I gotchu." he whispered.

Nell cupped her hands around her mouth, wasting no time it letting a loud whoop mixed with laughter fill the air as Bea undid Jack's attire, revealing his seascape to everyone. "Make him your bitch, Bea!" Maybe the champagne was hitting her harder than she'd thought. Then she turned back to Leah to say, "I'm getting you ten strippers for your birthday! You should be so lucky! I'm gonna get you the whole armada of sea-men!"

Oh. Luce had said yes. Remmy didn't actually think she would have said yes, but she had! They smiled, stealing only the slightest of glances over to Bea's table before turning back around when blue mesh was spotted in a place they didn't mean-- or want-- to look. They followed Luce over to the dance floor, placing their free hand on her hip when they made it there. "It was really nice of you guys to do this for Bea," they said to her, smiling. Maybe if they just didn't say anything weird things could be alright, "she deserves it."

Anita hesitated when Morgan made a loose reference to Marley. Realistically, she knew there was no way Morgan knew that they were actually girlfriends now, but she got oddly nervous. “Maybe a good thing given how our last double date went.” She smiled, then decided to change the topic. “How many drinks do you think it would take to enjoy this for more than just comedic purposes?” It was a tease, obviously, since the answer was infinity drinks. Anita looked over at the woman who seemed to be enjoying it the most and laughed. She was kind of jealous of the people who were enjoying it. Then she overheard someone asking Kaden if he was a mime stripper, and she absolutely lost it, keeling over with laughter. “He’s definitely a stripper! You just gotta offer the right price!” She called over in between laughs.

Bea glanced over at Kaden. "If you start stripping here, I will kick you out. I support you, but not here," She teased.

Kaden pinched his nose. "Kid, there's nothing to out. I work in animal control." He sighed, clearly there was no way to convince him so he downed the champagne he had left. Oh no. Anita heard, too? Which was worse, mime fucker or mime striper? "Putain de merde, I am not a stripper! That's a stripper," he said pointing to the lap dance happening across the way. "I'm a cop."

Jared "RIIIIIGHT I gotchu." He looked at the woman he didn't know and whispered "DOn't blow his cover that's not cool, mimes can't be seen talking." and then he clapped Kaden on the back. "Cop as well huh? Good with costumes?"

Blanche was cackling, laughing so hard that it actually hurt her and her injuries. Wheezing, she swatted Nell, giving Bea her own whoop. "Get it, Bea!!" she cackled, grabbing another flute of champagne. "We know this is your.... Fanta-sea."

Leah rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her new champagne. Of course Jasmine would want this dude at her birthday party. "I'll get his number from Nell", she teased. "That way you can just call him whenever you want. Bad day? Call the Sailor Stripper man, he'll make it all better!" Her eyes widened comically at Nell's joke. It felt more like a threat, to be honest. She wouldn't put it past the younger woman to actually pull something like that off. "Nell, Nell. ...Nell." She let out a breath, shaking her head no. "Nell... I think you know that if you even try that, you'll regret it." Would she ever do anything that might hurt Nell? Absolutely not, and Nell probably knew that, too. But it was worth the threat, if only to avoid the embarrassment and the mere suggestion of what Nell was threatening to do.

Morgan snorted again, some of her champagne flying up her nose. "Kaden, you didn't tell me you had a passion-project second job! You gotta follow your heart, and invest in all of the best props for your set list." She patted his shoulder, beaming, and got up from the table, taking Anita by the hand. "Y'all are swell, but Jacky Boy isn't our type. We'll come back around though!" She slid her arm through Anita's and escorted her around the room, aiming for the dance floor at a safe, respectful distance from Remmy, who seemed to be finally working things out with Luce. "How's that for a save?" She asked Anita.

Bow-tie thoroughly loosened, Felix shifted in his seat before he got up and went to Bea's side. His eyes went to Kaden for a moment. Not you too, his eyes said. "Wow, you sure know how to clear a deck, fella!" His smile was sharp as he looked at the stripper. "You know, I think there's someone else here who could really use the kinda good time you've provided us all with. Hey Nell!" He called over before he looked back to Jack. "That's the one. Promise you'll show her a decent time? She's great. Dynamite. Aces. She deserves it. It's been a tough month."

Jasmine joked, "Oh Bea, that's not fun." The French man was attractive enough he could pull off the looks, but he didn't look like much of a dancer. Still, she poked fun. "So, you do a cop strip show then." She could see Bea was getting a bit uncomfortable, so she sauntered over to that side of table and tapped Jack's soldier. "Hey, Sailor, I think your moves may be a bit more appreciated over here."

Luce 's head was spinning, the bright lights and decorations sparkling in the light. The sound of the band's music was almost enough to drown out the chaos of what was happening behind her, but she could still hear Blanche and Nell shouting words of encouragement at the male stripper, who was no doubt... doing his job. Remmy's hand rested on her hip and she blinked. "I don't know if she deserves that specifically. I definitely didn't pay for that guy." She said with a shake of her head. "Fucking Nell... I bet she hired him."

Jasmine grinned widely at Leah. "Please, do. One of the girls is having a bachelorette party soon and he'd be perfect!"

Jack looked over to Nell with a quick promising wink. He'd definitely be by her seat later. But he had to give the birthday girl his attention first. He turned on the spot, giving Bea a show of every single one of his muscles. She didn't seem as eager as the girl to his side, so when he leant in to ask a question, it was with his normal, quiet voice. "Do you want a dance or do you want me to take myself somewhere else?" But it seemed his question was answered by the others around. He flashed both the hot at the gills looking guy and the pretty lady who tapped his shoulder. "You got my sailor's oath!" He told Felix, and turned over to Nell. "You want me to swab your decks, miss?"

"I'm not stripping because I'm not a stripper!" Kaden started cursing under his breath. The kid, Anita, Morgan, Felix, and Bea, too? Come on. "Someone back me up here. Anyone! Come on, let's go back to taking my money, that'd be great, right?"

Bea glanced between both Felix and Jasmine,"Thank you." Standing, she grabbed Felix's hand,"Do you want to go dance?" She could use a little bit of time away from the chaos of the table, even as fun as it was. "Have fun, Nell!" She cackled as Jack made her way over.

Remmy gave a chuckle, shaking their head. "I meant a good time," they said, stepping in time to the music and moving Luce with them. It was a more upbeat tune, the music drifting around them, and Remmy spun her a little before pulling her back in. "You all deserve a good night to let loose and have--" they flinched at the sound of Blanche's loud shout cutting through even the loud music, giving Luce a sheepish grin, "--fun."

Blanche paled as the stripper turned on Nell. "Oh no. You're on your own." She started to inch away.

Anita followed Morgan out to the dance floor, grinning widely. This was far preferred to watching a man strip. “The absolute best save. You’re my hero,” she grinned widely as she began to dance with her friend. As they danced she noticed Luce dancing with some person she didn’t quite recognize. She smiled softly, they seemed nice together. Turning her attention back towards Morgan, she laughed as she could still hear the things people were saying by the stripper. “This party did not really go how I was expecting… but this does make me kinda wanna hire a stripper for my next birthday.”

“What?!" Nell squawked as the tables were turned, and suddenly there was a whole ocean of flesh coming closer. "Blanche, don't you dare fucking leave me. This is what you get for running away from the hospital!" she said as her friend tried to inch away, latching onto a non-injured portion of Blanche with a vice-like grip. "My decks are good, though! Freshly swabbed! Just got them done yesterday!"

Leah pushed herself closer to Jasmine as the stripper came closer to where they were sitting, all but turning her back to him and Nell with an amused but mortified look. In a supportive move, she grabbed Blanche's wrist and pulled her toward them as well, holding her close.

"We know, Kaden," Felix said with a solemn nod. "The champagne tower is all yours, friend. I know it's a real hard time for ya." He laced his fingers with Bea's and smiled as he led her towards the dance floor. "I don't know how I'll compare to our new pal Jack over there but I'll do my best for you, doll."

Jane had been stealing other guests money at a different table, and went to go see what the commotion was. Jane saw Jack, and snorted as she heard Kaden assuring everyone he wasn't a stripper. She clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on Kaden, everyone here knows you strip to ABBA."

"I don't want to think about my sister having a good time with that." Luce said automatically, shuddering. She let Remmy spin her around, her feet just a bit clumsy underneath her as they danced. The haze of the alcohol was settling in, everything golden and bright around them. Tilting her head, she looked at them, eyebrows arching. "Mm, you're not wrong. You know," She said, pausing for a moment before leaning in closer to Remmy, "I can think of a couple fun things we could do."

"Oh, I'll take your money for free, Kaden!" Morgan called over her shoulder, winking at him. "Is that a promise?" The music was picking up and she took her friend's hand, whirling her around as they came near the dance floor. "Anita, I will hire you only the best, most voluptuous strippers for your birthday. Name the date, and they're all yours." She spun them around again as the music picked up. "Also, fun fact about me no one here knows yet? I know how to do the charleston." She started to demonstrate, working more flare into it than usual. "If you take another drink, I'll even teach you too."

Jared had a lot of people backing up the knowledge that this kaden guy was a stripper. He was embarrassed but Jared pat him on the arm. "Don't worry bud, no one is judging. I'm sure you're a wonderful stripper."

Jasmine cackled as Nell tried to back away from the stripper. There had to be some sort of anecdote about not hiring a stripper if you're not down for a lap dance. "Good call, the kid definitely doesn't need a stripper." Leah was held on to the small girl even though Nell tried to keep her in the stripper's orbit. She wondered if this short blonde girl was even old enough to be here. "I'm guessing Nell's the one who hired our sailor friend here." Good taste, just not Bea's. She nearly spit out her champagne when it was mentioned Kaden stripped to ABBA. "Oh honey, we need to get you a better playlist."

As the world faded from view, and tsunami Jack took over the majority of Nell's line of sight, she raised a single middle finger across the room, pointed directly at Felix.

Remmy looked around the hall-- people laughing, people grinning, people just plain having fun, having the time of their lives-- and decided that not everything in the world was bad. In fact, there was a lot more good than bad. There had to be, right? Luce looked stunning, Bea looking like shew as having the time of her life now that she was on the dance floor, even Nell, though flustered, looked like she was having fun. And Blanche and Morgan and everyone else. Remmy spun Luce one more time before bringing her close, smiling warmly at her drunken words. "Maybe tomorrow," they said back to her softly, "once the alcohol has worn off."

Kaden turned to see Jane behind him. Of fucking course. "Fuck you, Wu." He was going to need something stronger than champagne soon. There was no living this down was there?

"I think you'll do just fine," Bea let out a little laugh. As she looked around the party, she felt warm. Just last week she had been kicked out of the community that had raised her and she had felt alone. Her family and friends were the people here, having fun and celebrating this day with her. "As ridiculous has this has turned out, this has been one of my best birthdays." Even without her parents or friends from the Coven, she was happy. All these people, even Jack, had helped her make this birthday perfect. She couldn't ask for better people to spend this day with.

[nelllraiser]

the ties that bind | luce & nell

TIMING: when luce returned home. LOCATION: the vural residence.  PARTIES: @divineluce & @nelllraiser SUMMARY: luce arrives home and nell confronts her about her time away. it goes...about as well as you’d expect. 

These days— the pinging of Nell’s bracelet against her wrist everytime someone crossed the property spell of the Vural house caused a jolt of anxiety to run through her, as if she were awaiting a danger that was ever-coming. First she went to the balcony of her room, leaning over the railing of it to see who might have entered onto the Vural property with Taki hot on her heels. Recognition flooded her as a familiar Jeep came into view, though it was quickly followed by confusion, and soon after a twinge in her stomach of uncertainty. Luce was home? She still didn’t know why her sister had left them in the first place, spending many a night sleeping in the greenhouse mattress rather than the one in her room when Bea had been at Felix’s. Being in the house while neither of her sisters were home felt too much akin to when her sister had been dead, and Nell didn’t need that feeling chasing her any more than it already did. Hustling down the stairs, she made it to the front porch by the time Luce was getting out of her car, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. She knew what she wanted to say. Why did you run away from us after everything? But instead she started off with a simple, “You’re home.”

Driving through town, seeing White Crest again for the first time in nearly a month, Luce couldn’t deny the strange sense of-- not relief, that wasn’t the right word. Comforting familiarity. As fucked as White Crest was, as much as she hated what happened here, as much as she wished that shit could stop going sideways for five fucking minutes, White Crest was home. It was the only home she’d ever known. As she turned down the road leading back to Bea’s house, Luce felt a lump form in the back of her throat. The silver chain around her neck, layered over the dark choker she’d taken to wearing, it felt cool around her neck. The pendant lay against her skin, the herbs inside a reminder of her sisters, who she’d left behind. Who she’d… abandoned. Because she couldn’t handle her shit. Luce sighed as she pulled into the drive way, cutting the engine. “Fuck.” She looked over at Iggy, who was staring at her plaintively from the passenger seat. “I should have just gone back to the cabin, right?” She muttered before opening the door. Before she knew it, Nell was there, staring at her from the porch.

 At her sister’s words, Luce nodded, expression guarded. “Yeah.” She grabbed her bag from the car, Iggy scuttling from the seat into the open outer pocket. “Just got back into town.”

It felt like an eternity had already passed since Luce left- as if lifetime’s worth of problems had been packed into a single month of Nell’s existence. But that’s just how White Crest was, wasn’t it? A haven of too many puzzles and not enough solutions. At least one of them had finally solved itself in the form of the full moon passing, and the revelation that by some miracle the werewolf bite hadn’t turned the witch and stolen her powers. It had been one of the heaviest burdens on her shoulders, and finally she could breathe a little easier knowing that the biggest part of her essence wouldn’t be leaving her. But where had Luce been? Between Constance drowning her, Nell’s ribs being cracked, getting bitten by the werewolf, and their former coven being hunted by a murderous fext Nell had been ready to split wide open under the stress. Taki’s tail swished straight past Luce, sensing his witch’s conflicted feelings when it came to her sister, and opting to greet Iggy with a little spout of fire instead. “So you’re back now. Are you staying?” There was perhaps a bit more bite to the words than Nell had intended, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up if they were going to be needlessly dashed.

Hefting her bag over her shoulder, Luce opened the back of the Jeep and let Rhiannon free from her cat carrier, the grey cat scampering out of the Jeep with an excited gleam in her eyes before letting out a slight yowl of panic when she saw the burst of flame from Taki. The young cat darted back into the Jeep, curling up in the carrier again. With a sigh, Luce took hold of Rhiannon’s carrier in one hand and Hamtarot’s cage in the other. Christ, she had a fucking travelling zoo with her. A witch, a fire salamander, a cat, and a cursed hamster walk into the woods. Shutting the door with her back, Luce cast her sister a long look. If Nell didn’t want her here, she’d load her fucking menagerie back into the car and get gone. “Do you want me to?” She asked shortly. If her hands weren’t full, she’d have crossed her arms and stared at Nell. But, as it was, she had several antsy creatures who weren’t too keen on the way Taki was moving towards them. “Creatura diaboli…” Hamtarot squeaked as he took shelter in his wheel. “Quiet.” Luce chided before turning her attention back to Nell. “I can go.”

After greeting Iggy, Taki made his rounds to Rhiannon, sniffing her curiously as if wondering if he’d found a new playmate. As for Nell, her welcome was still uncertain, perhaps wondering if she should even make the effort if Luce was going to disappear again in another week or two. “Does it even matter if I want you to?” Nell answered in a tone that might have been harsher than she’d intended. But after the past few weeks of feeling like she was the edge of a crumbling cliff, and spending most nights alone in the house— the only way she knew how to protect herself from more disappointment was being defensive. How could Luce just leave? So many had left in Nell’s life, and the fact that Luce had known such a thing and continued to leave anyway only added salt into the wound. Did her sister even care that she’d added to an age old scar? Nell’s eyes flickered towards the hamster, grateful for the discretion as she replied to his worries. “Quod non cat vos manducare. Et cessabit.” She still didn’t know if the hamster understood Latin in response. “Why’d you come back, Luce? Why’d you leave in the first place?”

Luce kept her face impassive at Nell’s words, but the bite to her sister’s tone stung. She deserved it, though. She knew she did. She’d left without warning, just tossed her things in the back of her Jeep and drove away that day. She knew that she needed breathing room, needed some fucking space to just exist. But, she hadn’t realized how long she’d be gone. Otherwise… what, she would have told her sisters? No, she wouldn’t have done that. She wouldn’t have warned them, because they would have tried to keep her here. Or worse, they would have asked her why. Just like Nell was right now. “It matters.” She said and sighed, shifting her grip on the cat carrier as Rhiannon hissed and batted at Taki through the fabric. “Can we have this conversation when I’m not balancing half of Noah’s fucking arc?” She shot back, irritation flaring up before she could catch herself. “I’ll explain. I don’t exactly have a good answer, but I’ll explain if I can fucking just… breathe for a second.”

Nell’s lips pursed at Luce’s claim, and couldn’t help but wonder if he sister was saying it simply because she thought it was what Nell wanted to hear. Or maybe it was because she didn’t want to come home to a fight. She’d thought things would be different after watching Bea die, after they’d banded together and then promised each other that there would be no more secrets. So what had happened? Where had the wrench been thrown into the situation? Nell’s own temper was quick to rise at Luce’s miniature outburst, her arms crossing over her chest instead of reaching to help her sister with the creatures. “Fine,” was the witch’s curt reply as she turned on her heel to walk back through their front door. Luce needed to breathe for a second? Where the fuck had Nell’s chances to breath been over the past month? Did Luce realize how close she’d been to shattering against the floor? Had she even cared? “I’m ready when you are,” Nell said as she half-sat herself on the arm of the couch, still too upset to fully sink onto it. It was a battle ready pose, as if she thought a fight with her sister were inevitable at this point. 

At least she’d stopped Nell from blowing up before she could even get inside. But, Luce knew that she was only putting off the inevitable. Following behind her sister, Luce made her way to her room. The house was just as it had been before, though there were tell-tale signs that the place had sat empty more days than not. She pushed open the door to her room and set Hamtarot’s cage down before letting Rhiannon out once more from her cat carrier. With a sigh, Luce set her backpack down and watched as Iggy crawled out of the pocket and onto her bed. The fire salamander glanced over at the door before blinking at her. “Yeah, yeah. I know.” She said, tapping him on the nose before heading back out. As soon as she entered the living room, Luce saw Nell perched on the couch. “Like I said, I don’t have a good reason for why I left. I just needed to get out of town. Not because there was shit chasing me, not because I had to go on some bullshit trek to find something that could save the town. I just needed to fucking get out of White Crest.” She said.

Bea had come by more often than she had when Luce had been in the house, though it had quickly been revealed that this was mostly because Bea had thought Luce was uncomfortable with the eldest daughter floating around the home. Unfortunately it was quite the opposite for Nell, who’s discomfort and paranoia peaked when the house was empty which was impossible to avoid with the sisters treating the abode as some sort of revolving door. “And you couldn’t fucking tell anyone? Or answer my fucking texts?” Nell immediately shot back, feeling the hurt that had brewed inside her bubble up the more she talked. “It became pretty fucking apparent that I just might as well stop texting you all together if you weren’t gonna give a shit. You can’t just disappear, Luce! Not after everything. Go fuck off to wherever if you want and leave us here, but you could at least remember we’re alive for two seconds. For all you know-” They could have been dead. “Whatever-” Nell left the sentence unfinished, shoulders tensed as she stood straight. “Welcome fucking home or whatever.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Luce stared at her sister. It hurt to hear. Not because of the sharpness in her sister’s tone, or the anger that reverberated in her words-- it hurt because Nell was right. Luce didn’t have a good reason for why she’d let her phone go dead, why she didn’t bother to find a charger, why she’d kept her laptop unplugged from the wifi. Which wasn’t to say she didn’t have a reason. She did. It just wasn’t one that anyone wanted to hear. “I didn’t see your texts until I got back. My phone died.” She said, knowing full well it was just as much an excuse as it was the truth. “I know you were here-- you think I just stopped thinking about you and Bea because I wasn’t here? Do you really think I wasn’t worried about you?” She growled. She had been, of course she had been. But words and talking and feelings and letting the people she loved know that they were just that-- that they were loved-- had never been a part of her life before. “Do you want me here or not? Because it really doesn’t feel like you do.”

“For a whole month?!” Nell’s voice was growing more strained as she went, baffled at the excuse and by Luce’s audacity at saying it. She shouldn't have been surprised, but she’d thought that her sister would have at least wanted to know she was breathing and moving after what had happened with Bea. Meanwhile Nell tried to remember when it was she’d given up on texting Luce, and how much information she would have now. The younger sister had stopped trying before the entire werewolf bite debacle, not wanting to be disappointed by a lack of a ‘delivered’ notification once again, having no desire to pile the sinking feeling of being ignored on top of the stress she’d nearly crumbled under. “If you were worried, you sure have a funny way of showing it.” Nell’s own hands balled into fists at her sides, already having pushed herself off the edge of the couch where she’d been sat, ready to pounce. “How the hell would you even know to be worried if you don’t know what’s going on? You don’t have any fucking idea what’s been happening.” A frustrated growl slipped past Nell’s lips as her foot stomped against the wood of the floor in anger. “I’m the one that doesn’t want you here? You’re the one that went away, Luce! How does that translate to me having the problem? Did you think I was just gonna be glowing with excitement when you came home after radio silence?”

“I told you it wasn’t a good reason! I’ll own that.” Luce shot back. The text’s that had appeared on her screen when she’d finally plugged her phone back in, when she’d finally seen the messages-- they’d done nothing to lessen the worry that had followed her the entire time she’d been in Boston. In fact, they’d only made them worse. She had no idea who the fuck Constance was or why she’d come after Nell, she’d watched as her sister’s texts became shorter and shorter as time passed. Gritting her teeth, Luce stared at her sister, watching as Nell’s foot pounded against the floor. “You jumped down my fucking throat the second I got here. You barely waited for me to even get inside the door. I don’t expect you to be happy with me being gone, but for fucks sake, did you think that shit like this is exactly why I left?” She said, her voice rising to a shout as anger began to wash over her in a familiar wave. “We all have shit going on in our lives, Nell! I get that! I really fucking do. But I needed to break before all of this-- with us, with this fucked up town-- broke me.” She said, shaking her head. “I won’t apologize for doing what I had to do to stay sane. But I am sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t handle this…” Like Bea would? Like their mother would have wanted her to? Or at the bare minimum, handled it well? But, she hadn’t even done that, had she? “That I didn’t handle things at all.”

“What was I supposed to do? Act like I wasn’t upset? Is there some allotted time limit I was meant to give you before I was allowed to be angry?” A flash of shock and momentary hurt came over Nell before she reflexively hardened her jaw and eyes as she jerked back, trying to make sense of what her sister had said. Her sister had left because of her? Was that what Luce was saying? They hadn’t even been fighting when Luce had gone off, and Nell couldn’t grasp whatever it was Luce was trying to say outside of now feeling like she was being held responsible for the fire witch’s need to depart. Her head shook in place of words, unsure where to begin again. “So you just decided to leave what was bothering you behind.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement, Nell still digesting that she had been a part of the problem. “I’m not saying you don’t have shit! I’m just saying you don’t have to cut into people like your sisters to get that relief or whatever the hell you needed. Especially when you don’t even know what the hell was going on here.” Nell trembled ever so slightly, the high stakes back and forth and mention of breaking putting her back in the place she’d been no more than a week ago, on the brink of losing her magic with a slew of other problems. “You didn’t even tell us. We could have helped, but you didn’t even give us the chance. You know we would have. Are we really that fucking bad?” 

“You could have given me five fucking minutes, Nell! And you know what? This shit is exactly what happens.” At Nell’s words, Luce let out a laugh, a sound meant to hurt. “You don’t get to get mad at me for leaving. You left first, Nell. Five years ago, you fucked off too!” She yelled. “Why would I have told you what’s going on in my life? We-- you, me, Bea?” Luce gestured to herself and then to her sister, “We don’t talk unless shit goes south. We don’t talk unless the world is ending or one of us is--” She cut herself off, the scar beneath her choker burning with her rage. “In trouble. And that’s how it’s always been! The only difference is our problems went from Bea’s shitty ex being a garbage fire and you getting into trouble with Mom to people dying, people getting cursed and blowing up buildings.” Shaking her head, Luce continued, “You both had your own shit to worry about. You always have. So why the fuck would I talk to you about what’s going on in my life?”

Gone was any clarity and the majority of Nell’s rationality at this point, her temper in full force as Luce yelled back. “When I fucked off I didn’t fucking ghost you! And I was eighteen so excuse me for hoping my older sister might be a little more mature than that!” Taki had re-entered the room after leaving to witness the yelling, sensing the rather tumultuous emotional state his witch was in. Or perhaps he’d simply heard it with the two sisters volumes reaching a fever pitch. “Maybe you’d talk to us because you’re the one who didn’t want any more secrets! And we all fucking agreed to it! But guess who’s the one not telling us anything? It’s you! Or- I don’t know-” she continued on in her heated but sardonic tone. “-maybe because I’m your sister!” Nell didn’t so much as pause for breath before carrying on. “Well guess what, Luce? My world nearly fucking ended! And you were in Boston, ignoring my texts!” She hadn’t meant to throw that into the fray, not wanting to use it at a time like this, but the words were gone before she could stop them. Nell’s chest heaved as she stood in the long pause after her exclamation, trying to quiet the anxiety that had come with worrying about losing her magic. It didn’t make sense. Why was she upset about it, when her magic was still here and swimming through her veins?

Her tone sombered in the wake of her largest outburst, though every muscle of her was still tensed. “We’re supposed to look out for each other,” Nell finally said. “Even if both our world’s are on fucking fire then we just figure both of them out together. I thought you’d have figured that out by now. And if you don’t think I’d still wanna help you even if my life is shit, even after seeing what we did for Bea then- then-” The witch tried to swallow the emotion clawing its way up her throat, hating how it got in the way of her words. “There’s nothing I can do if you don’t reach back when I’m reaching, Luce. And then there’s nothing you can do, either. Because you don’t just screw yourself by cutting yourself off- you screw me, too. But apparently it just doesn’t fucking matter. I hope you had a good time in Boston. If you wanna be left alone, then don’t let me get in the way,” Nell said before scooping up Taki from her feet, turning towards the front door she’d just come through with Luce.

As Nell yelled and shouted and threw word after word at her, Luce remained stubbornly still. She wasn’t going to back down, she wasn’t going to let Nell just walk over her, Luce had her own reasons for why she’d done things. She opened her mouth, ready to say that there was a difference between secrets and her needing to be alone. She was ready to say that there was a difference between keeping secrets and adjusting to the fact that, for the first time, it felt like her sisters needed her and the responsibility of that scared the shit out of her. They’d never needed her before things went sideways. But, then Nell said those words. My world nearly fucking ended. And the words made Luce’s stomach drop.

The tension faded from her shoulders, her body slumping slightly as Nell continued to yell at her. The words, they stung, they hurt. How could they not? But, she was stuck on that sentence. What had happened to Nell? What had happened to her in the time she’d been gone? How many texts had her sister written before deleting them, knowing that Luce wouldn’t be there for her. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. While Nell turned her back on her, scooping up Taki in her arms, Luce leaned against the hallway. She wanted to go after her sister, wanted to say something. Wanted to tell her she was sorry that she wasn’t there. But, sorry wouldn’t change the fact that she was gone. Sorry didn’t change that she had abandoned Nell and Bea both, when the coven had done the exact same thing to the three of them. God. 

As the front door shut behind Nell, Luce made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and filled them both with water. Taking a long drink from one, she stared at the kitchen. Bea had been here recently. She could tell by the way the kitchen was clean-- not from disuse, but because it had been maintained by her sister’s hands. She could smell the familiar citrus undertones of the homemade cleaner Bea used to wipe down the countertops. Swallowing, she rested her head against the cool surface of the counter top. “Fuck.” She murmured, setting her glass in the sink. Taking the other cup, she opened the front door. Nell was nowhere to be found, which shouldn’t have surprised her but it did. Luce set the glass of water on the porch and shut the door behind her. Too much had been said in anger, in pain. They needed time.

[nelllraiser]

familiar strangers | bea, luce, & nell

TIMING: a few days after and then you’re free (escape from the ring). LOCATION: the vural home. PARTIES: @nelllraiser, @beatrice-blaze, and @divineluce. SUMMARY: the sisters finally come clean to one another. 

This had been a long time coming. It had only been recently that Nell had promised her sisters answers, a look into the part of her life that she’d been hiding since...she wasn’t quite sure for how long. And they all had questions about necromancy. As for Luce, she couldn’t be certain what secrets she might hold, but it was time to bare them all to the light, to start anew with one another, and know each other for who each of them truly were. “I think-,” Nell began, knowing that they’d all have much to say. “We should try and just let each other speak at first, maybe. To get the secrets and whatever out before asking questions or anything.” She didn’t want to be judged, and she doubted Bea and Luce wanted to face scrutinous eyes, either. “That’d probably make this all easier.” But which of them would go first? “I don’t know who wants to say their stuff first, but we can draw straws or volunteer or whatever.” 

Leaning back against the countertop of the kitchen counter, Luce stared at Nell as she spoke before her eyes went to Bea. They all had secrets. They all had questions. And for fucks sake, she wasn’t going to wait until the next time one of them got hurt or kidnapped or ki-- there wasn’t going to be a next time. She wanted all of this shit out in the open, right now. She’d wanted answers the day she’d stepped out of the hospital, after her conversation with Bea. But, her mind wandered back to everything that had happened with Nell, with Remmy, with Rio, with Nadia… She hadn’t had time for some spill your secrets session. At Nell’s suggestion of drawing straws, she rolled her eyes. “Fuck me, no. Let’s just get it over with.” Holding up her hand, Luce attempted to tap into the magic she’d felt that night at the Ring, consumed with worry and fear. Fire sprang to life at her fingertips, the flames just as blue they’d been since the day she’d heard of Bea’s death. Trying her best to focus in on the magic, she gritted her teeth and threw more power into the flames, willing them to-- the flames sputtered for a moment, crackled, and the barest hints of electricity arced through the air. With a wave, the magic dissipated. “I’ve been trying to learn lightning magic for the past fucking six years. It’s not necromancy or demon summoning. But yeah.”

There was a bubble of nerves in her stomach as Bea stood with her sisters. She had poured herself a glass of whiskey, but barely sipped from it now. She knew why they were in the kitchen, it had been a place of comfort for all of them before. “It’s best if we leave me to last, you two probably have a lot to ask me.” She would if she was them. She certainly had questions for Nell. As Luce showed them her secret, a smile took Bea’s face. Now that was amazing. Lightning. She had never even considered using her fire to create something like that when she had been alive. “Not necromancy or demon summoning, but it’s pretty amazing. You’re learning that by yourself?” Bea surprised herself when she heard the proud tone to her words. She couldn’t remember the last time she had sounded like her old self. She supposed it would make sense that one of her sisters brought it out of her. “I’ve never even heard of someone using lightning magic before.” Her finger idly went around the rim of her glass, considering her middle sister. 

It made sense that Luce wouldn’t be as reluctant to show her secret as the others might be. Nell didn’t think that lightning magic was something that had the power to tear them apart, but her gaze still lit up as she took in the pretty and powerful way the magic crackled from Luce’s palms. Still, she internally flinched at the mention of demon summoning, a learned panic flaring up at the mention of it. Did Bea realize what Luce was insinuating by mentioning it in the same sentence as necromancy? She tried to focus on Luce, but it was difficult with the dread building inside of her. Nevertheless, Nell’s intrigue and admiration came through her words. “‘How long have you been able to do lightning? That’s pretty badass.” Perhaps she didn’t quite understand it as much as Bea did, seeing as she’d never been a fire elemental, but she could still support her sister in how cool it was in general. “But same, I haven’t seen someone use lightning like that before.” Should she mention her own strange magic that had seemingly popped up? Luce already knew about it, and it wasn’t exactly something she considered a secret. This was secret time, wasn’t it?

For the first time in years, Luce squirmed under the scrutiny of her sisters. They’d always been the focus of attention, either from their parents or from others. Having them stare at her, compliment her, admire her… It was everything she’d wanted growing up, but having it now? It felt wrong. Strange. Foreign. Shrugging, Luce glanced over at Bea’s glass of whiskey, idly wondering why her sister hadn’t gone for gin. “Other people have done it in the past. I read about it one day while going through some of Mom’s books and… just kinda latched onto it. Been doing a lot of reading since then.” She said with a sigh. “It’s part of why I got my cabin. I wanted to focus on figuring it all out on my own.” At Nell’s question, she shifted uneasily. “The first time I did it was at the Ring, but it felt… I don’t know. It felt familiar. Like I’d done it before.” She muttered, thoughts drifting to the spider web of scars across her chest. With a shake of her head, she glanced at Bea. “Yeah… Yours should be last. Your turn, Nellie.”

As her pride simmered, Bea considered Luce, eyes narrowed with thought. Her sister had always been powerful, but this was a different type of power. It was rare and to those who didn’t understand elemental magic, it was scary. Luce had kept it from them, but her secret had power to it. It wasn't magic that Luce would be attacked for either. Bea was sure that if they got that information circling around to the right people, they would begin to solidify the notion that coming after the Vurals was a fool’s errand. “I can ask someone I know if they have any more books on it.” If Leah could find her tomes on necromancy, she could find Luce information on lightning, but she would never betray Leah’s trust by mentioning what position she had. Her friend could tell Bea’s  sisters if she wanted to. “Should start to come easier for you then, if it feels familiar now.” That’s how necromancy had started to work for her after coming back. She was sure the same feeling could be applied to Luce. She turned to look at Nell, eyebrow raised,“Come on, spill.”

Nell’s own mind began to whir as Bea mentioned books. Why hadn’t she thought of that for her own attempts to look into whatever was happening with her magic? Like Luce, she also fidgeted under her sisters’ eyes, though it was for different reasons than the lightning bearer. Most of the time Nell was the center of attention between the three of them and their mother, it was because she was in trouble, and it was hard to shake that feeling now that she was going to get into the things she’d been most afraid her sisters’ would judge her for, possibly even hate her for. But Bea had also broken the rules, and Luce had too now. So that was something, right? They wouldn’t cast her out? “Well- you both already know about the Ring by now. That was part of the reason August came after us,” she said quickly, inclining her head towards Bea. “I started working for them a bit before I got home. But the uh- bigger reason he came after me was that he also saw me summoning a demon.” Summoning a demon like their grandmother had done. “He wanted to out me to the coven to get me kicked.” Luce already knew this part, but she still needed to tell it to Bea. “But I panicked- the coven is- you know it’s the only place I can...do things right.” A place where she wasn’t a freak, or constantly berated by her mother at all times. “I didn’t want to lose that. I tried to take his memories, but I fucked it up. They came back, painfully. And he decided he was done with me, I guess.” Now all she could do was brace herself for whatever her sisters might say.

"I... yeah. Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks." Luce said, slightly taken aback by her sister’s easy offering of help. She'd been working on this for so long, determined to find some kind of way to outshine Bea, to rise above Nell's trouble making streak. And now that she'd accomplished that, it didn't matter. She realized now that her pursuit of this strange and new power had been... petty. Attention, validation, it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The only thing that mattered was that her family was safe. And now, she had power that could ensure they would never be bothered again. If she could only control it. Luce looked over at Nell, listening intently to her younger sisters words. It wasn't all that different from the story Nell had told her back in the shed with August all those months ago. Just... a few key fucking details left out. Luce looked at the scarred skin of Nell's arms and remembered the way her sister's skin had been peeled back from her flesh. She remembered the way she'd looked when she'd emerged from the Ring, exhausted and drained. Nell had suffered enough. She didn't need to deal with criticism from them now. "What happened happened. Nothing we can do about it now. How long had you been doing this sort of thing? Just when you left home? Or before that?" She asked, wondering just how long they'd all been keeping secrets from one another.

Only two months ago, Bea would have looked at her youngest sister with disdain, ignoring her own hypocrisy. She had been comfortable ignoring the rules she was breaking, while dishing out judgment at every turn. She hummed as Nell spoke,“Guess you’re more like Grandma than we wanted to admit.” They had been taught to think of their grandmother with disgust, her use of magic being something bad. It was pretty amusing to think of how much they had turned out like her. There was a part of Bea that wanted to tell Nell she should have never attempted memory magic without help, but it wasn’t like the youngest Vural thought she would get support with this. Things would have ended up very differently if Nell thought she could come to Bea. “So that’s how you knew how to bind Greg. I was wondering for a while, but never thought I’d get a straight answer out of you.” She finally took a sip of her drink, letting the strong taste wash over her mouth. “Did you start doing it because you couldn’t do fire?” She knew that question was stepping into sensitive territory, but it was the only path Bea saw leading to summoning demons.

Nell’s shoulders relaxed in the slightest with the realization that she wasn’t about to be burned at the stake, and a small snort of relief passed over her as Bea made the comparison. “Well...technically, I guess I learned from her. I found some of her journals mom was hiding a long time ago and...well...read them and stuff.” It had been nice, almost comforting to read the words of someone that seemed to understand and was also in her family. She could only assume Luce meant how long she’d been working with demons. “I found the journals when I was fourteen. But I didn’t manage to summon any sort of demon until I was seventeen, during the summer between junior and senior year.” She’d worked hard that summer, all too engrossed with what she’d been working on. “But yeah, that’s how I knew what to do with Greg. I was hoping you’d think it just stopped at binding when it happened. And you were right in thinking you wouldn’t get a straight answer,” she finished with a dry chuckle. Nell shrugged at Bea’s question, not entirely sure how to answer it. “I mean- I started summoning cause I couldn’t do fire, obviously. I had to do something. And I understood it, you know? And demons were just...a deeper branch of summoning. I was curious and intrigued and I wanted to know if I could.” She’d wanted to be good at something, not even for her family, but for herself.

At Bea's pointed question, Luce's jaw clenched slightly. Of course she must have gotten started on this shit because she didn't have fire magic-- why else would Nell do something like that? Their whole lives, their mother had praised fire magic above all else and slandered their grandmother for defying the laws of nature. And yeah. Maybe it was fucked up. Maybe it was messing with forces beyond their control. But, any hesitation she'd had surrounding that kind of magic had long faded. She'd willingly fought alongside a hellhound, she'd studied necromancy, she'd helped resurrect Bea. She'd gone against every rule she once abided by... in the name of family. "Well, you succeeded." She said with a nod. "You haven't made any deals with any, right?" The last thing she needed to worry about was fighting a fucking demon for Nell's firstborn or some shit. As she thought more about Nell delving into their grandmother's journals, Luce blinked. "The journals-- is that where you learned about the body manipulation thing?" She asked, mimicking the way that August's hand had snapped backwards before the resurrection. Or had that just been something Nell has discovered on her own? Either way, it was fucking terrifying. Incredible, amazing, but terrifying too.

Bea’s mouth twitched up as she heard the reason Nell started summoning demons. Hadn’t that been part of the reason Bea has started doing necromancy. She had wanted to see how far she could go with the most banned magic. “Deals would be a pretty bad idea, but I’m sure Nell already knows that. She’s the expert after all.” The words slid easily off her tongue, but it felt strange to praise her over demons. Parts of Bea understood the danger of that. Parts of her wanted to weaponize that danger. She looked over to Luce sharply, eyes glittering with the new information. “Body manipulation? What does that mean?” She couldn’t control the excitement in her voice, already thinking of how powerful her sister must be to do something like that.

The way Bea and Luce seemed to talk about the demon summoning as if it were just another day in their lives...it was monumental in Nell’s eyes, to realize that she wasn’t going to be cast out from them for what she was practicing. “Deals are usually bad, yes.” She had to answer Luce’s question, though. “I’ve made some, if I’m being honest. But never any that that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to deliver on, or be tricked by.” Apparently they thought this was also a good time to talk about whatever new thing her magic had been doing, though. She wasn’t sure what to make of Bea’s excitement, but it was certainly better than the alternative. “No, that’s...different. I still don’t really get how it works. But it happened when Montgomery was going to kill me, and I accidentally did it to Kaden once too when things were...not great. I wanted them to stop and then they just...did. It hurt too, apparently.” She couldn’t help the glint beginning to shine in her eyes, remembering what she’d seen in the mirrors when it came to the power, the heart she’d held in her hand. “Kaden said it felt like his insides were being pulled in different directions or something. Maybe I could look in that for books, too. It felt...familiar but...not. I don’t know, it was strange. And then I did on the smaller scale with August’s hand.”

“Uh huh.” Luce said, more than a little uncomfortable by the fact that Nell had made deals with demons. She didn’t want to know what kind of payments she’d made, or what kind of deals she’d made. As much as she hated the idea of secrets, there were some things she just didn’t want to know. Nodding, Luce recalled what Nell had told her about her encounter with Montgomery. At her words about Kaden, she raised an eyebrow though. “Interesting.” She said slowly. Familiar but not. That was almost exactly how she’d felt about the lightning magic that coursed through her. Familiar in the way that fire had been, but altogether different from anything she’d ever felt before. Hm. Glancing over at Bea, she couldn’t help but wonder just who her sister was now. Since coming back, she was still her sister, still the same woman from before. But… there were definite changes. “Your turn. How long have you been at… all of this?” She gestured off-handedly, unsure of how else to put the subject to words. Necromancy.

A frown tugged at Bea’s face as Nell told them that she had in fact made deals with demons before. Even if the younger woman believed that she could take on whatever they wanted, it seemed like a dangerous game to play. She supposed, though, that all of them had been playing a dangerous game for a long time. She tilted her head at Nell, “You can just do it whenever you want?” Humming she took another sip of her drink,“We all need to practice these magics. We’ll need that strength soon.” She wanted them all to be the best they could be when they destroyed the hunter. “Just before I stopped coming to coven meetings. So about a year and a half now. We always talked about banned magic and I had always wanted to know why necromancy was banned.” She had been afraid for years to research it, terrified of what would happen if someone found out. Funny how if she had listened to the coven, she wouldn’t be alive now. “The more I read about it the more I wanted to try it. And when I tried it, I was good at it. It almost felt as natural as fire.”

“I can get the hellhounds whenever I want,” Nell said carefully. “And Greg too since he’s bound to me. Smaller demons are easier to do on the fly, but if you wanted someone powerful it takes more planning. But you can always do that beforehand, and then bind them to something while you wait for whatever it is you summoned them for. They don’t like being seen as tools though, obviously. I’ve developed the summoning...pretty well. I definitely want to figure out the other thing, though. The one that hurt Kaden and Montgomery. I think that could be...definitely useful. With them it was sort of instinctual magic, but I was able to do it intentionally with August.” Well enough to have summoned creatures people didn’t often feel comfortable enough to say aloud, or even knew the names of. As for why they’d need the strength...Nell could guess why. “Montgomery,” she simply said, letting the name fall between them all, the single word spiked with disdain and anger. But as she listened to Bea, she realized she only had more questions. “Is it mostly necromancy that you were exploring? Or was there anything else new?” She’d heard from Kaden about talk of shadows and the like, but she wanted to let Bea tell her if that’s what she wished. 

Nell’s words made sense-- she’d seen her sister summon the hellhounds like it was nothing. If she could do that, it didn’t surprise her that Nell was capable of summoning even greater demons. Fingers flexing instinctively at Bea’s words, Luce’s thoughts were spoken aloud by her younger sister. The hunter. The murderer. They’d dealt with August, wet the earth with his blood to bring Bea back. And now that she was back, now that all three of them had laid their cards on the table, it was time for Montgomery to face the consequences of his actions. “If it felt natural to you, that’s pretty fucking impressive. It didn’t feel that way for me at all.” She said, still remembering the way the magic had felt as it coursed through her body. Tilting her head at Nell’s words, she frowned. “Something else new?” She echoed, wondering what the younger woman meant by that.

Bea was far more interested in hearing about the body manipulation, but she listened carefully nonetheless about the demons. “Well, if Greg is bound to you, can you evict him from my house and call him whenever you need him,” She asked with no bite. The demon hadn’t bothered her in some time, but she had not let go of her grudge against him. She still found him a little annoying. “You can always try to practice your body manipulation on my new friend. He doesn’t feel pain. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll find other ways for you to practice.” Bea refused to call the hunter by his name, if she could help it. To her, he didn’t deserve to have that from her. Hearing his name made her smile sharp, eyes angry, fingers tight against her glass. “Yes, for him. I’m taking his head and I think it would do him well to understand what we all gave up to bring me back.” She would see that man ruined. He would never know peace, she was going to make sure of that. “It was only necromancy. I haven’t been looking into anything else. I don’t know why it felt natural, but it does. Even more now. I guess it’s because it’s all I have now, since my fire is gone.” She had never explicitly said she had lost her fire, but she was sure her sisters had guessed it. 

Nell wasn’t all that sure what to make of the Greg comment, remembering how it had been one of their grander fights before Bea had died, so instead brushed past it in her uncertainty of what to do with it. “He doesn’t?” she asked curiously, already mulling the thought over. “I mean that’d be...great, then. If I can just sort of experiment on him.” Even if the vision of the heart in her hand had worried her in the Hall of Mirrors, she was still curious enough to see if it could be a reality. Or something she could work up to. “You want to keep the head?” Nell asked, also not entirely clear on what Bea’s plans for it would be. “I definitely want to kill him too, but also make him hurt before he gets to die.” She didn’t want to push Bea, entirely. But the point of this was that there would be no more secret, so Nell decided to ask outrightly. “Someone mentioned that they saw some sort of like...shadowy magic pooling around you.” As for the fire...Nell wasn’t entirely sure what to say. It was something she couldn’t fully understand, having never used fire herself. “Well...at least now we outnumber Luce?” she said, trying to bring some levity to the words.

Luce listened to her sisters intently, mulling over their words. From Bea’s cold, callous words of violence and murder, to Nell’s quick agreement and eagerness to join in… She wanted Montgomery to pay, of course she did. She wanted him to feel the consequences of his actions. And if it boiled down to death… A slight chill went down Luce’s spine as she realized that she was just as eager to play her part, to work with her sisters to stop him. She’d killed before-- she’d killed August and even before that… she’d killed monsters. Killed creatures that tried to hurt her, that would have killed her without a second thought. And Montgomery? He was just another one of those monsters. “Death’s almost too good for him, but… it’ll do.” Luce said with a nod. She folded her arms across her chest while the other two talked about practicing on Bea’s new friend-- a corpse? Must be. Swallowing at the mention of Bea’s fire going out, Luce did her best to shoot Nell a grin. “Guess that makes me the odd one out for once. Go figure.”

“No one has ever written about how they feel pain and he’s never reacted poorly to anything I’ve had him do. Not that he reacts to anything,” Bea shrugged. Of course, if it turned out that he did feel pain, she would feel pretty badly about it. She wasn’t sure she would stop, but she would feel bad. “I just don’t want it to be with his body. If he comes back as a ghost, I want him to feel how I did when I realized my head was away from my body.” There was no way to explain how it felt being unaware of what was happening to parts of her body. Bea shrugged,“Kaden saw them when I was mad at the waitress, but I didn’t see them. I wasn’t casting any magic either, so I’m not sure why they were there.” She lifted her hand, staring down at it. She tried to summon something, but nothing truly changed. The light grew dimmer around her fingers, but she knew that could be some trick of her eyes. “How does it feel, Luce?”

“Alright...sure, yeah that doesn’t sound like a terrible idea if he doesn’t feel anything.” If Nell could practice on Bea’s resurrected corpse, that would be the best way to hone the new skill, wouldn’t it? “So what are you gonna do with him?” Nell wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about Bea stealing a body if they still had loved ones around to mourn them, but hopefully Bea would choose bodies respectfully. As for Montgomery not having a head, Nell’s grin grew sharper when her sister’s reasoning was given. “I like that. Good. He better not fucking come back, though.” As for the shadow magic or whatever it was, it seemed Bea was uncertain. “He seemed to think it was magic. Maybe another thing that’ll be worth exploring?” Her lips pursed as Bea’s flames continued to evade her, wishing her sister didn’t have to deal with the fallout of losing such a big part of her magic. “I’m sorry,” Nell apologized reflexively. If they’d done the ritual correctly, Bea would be sitting here with her flames in all their former glory. “And I’d say welcome to the club, Luce- but then you wouldn’t be the odd one out.”

Though they weren’t the same thing-- a resurrected corpse and a zombie were different-- Luce couldn’t help the slight lurch in her stomach at the idea of Nell practicing her body manipulating magic on the corpse. It reminded her too much of Remmy and she didn’t want to think about them right now. Uncrossing her arms, she drummed her fingers against the counter. Murder. Death. Torture. Months ago, she would have balked at the idea. Would have wondered why it was necessary to do something like that, when fear or posturing could get the job done. Not anymore. She’d learned that sometimes, death was the only way to truly protect others from harm. And she had learned there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family. It had taken a twisted, fucked up lesson, but it had made her stronger. Made them all stronger. “If he comes back, we’ll send him back to Hell where he belongs.” She muttered darkly. But, the mood shifted slightly, from one of anger back to mild teasing and she relaxed a fraction. “Ah, you know me. I can manage just fine on my own.” Luce said with a wave of her hand.

“He’s around for protection and if I need help in the house,” Bea answered easily. She would wait to make more. She didn’t want to be grave robbing that often and she did understand, in some ways, how families would be upset if they knew what she was doing. She would be angry if someone did this to her body, but she needed this. “We’ll find a way to get rid of him if he comes back,” She told her sister resolutely. She considered this for a second, could she have become the opposite of once she once had? “I don’t know how to try to bring it back, Nell. Everything else came back naturally.” She had never once struggled with her fire magic, she didn’t know how to struggle when it came to the magic she was supposed to have. She shrugged off her sister’s apology,“I walked through death, of course I was going to come back different. At least I still have my magic. That’s what I was scared of.”

Protection certainly wasn’t a terrible idea. In fact, maybe it’d help Nell sleep a little easier at night around the house, knowing that there was something helping to protect her sisters. She certainly needed the peace of mind with all the trouble she’d had as of late including nightmares of her sisters and friends deaths in addition to being trapped below the Ring. “We’ll find a way to get rid of him,” Nell echoed in determination. She’d rip his soul to shreds herself if she needed to. It was true what Bea said, it was probably lucky that she even had her magic to begin with. Nell should be thankful. But it was hard to be thankful when she was the reason Bea even needed to worry about her missing fire magic in the first place. “But you’re right. You’re back now, that’s what matters.” The words sounded more like a lame attempt to convince herself rather than agreement. However, she supposed they’d done what they came here to do. There’d be no more secrets between the sisters. Their power would be as one. Just as they’d been born to be.

[nelllraiser]

last shadow on the sun | bea, luce, blanche, winston, & nell

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Drop Page, Plot Overview

LOCATION: Bea’s Necromancy Clearing

TIME: the summer solstice, 10:07 PM

PARTIES: Bea Vural, Luce Vural, Blanche Harlow, Winston Dane, Nell Vural

CONTENT: Sibling Death mention, Body Horror, Torture 

“I shall not wholly die, and a great part of me will escape the grave.” – Horace

The eye in Winston’s hand itched. It always seemed to itch whenever they were doing something that they should be worried about. Winston couldn’t explain it, but now that they were stuck with the eye and it didn’t look like it was going anywhere anytime soon. They were the first to the clearing, they were early and they were waiting when the others arrived. Sitting cross legged, staring at their third eye. They had drawn the circle and Winston had prepared the altar. “I think that I have everything ready, apart from you know the body and the sacrifice.” Winston was nervous. They’d done this so many times and it didn’t always work. They’d never even tried human sacrifice and resurrection and they could only imagine the risks surrounding it. “We’re bringing her back tonight, no matter what happens we’re bringing her back.” It was a promise to themselves. A promise to Bea. 

“Stop moving.” Luce said sharply to August. Since she’d picked him up from Lydia’s home, since he’d willingly stepped into the back of her car, she had him completely under her thumb. The power of it all was… intoxicating, in a way. Absolute control. Complete obedience. The memory of seeing Lydia kiss him, seeing the fight fade from his limbs, that troubled her. With a shake of her head, she kicked the man in the stomach abruptly. He let out a reedy groan of pain and she knelt by his side. “I thought I told you to be quiet. But, you know… it’s fine. No one’s out here to hear you scream.” She shrugged before standing back up to regard Winston and the altar they and Nell had prepared. She’d stayed out of it, not wanting to risk ruining the delicate circle with a slip of her hand or a candle out of place. “Well. I’ve got the sacrifice taken care of. We’ll have no problems from him.” She said before her lips pressed together to form a firm, determined expression. “Whatever it takes, we’re bringing her back.” She echoed.

Tonight was the night. The culmination of all they had done had led them here, and keeping with the theme of their practicing Nell’s focus was front and center, not willing to let anything get in her way of bringing Bea back to them. She would rise, and she’d be whole and proper and the wrong that had been laid on the world by Bea’s passing would be righted, the balance kept by sacrificing August. It hadn’t been a coincidence that they’d chosen today, the summer solstice. Bea had been a light in many people’s lives, acting as a guiding sun. Looking over the altar for what had to be the millionth time, she went back over to August, simply standing in front of him for a long moment. Was he present enough to know that he was going to die? She hoped he was— she hoped he’d feel that same impending sense of inevitability she had when Montgomery had been standing over her, maybe even when the man had claimed Bea’s head for his own. Whatever he was feeling, she hoped he was scared in addition to this unquestioning obedience. Wordlessly, she kicked his knees out from under him, watching the man stumble to the ground before giving him a swift kick to the side. “Whatever it takes, we’re bringing her back,” Nell echoed before looking to where they’d placed Bea’s body on the altar, her head carefully turned towards the East, clumsily connected to her neck with some long strips of cloth. “Let’s get ‘round the circle,” she said before taking her place alongside the marks in the dirt.

After weeks of anger and sorrow, Bea was finally calm. This night would determine if she was coming back. She had seen the work the three spellcasters had done and it was impressive for people new to the craft. They could have waited longer, perfected it, but with the summer solstice, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Circling the alter, she looked on with critical eyes. They had followed her advice carefully. It looked good, but she didn’t allow that to spark unwarranted hope. Anything could go wrong with a ritual like this, even with her soul being willing and nearby. She had her fail-safes. Nic ready to get rid of her if she came back monstrous and her own willingness to ask Blanche to get rid of her ghost if the ritual failed. She refused to be a ghost forever and she refused to allow her sisters to attempt this again. Finally pausing in her circle, she stopped in front of August. She looked at him for a long moment before phasing her hand through his skull. Blanche had told her that it was unpleasant to touch a ghost and Bea couldn’t hit him as her sisters could. “You are a pathetic little worm, aren’t you?” She asked him, voice rough but soft, though she knew that he couldn’t hear her. “Blanche, can you ask Luce to crush his fingers for me? And tell him it’s from me. Just because he gets the honor of being my sacrifice doesn’t mean we have to honor him with a soft death.”

Blanche stood to the side, almost awkwardly as she watched the preparation. There was nothing else she could do now, other than translate and wait for Bea to rise after they were done. To see what she would tell Nic. She knew he was nearby, lying in wait for the all clear from Blanche in case something went wrong. Swallowing hard, she kept her eyes on Bea as she flitted about the circle, examining it. Blanche had paid no mind to August this time, watching as he obeyed Luce utterly and completely, blankly. A means to an end, she thought bitterly. She only winced when Bea shoved a hand through his skull, looking away as August shivered from the touch. “Hm?” Blanche glanced at Bea, frowning slightly at the request, before considering. “Bea has a request,” Blanche said, her tone soft as she wrapped her arms around herself. She glanced at Nell, and then to Luce. “Crush his fingers. Make his death hurt. Make him feel it.” 

Listening closely to what Blanche had to say in terms of Bea's request, Winston was once more torn by August's involvement. They understood the magic. They understood that this was something that they needed to do and they understood that it was his life for Bea's and since he was the one who had started all of this it was only fair that it was him who sacrificed everything. But there was something that still left a sour taste in Winston's mouth. They were all too familiar with that quote about digging two graves when you went out seeking revenge. But enough was enough. They had lost too much. They were bringing Bea back. The cost wasn't important. "Have we got the personal item of Bea's?" Winston asked, knowing that they definitely did, but they were nervous and making sure that everything was in order was easier then just sitting there and doing nothing. Since they had meticulously checked the set up of the ritual a thousand times -- or so -- this was the only thing that Winston really felt like they could do.

Luce watched as August convulsed slightly, his expressionless face shifting one of discomfort and revulsion. Bea. She shifted her gaze over to Blanche, watching the way the younger woman seemed to hug herself. A part of her felt for the medium. She shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t have to witness this. But, she was their only way of keeping in contact with Bea and, without her, they wouldn’t have been able to do this. They would have lost her. But, that didn’t mean she needed to see this. At her words, Luce cleared her throat, looking down at the exhausted, pitiful man. “August. You can scream now. You can hurt. I want you to feel every ounce of pain and scream for us. Like your life depends on it.” She said before stomping the heel of her shoe into the purple, ruined mess of his hand. An inhuman howl was torn from the man’s throat, piercing through the relative silence of the clearing. She ground her foot down, twisting for good measure before flicking her hair back from her face. “Let’s get him in position.” She said before she took her place at the circle.

Nell’s smile widened as Luce gave her command to August. That would make things much more fun. Hearing him hurt and yell was much more satisfying than watching him simply take it. As for making it hurt...she’d been planning on just that. Years of pent up bitterness between her and August were ready to spring forth from her, brought into a point by Bea’s death, and the contract he’d taken out on Nell. She tried to find that same kernel of magic she’d used when hurting Montgomery and Kaden, still not entirely sure what it had been, but knowing enough that it brought pain. Instead of letting it flood through her, she only allowed a bit of it to pass through, aiming it towards August, thinking of Bea’s request, hoping it would guide the magic. In response, the fingers on August’s other hand bent back on themselves grotesquely, flat against the back of his palm. Deliciously satisfied, Nell settled herself in her position once more before centering August where he needed to be with her hands, being none too gentle. “We’ve got the item of Bea’s.” Then she took off the locket of Bea’s that she’d been wearing around her neck since her sister had died. She’d liked having it as a reminder, something to make sure she didn’t forget exactly what they were working towards, and how they’d gotten here. Handing it to Luce, it wasn’t long before the witch had burnt it to a crisp, who then gave the ashes back to Nell. Spreading them around the circle and letting the ritual begin.

A satisfied smile took over Bea’s face as she watched her sisters take turns hurting August. This was all his doing, she felt no ounce of remorse for the torture he was going through before his death. She watched as her sisters burnt her locket, a necklace she hadn’t taken off for years. It had been filled with pressed flowers from their childhood garden and had always been there as a way to keep her sisters close to her heart. As they began to scatter the ashes, she looked toward Blanche,“Tell Nell to make sure it’s an even spread.” As far as she had read it would make it much easier to bond her soul and body if there was a good distribution. She floated over to her body then, staring down at the grotesque thing. Five weeks dead did not make a pretty sight. It made her nauseous to think of the changes her body had gone through. Imagining things crawling through her and decaying her flesh would have brought bile up if she had been capable of it. “Light the candles counterclockwise now. Start from the east most candle.” The ritual was a slow process, but she could already feel the coil of anticipation in her stomach. Soon they would be making their sacrifice.

A huge knot of anticipation had wound itself up in the pit of Blanche’s stomach. Anxiety that wasn’t quieted as August screams ripped through the air. Vengeance. August Thompson signed his life away the second he tried to sign Nell’s. She felt no mercy for him or for his screams. A part of her wondered if she should feel something, anything, as she looked at him writhing in agony, forced to follow Luce’s orders. A means to an end, Blanche reminded herself. Her eyes flickered to Bea’s ghosts. “Bea says to spread the ashes evenly,” Blanche said, with a quiet sigh. “And to light candles starting counterclockwise. Starting from the candle furthest to the east.” She bit her lip, pushing her hair back out of her face before she addressed Bea herself. “Bea, come here. Stand by me so you don’t hover too close.” Blanche said quietly. “Let them work, they know what they’re doing.” It would be hard enough anyway. Blanche watched moments longer, before she made the decision to turn around, turn her back on the ritual proceedings. It didn’t do much to stifle the feeling in her, but it would make sure she didn’t end up throwing up everywhere.

Swallowing, Winston looked at what they were doing to August and tried not to react. It was sadistic. The pleasure that the sisters were appearing to take in August’s suffering. There wasn’t a doubt in their mind that August deserved this, but Winston was consumed with guilt. Glancing over at Blanche, Winston locked eyes with her for a moment before taking a breath. This was their decision and they weren’t backing down now. Celeste was dead. Bea had been taken from them. They had saved the town but now literally had a third eye in their hand. They’d been forced to burn Selkie pelts for Ricky, to say goodbye to beings who had been ruthlessly hunted. This was their chance to give something back and maybe reset the balance, even if it was just a little. Winston followed Blanche, well, Bea’s instructions and lit the candles as they were instructed, starting at the east and working their way around.

Once the others had completed lighting the candles, Luce poured gin from a flask on her hip into the silver chalice that rested on the altar. The scent of gin filled the air and she muttered the words they’d all practiced countless times over the chalice, handing it to Nell to do the same. The ashes had been scattered, the candles lit, and the offering made. Luce refused to look at her sister’s ruined body and where it lay in the circle-- not until Bea was back. Not until she was here with them all would she look at her sister. Because… if it went wrong, if the resurrection didn’t work, she didn’t want her last memory of Bea to be this decayed corpse before them. No, she would hold onto the memories of her sister from before. Swallowing, Luce prepared herself mentally for the ritual. She needed to be present, needed to be here with the other two. She couldn’t do what they did, didn’t understand the intricacies of the circle or the marks or the words they said. She could only provide the fuel, the extra magical energy they would need to bring Bea back. Next to her, August shivered in fear, though he didn’t make a sound. Good. He could save his screams for what was to come.

Nell accepted the chalice as she chanted, still never sure what to make of Bea speaking through Blanche even though it had been weeks at this point. She wanted to hear her sister’s words in person, to know the rise and fall of her voice once again rather than get them secondhand. Of course she was endlessly grateful to Blanche for what she was doing, what she’d done, but it simply wasn’t the same as having her sister next to her, creating the words of her own will. Once Nell had finished with the chalice, she passed it over to Winston, feeling her magic beginning to flow as the ceremony truly began. They were here not to create new life, but to restore it, to bring it back from whence it had been wrongly robbed. To breathe life back into her sister, to bring the warmth back to the home, and reignite the hearth. These were the thoughts that filled Nell, though they were colored by darkness around the edges whenever she chanced a look at August. They were also here to exact retribution, to right a wrong and restore the balance in that way as well. 

It was difficult to move away from her body. Bea wanted to stay near herself and make sure she didn’t fall into ruin anymore than she already had. She looked wrong like this, but Blanche was right, she had to trust them. She floated over to Blanche, humming as she came to a stop near her. “I don’t know what it’ll be like when they pull me back into my body. I’ve read some people felt it was calm or nothing at all. Others described it as agonizing. I’m not sure what will happen.” She didn’t say it to scare the young woman, but rather prepare her for what could be seen or heard later. As the chanting started, she felt a pull in her chest. It was faint, but she could feel it getting stronger. She smiled slightly as the magic flowed between them all. She hadn’t felt it since she died, but now she was in it. It was a breath of fresh air to feel magic once again.

Blanche glanced at Bea as she spoke. She had wondered what it would feel like to see someone’s soul pulled away - whether or not it would be anything like it was when they moved on past this plane of existence or if it would feel violent. Blanche swallowed hard, and nodded. “Whatever happens…” Blanche said, her throat closing slightly. She glanced over her shoulder, back at the ritual, before looking at Bea. “They’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of you. And may you go in peace, Bea.” Blanche said. “I’ll see you on the otherside.”

Winston watched the chalice as it was passed across to them. They’d long ago memorised the words to this specific ritual and they pronounced every phrase flawlessly. They’d practised this for hours. They weren’t going to make any mistakes that would risk Bea’s return. There was a tension in the air. August lay there. Blanche wasn’t looking at them and honestly Winston couldn’t blame her. Their glasses were slowly sliding down their nose but they didn’t have time to push them back up as they grasped the chalice and continued their chant. A thin bead of sweat rolled down their jawline. Winston knew it was now if they were going to back out. But they didn’t hesitate. No matter how much they wanted to not kill this poor evil bastard, Winston knew that this was the only way. Bea had to come back. Finishing their part of the ritual, they set the chalice down. Knowing that what was coming next was the part that worried them the most. 

Watching as the chalice made its way around them, Luce took a deep breath, steadying the magical energy that lay within her. As she did so, as she began to focus on the power within her, she felt Iggy still in her pocket, the warmth of the fire salamander growing and receding in time to her breathing. This wasn’t fire, it wasn’t the usual magic that they practiced together. But, he was her focus, her familiar, and he was family. Looking over at Nell, at Winston, at Blanche… Her mind went back to the conversation she’d had with Winston. They were all family. In all but name. They’d see this through, in the name of family. Reaching out, Luce took hold of Nell and Winston’s hands as she chanted in unison with the others. Her magic threatened to overflow, to pour out of her in a torrent of energy, but she held it back. A trickle to begin with, just enough to allow the others to adjust to the output. And then, when it was all in place, she’d push as much magic into the ritual as she could. It had to work. This had to work.

Nell could feel their magic energy swirling within the circle, relatively contained for the time being as she made sure to focus their energies in the right place. She was providing energy as well, but she also needed to focus it, to make sure the magic slid into the proper nooks and crannies and followed their intentions to a tee so that everything went to plan, so that she got her sister back. So that she could once again have each of their hands in her’s to face the world together. But for now the hands she was holding were Winston and Luce’s as their power continued to grow. And then— it was time. Time to take back whatever power August had stolen from them, to erase the ugly stain he’d made on their lives. Time for the sacrifice. There was no reverence in this one, not like how Nell usually made her sacrifices. August wasn’t worthy of that. The life within him might be worthy of respect, but not what he’d made of it, not what he’d done with it. She raised the athame, looking straight into August’s eyes as she continued her chanting, wishing she could make this hurt. But for the ritual it needed to be neat and quick, and though she wanted her revenge on August to be long and fulfilling, she wanted Bea back more. The blade fell, making a neat, and perfect line across August’s neck as ruby red drops began to fall. As she spread the sacrifice carefully, she swore she could feel the life leaving him, pooling and preparing, looking for a place to go. They would give it that place. With the same knife, she cut her palm, painting her fingers with her own blood before rising from her spot to approach Bea’s body. Carefully, she drew the soul binding symbol on Bea’s side, at the very top of her ribcage. And thus, the ritual was completed, one final thought pushing the rest of the magic forwards. Come back to us. Please.

Bea watched with a certain amount of glee as Nell slid the knife across August’s neck. This was power. This was absolutely brilliant power. She could not control herself now as she left Blanche’s side, the pull in her chest impossible to ignore now as Nell sliced her palm open. As the Mark was placed in her skin, Bea felt herself pushed back into her still healing body. She could feel as the flesh of her neck began to stitch itself back together. The decay that bloated and twisted her being forced out with magic. She could feel it all but she could not open her eyes to see. She could not move at all. She was stuck in her body, unable to command it. Her mind raged as she attempted to force control that would not come so soon.  She could feel her heart begin to beat, begin to race as panic flooded through her. She was supposed to be able to move already. Her tests had moved quickly after the ritual. Something was wrong. She was trapped within her own body. How would they know that she was stuck in here? They would think they failed and she would be stuck in her own body forever.

Winston felt it before they saw it. The power, the energy that flowed through them. Through Luce, into Winston and then onto Nell and then back around. The loop of power running through itself over and over again. The energy flow was addictive and Winston felt it. A drip. Drip. Drip. Then the collar of their shirt began to soak through and Winston felt their body temperature skyrocket. The phone in their pocket began to vibrate and heat up and Winston refused to let go of Luce or Nell’s hands but they could feel sweat pouring out of them. The energy, the fatigue, the new sensation, it was almost all too much. Then the energy began to build inside of them and Winston felt the heat physically radiate off of them. They struggled to center themselves, to find the inner serenity that they relied on. Looking down at their shirt, Winston spotted the blood, and then looked at Bea. Had it worked? Was this … was this normal? 

Power. It was all she could provide, it was all that Luce was good for. She knew that, she’d always known that, which is why the moment Nell drew the mark on Bea’s side, the moment she’d felt the pull of the magic, she’d given in completely. She threw all of her magic into the ritual, fueling it, letting it rush into Nell and Winston and spurring it on as the energy circulated round and round among them. It poured into the circle, flooded into Bea’s body. Rage, anger, fear, and overwhelming love rushed over her as she continued to throw everything she had into the ritual. A bite of pain sprang forth from the left side of her neck and she felt something warm trickle against her skin, staining the collar of her shirt. Ignoring it, she continued to focus on giving the others everything she had left in her. Her breathing, calm and even became ragged, stuttering while a dull aching pain filled her left arm. Against her leg, she felt Iggy squirm, but she ignored him. All that mattered was Bea.

Nell’s gaze was trained solely on Bea, willing her to rise with a desperation that was unmatched by anything else in her life. It took her a long moment to register something warm dripping down her neck, and her concentration on her sister’s was momentarily broken by her confusion. When her hand came away from her neck washed in new blood, she didn’t understand where it had come from until she looked up at Luce and Winston. Lines. Lines of blood across all three of their necks that mirrored the one that had ended Bea’s life, that had been drawn across her own throat. “Something’s wrong,” Nell said instinctively, knowing this shouldn't be part of it. And there was still too much magical energy diving through the air, moving around each and every one of them. It should have been gone, the ritual over now. A moment after the worrisome realization had sprung from her, Nell let out a surprised cry of anguish, pain erupting at the end of her fingertips from which she’d drawn the symbol with, and where she’d wielded the knife. It took a long moment for her to realize what was happening, the picture of the very skin of her fingers peeling back on itself being too surreal to immediately process. Soon enough, the pieces of flesh were ungluing themselves from her at an even faster rate, revealing blood red sinew underneath them as the unimaginable pain began to rise to her wrists.

Bea wanted to scream, she could feel the pressure on her chest. She needed to scream. And so she did. Her mouth snapped open and a rasping scream left her. Her fingers and toes curled and finally her eyes opened. Bea could not remember why she was on the altar. She could only remember the barest of moments. A sword. Blanche. Wandering. Felix. She had been a ghost. She knew she had died. But she did not know how long she had been dead for. Her body succumbed to her commands now and she curled into herself, before looking up at the group surrounding her. Her eyes were blurry, but it didn’t take too long for her to understand what was happening around her. Something had gone wrong. They all were suffering. “Blanche,” She croaked out. “They’re dying.” Her voice was cracked, ragged, a whisper that she couldn’t seem to make louder. She had to wonder if her voice was going to be scarred like this forever. She pulled herself from the alter, but as she went to stand she was reminded of the wounds over her feet. Letting out a hiss of pain, she fell to her knees, crawling to Luce. “Luce. Luce,” She cried desperate. “Nellie,” She called next looking around wildly unable to focus her eyes long enough to find her.

She was back. The scream cracked Winston’s focus and they snapped out of the ritual that they had been so intent on completing. Now that it was done, and now that Bea was back, Winston felt as if they had a thousand volts flowing through them. Their phone was hotter then ever now and it almost felt like it was expanding a little but Winston ignored it. Sweat poured down their neck and back and they snapped to attention. As Bea fell to her knees Winston raced over to her, completely ignorant of the fact that there was something wrong with Nell or Luce, completely ignorant of the fact that there was something wrong with them. Bea was back. They’d done it. Joy filled their veins and they skidded to a stop on their own knees, wrapping an arm gently around Bea. “Hey, Bea, it’s fine don’t worry, Luce is …” Winston went to look at Luce and immediately knew that something was wrong, trying to stumble to their feet with Bea wrapped over their shoulder, Winston lurched towards Luce, “fuck, fuck fuck fuck. Luce. Blanche, please HELP.” Tears sprung to their eyes. They hadn’t gone this far. They hadn’t done all of this to lose Luce now. 

As she watched Bea’s body begin to shift, her knees curling in toward her chest, as though she’d only been sleeping, a wave of relief rushed over Luce. She was alive. She was back. She was safe. Luce did her best to smile at her sister, tears filling her eyes. But, her smile faltered. The magic that she’d been so focused on using to drive the ritual onwards, it was still flowing out of her. And, for the first time since she was a child, she could feel it seering against her. A foreign heat, snapping and wild, lashed out at her and scorched the skin of her chest. Her arms ached and fell to her sides as she was brought to her knees, her breaths coming in halting gasps. A pressure, heavy and unyielding, it weighed heavily upon her as she struggled to remain upright. Her vision began to go black around the edges, what little she could see an unfocused blur. She gasped for air, trying to will stubborn lungs to motion. All in vain. Darkness closed in and Luce collapsed to the ground. The last thing she remembered was seeing Bea and Winston, rushing towards her.

The feeling of Bea’s soul faded away completely, and all was silent. Something’s wrong. Blanche whirled around just as Bea’s strangled scream ripped through the field. They’re dying. Things happened so fast after that, Blanche registered the blood and skin peeling back on Nell’s arms, she didn’t even know what the hell was wrong with Bea, Winston on the ground and screaming, and Luce falling back into the grass. Triage. Luce was dying. Luce needed help the most. She moved instantly, fumbling for her phone. One quick message - Help. They’re dying. I need help. - later before she slammed into the ground next to Luce. She felt like she was going to puke. No, no. There was no time for that. “Everyone stay put!!” She yelled. “Stay where you are. Now.” It had been a long time since Blanche had taken a CPR course, but she was going to kiss whoever at UMAINE decided a First Aid course counted as a gym credit. She leaned over Luce, a couple hard prods to her shoulder. “Luce? Luce?” No response. She tilted Luce’s head slightly, lifting the chin and bending over her to listen to her breathing. Rather, lack thereof. She was supposed to wait 10 whole seconds before she started CPR. She remembered the instructor. Some uppity old woman who would yell things at them like they would remember it. Well, Blanche did remember it. Hands on too if each other, she was over Luce in an instant, delivering hard compressions to the middle of her chest, practically throwing her bodyweight into it. Fuck. Fuck. What was happening? Come on Luce. She tilted her head back, bending to give her a rescue breath before continuing chest compressions. “Whoever’s least injured, check on Bea!” Blanche demanded. 

Nell knew Bea was the one who’d been brought back to life, but as she heard Beas voice’ changed though it was, she felt as if she’d been born anew. Bea was alive. And just like that it was like a dam broke in Nell, one that she’d been building up for weeks to hold everything behind, her anxiety steadily climbing until this point. But Bea was alive- she was here. “Bea?” she managed to get out through the pain, her arms still peeling all the way up to her elbows and not showing a sign of stopping. She didn’t know if it was from relief or pain that tears ran down her cheeks, the two emotions far too much for her to handle at a time like this. But in the same moment she gained a sister it seemed she was losing another, and the utter joy that had bloomed in her heart was instantly turned back to terror. “Luce?!” Somewhere in her mind, she knew her skin was still coming off in ribbons, the pain of it impossible to ignore as countless scars gathered from her blood magic over the years disappeared with her skin before her very eyes. And yet- there was no greater pain than losing a sister. She knew that from experience, and she wouldn’t let it happen again, not now, not so soon after they’d just gotten Bea back. They’d been whole for all of two seconds before the world was thrown into chaos again. Bea or Luce? Bea or Luce? She didn’t have to make the decision as Blanche rushed in. Nell knew she needed to stand back, let Blanche do her work no matter how much she might want to toss her aside to check on her sister. “Bea?” she asked again, instinctively reaching out for her sister, but pulling back as pain burned fiery hot through her again, her arms painted in red.

Winston cowered by Bea. They were too weak and simultaneously too restless to do anything. They’d never felt this tired in their life and honestly the adrenaline of Bea’s warm body next to them was more then enough to keep them going but they knew that it was only a matter of time before they collapsed from sheer exhaustion. They’d actually done it. They’d done it and now something worse was happening. They listened carefully to Blanche, out of them and Nell they seemed like they were the least hurt and they did a quick once over of Bea. Though they weren’t sure that they were in any state to be administering medical attention. “Hey, welcome back, Blanche’s got Luce don’t worry,” Winston knew that they would likely have to physically restrain Bea, but it was important Blanche did this without distraction, “are you hurt? Are you okay? How do you feel?” They were doing everything that they could to not think about Blanche taking care of Luce. Doing everything they could not to panic about what might be happening to their friend. They said a silent prayer to a god they didn’t believe in. Not after everything. They couldn’t lose Luce now. But they needed to take care of Bea. Make sure she was okay. “Nell, shit, Nell your arms.” Winston didn’t know why it had taken them so long to notice their friend, but their phone was burning their skin right now and as they pulled it from their pocket and threw it on top of their bag they for the thousandth time wished they’d learned healing magic. “We’re going to be fine,” fuck. They had to be.

They kept screaming something but Bea couldn’t understand. Someone was on Luce. Who was that? Blanche? She let out another groan. “Luce! Nellie!” Her vision just kept getting worse. In her panic, she fell away from Winston, and began to crawl once again. Her arms gave out. Falling down she rolled over onto her back. Breathing in and out heavily, she struggled to calm herself. “I can’t see well. Everything is blurry.” How did they know to use necromancy? She had too many questions to ask now. Her head went back against the ground. She was exhausted. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she simply went, “It worked.”

[nelllraiser]

extermination | luce, blanche, winston, & nell

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Drop Page, Plot Overview

LOCATION: August’s Cave.

TIME: 8:28 PM

PARTIES: Luce Vural, Blanche Harlow, Winston Dane, Nell Vural

CONTENT: Sibling Death mention, Torture (briefly, as a treat)

It was time for one of the final steps before bringing Bea back to this world. Time to cash in on the sacrifice they’d decided on what seemed like forever ago in Bea’s necromancy clearing. Today would be August Thompson’s last day of freedom before they brought him in, and it was quickly coming to a close. Adam had given Nell the instructions on how to find the little rat, as well as set the stage for them, dismantling as many magical obstacles as he could with the genius idea of torple ooze when he’d been here to do recon. Now it was up to them. Nell had asked Blanche to cut the engine a fair distance from the cave August was meant to be hiding in, as there was no need to alert the man that they were coming. Even though he wasn’t a particularly accomplished caster, it would always be better to have the element of surprise. Adrenaline pumping, this wasn’t like Nell’s other hunts, the bounties she took and tracked to bring in for cash, this was personal. There was no talking as they approached the entrance to August's hideout, and as they neared the mouth of his pathetic hideout, she nodded to Luce, silently making sure her sister was ready to get the fire perimeter ready. Of course he’d been holed up in a cave. It was fitting for the filthy, cowardice worm he was.

The entire car ride over, Luce had sat in absolute silence, focusing on her breathing. Though the blood thrummed hot in her veins, the magic yearning to break free and destroy the earth around them, she had held it in check. She’d shut her eyes, practiced her meditation, and let Blanche drive them to the location Adam had given her sister. Adam. She never would have thought the frat boy hunter would be someone she felt indebted to, but here she was. She’d never be able to repay him for what he’d done for her, for her family. As they crept through the forest, Luce maintained her calm expression. She had to hold it together. If her magic went wrong, if her fire burned too hot, got too close-- August would be dead. And he couldn’t die, not just yet. Not until she’d made him suffer. Glancing over at Winston, she checked to make sure they were ready too. “Time to smoke out a rat.” She muttered under her breath before releasing her magic. Fire shot out from her fingertips, creating a semicircle of flames around the mouth of the cave. The flames weren’t high now, but with time, with power, she’d be able to create a wall of fire. He’d have nowhere to scurry off to then.

There wasn’t quite a word for how Blanche felt about August Thompson. Hatred was good, for what he did to Nell and for what ultimately happened to Bea, but it wasn’t exactly useful to focus on that as she cut the engine when directed. August was a means to an end - he deserved to die for what he had done, and his life could be used to bring back Bea. It was perfect, really. She was hot on Winston’s heels as they sped quietly through the forest on foot. They left the car behind, but it shouldn’t be too hard to drag the little worm back to it once they got their hands on him. Luce and Nell would distract him while her and Winston would go in and grab him. August likely wouldn’t go down without a fight and while she didn’t have magic or reliable telekinesis on her side, she did have acidic mace from Cece and her taser on her.  Luce’s wall of fire went up, surrounding the perimeter to smoke the dickhead out. She swore in the distance that she heard some sort of shrill screech as they approached. Blanche scoffed. Worm boy, here they come. Blanche didn’t start worrying until she heard faint knocking sounds, like someone was rapping their knuckles hard on a wooden door. She paused, eyes narrowing in the darkness. “What the hell is that?” Blanche hissed quietly.

Watching the wall of fire explode around their target’s house, Winston swallowed and tried to keep their breathing even. A quick puff of their inhaler later and they were creeping closer and closer. They were well prepared with a variety of gadgets, the taser that they had been working on and even the hunting knife that Ariana had given them from Celeste’s collection. They weren’t sure why they needed a knife but it felt right. “I don’t know what the hell that was,” Winston paused as they listened for the knocking noise before it was joined by a shrill cry. Was that an old women? Winston wasn’t sure but they could definitely hear something. A sing song voice bouncing the wind. “Have you come to get me?” it asked playfully and then almost out of nowhere Winston spotted a small boulder the size of a basketball sailing towards Blanche’s head. “Watch out,” they shouted as they focussed on creating a barrier between Blanche and the boulder. A field of energy jumped to life between them and the boulder crunched against it with a crack before shattering into smaller pieces with a shower of dirt and gravel. “That was close, he’s got something here.” Winston said, looking around, the sing song voice and sound of knocking filling the air as they crept forward.

A smirk played on Nell’s lips as Luce’s fire sprang to life, blue flames reflecting in her eyes as she reveled in the fact that there was no escape for August now. She wasn’t nervous or scared, for she knew perhaps better than anyone the shortcomings of August Thompson. After being compared for most of their lives, it was hard not to. So no, she wasn’t worried about how smoothly this capture might go. Nell was eager to see the look on his face when he realized it was over, the way his fear would grip him as it dawned on him that he wouldn’t make it out of this, that he was a pig for slaughter. They’d make him hurt the way he’d hurt her, Luce, Winston, and Blanche. “His tommyknockers,” she said quietly as the things grew closer. It wasn’t all that much of a surprise to her, as they’d often been made to practice summoning together, and knew each other’s creatures of choice. So she’d come prepared, and quickly handed an iron dagger to everyone to help with the dispatching of the creatures. “We can make a path for you to get through to August, Winston,” she said as the hairless, wrinkly, creatures finally stepped into the light of the fires surrounding them and out of the maw of the cave, advancing quickly. “Happy hunting.” Then she was left to dodge a boulder that seemed to soar out of nowhere, rolling until her dagger was buried in the chest of a tommyknocker. One down, however many more to go.

“Of course that little piece of shit has Tommyknockers.” Luce grumbled, her hands outstretched, feeding the flames around them. She couldn’t lose her concentration, she had to make sure that the barrier remained secure. If August got through and escaped because of her, she’d never forgive herself. Concentrating on making sure that the flames continued to build and rise and burn, she watched as Winston deflected a boulder from smashing Blanche into the dirt. “Nice.” She nodded in their direction. As Nell pulled out her blade, Luce glanced over at Blanche. “Those fuckers don’t have nothing on us, but stay safe.” She said, not wanting the girl to get hurt. Blanche might have been able to talk to ghosts, but she was still just a human with no other major powers that could stop her from getting flattened by a boulder or stabbed by a knife. She didn’t want to be responsible for someone else getting hurt because of all this.

 Blanche watched the boulder come soaring into her face, deadpanned, before Winston shattered it into pieces. If she got taken out by some wimpy ass tiny boulder, she was going to be so pissed. “Who the hell names a monster tommyknockers,” Blanche muttered, taking the iron dagger from Nell without a complaint. She looked to Luce, giving her a wry grin. “I’ll be alright, don’t worry about me,” Blanche promised. She felt the nervous tingle of adrenaline in her body, tingling under her skin as she stepped forward to sink the dagger into one of tommyknockers - sparring with Nell finally was paying off, it seemed. Or, hopefully. Maybe she was a little clumsy, but she could fare on her own from them, and long enough so Winston could get a path back into the cave to grab the little weasel. She planted her foot into one of their stomachs, sending it sprawling backwards - and then she felt it. A small burst of energy that she used to throw the teeny eyed hairless creature into another. Good. Good! And she didn’t pass out! But as Blanche rushed forward to start stabbing them, ducking under another flying boulder as she went. “Winston, go!” 

As Blanche and Nell began clearing a path through something that they referred to as Tommyknockers, Winston forced themselves to choke back laughter at the name but sprinted off. The Tommyknockers were still pouring out of the cave and Winston jumped clear over the head of two before pulling out the knife that Nell had given them incase any decided to follow. They however seemed to have been kept relatively busy by their companions. Winston was glad that Nell and Blanche were here to keep everything busy and Winston was still incredibly impressed by everything that Luce was doing. That kind of magic would’ve knocked them out instantly. Hurrying into the cave, Winston followed it until the sound of the fighting behind them had faded away. There was a faint drip in the background that was almost too cliche for Winston to not say something, but there was no one to say something to. Instead, they reached up and whispered a quick spell. The runes on either side of their glasses glowed for a second before the lenses began to lighten and Winston could see much more clearly in the darkness. Night vision glasses were a cool idea, they just hoped it worked consistently. This was their first opportunity to really try them. Creeping forward, they began the search for August, who was apparently hidden.

Nell barely registered Blanche’s humor towards the creatures, far too focused on taking them out to take the time to laugh. She’d entered a mindset similar to that of the Ring or when she was after a bounty, but even more so sharpened, the stakes being much higher this time. As soon as one Tommyknocker fell under her knife it was on to the next, dodging rocks and the mangly arms of the summoned creatures alike as her knife kept finding targets, each kill making her bloodlust grow. She didn’t want these pitiful creatures, she wanted August. Somehow, in the middle of it all she managed to spare Blanche a prideful grin, still sharp with her desire to end this. But it was quite a ways Blanche had come with her telekinesis. Nell watched Winston disappear into the mouth of the cave, watching anxiously for them to return. For a moment the Tommyknockers stilled, the last of them pausing to join hands as their little bodies began to shake with effort. A low rumbling began, and slowly but surely, an avalanche of boulders began to fall from above. Shit. Instinctively, Nell dropped her knife, hands raising to the sky to form a shield-like dome not unlike the one she’d made when the Devil’s Gullet had exploded on her and Blanche. As each boulder hit and rolled off, it fell to the ground around them, spinning through Luce’s ring of fire to disappear. 

Breathe, just breathe. Luce used her breathing as the tempo at which she set her magic, letting the flames rise and fall with every intake of breath. Sweat dripped down the side of her face as she lowered her hands to her side while the flames continued to burn. She didn’t need her hands to maintain control over the fire, she could hold it all the same. The flames continued to rise and burn, illuminating the mouth of the cave with their eerie blue glow. She watched as Blanche and Nell fought the tommyknockers-- her eyes growing wide as she watched two of the creatures go flying away from Blanche. The flames flickered a bit and Luce fought to maintain control. She’d ask about it later. Instead, she kept her eyes peeled, moving out of the way of boulders that flew towards her. It took every ounce of her concentration to maintain the five foot wall of flames, but this was the only way she could help. Shields and stealth, she couldn’t do any of that. But, she could keep August trapped here. She could make sure he couldn’t escape. “Nice one.” Luce called out to her sister with a nod of approval as the boulders went careening over the wall of flames. They’d get this son of a bitch. Then they’d be one step closer to getting Bea back.

“Oh shit!” Blanche could only gape at the avalanche of boulders. Nell too care of it instantly, her knife falling to the ground as the tommyknockers joined hands, vibrating with effort to keep the boulders coming. She saw that once before, way back in January. The official confirmation that Nell and the Vural’s were spellcasters. She shook her head, using her free hand to pull her trusty can of mace from her pocket. Flicking the cap off, she sprayed. Cece had been a gem, fixing Blanche up with another can of the deadly, sprayable acid. The concentration of the Tommyknockers broke as Blanche aimed for their eyes, the knocking sounds turning into wails, their voices turning into wails as the boulders slowly came to a halt. Their chained hands broke and Blanche scoffed, shoving the mace back in her pocket and taking her knife to one’s throat. Oh. Gross. Gross. Grossgrossgrossgross - her stomach churned Blanche shoved it away from her, disgusted. She would absolutely throw up, but like, maybe later. Definitely not now. “Ew, ew, ew!” She could fight these things for a while longer, but she cast a worried glance into the mouth of the cave. Should she go after Winston? Did Nell want to go after Winston? “Come on, Winston..” Blanche muttered, kicking another tommyknocker away from her. “Grab the little shithead and let’s go.” 

Slipping through the cave, Winston was pretty sure that they heard an earthquake outside, but decided that it was more important to get August and to get out. They spotted them eventually, cowering at the end of the cave. He brought his hand up and looked at Winston. “You, please, help me, they’re psychopaths they’re going to kidnap me and kill me and,” Winston ignored August’s pleas. They knew that this wasn’t really the right thing. Killing someone in exchange for someone else wasn’t something that Winston could condone in their own head. But they didn’t care. They were taking control now. Winston fished in their pocket and threw a spherical object straight at August’s chest. It hit with a thud and latched on, seconds later thin wires exploded from the middle of the object as Winston forced the slender metal tendrils tightly around August, binding them in place. Fishing into their pocket, they slipped a ball gag into August’s mouth and secured it. Patting his cheek with a smile, Winston pulled him close. “August, I never knew you, we never met. But you fucked with Nell and you fucked with Bea, so I’m going to help them kill you and we’re going to bring her back. Then it’ll be like you never existed and the world will probably be a happier place for it.” Grabbing August’s skinny frame, Winston began dragging him from the cave, which was easier said then done because he was a little shit who wouldn’t stop wriggling and wouldn’t walk straight. “Uh, a little help, please.” 

The avalanche finally came to a halt, and Nell released the magic of the shield, feeling it still sapping away at her energy. Blanche had done a lovely job continuing to cut their numbers as Nell kept the boulders at bay, and her pride surged once more. It looked like those sparring sessions with Blanche were paying off. She wiped at her brow, blood from her kills leaving a line on her forehead, and then she bent to pick up her knife once more. It was time to be done with these little gremlins. In a moment she’d retrieved the knives she’d given to Blanche and Luce, letting them join the ranks of the one she’d been using. She let her magic pool around her until it grew so bright that it was hard to look at, and promptly thrust it into the faces of the remaining Tommyknockers, stunning them in place. Nell ran on the heels of her magic, using it as a cover while she darted in, throwing a couple of the knives with enough force to pin the little shits against the rock of the wall. From there it was quick work to delve the last of the knives into their hearts, ending them then and there. As if on cue, Winston appeared from the cave as the light of Nell’s magic faded, and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief. But rage was quick to fill her once again at the sight of August, and she wasted no time in going up to the man Winston had gagged and bound before harshly kicking him between the legs, reveling in the way he crumbled to the ground in pain. “There we go. Did you miss us, Auggie?” 

When Winston emerged from the cave, August bound, gagged, and trying to squirm away, Luce could feel her blood boiling in her veins. That little fucking bok çuvalı, thinking he could get away with this, that he could run off and pretend like he’d done nothing wrong? Cutting off the magic, the blue flames simmered and died down as she took a step towards him. The effort of it all had been immense, but she still had enough in the tank to walk. Watching as Nell kicked him between the legs, Luce bided her time. She had plans for August. Lydia still had her debt to pay and it was time for her to cash it. She didn’t know how the woman was going to help her get revenge on August and she didn’t really care. All that mattered is that she would. “Hey, August.” She growled from behind her sister, waving a hand at him. “Long time no see.”

 Nell took care of the remaining gremlin things with swift magic, and right on time too. Paintings slightly, she squinted at Winston as they walked out with August bound and gagged. “Ouch,” Blanche said plainly, with a shrug. She bent to help get August back to his feet, though if she were being honest she wouldn’t have minded dragging him, letting his head hit every rock and tree branch on the way back to the car, but she was tired now and that would probably take a lot longer than forcing him to walk back to the jeep. “Come on,” Blanche grunted, shoving him forward. “We do not have all night.” The walk back to the jeep was relatively silent, save for the August’s feeble attempts at screaming. It didn’t seem to truly hit him that this was actually happening until Blanche unlocked her car. The beep caused August to dig his heels into the ground and Blanche to crash straight into him. Blanche scoffed, August’s muffled cries getting louder and louder until - He was sent straight to his knees with a long and violent zap and low wail of pain. She stared at him. And then did it again for good measure. Blanche looked down at him, unimpressed as she clicked the safety back into place and handed the taser off to Nell. She rounded to the trunk of her car, popping the trunk. “Do we want to stick him in here?” she jerked her thumb at the trunk. “I have blankets.” 

Winston had made their threats. But they couldn’t help but wonder if they were really giving August enough of a hard time. Those fears were well and truly assuaged by the treatment that August got at the hands of Nell and Blanche. They hustled August towards the car and Winston slipped the trunk of the car open. “Well, considering that we can stick him in there and cover him with blankets, I’ll put a muffling spell on the trunk just in case anyone drives past.” Winston knew that they were going to need to get August from their cave back to the Vural’s without anyone seeing them and that seemed like the best way. “Get in,” Winston ordered as they shoved August into the car, “or my friend will zap you again.” That seemed to be more then enough encouragement for August and Winston slammed the door of the car shut as they slipped into the car next to Blanche. “He’s not going to get out of those wires without the magic key word and he can’t talk, Luce I’ll text it to you so he can’t hear it.” Winston said, already sending the message out to their group thread. “We should get going though, that made a lot of noise, those, Tommy…. Knockers.” It sounded sexual. Winston didn’t want to admit it but there it was. 

“Does he deserve blankets?” Nell asked back haughtily, though the attitude was strictly aimed towards August. She still blamed herself for Bea’s death, but she could only emotionally beat herself up so much. Now that August was in front of her, another party that was responsible for Bea’s death, here was a physical being she could hurt, within reason, of course. He needed to be relatively intact for the ritual. She smiled sagely as Blanche tased August, looking to Blanche with shining eyes full of thanks as she was also handed the taser. Getting into the car, she made sure to place herself next to August, waving the taser in front of him for a moment with that same, jubilant and savoring grin. “Something to keep us entertained on the way, yeah?” she asked before jabbing it back against his skin, letting the electricity jolt through the sad excuse for a human. A soft chuckle fell from her as he convulsed again, relishing the feeling of finally having him in their grasp.

Watching as Blanche and Nell took turns tasing August, Luce stood behind them. She’d join in later. For now, they needed to get him out of here. They needed to get back to the house, where she’d make the transfer over to her car and drive him out to Lydia’s house. Pulling out her phone, Luce sent a quick text message to Lydia, telling her that she was cashing in her favor. “Doesn’t matter if he deserves them, I don’t want him knowing where I’m taking him.” She said and threw the blankets over his head. Settling next to Nell, she watched as her sister sent jolt after jolt of electricity into August. Luce’s fingers twitched at her side, small sparks of flame dancing across her hand. She wasn’t strong enough, not yet. But one day… Her hand curled into a fist at her side and she looked at August, at his squirming, twitching body, still struggling against the bindings. With a growl, Luce slammed her elbow into his back. By this time tomorrow, they’d have Bea back. By this time tomorrow, their family would be whole again. Three would be one again. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

Kidnapping was a new one for Winston. But as with everything that they had learned and done in the last six months, Winston couldn’t help but feel slightly out of their depth. The idea that they were about to embark on a journey to do something that was fundamentally against the law of nature and physics and biology and in so many ways seemed counterintuitive was not Winston’s favourite. However, they were pleased with how well the tech magic had worked so far and they were also pleased that they could help their friends. If nothing else this looked like it was entertaining to Nell. Winston didn’t get involved in the abuse of August, it wasn’t their style. He was going to get his just reward soon enough. Winston was sure that their friends were doing a good enough job anyway. Making sure that August was securely in place, Winston adjusted the blankets before turning as they set off into the night. Only one thing left to do.  

[nelllraiser]

back to you | blanche, bea, luce, nell, & winston

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Drop Page

LOCATION: The Vural home and a clearing in the woods.

TIME: 3:27 PM

PARTIES: Blanche Harlow, Bea Vural, Luce Vural, Nell Vural, and Winston Dane

TRIGGERS: Sibling Death mention, Vomit (brief)

The struggle to stay on this plane was not something Bea had anticipated. Blanche had explained it to her, but she had stubbornly believed her determination would keep her tethered to this world. While it had been comparable to a blink for her, Bea had reappeared days later. Finding Blanche and then requesting that she gathered everyone involved felt odd. The idea that she was using Blanche for this twisted a knot deep in her gut. The guilt she felt only grew as she entered her home with Blanche, her sisters didn’t look like she remembered. “They aren’t doing well,” She whispered, more to herself than Blanche. She found herself reaching toward Luce, who stood closer to her, a ghostly hand brushing against a piece of loose hair. “Can you tell her that I’m proud of her for being so brave? I know her well enough to know that she’s putting on the strongest face she can.” She moved to Nell, her stomach twisting further as she took in the youngest Vural. Nell has always struggled so much to find her footing in the family, Bea couldn’t imagine that she wasn’t kicking herself for what had happened. “If it’s not too much, can you tell Nell that I would do it again in a heartbeat? This wasn’t her fault, it was my decision and sacrifice. I love them both so much.” Her fingertips brushed against Nell’s cheek. Even though Bea knew they were there to begin the road to her resurrection, she knew better than any of them that the chances of her coming back without issue was slim. “Thank you and Winston for being so good. I don’t know where they’d be without you.” She took an unnecessary breath in and looked back to Blanche. There was no time to thank them all for what they were doing for her and she should try to waste their time finding ways to explain it all. “Let’s head to my bedroom.”

Blanche was more uncomfortable with this than she had originally thought. Telling Nell and the others about Bea’s extracurricular activities had been enough, but having her around while she hovered around Winston and her sisters made her stomach twist and turn. She didn’t know how to do this. Blanche wished she had told Granny to come with her, but having two ghosts around four living people was going to be hard enough. She entered the Vural house much like she did the night Bea died: silent. The past week had been hard with Blanche finding Bea and having to explain to Nell that her spirit needed more strength before they could do anything, let alone the secret that Bea had been keeping from them. She raised a hand in silent greeting, feeling a little self-conscious about announcing that Bea was here - she didn’t know how to do this. What was she supposed to do? It was going to suck for all of them. As Bea went around, Blanche began mentally cataloging everything that Bea wanted to say, watching as she hovered around her sisters, reaching out to touch Nell’s cheek. Ah, shit, “Bea, don’t touch them,” Blanche warned, suddenly. Well, that was one way of doing it. She pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. The uncomfortable icy cold feeling was one thing, and Blanche realized that there was still some part of her that was concerned about possession, even if she knew Bea would never, ever do something like that, especially after she saw how screwed up it was. She shifted uncomfortably, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Did she tell them all what Bea said now or later? When was the proper time to deliver messages from the dead. “I need everyone to not talk a whole lot,” Blanche said, finally, picking a piece of wall to stare at. “I don’t - if everyone talks at once, I won’t be able to understand and it will get overwhelming pretty fast. I don’t -” She rubbed the side of her neck, glancing at Nell. “She’s leading us to her bedroom first,” Blanche warned. “Okay?”

As she stood in the middle of the living room, Luce wasn’t sure what she was feeling right now. Numbness, the hollow emptiness that she’d felt for the last week still clung to her. Now more than ever, after she and Adam had beaten the shit out of each other. But, as she listened to what Blanche said, the raw emotions that remained mingled with hurt, with fear, with anger. Bea was a necromancer? She had been practicing forbidden magic, dark magic? And she’d never told any of them, not until now? Jaw tightening at the thought of what those secrets meant-- that her perfect, wonderful, bitchy asshole of a sister had a dark side that even she hadn’t realized-- Luce kept her eyes trained on Blanche. At the sound of the girl saying her sister’s name, sharply in warning, a shiver ran down her spine. She was here. Bea was really here. She opened her mouth to speak, wanting to demand answers from her sister, to apologize for all the things she never said before, and to fucking curse her out for doing this. For leaving the two of them. But, she restrained herself. If Blanche needed quiet, she could do that. Whatever Bea needed… she would do. After she’d found out that August had been behind this, that August had been the one who had sent the hunter after Nell, guilt and practically dropped her to her knees. She could have ended this, before it even happened. She’d had August in her hands, had her flames inches from his face. She could have killed him, then and there. And the world would be better off. Instead, she was here, listening to a pink haired kid speak for her ghostly sister. At the suggestion of going into Bea’s room, Luce’s stomach clenched. “Her room? Why?” She asked, confused, looking at Winston for back up. They had to be as confused by that as she was, right? But, more than that, she didn’t want to step foot in there. She hadn’t even walked down that hallway since… that day. 

Nell hadn’t entirely understood when Blanche had told them all of everything that Bea had, and the necromancy had only been the beginning of it. Why hadn’t Bea told her when she’d been alive? What was it she’d been worried about- she couldn’t think that Nell of all people would have judged her, right? Was that even why she hadn’t told? Perhaps it was a little easier for Nell to grasp the concept of Bea doing questionable things, since she’d made her way into similar magic as well, but that didn’t make it any less confusing. More than that, it was strange to know that Bea was here, that her sister she’d already begun to grieve for was present and could see them, but she couldn’t see Bea. There were so many things she wanted to say to Bea, but it was a conversation she wasn’t willing to have in front of everyone. Besides, they were here to bring Bea back, and Nell wouldn’t let anything jeopardize that focus. After Blanche had told her about August, another part of her had broken, chipped off her heart as even more guilt piled on. Her fault had been undeniable in her mind’s eye even before she’d known about the coven member’s involvement, and it had only metastasized after. The cold spot on her cheek went mostly unnoticed until Blanche burst out, and Nell’s stomach turned. Had Bea? Was she the one being touched? She couldn’t decide whether it was comforting or repulsive, not entirely able to accept her sister’s touch when it was also a reminder of everything they’d lost, everything they could still lose if things went wrong. When Luce questioned, Nell simply nodded, more focused on the steps rather than the why, knowing that the faster they did this, the sooner Bea would be home. “You could stay and wait if you wanted,” she offered. The thought of Bea’s room was daunting, but Nell was ready to take on whatever might be needed to make this work. Besides, she should shoulder the harder parts anyway when she’d been the catalyst of it all.

In weeks and weeks of tragedy and fear and daunting challenges that had passed them by Winston was brave enough to admit that this was really hard. They were really struggling through, each day a little easier then the rest but with so much chaos and pain it was hard to notice that. Then this had happened. Finally there was something, a ray of hope and there potential. When Winston had found out that Bea was still there, as a ghost, as something that they could talk to with Blanche, Winston had known that they would at least get to say goodbye. But then they had found out about the necromancy and it seemed like everything was even better. It was a really long shot and Winston had some grasp of the ethical conundrum that surrounded this. They knew that there was always and exchange in magic and though they didn’t have any practical confirmation they knew that the cost would be heavy. But to maybe bring Bea back to them? That was something else entirely. But Luce and Nell hadn’t seemed as thrilled as Winston had expected? Honestly, consequences be fucked, they needed a win. There was so much bullshit going on with the town, with the demons and with everything else, everything with Ariana and everything else inbetween. Winston needed this and they weren’t going to stop until they had brought Bea back. “You got this Blanche,” Winston said reassuringly. Remaining silent wasn’t going to be easy but they needed to right now. Catching Luce’s gaze, Winston bit their lip. Going into Bea’s room wasn’t really what they wanted, in fact quite the opposite but what other option was there? “I think we should go, but I’ll stay if you need me to.” Winston hadn’t forgotten their promise to Luce. She was their friend too and they were going to support her through this.

At Blanche’s sharp warning, Bea moved away from everyone living swiftly. She had forgotten everything the medium had taught her about ghosts, her mind wiped clean when she had seen her little sisters. She tried to push away the guilt that pooled, knowing the feeling wouldn’t do them any good. Silently, she moved down the hallway to her room. As they entered, she looked to Blanche again, “We need everyone to get into the closet. The back wall is a false wall and everyone should be able to get through the illusion easily enough.” The false wall had been something Bea had asked her mother to help with, a way to hide her valuable things, and her mother had been all too excited to help out her eldest child. Bea didn’t want to think of how betrayed Nisa would feel if she knew that Bea used it for this. Hovering over a particular spot, she looked at the group around her. They’d do this for her, she knew they would, but it felt wrong to ask people so young to take on this burden. It would be something they had to live with and she hated the idea that her selfishness would be a regret for them later in life. She’d let any of them back out, she had told Blanche that none of them had to do this, and it was only this reassurance that had her speak again. “Under these floorboards is a safe. Before they touch the safe they have to say the charmed word.” Her mother, ever the advice giver, had suggested something impersonal. Bea had come up with güvercin, the Turkish word for dove. “The passcode is 6824 on the safe.” And then they would find all of her tomes and journals of necromancy. They have the opportunity to read every thought she had over the subject. The fact they would be able to see that this was more than a simple passing interest made her mind spin. 

Blanche waited quietly for Luce and Winston to decide what they were going to do, giving Winston a strained smile at their encouragement. She did not have this, but she had no other choice. Who else would Bea trust this too? Besides, Blanche reminded herself for probably the hundredth time, going through with this meant that Bea could come back. Bea could come back at the expense of the person that started this all in the first place. The thought of August made her skin crawl, and she shook it off. Hatred and anger would do nothing for them this second. She could wait. Blanche followed Bea down the hall, pushing into Bea’s room with little complaint. It should feel weird, going through a dead woman’s stuff, but it was different, right? With Bea there? Not exactly the same as passing out in Bea’s bathroom on her birthday, but still. Blanche ignored the queasy feeling, and held up her hand to Luce, Winston, and Nell as Bea spoke to her. Hopefully an appropriate signal to shut up and let her listen. “The closet?” Blanche asked, brows knit together, before she pushed through. She ignored all of Bea’s stuff, she couldn’t look at it right now. Sure enough, there was a false wall. Blanche pushed through it - “Everyone, this way.” Blanche called. Floorboards next. Blanche knelt down onto the ground, before working on prying open the floorboards Bea indicated. Realizing that she wasn’t giving much of an explanation she paused, looking up at them apologetically. “There’s a safe under here. You say - uh - güvercin -” The turkish word felt strange in her mouth. “And the passcode is 6824. And then everything you’ll need should be in there. Okay? Uh, help me pry up the loose floorboards, please.” 

Hands curling into balled up fists at her side, Luce shook her head. She hated the idea of going in that room, but if Bea needed them… she needed them. “No. I’m coming. I have to be a part of this.” She had to be there. Whatever it takes, she repeated to herself.  She had to be there, to do whatever she could to help Bea. She owed her that. She owed all of them that. If she’d acted back in that shed, August would be dead, he should be dead. She could have stopped all of this pain. Looking over at Winston, she gave a small nod. “It’s okay.” She said quietly. Following the others into Bea’s room, she braced herself as Blanche pushed the door open. A part of her almost wondered if it would look different-- if it had changed, because her sister was no longer there. But, when the door swung open and she saw the neatly made bed, a vase of flowers sitting on the bedside table. They had dried out and wilted, the water in the glass long since evaporated away. Were it not for that, the room looked just as it always had. She could have almost pretended that Bea would just… appear. Here. Whole. Standing in front for all of them to see. But, that wasn’t going to happen, not without them… doing what they had to. Following Blanche, her eyes widened as the girl pushed through the wall-- an illusion. Fuck, Bea. All this time, there had been a, a hidden room? Hidden floorboards, a safe, a dove? Grimacing, Luce shook her head before helping Blanche lever the floorboards up and out of the way. Sure enough, a safe lay underneath. “Fucking hell, Bea.” Luce muttered under her breath before looking up at her sister. “Güvercin… A charmed word.” She had no idea what was in this safe. She didn’t want to do this alone, didn’t want to do this without her. 

All of this...secrecy, it wasn’t entirely foreign to Nell. After all, she had her own hidden portion of the greenhouse that she knew how to access, hiding the things she didn’t want her sisters to see. But knowing what she did now about Bea, and seeing Luce’s reaction to all of these secrets coming to light- she should tell them, shouldn't she? Not now, of course. When things had finally blown over, though— when Bea was back...no more secrets. No more hiding things that could get one another hurt or killed. Even though she was guilty of the same, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat conflicted that there was a part of Bea she’d never known while she was alive, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel justified when it came to feeling kept in the dark, not when she’d done something of that same, and not when Bea’s ghost was standing here, dead because of her. Nell did her best not to see the room, using that selective blindness she’d been utilizing when it came to viewing the world and anything related to Bea. If she got too distracted by grief or guilt, she was worried she’d falter, mess something else up, and keep Bea from returning. Looking to Luce, Nell could see the unspoken words between them. They’d open it together, it only made sense. So as she joined hands with Luce, they uttered the word as one. “Güvercin.” A click as the safe opened, and then Nell was reaching forwards to reveal what was inside. Tomes, and what looked to possibly be handwritten journals, all with runes related to magicks Nell had yet to explore, though some of them were ones she could pick out, ones closer related to blood magic as a whole. To think that every time she’d come in here looking to steal Bea’s clothes, her sister’s secrets had only been steps away. “Alright- got the books.”

The treasure trove of journals and tomes were honestly enough to make Winston’s heart leap to attention in their chest. This knowledge was something really concrete and Winston couldn’t stop themselves from opening the first tome they could get their hands on and skim through it a little. Though with the somewhat cramped space really getting to grips with it there and then was tough.  The little that they could actually discern was fascinating and Winston itched to just take it all, sit down with it and really study everything. But right now they didn’t exactly have the time. “These could really help, if we are going to do what Bea wants then these will at least give us a reference point to work off of and the stuff in here, it’s all theory that I think we can re-create…” they fell silent once more as their eyes darted backwards and forth across the page. Exchange of energy on a much larger scale, was that a mention of a sacrifice or something along those lines? Winston didn’t have time to make an ethical judgement right now. They could wrestle with their morality after this was all over. Right now they had to act. “If that’s everything, maybe we should get out of the literal crawlspace and we can really read these.” It seemed kind of inappropriate to geek out about this stuff, but Winston couldn’t help but feel the rush of excitement at finally getting to grips with necromancy. Pushing their way back into Bea’s room, Winston couldn’t help the pang of sadness that overwhelmed them as they caught Bea’s familiar scent. Her perfume. Her shampoo. They didn’t know what it was, but that one smell was enough to send tears balancing in Winston’s eye. Determined not to cry again, Winston quickly wiped them away with their sleeve before anyone returned.

Somehow, being surrounded by the people Bea loved was lonelier than the moments she spent floating around by herself. She wanted to tell them so much, wanted to touch them, but she had to do it through Blanche and Bea had the distinct feeling the medium wished she was anywhere else. “If they want to do it, it’ll probably be safest to have another spellcaster with them for power of three. It would help in case there was any backfiring,” She mused, tempted to try and grab a tome. Letting them have access to work she poured over was a position of vulnerability she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. She forced herself back over to Blanche, careful to keep distance between them. God would this girl would never be able to look at her the same after this would she. “I can show you where the ritual would happen… But I need you to know it’s not going to be a nice place to be in. I think most of them will find it unnerving.” She took a moment and sighed,“Since you’re obviously more connected to this side of this, I think, Blanche, you might hate it the most.” 

Blanche backed away to let Nell and Luce at the safe, only moderately aware of Winston taking a moment to step out. She let them go, watching Bea closely as she hovered about and around them. If they could just get through this, Blanche could tell Nell and Luce everything that Bea said. And then once they did the ritual, Bea would be able to do it herself. It would mean so much more coming from Bea than it would coming from her. “Power of three?” Blanche mumbled, mostly to herself than to the others. “Winston will do it.” She was confident that Winston would do it, even without asking them. Maybe she’d be wrong, but she was pretty sure that they would do anything for Bea. She glanced at Bea as she came back over to her, unsurprised at her words. The whole thing made her skin crawl, so of course the place where the ritual would happen would make her hate it. But that didn’t matter. There were more pressing things to take care and to worry about than her own discomfort. “It’s okay, Bea,” Blanche murmured to her quietly. “This is important. You’re important. We’ll be okay.” 

Leading everyone to where the field was easy. Deep in the woods, a couple miles in, Blanche was happy she wore the proper shoes for a hike. It was quiet the entire way, save for the occasional comment from one of them. Blanche was determined to keep them all on the subject at hand while Bea was still here. They came through to the clearing and Blanche’s entire body stiffened like she had been doused in ice water. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered, stopping at the treeline. She looked back at the others, and pointed. “We’re here,” Blanche said, pointing. She turned away from it slightly. “The - Bea said something about you two -” she nodded towards Nell and Luce. “Getting help. The power of three. To help prevent the ritual from going wrong.” Blanche glanced at Winston, a little guilty. Technically, she had already volunteered them. “And this is where it would happen. I - This place…” Felt like death. “Is Bea’s,” Blanche said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

The power of three. It made sense, but it was just another stab to the gut. That had always been Nell, Luce, and Bea. But now— Bea was obviously unable to contribute, and Nell’s eyes automatically slid to Winston. She wouldn’t ask, knowing that necromancy was no small task to request of someone. “It makes sense. Big magic means more spellcasters,” she said as she shrugged, already beginning to walk the perimeter of the clearing. Truly, the energy was strange in this place, but Nell didn’t pay it much mind. She knew what death felt like, though it was different to feel it without her knife or magic being the one to cause it. “Are you alright, Blanche?” she asked once she’d returned, reaching out to give her friend’s hand a tentative squeeze. “You’re sure this is okay?” Nell looked around the clearing, looked at the faces of her remaining sister and friends, and squared her shoulders with that same fierce determination she’d forced herself to have ever since Bea had died, that same business-like tone filling her voice it tended to take these days. “We can start gathering things, then. The things we’ll need, and practice. We can choose a sacrifice to have lined up for the real deal.” A short pause before her voice grew darker, a sharpness entering her eyes. “I have someone in mind.”

The physical hike into the woods had been easy. The woods were familiar, even if the specific twists and turns that they took through it were not. But, though her body was more than capable of the hike, Luce’s mind was racing the entire hike out. The books Nell had pulled out, that Winston had poured over back at the house. They were definitive proof of the magic that her sister had been practicing. Dark magic. Cursed fucking magic. But, it was the only thing that could bring Bea back and it was the only way that she could fix the situation. It was the only way. And as much as she hated it, the bruises on her face, the blood she could still teach in the back of her throat was a reminder of what she would do. What she had to do. As they entered the clearing of the woods, Luce couldn’t help but shudder at the energy that filled the area. The overwhelming sense of death and powerful, fucked up magic washed over her and sent goosebumps down the back of her neck. Nell, for her part, didn’t seem all that bothered by it, but the dark aura that surrounded the place practically had Luce running for the hills. The only reason she stood her ground was because she knew that she had to do this. For Bea. For their family. Whatever it takes.

Looking over at Winston, she offered a tight lipped grimace. She couldn’t imagine how this must feel for them. “You good?” She asked quietly before paying attention to her sister. As she listened, Luce stared at the ground between her and Nell, eyes flicking over the landscape. Grass, flowers, it was so deceptively bare-- her gaze snagged on a bundle of herbs on the ground and then, another, not ten feet away. All around, there were herbs, a couple pieces of citrus, scattered around them. “Hang on.” Luce said before launching several small bursts of blue flame at the herbs on the ground. As the bundles went up in smoke, so too did the illusion. And the small group found themselves standing before an altar. One that looked used… Pushing the thought from her mind, she focused on the task at hand. Someone in mind. Nodding, she looked expectantly at her sister. “Who?” She asked simply. 

The hike to the clearing probably wasn’t all that physically daunting for the Vurals and Blanche. They were all … outdoorsy people. Winston on the other hand was most comfortable doing anything that didn’t require a high heart rate. “Yeah I’m fine,” Winston lied, “just need to get there so I can catch my breath, I really need to start hitting the gym.” Wiping a bead of sweat from their forehead, Winston fished their inhaler from their pocket and puffed quickly on it, pleased to find their breathing clear somewhat. “Of course I’ll be the third person, you don’t even have to ask, I wouldn’t want to miss out on all of this…” they weren’t really sure whether now was the appropriate time to attempt a joke but honestly they were hot, bothered and uncomfortable; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, you name it and Winston was probably not loving it. Humour had always been a bit of a coping mechanism. “Seriously though, like I said, whatever you need.” Watching curiously as the illusion faded, Winston was pretty sure that they could guess at who this was going to be. But with everything that was happening now was probably not the time for guessing. There were two people responsible that Winston felt deserved to be used in exchange for Bea, it didn’t matter which they picked.

As the altar was unveiled, Nell considered it closely, stepping forwards to inspect it and try her best to begin familiarizing herself with it. To bring back the dead. She’d never particularly wanted to- hadn’t seen the allure. But- well- things changed when your sister died a gruesome death, one that should have never happened in the first place. Looking back over her shoulder, she watched and gave Winston a barely there smile, remembering all the times something like that had happened. And of course they’d offered to be the third. Their words came with mixed emotions for Nell, grateful that she had a third spellcaster she could trust, but conflicted with her worry of whether or not this was a classic situation of her pulling Winston into something they’d rather not be a part of. But then again- she knew they wanted to see Bea, too— to have her back in the land of the living. “Thank you, Winston,” she said with far too much emotion in her words, going to wrap a light hug around them before stepping back once more. As for the sacrifice- it was only fitting to bring the one who’d started this whole thing to justice, to give their life in exchange for the one they had stolen from Nell. And then he wouldn’t ever have the chance to hurt her family again, nor her friends, or anyone else. The world wouldn’t miss him, not a pitiful little worm like the coven member. “August,” she said with a small smile full of needles and a promise to finish what Luce and her had started in that shed those weeks ago.

It was strangely calming to be with her altar. This space had been her one, true place of privacy and while Bea was sharing it with her family now, it didn’t feel as bad as the tomes had. It brought more clarity to her than any other location had yet. She wondered if that was how all ghosts would feel here or if being a necromancer just made it feel safe for her. “They don’t know the risks of it yet,” She said to Blanche. “When they do, I want them to know it’s okay if they back out.” She wanted to come back, truly she did, but making anyone feel obligated to do something as serious as this was not something Bea wanted on her conscience. She moved slightly, as if to walk the perimeter, but remembered how Blanche wanted her to stay close by. “I could come back wrong. Disfigured or just a shell. Maybe violent and angry.” Inexperienced necromancers made mistakes often and neither of her sisters had done something like this before. Heaving another sigh, she looked toward Blanche,”I need you to find someone who’d be willing to take care of me if I come back like that. A Hunter would be good, just in case I’m violent.” Her gaze cut over to her sisters,“Please don’t tell them. I don’t want them to try to find ways around it or decide they’d do it themselves.”

Blanche stepped back once again to stand with Bea, leaving the spellcasters to discuss and plan - the sacrifice, August, the power of three, all the bullshit. She didn't want to look at the alter, and she didn’t want to be near this place anymore. Blanche didn’t hate that Bea practiced dark magic, the furthest thing from it, just like she didn’t hate that Nell dealt with demons, but she did hate this place in particular. As far she Blanche was concerned, this was just a means to an end. August Thompson would give his life because he had taken away Bea’s. Her jaw tightened, folding her arms over her chest as Bea started talking again. She tuned the others out, looking over at her. More risks. She knew the risks - or, well, apparently she hadn’t. Bea hadn’t eleboarted the night she appeared to her. She listened closely. The idea of Bea coming back wrong - coming back disfigured or violent or angry was terrifying. Something that she knew that Winston, Luce, and Nell would never ever forgive themselves for. Blanche paused. “I’ll find someone,” She said, softly. And then it was the thought of Bea being brought back from the dead, only to be ripped away from them a second time that made her stagger back to the tree line, bend over, and vomit. Shit. Blanche groaned. “Sorry. Sorry Bea -” Blanche wiped her mouth, waving it off quickly. She wouldn't tell the others, as requested.  This was Bea’s choice, not theirs. As much as she wanted to say something, she had to respect Bea’s wishes the most. It was Bea’s life, her soul. She took a deep breath, holding out a hand to stop anyone from coming to her. “Don’t. Don’t touch me, please. I’m fine. Her - uh, her head just fell off. Sorry. Sorry. … Sorry.” 

[nelllraiser]

huzur içinde yatsın | winston, blanche, luce, nell

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Drop Page

LOCATION: The Vural Home.

TIME: 11:03 PM

PARTIES: Winston Dane, Blanche Harlow, Luce Vural, Nell Vural

TRIGGERS: Death

Nell had first called Blanche, simply asking her friend if she could tell Luce and Winston to get to the house as fast as possible as they could no matter what they might be doing. Use the word emergency if you wanted, Nell didn’t care. All she knew was that if she talked to more than one person, she was going to spill what had happened over the phone, what she was still trying to process. Beyond that, she didn’t trust herself to call Luce or Winston, people that had grown up with Bea, people who didn’t know life without her. Her voice had shook when talking to the medium, breaking multiple times as tears threatened to spill over. She wasn’t sure Blanche had ever heard her like this, but it didn’t matter. What did matter at this point? Nell couldn’t think of much, as all she could see when her eyes closed was the sightless eyes of Bea’s looking back at her. Finally, everyone had arrived. They were all sat in the living room, but Nell couldn’t stand to look at any of them, not after what she’d done. Not after what had happened. Bea was everywhere in this house. After all, it was her house. Nell and Luce were just living in it. The touches of her everywhere didn’t help to calm Nell in the least, knowing that this was her news to bear, and she was about to ruin someone else’s life in the same way her’s had been not an hour ago. “There’s something I need to tell you all,” she started, not having a clue how to do this. She’d told others their loved ones had died, but never her own family. “Something- something bad happened.” Already her voice began to fail. How could she even begin to prepare them for news like this? 

There was a cold feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t go away. Nell had been a mess over the phone. Nell was never a mess - at least, not like that. Blanche, practicing some semblance of self control, remained as calm as she could on the outside. Questions of what happened and what’s going on were dropped quickly, and she agreed to get Winston and Luce to the Vural house by any means necessary. Blanche used the word emergency with Winston, and she knew they would do the same with Luce. There was a remarkable calmness about her as she entered the Vural household, yet she was too anxious to sit, preferring to lean against the arm of the couch, her arms folded as she watched Nell. She looked so distraught, so upset. What happened? What bad thing happened? The question burned in her throat, and she bit the inside of her cheek hard and forced herself to stay where she stood. Nell needed to tell them something, and somehow she sensed that going to her with comfort this second wouldn’t be helpful. The cold feeling didn’t leave her as she glanced at Winston and Luce before looking back at Nell. Something wasn’t right, something was missing here, but she couldn’t quite put it together yet. “Nell,” Blanche started, faltering. She didn’t know what to say. “Breathe. It’s - we’re listening, it’s okay.”

Blowing through the stop sign, Luce gripped the steering wheel of her car tightly. After Bea’s text of warning, she’d tried to reach out to her. Tried to figure out what she mean, what was going on. But she’d never gotten a response. And, though she’d thrown herself into her work, instinct told her that something was wrong. Something was brewing and she wasn’t sure what. When she’d gotten Winston’s call, the pit that had formed in her stomach only grew. She hadn’t bothered listening to anything else after they’d said that Nell was crying. She’d hung up the phone and rushed out the shop without a word to anyone else. Slamming her foot on the break, she yanked her keys out of the ignition and ran into the house. The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang as she made her way inside, her hands curled up at her side-- was it a fight? Was someone after them? What was going on? But, as she saw the expression on her sister’s face, on Blanche’s face, the anger dissipated from her. Instead, fear replaced it. “What happened? What’s going on?” She asked, directing her question to the others, demanding that one of them explain.

Winston had been at work with Natalia when this had happened. But one phone call later and they were breaking every speeding law that they had so obediently followed previously. They had gotten there not long after Blanche but still before Luce. What the hell was going on? They had never been called to something like this and Winston wondered what supernatural bullshit had been going on to demand this sort of attention from them. But Blanche’s phone call had left no room for interpretation for Winston and they had hurried over. “We don’t know yet, Nell’s just about to tell us,” Winston replied as they lead her quietly over to the couch in the living room, “Nell, listen whatever has happened, we’re here to help.” They wondered what it could be. Nell looked so distraught. Winston almost considered texting Bea but they were sure that she was either already working on the problem or would be here soon. 

Nell’s head shook as her friends and second oldest sister gathered around her. Fuck. No. Just her older sister. Singular. What the fuck happened now that Bea was gone? There were just...two of them. Somehow, that felt most wrong out of everything she’d thought so far. She forced herself to meet Luce’s eyes, knowing that in this moment, she was the one that deserved to hear this straight on, the one that was going to feel this same, aching emptiness that was most similar to Nell’s as soon as she opened her mouth. She couldn’t keep them waiting, and there was no way to prepare them. Nell just had to do it, to tell them she was gone. Bea was gone. “I was being hunted.” Her voice was strangely steady for a moment, as if distancing herself from the words would make them easier to speak. “They were gonna kill me. And Bea-” she faltered, swallowing the emotion that welled in her throat to force herself to speak past it. “They killed her. She took the killing blow. She’s- she’s dead.” Unbidden, barely noticeable to herself as she was wrapped up in her emotions, the beginnings of a sob worked its way through Nell. “I’m sorry,” she apologized in a knee-jerk reaction. “I’m so sorry.”

Blanche could only watch silently as Winston went to take care of Luce, taking her back over to the couch. Her fingertips dug into her arms as Nell spoke and she processed the information. Hunted. Going to be killed. Bea took the killing blow. Bea is dead. So it was someone that was missing. Blanche froze. The cold feeling spread through her and she couldn’t move from her spot as her mind was silent. There was no processing, there was just... nothing. Blankly, she looked over at Winston, and then to Luce, and finally back to Nell. “Bea…” Blanche said, slowly. No, Bea was dead. She moved on her own, not quite feeling like she was in control as she went to Nell - her friend - because that’s what she was supposed to do right now. Bea had died for Nell. “What -” A question caught in her throat, and she rerouted. She wasn’t sure which one it was: what happened exactly, what do you mean, what now?  “Do you need?” Blanche finished. “Does the hunter know where you are??” Were they dead? Blanche hoped they were in the 78th ring of hell.

Luce let Winston lead her to the couch, but her back was stiff as she sat down next to them. And when Nell… when Nell looked at her and said those words. Her breath caught in the back of her throat as the world seemed to go black at the edges. She focused on the coffee table in front of her, at the coasters that sat on the glass table. The stupid fucking coasters that Bea always yelled at her to use. Closing her eyes, Luce drew in a deep breath. As though she was just meditating. As though she was channeling the fire that lay within her. She let the breath out. In. Bea was dead. Out. Bea was dead. In. Bea was… Out. Dead. Her hands shook as she clenched her fists together, powerless to do anything. She should have asked Bea what she meant, she should have questioned her sister. She should have done anything. Instead, she’d just… brushed it off. And now her sister was gone. Forcing her eyes to open, Luce pressed her head into her hands and let the tears run down her cheeks where no one else could see them. “No. No. She can’t be dead. She can’t be dead.”

 If you’ve ever felt your entire world shatter around you, then you will truly know what it is to be so entirely distraught, so entirely broken and defeated that you would do anything to take that pain away. Winston had been feeling numb since they’d dealt with their mime, but suddenly it all came flooding back. Every memory of Bea. One time when she’d put a plaster on Winston’s skinned knee when they were a kid, one time when she’d picked them and Nell up from High School, the time she’d asked them to join her show as a volunteer and the drink they’d shared afterwards. They were meant to be doing that again, but they had never found the time and now they would /never/ find the time again. Sucking in a breath of air, Winston didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Wouldn’t. The tears built in their eyes and Winston could barely bring themselves to blink them away until they were all but completely blurring their vision. They could only think of Bea. As hot tears burned a trail down their cheeks, Winston could only think of her show, her laugh, her hair. The way she walked. The way she talked. She was gone. They didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. All they could try to do was come to terms with this new cruel reality. This couldn’t be real. 

Nell shook her head at Blanche’s questions as she saw the people she was closest with crumble. This was her fault. She should have been better, done better, been more careful, done anything to make sure that Bea was here. The world could survive without Nell, that much she was sure of. But Bea? She’d held so much of them together, even if Nell had fought it tooth and nail. It should have been her. It was her fucking problem to begin with. “I’m sorry,” was all she could think to repeat once more in that still broken voice. Speaking the words to those who also knew Bea, those who were close to her, it somehow made it more real. There was no going back now...was there? No matter which way they went nothing would ever be the same. Before she could hide and pretend that there was some way for Bea to come back, for her to fill their lives and hearts once more. But now everyone knew. And you couldn’t play make believe when the rest of the world took that hiding space and thrust it into reality, into the light. Nell reached out for Luce before drawing back, not even knowing what her sister might want, might need in a situation such as this. “It’s true, I- it’s true. I’m so, so sorry.” And then there was Blanche, caring for Nell and her safety, and asking reasonable questions. Just like she always did. Fuck, now she was one of them wasn’t she? Someone that pulled Blanche into these spaces and places that fucked with her happiness, comfort, safety. “It doesn’t matter.” She’d already been responsible for getting her sister killed, she wouldn’t let Blanche follow. Should she tell them? How it had happened, exactly? Would they want to know? And then there was Winston, simply speechless and crying.

She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen Winston truly speechless. Blanche certainly had never seen them fall apart like that. She glanced to Luce’s angry tears and denial. And Nell - poor Nell who just kept apologizing like this was her fault and that it didn’t matter about the hunter. It mattered to her. She was in the future, trying to figure out the way ahead without Bea. Blanche couldn’t see it. She touched Nell’s shoulder as she passed by her, grabbing the tissues off the end table and silently passed them to Winston before leaving the room. She was going to the kitchen, as she had so many times before to grab snacks or to harass Bea about something stupid or to sit at the table and have stupid talks about the morality of hunters. This time, she was getting water for everyone because they needed it. If they were going to cry they were going to dehydrate. Bea had been in the middle of cooking dinner. The scene made her stop only for a moment, like she was waiting for Bea to shoo her away because dinner wasn’t done yet. Blanche turned the stove off, before rummaging in the cupboards for cups. Soon, Blanche was shuffling back to the others, balancing four cups of water in her arms. She used the coasters - of course, she had to use the damn coasters - as she carefully set the glasses down before going back to her spot leaning against the arm of the couch. “Everyone needs to drink,” Blanche said, stiffly. “Please.”

Luce’s hands, still pressed against her face, slid back and she tried to smooth back her hair in an attempt to calm herself. Her dark hair hung like a curtain between her and the rest of the world, hiding her from the reality that was crushing down on her. Bea was dead. Bea was dead. Tears continued to stream down her face and she shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. Her sister couldn’t be dead. But, the more Nell apologized and the longer the silence stretched on, Luce was forced to confront the truth. She was gone. The tattoo on her left side burned, the peacock she’d gotten years ago, as a tribute to her sister. The prize Vural, the apple of their mother’s eye. She’d never even gotten to tell Bea that it was meant to be for her. Looking up at cups of water on the table, Luce took one with a shaking hand and held it tightly in her hand. She forced herself to down the water before rising from the couch on unsteady feet. Opening the liquor cabinet, Luce splashed whiskey into the bottom of her glass and threw it back. It barely burned. She poured another before walking back, setting the bottle in the middle of the table. “She’s…” The words caught in the back of her throat and Luce shook her head. She couldn’t say it. She wouldn’t say it.

Winston couldn’t bear it. The pain. The look of desperate despair in the pits of Nell’s eyes. Taking the tissue that Blanche offered them, they took a long, deep shaking breath. There would be time to think about Bea when they were back on their own. When they were home with Ricky and Rio. But now, their friends needed them. They couldn’t crumble now. Blanche had the right idea. Water. Tissues. They needed to try and be useful. But how can you be of any use when Bea was gone? Swallowing several mouthfuls of water, Winston stumbled over to Nell and wrapped her smaller frame in a tight embrace. “Hey, hey,” they whispered as they stumbled over something to say, running a finger over the hair that hung in her face, Winston tucked it behind her ear and handed her a tissue. “You don’t have to be sorry,” they said quietly, “we’re - I’m sorry, I know-” they choked on their own words. Hot, angry tears rolling fresh down their face before they spotted the whiskey that Luce had helped herself to. “I think, we could probably all use some of that right now…” they were in shock, the world was a mixture of numb one moment and then the agonising reality set in. If they kept busy, they could take care of the others first and then themselves later.

Everything felt as if it were happening around Nell rather than to Nell, like some other person had inhabited her body and all she could do was simply watch as everything unfolded. The world was a disconnected, far off place as her friends and Luce moved within it, and for a moment part of her wondered if the world felt this surreal...could this actually be a dream? Or rather a nightmare. Or maybe Bea hadn’t jumped in front of her? Maybe this was death. Maybe Bea was still alive and well, settled in their house. But somewhere in her she knew that to be untrue, even if she wished it wasn’t. God, everyone was trying to help, to try and fix things as Blanche and Winston hovered around. Somehow that made it feel worse. “I do- I do, though. It’s my fault.” They deserved to know that if Nell hadn’t done the things she’d done, Bea would still be here with them. Would they hate her? It didn’t matter at this point, did it? What was another blow when her sister was no longer here? Somehow ever worse was watching Luce, her confident sister who met everything head on simply...sitting there and drinking. Just as broken as she was. “Stop,” she began quietly as they tried to make things better. “Stop it, it’s fine.” It’s fine. There was nothing further from the truth, but part of her wanted this pain, to let it pull through every inch of her body until it consumed her. It was better than being numb, wasn’t it?

It’s my fault. Hearing those words come out of Nell broke Blanche’s heart. The final blow had been meant for Nell. She had said that. Bea died for Nell, as any big sister would. That wasn’t Nell’s fault. That would never be Nell’s fault. Winston went to Nell to comfort her, Luce was angry and drinking, and she… Well, all she could provide everyone with was water. She didn’t feel anything. Bea was gone, what the hell was she supposed to feel? For most of her life, it was far easier to be angry than it was to be anything else. The deep hatred and anger at whoever had done this was lingering in the back of her mind, but that was the last thing Nell needed - the last thing any of them needed right now, really. She shifted, knowing Nell would lash out if she insisted that it wasn’t fine and it wasn’t her fault and Bea was gone. Blanche drew in a deep breath, standing up straighter. “What do we want to do?” she asked, softly, the question posed for everyone. Something to keep them going - to keep her going. Someone needed to clean the kitchen. She could clean the kitchen for Luce and Nell. She was still anxiously worrying about the hunter. Where were they? Where had they gone? Were they alive?

The whiskey barely tasted of anything as Luce sipped it, staring out blankly in front of her. She still didn’t understand, she couldn’t understand. How could her sister be dead? How could someone have hunted her down, how could they have killed her? And where was Luce in all this? Where had she been? At work. Jaw tightening, she swallowed a mouthful of liquor. At work. Not at her sister’s side, not where she could have done anything. At fucking work. Nell’s words trickled in through the dull haze that clouded her mind and she stared at her sister, aghast. “Nellie… This isn’t your fault.” She said, blinking at Nell. No matter what happened, no matter who the hunter had been going after, this wasn’t her fault. This was no one’s fault but the hunter who killed their sister. Moving to her sister’s side, Luce wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly. “None of this is your fault. None of it.” She whispered, shaking her head as she buried her head into Nell’s shoulder. “Onun için güçlü olmalıyız,” Luce mumbled. They were going to be strong. Strong together. Strong for Bea.

It's my fault. There could've been nothing further from the truth. There wasn't a single part of Winston that believed for a second that their friend could be responsible for the tragedy that had befallen them tonight. Or today. Fuck. Winston still couldn't believe it. But they knew Nell, she had /always/ been there. She'd always loved Bea fiercely and although sisters were sometimes wont to fight, they had never been malicious. There was no way that this was Nell's fault. Winston didn't need to know what had happened to know that this wasn't her fault. "It isn't fine, Bea is gone and that will never be fine, but you must not blame yourself, whatever happened, short of you taking her life yourself then someone else choose this for her. Not you." They moved over to where Luce had been stood and shakily filled three, no four glasses with whiskey. Handing them out, they drained theirs in one swift motion. For once the whiskey seemed to burn their throat less harshly, it certainly didn't compare to the heat their tears seemed to burn into them. Those burns didn't even compare about the icy cold burns that were currently enveloping Winston's chest. Like a tight sub zero vice, crushing their ribs and squeezing the breath from them in silent sobs and tears. "To Bea," they sobbed, draining their glass a second time, the alcohol wasn't helping. Why wasn't this working? Why didn't anything work? Why had this happened to Bea? To Bea of all people? Stepping forward, they placed a hand on Luce’s shoulder and reached out to take Blanche’s hand for a moment, squeezing it. “We don’t have to do anything tonight, we just, tonight’s for us.” 

What do we want to do? What was there to do? Why hadn’t the world stopped spinning when Bea died? Why were the bits and pieces of it still moving when their own little world had crumbled? How was any of it fair that life seemed to go on whether or not Bea was here or not? But the words reminded Nell of something, though she wasn’t sure how the rest of them would take it. “Mom’s still in Turkey. I don’t think- we shouldn’t tell her. Not yet. I want to- there’s things we need to figure out, first. Just...keep this between us. Please?” Was that even fair to ask of them? Who was she to dictate their reactions with this whole thing? As for who’s fault it was, Nell simply shook her head at their denials, not having the strength to argue as she let herself be taken in by Luce, wrapping her own arms around her sister as they held each other up. That’s how it would have to be in the coming weeks. Trying to make sure neither of them collapsed into the ground. Blanche and Winston, they’d been close to Bea, but Luce would be the one who’d know this ache in Nell’s soul, who’s hole in the heart most closely matched that of her’s. After all, they’d been sisters. No one else could understand the feeling of losing a partner in life, not in the way she and Luce would come to know. There was truth in Luce’s other words, though. They must be strong for her. For Bea. Nell didn’t know if she’d even have the strength to lift the measly glass that Winston had offered them all. But somehow she did, her hand raising it as if it weren’t attached to her, her voice also strangely far away. “For Bea. Huzur içinde yatsın.” Then again, in English for Winston and Blanche. “May her soul find rest.”

Blanche’s hand only shook slightly as she gripped Winston’s hand tightly for a moment, before letting go. They were right. Tonight was for them. To grieve and mourn their loss, to comfort Nell and Luce, and to remember Bea. Granny would say something smart - about how kind souls like Bea give good energy back to the world or something else that made Blanche roll her eyes. She looked at Nell. Keep this between us. Please? She nodded. “I will. For as long as you want,” Blanche murmured. She held her glass up. “For Bea,” Blanche repeated. May she find peace. That’s what she deserved. Bea deserved peace. She deserved to be here. Before her eyes could start to water, Blanche knocked back her glass of whiskey, the burn the first thing she truly felt. She almost choked, but finished the glass anyway.  Finally, aloud, she mumbled mostly herself, “And may her soul find rest.” 

When Nell’s arms wrapped around her, it took everything inside Luce not to break then and there. To let the tears flow freely, to let her shoulders shake with grief and anguish and rage and pain. She wanted to, but her own words and the feeling of her sister holding her close were what kept her from curling up on herself and giving in. The cold, numb sensation she’d felt when Nell had said those words had left her with a gaping wound that she didn’t know would ever heal. Her sister was gone, her blood, the one who had always been there for her. From the moment she’d been born, Bea had always been there, watching over her. And now she was gone. Pulling away, Luce took the glass from Winston with a nod at them, then at Blanche. She couldn’t speak to them right now, but she acknowledged them. And all that they were doing for the two sisters. Two. That thought hung heavily in her mind. Two, not three. “Huzur içinde yatsın. May her soul find rest.” She said before tossing back the drink. And may her murderer's soul never know it.

Luce didn’t need to speak. No one did. Now was not the time that Winston needed to be the center of attention. "May her soul find rest," Winston echoed though in that moment that was the very last thing they wanted. Bea's soul had always seemed so bright, fiery and vibrant. She hadn't needed rest. She would've hated rest. They hated that she was at rest. They hated what this was doing to Luce and Nell, the pain so obviously etched on their faces in that dark moment of anguish and pain. Winston hated the worry lines that were already forming at the edge of Blanche's eyes. She hadn't cried yet. Winston couldn't blame her. Everyone mourns the passing of someone special differently and apparently they were doing all the crying for her as another fresh wave of them spilled over their eyelids and they had to angrily wipe the tears away with another tissue.  Winston hadn't even considered the matriarch of the Vural family. This would break her heart in two. "Of course, we won't say anything. Not until you two are ready." They wanted to say so much more, but they couldn't form the words. They couldn't pronounce anything. Their tongue felt heavy in their mouth. They hated this. Winston missed Bea. 

Her soul. Nell had just finished asking for peace for Bea’s soul, but what if it couldn’t find peace? In reality, she knew that Bea would most likely never be content to move on until she was settled in knowing that both her sisters would be okay, that they would make it through this. Would they make it through this? Was there even a light at the end of this tunnel? She wasn’t even sure it was a tunnel so much as a vast, dark plane that kept twisting, flipping her whatever direction it pleased so that she had no hope of getting her bearings. Bea’s soul. She had to let her know it was okay to move on...didn’t she? Or perhaps she selfishly wanted to apologize, to tell Bea that she’d been right all this time, that Nell had been stupid and reckless and she’d change everything about her life up until the moment Bea had died if it meant her sister could have stayed, that Bea would still be here. And maybe that’s why she latched onto Blanche’s arm, a grip that was a cry for help when she couldn’t bring herself to physically say the words. “Can you come with me?” It was the first thing she’d truly requested since she’d stepped into the house once more. “I need to get something in the kitchen and I- I don’t want to go alone.” It wasn’t a lie. The kitchen was where Bea had practically lived, cooking, baking, making her soaps, and Nell didn’t trust herself to be able to face it alone— to see a place where Bea had been so vibrant, knowing that she was gone.

Nell practically collided with her, grasping her arm tightly. Blanche was almost startled - she never liked being touched when she felt like this, but she wrapped a free arm around Nell. She almost didn’t comprehend the words. Don’t want to go alone. Come with me? Blanche took a second to process, glancing at Winston or Luce with worry. She just felt empty as she watched the tears in her friends’ eyes. “Yeah,” Blanche said distractedly. She shifted slightly, so she could easily lead Nell to the kitchen. She knew as well as anyone else that the kitchen in this house was Bea’s home. She looked back at Winston and Luce, unsure if they were going to follow or if Nell wanted it to just be them. What was she doing? Why was she worried about that? Blanche pulled gently. “I’ll go with you. I’m here,” she said, softly. She bit her lip a moment. “Let’s get what you need.”

As Nell slipped away, Luce was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that Winston and Blanche were here for Nell. Yes, they knew Bea, they cared about her, they loved her too. But, they were Nell’s friends. Not hers. Rising to her feet, Luce felt the alcohol hitting her, harder than she had thought. It was, in a way, a welcome change from the overwhelming sense of grief. And it was one she wanted to continue, alone. “I need to go. I can’t… I can’t stay here.” She said, shaking her head, unwilling to look at the room around her. Everything here was Bea’s. The house, the home, it was all Bea’s and without her, it felt wrong. All of this felt wrong. Swallowing, Luce watched as Blanche and Nell went to the kitchen before looking at Winston, pain evident in her eyes. “Thanks for being here.” She said, squeezing their shoulder once before taking the bottle from the table and walking out of the house. 

Nell and Blanche disappeared, leaving Winston alone with Luce. She had always been kind to them and they had really bonded whilst dealing with the fext. She still had the sword after all. It had made no sense for Winston to keep it. “I’ll…” they reached up and smeared tears out of their eyes and adjusted their glasses taking a deep shaky breath trying to calm themself,  “I’ll uh … walk you out if that’s …” they didn’t finish, simply standing and following her out into the early summer air. “I know we’ve never been … we’ve never been as close as me and Nell but I’m...” they wiped fresh tears from their cheeks. “If you need something, let me know, you’re not on your own, we’re still friends and …” they let out a cold sob, “friends have to stick together.” If they didn’t then Winston wasn’t sure what they were going to do. There was so much pain in this world and they didn’t think they could get through it, but they knew they’d never make it alone. “No matter what.” 

Luce hadn’t heard Winston follow her outside, hadn’t realized they were behind her until they began to speak. Turning to face them, she looked at them, at the tears streaking down their face. In a way, they were still the neighbor kid that had grown up running around with Nell in the backyard. But, they’d grown up since then. Hell. Just in the last hour, she’d felt as though she’d aged decades. Swallowing, Luce nodded. “No matter what. I’ll… I’ll let you know.” She said, grip tightening on the bottle in her hand. She wanted to comfort them, wanted to reassure them that things would be okay. But that was a lie. Bea was dead and nothing was very going to be “okay” again. Which is why she couldn’t be with them right now. “Thanks, Winston.” She repeated before walking into the forest, bottle pressed against her lips. She needed to be alone. 

Just like that, Winston was standing alone in the night again. They wished that they had had the foresight to take a bottle of booze with them too. They needed something. Literally anything at all to quell the pain. But in the silence of the night, there was nothing but Winston. Taking a shuddering breath, they crossed the front garden to the porch and collapsed into one of the chairs that they had spent so many afternoons sat in with the Vural sisters. A sob wracked Winston and tears fell freely down their cheeks once more. This was so unfair. They had never met anyone who deserved it less then Bea. She was smart and kind and she had always been so good to them. She had always been so strong and Winston had in many ways looked up to her growing up. Now she was dead. Wiping away a fresh wave of tears, Winston pulled their knees up and tucked them under their chin. Watching the forest rustle as they sobbed into the night.

Unaware of what was happening in the living room and beyond, Nell balked for a moment as she saw the state of the kitchen. Bea had been in the middle of cooking, and in her haste of course she hadn’t bothered to clean anything up. It was a scene set to look like Bea might walk in at any moment and simply resume what she’d been doing. The kitchen had been a bad idea. Before she could lose it, Nell turned away from the mess, facing Blanche and the wall. “I shouldn’t- this isn’t- I never wanted to be this person for you, Blanche.” Hadn’t she threatened enough people taking advantage of Blanche and her abilities to see ghosts, to speak with them? “And you don’t have to. You really don’t. I could ask Rebecca- or find someone else. I know- Bea meant so much to you, too.” No doubt her friend would have no desire to see Nell’s sister in death, but she didn’t know what else to do. This was the only next step Nell could see before herself, the only option that was presenting itself. Certainly Blanche already knew what was coming by this point. “I just want to tell her-” Again Nell’s bottom lip quivered as her tears threatened to spill once more. “I just want her to- to know. You know how it was with us- I can’t- I don’t know the last time I told her that I love her. Loved her.” Love or loved? Did it change to past tense just because Bea was dead? A dry cry wracked Nell before she caught herself, holding her breath to try and keep the emotions at bay. She couldn’t even remember. What were the exact last words she’d said to Bea? They certainly hadn’t been anything as soft as she would have made them if she’d known. “You don’t have to,” she nearly begged, almost hoping Blanche would say no. 

Blanche regretted not cleaning up more when she was in here earlier when she saw the look on Nell’s face. She swallowed hard, about to usher Nell outside or upstairs to her room. Somewhere that wasn’t too much of a reminder. But Nell had already bulldozed into something, and Blanche realized that Nell had just wanted to talk to her alone. “What?” Blanche asked blankly, confused. Things weren’t processing correctly. Ask Rebecca or find someone else. What? Blanche examined Nell’s features for a moment, watching the pain in her eyes, before she realized what Nell was asking. The weight of the request hit her all at once, and she almost stumbled as if Nell hit her. Rebecca - because Rebecca could sense and hear ghosts. Rebecca couldn’t do it. The dybbuk  was a problem and she couldn’t actually see them. Someone else - like who? Who else would know Bea the way she did? Who would be a comfort to Nell while she was confronting her dead sister? God, who would comfort Bea? Alone as a spirit wandering? She remembered Rebecca’s words about Lauren Langley and the many lectures Granny had given her. Mediumship gave her a responsibility. Nell blamed herself.  She couldn’t let her do that, let her suffer like that. It would be cruel. “Nell -” Blanche started and finally her her voice cracked. Something broke inside her, that cold feeling in her heart melting into fiery pain. Her cheeks suddenly wet, she nodded. “I’ll try,” Blanche said. “I’ll try - Nell, she might not be… I don’t know if her soul is still here.” Had Bea stayed? If a hunter had killed her, then there was certainly a chance. Bea wasn't ready to die yet either. “But I’ll try. I promise.” She stepped closer, reaching to grab her arms. “I got you. Okay?”

Fuck, Blanche was finally crying. The sight of it alone was enough to renew some of Nell’s tears as her friend finally broke down. “You don’t- you really don’t have to.” Nell didn’t know what she’d do if Blanche said no, but she’d figure it out. Bea was important, and making sure Bea’s spirit was okay was the only thing she could think of at the moment, but beyond that was Blanche. Blanche was still here. Alive. Breathing. In front of her. Was she willing to ask this of Blanche when she was the one who still had a life on this Earth? The one that could hurt and feel? But maybe it would help Blanche? Maybe Blanche needed closure, too? Or maybe it would simply give Blanche something to do, something to focus on beyond this numbness and grief. Still…”You have to promise me, Blanche. If it’s too much- it you find yourself spiraling at all...you have to tell me. Please. I can’t handle hurting you on top of all this. “We’re gonna get through this,” she began, reaching out to hold Blanche’s hand in hers to give it a squeeze even as the tears were still wet on her cheeks. “We have to.” That was the only thing they could do. The only way out was always through. 

[nelllraiser]

hell hath no fury | luce & nell

PREVIOUSLY: Plot Drop Page, Plot Overview

LOCATION: Montgomery’s House

TIME: 6:17 PM

PARTIES: Luce Vural and Nell Vural

TRIGGERS: Sibling Death mention, Vomit (brief description)

‘hell hath no fury like a sister scorned’

To think that all along, Montgomery’s house had been hidden in the Outskirts, the same part of the town Bea’s house was in. Of course, the Outskirts were fairly massive, and his dwelling wasn’t all that close to the Vural home. But still, it was close enough to make Nell’s head spin a bit. She was creeping through the undergrowth that surrounded the home, looking through the windows of the home to see if she found any movement hinting at someone being home. “I’ll do a revealing spell.” Hopefully there wouldn’t be any sort of magical protection preventing the spell from working. As Nell tapped her foot against the ground, a wave of magic flooded towards the home. Nothing alive registered in the home, meaning that Montgomery wasn’t there. Perfect. It was time to get her sister’s head back. “We’re clear,” she said to Luce, adrenaline rising in her veins. She was confident in her magic, but she couldn’t help some of the anticipation that was bubbling within her. This was the home of the man who’d murdered Bea, and now she was bringing her other sister into it. It almost seemed like asking for Luce to get hurt.

When Nell had told her that she’d found out who was behind this, Luce hadn’t waited for an invitation to go with her. If they were going to bring Bea back, they were going to do it together. They were all that each other had, she wasn’t going to lose her baby sister too. She wasn’t going to let that happen. If Nell went somewhere, Luce would follow. Like she hadn’t before. Following closely behind Nell, she nodded in acknowledgement, her hands curling up into tight fists at her side, prepared to set the forest alight at the slightest provocation. Montgomery. That was his name. Having a name, seeing a home, it didn’t make what he’d done any less horrific. If anything, it made the crime he’d committed all the more real. He was a person, just the same as them. And he had killed their sister, had taken her head. “Sounds good.” She muttered before testing the door. Locked. Not super surprising. “You happen to know how to pick locks?” Luce joked, though in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but wonder what else Nell might be hiding from her. She’d known what Jared was, didn’t seem all that bothered by the prospect of dark magic, of necromancy. “Or I can just melt the doorknob, whatever.”

Nell hadn’t shared the name before, not wanting to give Montgomery the satisfaction of his name being spoken aloud to anyone even remotely related to Bea. He didn’t deserve to be spoken in the same sentence as her, and Nell also didn’t want the piece of information getting out. If others knew who’d done it, no doubt they’d seek their own retribution. And as far as she was concerned, Montgomery’s life only belonged to three people. Herself, Luce, and of course...Bea. It was the only reason they weren’t here to kill today, to make sure that their older sister got her own chance to exact revenge alongside them. Nell shrugged at her sister’s question. “I mean, maybe not the conventional way.” She considered using her own magic to quietly take care of the door, but why be quiet? He would know they’d been here when he found the head missing. Why not make a petty mess along the way? “I’d love to see it melt, though,” she offered back with a slightly sadistic grin. 

Well, at least Nell probably wasn’t moonlighting as a burglar. At her sister’s grin, Luce offered a similarly cruel slash of a smile before moving to grasp the doorknob. Before her hands touched it, she engulfed the metal handle in blue flame. Concentrated fury and magic mingled together into a single jet of heat. The handle began to bubble, the surface changing color as heat permeated through the metal. It took a minute of pure concentrated will, soon the doorknob was nothing more than a molten mass of dripping metal, spilling onto the ground. Extinguishing the flames with a single motion, Luce kicked the door open, rattling the heavy frame. “What the fuck..?” Luce asked as she stared at the house they’d just broken into. Taxidermied animals of all kinds decorated the home-- if she could even call it that. It looked more like a big game museum than a home. Her train of thought was broken as a loud beeping filled the room and her eyes flicked over to the keypad on the wall. With an annoyed glance, she shot a small burst of fire at the panel and the circuitry promptly died, overheated and destroyed. A security system wasn’t all that out of place, but the rest of it… What the fuck was this place? Who was this man? 

A small, mirthless laugh fell from Nell as she watched the doorknob melt beneath Luce’s hand. This simple, small act felt good. It was nothing to compare to killing her sister, but it was the first action they'd taken against Montgomery that was malicious ever since Bea had fallen, and it stoked the flames of revenge that had been lying in wait within Nell. She wanted more. But today wasn’t the day for that. They needed to get in and out, to retrieve Bea’s head before the hunter returned and found them here. Then again...that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun along the way. Nell walked through the door as if she owned the place, letting the scene that greeted her fill her with even more anger. He’d hunted her- hunted Nell and Bea like they’d been one of the animals lining every wall in the home. Pettily, Nell reached up and wrenched the nearest mounted head from the wall, throwing it to the ground before blasting it with magic, watching the thing shrivel in on itself. Kaden had said there was a basement where the heads had been kept, along with the Selkie skins he wanted her to take back. “I don’t see it- not in here.” Bea’s head wasn’t with these ones. Spotting a hallway not far from her, she began to advance down it.

“What kind of sick freak…” Luce breathed as she looked at one of the stranger creatures that decorated the home-- she’d never seen half the creatures that filled the room. Some were animals, but most were of the magical variety. The sound of nails being wrenched from wood jolted her and she watched as Nell destroyed one of the mounted heads, the stuffed remains crumpling to nothing. “We’ll find--” Luce hesitated to say “it.” This was Bea, this was a part of her. The most crucial part of her. “We’ll get what we came for.” She amended. That said… they could still have a little fun. And, what better way to have fun than ruin a madman’s murder house? Luce followed after her sister at an easy pace. As she did, she ran her hand along the hallway. Five thin lines of flame trailed across the wallpaper, across photographs, stuffed heads, carefully mounted collections of pixie wings. As she followed Nell into a room, Luce snuffed out the flames, leaving a smoking, charred hallway behind her. “If I was some fucked up Saw villain, where would I put my latest victim. The basement. Of course he’d have a basement.” She growled with a shake of her head. Fucking murderer.

It wasn’t the first time Nell had wished she had fire magic. There’d been a long few years growing up that she’d yearned for it, wanted nothing more than to have the gift the rest of her family had been given, if only because it might earn her the recognition of her mother. But it’d been an even longer while since she’d had that wish, having grown into her own beyond the wishes and approval of Nisa. Still- it was times like these that she found herself admiring how easily destructive it could be. If she could burn the entire home to the ground, she happily would. And certainly she could make it all through other means, but there was simply something satisfying in the way the wallpaper curled and burned and charred. This room was no more fruitful than the last in terms of finding Bea’s head, but her eyes narrowed as she spotted a set of stairs. “Kaden told me it’s a windowless basement room or something.” As always, she was focused when it came to things relating to Bea, not nearly so chatty as she generally was. 

Luce’s frustration only grew as she and Nell’s search continued to turn up empty. What the fuck had he done with her? Where the fuck had he hidden her? The longer they spent in this fucked up hellhole of a house, the more and more Luce wanted to destroy it. She wanted to burn it to the ground. She wanted to destroy everything he had built, leave nothing but ash in her wake. But, she couldn’t do that until she and Nell found what they came for. Looking at the stairs Nell pointed out, Luce nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, sounds about right.”

Nell followed the stairs down, brows drawing together as she was met with a heavy door at the base of them. It looked rather fortified, made of shiny steel with big, metal beams latticing it. This had to be it, didn’t it? The place Kaden had been talking about? It fit his directions. This was where Bea’s head would be. If it wasn’t, Nell wasn’t sure what the next step was. She hadn’t been in any of the other rooms. Her hand was raised against the door, giving it an experimental push. Nothing happened, not even the slightest budge as she added more weight behind the shove. There wasn’t so much as a lock on the door, but it seemed determined not to budge. “Might as well barbecue this one too, right?” Not wanting Luce to have to do all the work, Nell bit her thumb until it bled, rolling her sleeve up to reveal one of her summoning tattoos. It was the one Luce hadn’t inked on her, Nell having gotten it while she was abroad. She’d also been unwilling to have this particular circle done on her by Luce, as hellhounds weren’t exactly clean of a demon reputation. But now- what was there to lose? In the flash of an eye, one of the hellhounds sprang forth from Nell’s arm. It was Shaggy, the biggest of the boys. “He can help- not that you need it. Just- don’t want you wasting any strength.” 

 Descending the stairs, Luce stared at the steel door that stood before them. Nothing was ever easy. It couldn’t have been a quick and simple, get in, get Bea back, get out, could it? She watched as Nell tried to force the door, but was unsurprised when the effort was made in vain. “Yeah, I can give it a shot.” She said, though the idea had her apprehensive. Her magic was strong, stronger than it had ever been, but this was a steel fucking door. Keeping up a blast of heat to melt through the mechanisms that held the door shut would take time and energy. The effort would be… immense, to say the least. As she took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for the sheer output of magic she was going to be drawing upon, Luce caught sight of her sister rolling up her sleeve in the corner of her eye. A tattoo, one that she didn’t recognize but she could see the familiar circles of a summoning tattoo. She hadn’t done that one. Before Luce could ask what she was doing, a hulking monstrous creature appeared next to her. “A hellhound. Nell--” She stared, incredulously before swallowing. First finding out about Nell’s involvement with some kind of Ring thing, then Bea’s necromancy books and altar, and now this? “Yeah. Yeah, just… tell him to focus on the lock. I can’t melt an entire door, but if we can get the locking shit melted down, it’ll be fine.” She said, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. Even so, it was troubling. How much did she really know about her sisters?

Nell swallowed hard as Luce fixated on the hellhound for a moment, not meeting her sister’s eyes. “I can explain it...later,” she said softly, knowing that there were apparently too many things the sisters didn’t know about each other between all these revelations. “No more secrets once this is all over.” Not after this. Not after it had gotten Bea killed. And Luce deserved to know the whole truth of why August had gone after her. She turned her attention back to the hound, giving him an encouraging nod. “You heard her, Shaggy.” The demon dog took his stance, at the ready to provide whatever it was Nell might need, and opened his maw to let forth the red hot flames his kind were known for, aimed as much as he could manage towards the pieces Luce had mentioned. 

“Just as long as you explain eventually.” Luce said, still staring at the hellhound. “No more secrets.” She echoed. How much had her sisters hid from her? How much were they hiding? Remmy had told her that Nell had fought alongside them against a giant fucking lobster and here she was summoning fucking demon dog bullshit. Necromancy. Dark magic. Christ. How was it that she was the only who’d never felt the need to play with the laws of nature? Fuck. Shifting her attention to the door, Luce channeled her rage, her frustration, her irritation with all the lies and the secrets into a concentrated jet of blue flame. With the hellhound’s flames adding the support she needed, the minutes ticked away, the air around them growing burning hot as the metal glowed and melted before them. Sweat ran down her face, dripping down her arms as she continued to pour power into it. Eventually, the flames had pierced through the metal and Luce killed the flames before falling to her knees, panting from the energy. “Gimme… gimme a second.” She gasped, her head spinning. She’d expended so much of her magic on just burning through and now she was… left with nothing in the tank. Fire. That’s all she was good for. Not necromancy, not summoning, not anything else. Just firepower. Gritting her teeth, Luce forced herself to stand, leaning against the wall heavily. “Let’s get her back.”

“I will,” Nell affirmed, knowing they couldn’t afford to be like this any longer. The sisters had been disjointed for too long. They weren’t meant to be exactly a set, but still gears that could mesh and come together to work towards a greater purpose, family that knew their function in the grand scheme of things, how to make the machine work when they needed to. But how were they meant to slot into place when there were entire corners of each other they didn’t know? Spaces that had grown dark and damp and hidden in darkness where their sisters hadn’t been allowed to shine their lights, fumbling in that inky blackness to try and remember where the teeth lined up with one another. Nell had been too caught up in her thoughts to realize that Luce was overdoing it, and instinctively jerked forwards to lay a hand on her sister’s shoulder as she fell. “Luce? Luce, are you alright?” Worry laced her voice despite knowing this was a perfectly normal side effect of magic, as she couldn’t help that losing Bea had made her hypersensitive to her remaining sister’s struggles. Not asking, knowing that Luce would most likely rebuke an open and spoken offer to help, Nell reached out for her sister’s hand, letting her own magic flow into Luce to give her strength. “We’ll get her back. Together.” 

Luce’s vision went black for a moment, spots of white appearing in her vision as she pressed her back against the wall. She felt Nell’s hand press against her shoulder, felt her cool touch on her skin. She couldn’t make out her words, but she could hear the tone. Shaking her head, she swallowed, “It’s okay, I’m okay.” She said with a wave of her hand, taking deep breaths to steady herself. As she focused on her breathing, Luce felt a small stream of magic trickle through her-- Nell’s energy. Her vision cleared up and her breathing eased as strength returned to her body. “Thanks.” She managed, patting Nell’s hand on her shoulder briefly before pushing off from the wall. Her knees felt weak, but at least she was sure she could walk now. “Together.” Luce nodded as she pressed her boot against the cooling steel door and pushed into the basement safe room.

Nell should have been prepared for what was inside the basement room, but even by her standards and the things she’d seen...it was grotesque. Countless trophies strewn about the place, with many a head in jars lining the area as she reflexively began to look for one that was familiar. Jesus. How fucked was this? She was scanning jarred heads to find the one that belonged to her sister. With the hand still on Luce’s shoulder, she steeled her heart and stomach, knowing that the sight of Bea’s head wouldn’t be a happy one. She just needed to shut everything down like she’d been doing, not let any emotion in to touch her and wrap the deliciousness numbness around her like a blanket as she continued to search. “Do you...see her?” There were the selkie skins Kaden had mentioned, put up in a proud display that made Nell’s anger burn fiery in her stomach. She’d take them like she’d promised after they found Bea.

While the upper levels of the house had looked like some big game hunter’s wet dream, this was literally something out of a goddamn horror movie. Jars with light colored fluid and heads floating in them. Was Bea’s head in one of them? Luce’s stomach turned as she made her way on unsteady legs into the room. “I’ll check the top shelves.” She said, her voice even and calm despite her emotions. She was exhausted, drained of magic, but that didn’t change the fact that all of this was weighing heavily upon her psyche. But, they had to do this. She had to do this. To face the reality of what had happened. As Luce looked around, her eyes fell on a large jar and she let out a choking sob. “Nell.” She said, grasping her sister’s shoulder as she pointed at the corner of one of the upper most shelves. Through the cloudy glass, she could see her sister’s face, the clean slice across her neck, her dark hair a tangled mess, her skin an awful, greying pallor. Weakened by the effort of melting the door and the rush of horror that washed over her, Luce turned around and retched, her stomach spilling its contents on the floor. 

Nell knew what Luce had found simply by the strain in her voice, could tell what her sister had seen by the utter shock in the words. Her stomach dropped, having wished she’d be the first one to find it, so she could cover it from Luce’s sight or something of that like. It was too late now. Nell didn’t want to look, didn’t want to see the missing part of her sister’s body after already having dealt with the headless portion of it. But they needed to be out of here as quickly as possible, not knowing when Montgomery might be returning. So she turned towards Bea’s head, bile rising in her throat as she did. She had to be sure, to really get a good look and make sure it was her sister. They would be no coming back, not after they’d left a mess behind. There she was, the face of the sister that had been a constant in her life looking back at her from the inside of a jar. Jesus fucking christ. It was her, there was no doubt. Quickly, Nell shrugged out of her jacket, and threw it over the jar. They didn’t need to see this any longer than they already had. Tentatively, she took the jar in her arms, at odds with whether she wanted to drop it and run to the furthest edge of the Earth, or make sure it never came to harm. She could feel the head bumping lightly against the sides of the jar as it sloshed within it, and she again has to steel herself from losing her own lunch. Fuck fuck fuck. Get out. Get out and put the head down and then she wouldn’t have to look at it again until the ceremony. She couldn’t break now, not when there was still so much to do. “I’ve got it- I’ve got her,” she said, turning to Luce to make sure her sister was recovering from her violent reaction. Again she asked, “Are you alright?” The selkie skins caught her eye once more, but with her hands now full and unwilling to relinquish Bea, she asked Luce another question. “If you could- can you get the selkie skins? I told Kaden I’d bring them back. He has a friend or something that’s looking for them. Not in a Hunter way,” she clarified.

Shivering as she stood upright, Luce spat bile to the ground and shook her head. Weak. She was fucking… weak. She had to be better than this, stronger than this. Whatever it takes, that’s what she’d told Adam. It’s what she told herself now as she looked over at Nell, her sister cradling that jar in her arms, jacket thrown over top of it. “Sorry. Sorry, I fucking…” She said, shame on her face. “I know that she’s dead. I knew that before. But seeing her, like that… What he’d done to her, I just… I couldn’t fucking handle it.” She said, her jaw clenching tightly. At Nell’s request, Luce raised an eyebrow but nodded all the same. Secrets. More secrets. And maybe this one wasn’t Nell’s to share, but right about now, Luce had enough of being kept in the dark. No more goddamn secrets. Once Bea was back, once they were sure that she was right and whole, she was going to sit the two of them down and make sure they talked about everything. Glancing at the lightbulb tattooed on the inside of her arm, Luce swallowed. Everything. “Sure.” She said before grabbing the selkie skins from where they were displayed. What kind of fucked up guy went after selkies? They were harmless, they were just fucking seals for christs sake. Bundling them up in her arms, Luce walked towards the melted door and pushed it open with her back, the hot metal barely warm against her skin. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.” Looking at the hellhound that had remained outside, she looked at Nell. “Wanna have Shaggy light it up?”

Nell didn’t judge Luce for her reaction in the least, and tried to make it clear that it had only been normal. “I did it when- when I first saw her...after everything” she offered softly, hoping it’d make Luce feel better to know that she wasn’t the only one who had such reactions to seeing their sister like this. “I get it. It’s just- it’s wrong.” She took comfort in watching Luce reclaim the skins, glad to know that hopefully...someone might get their happiness back from this if they managed to get a skin returned to them. Holding onto that kernel of warmth to center herself, she followed Luce back out of the room, where Shaggy was waiting with a wagging tail. “You’re just full of good ideas today, Luce,” she said before giving the hellhound a nod of affirmation. He didn’t hesitate to light the room alblaze, siren feathers and lamia skins catching fire, quickly spreading to every corner of the room. Nell turned her back as the glass of the jars began to melt from the heat of the inferno the dog had struck into a frenzy, leading the way back upstairs, and out of the house. Let the fire burn. With luck, it would take the entire house with it, and all the trophies Montgomery prized. It was a small strike against the man who’d wronged them, but a hit nonetheless, and Nell’s own fiery vengeance that seemed to live in her stomach these days was stoked to life, crackling comfortably as it finally gained a taste of the satiation she’d been desperately craving since that day in the forest with the hunter. She didn’t try to keep the smoke billowing from the house, letting it be a message to the man and whoever else might see it along the skyline. They were coming, and they wouldn’t stop until Montgomery was ashes as well.

[nelllraiser]

got your buBak | luce & nell

LOCATION: luce’s cabin. PARTIES: @nelllraiser, and @divineluce SUMMARY: the girls have some quality ditch time, but an uninvited guest appears.  

So here they were...lying in a ditch. Apparently neither Luce nor Nell had been joking when they’d pondered the concept, needing minimal back and forth to come to the conclusion that this was a wonderful idea. Or- as good as any idea could be these days. Apparently, Luce had been holding out, as she was the owner of a very nice ditch that lay somewhere behind her cabin. Something about this all was actually soothing, the stillness of the forest, but also the constant sounds of birds chirping in the trees, and the coolness of the dirt and leaves against her skin. Just two witches in a ditch who’d recently lost a sister. A soft exhalation came from Nell as she realized it, just shy of a chuckle. They’d been laying in silence for some time now, and her first words that would break it were, “Witch. Ditch. Witch ditch.” There was only the faintest air of amusement to them.

The ditch they were lying in had once been dug out with the intent of putting in a small water feature-- like a koi pond or something. Luce had thought it might be a good touch to validate a bump up on her AirBNB rates, and for a spot that she could practice her magic at. But, as she and Nell lay together in the soft dirt, the smell of the earth and the forest floor surrounding them, she was glad that she’d been slow on the uptick. Was this the healthiest thing for them? No, probably not. But, it was better than what she’d been doing over the last few days. Drinking heavily, running from pitbosses, running from shitty monsters in the woods… A lot of running, Luce realized. But she couldn’t outrun the reality of their situation. “Bitch witch ditch.” She added, nudging Nell with her shoulder. Swallowing, she closed her eyes. She could almost hear Bea, chiding them for lying in the dirt. “Why are you two in there? You’re going to get your hair messy. Come back inside, it’s almost time for dinner.” She’d say something like that. But, as Luce lay there, something felt… strange. It was almost like she’d heard her voice.

Again, there was that strange almost chuckle that came from Nell, though not nearly close enough to being fully-formed to warrant such a name. Bitch witch ditch. It was stupid, but somehow just the fact that she was here and saying the words with Luce made her feel...at least marginally better. Or rather- it was serving as a good distraction. She didn’t hesitate to nudge Luce back, her touch lingering for the smallest moment, also finding comfort in the simple feeling of Luce being here and alive. She parted her lips to say something else, but stopped as she heard a third voice. “Bitch witch ditch.” It felt like the air had been kicked from her lungs, stolen right out of her body as she recognized the voice. It was one she hadn’t heard in days, but the same one that had been in all her dreams and nightmares since then. Her eyes slid to Luce, a question in them, hardly willing to believe her own thoughts. “Did you- you heard that right? Right?” 

At Nell’s words, Luce’s eyes flicked open. “You heard that? You heard-- you heard her, too?” She said, sitting up abruptly to look at her sister. It hadn’t been her imagination. It hadn’t been a dream-- was it Bea? Blanche… not even an hour ago, she’d told them both that Bea was back. That her soul was still here, that she needed them to do the unthinkable. Was it Bea? Was it her voice, whispering through the trees. Looking into the forest, she squinted, trying to peer through the darkness in the direction of the voice. “I… Where did you hear it come from?” She asked before scrambling out of the pit in the earth. She needed a better view, needed to see clearly. But, the woods were empty. There was nothing there. Her sister wasn’t floating there, smiling at them, waving at them. Just… empty space.

“It was her, right? Right?” Who else could it be? That same desperation that had been fueling Nell was quick to grip her as she too rocketed up from her lying position, scrambling hastily in the dirt to stand. She was here. Blanche had said so. Bea’s ghost had come back, and now she was trying to get into contact with her sisters, to see them, to talk to them, to be with them. Her sister’s name was fragile on her lips, as if she were afraid it would break both her, Luce, and the apparition. “Bea?” she barely breathed, willing the voice to come forward again. It didn’t leave her waiting, her sister’s voice flowing out from somewhere in the darkness like a whisper in the wind. “Nellie? Lulu?” Without another moment of hesitation, Nell simply called out, “There!” and then she was off, running towards the direction from which Bea’s voice had drifted.

“It was. It was,” Luce nodded, her gaze darting wildly around the forest, her ears straining to hear. Where was she? Where was Bea-- she wanted, wanted so badly to see her sister. After everything they’d been through over these last few days, if they could just see her, talk to her. That would make all the difference in the world. Their childhood nicknames rang out through the forest and Nell let out yell. Without a word, Luce took off after Nell, pushing her sore legs to the brink as the two tore through the forest. “I missed you both. I miss you so much.” Luce could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them away. They’d see her soon. They’d be able to talk to her soon.

Nell was running blindly through the trees, hearing Luce running after her as the branches whipped at her face. But she barely felt their sting as she continued to sprint as if her life depended on it, desperation etched into every muscle of her features, tears tightening in her throat. “Bea! It’s us! We’re here! We’re-” She was cut off as something hard hit her, clotheslining her across the chest, and spilling her onto the ground. It took a long moment for Nell to catch her breath, to look up at whatever had brought her down. What the fuck? It looked like a grossly deformed Santa Claus, a sack on its back that was gripped in long, skeletal fingers that trailed up to the rest of its body, also covered in a tight skin, showing off the bones beneath it. “Luce!” she called out in her panic, realizing the danger that she and her remaining sister were in. “Luce, go back!” She couldn’t yet tell if her sister was here, still trying to catch her breath, though she hadn’t been far behind in the least.

Darting through the trees, Luce didn’t pay any attention to anything beyond the sound of their sister’s voice. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that she was dead, that she was a ghost, that she was a necromancer, that she was asking for them to do these terrible, awful, necessary things. She just wanted to be able to see her, to talk to her. When Nell fell to the ground ahead of her, Luce barely had any time to react. Her momentum carried her forward, hurtling towards the creature that loomed over her sister. Though she tried to bring herself to a halt, her weary legs were at their limit and she found herself carried forward into the waiting arms of the disgusting skeletal creature, the rags draped around it doing little to hide it’s bony frame. No-- they weren’t rags, they were-- Though she thrashed and kicked and fought against it’s grasp, the creature held her still with ease as it leered down at her. With a scream, she realized that the thing was holding out a sack, a large, gaping maw of darkness. Raising her hands, she tried to summon the flames to defend her. But, before she could manage to let loose the magic, the bag swallowed her whole.

Even now, the creature was still using her voice, Bea’s voice as it cackled, holding its prize in its bag as Luce was taken. “Don’t worry, Lulu. I’ve got you.” Nell snarled, even angrier than she’d been while Montgomery had been hunting her, while she’d promised to kill him. No way. No way in hell was she going to let this thing take another sister, her last sister. First, she let loose a blast of magic towards the bag, willing it to unravel, to fall apart in the skeletal creatures hands. Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened, the bag as whole as it had been when the creature first appeared. What the fuck. It was foolish- stupid- but she wanted her hands around its neck, to choke the life from it and watch it face into darkness, to watch the life leave its eyes. How dare it do this? How dare it take one sister’s voice, and try to steal away another? She wasted no time in tackling it with sheer force, letting her rage fuel her. Perhaps her efforts had worked, or perhaps it simply wasn’t used to small things being foolish enough to physically assault it. Whichever it was, the bag loosened from its grip, pooling on the ground as Nell latched onto the creature.

One moment, Luce had been running through the woods, chasing after the phantom sound of her sister’s voice. The next, she found herself floating in a void of inky blackness. Boundless, limitless nothing. For a moment, the memory of Morgan’s first awakening returned to her and her lungs stuttered, forgetting how to breathe as she stared into the chasm of emptiness. There was nothing. Both weightless and crushed by the infinite expanse, Luce closed her eyes. But, that only made it worse when she forced her eyes open to see that there was nothing. “No! No! I’m not going to fucking die like this!” She screamed, but the words were consumed by the void, as though the space itself had absorbed her words. Thrashing her arms violently, she did her best to fight against the nothingness that surrounded her. But, it was useless. There was nothing she could do. She was trapped.

The desperation that had been pooling in Nell’s chest quickly turned to something different. Raw, pure, anger. Not unlike she’d felt when Montgomery had been hunting her. But this time, it was even greeted, knowing that her remaining sister had been bagged by this creature. “Piece of fucking shit!” Nell bit out before pulling her knives from the hiding places, one in each hand. A familiar speed spell she often used in the Ring was easy enough to implement, instantly giving her a boost as she raged against the creature. She managed to get a hit deep into its thigh, digging the point into the small space between it’s bones as it screeched out an inhuman sound. She grinned as she heard its pain, twisting the knife as she reveled in its scream. Good. Now it would feel a fraction of the pain she felt on a daily basis after Bea had died. It’s arm came around just in time to catch Nell in the head, pushing her back to the ground as the world spun for a long moment. It lunged, and she only just managed to recover and dodge, springing to her feet at the end of her roll, ready for another round.

As Luce floated in the crushing, infinite expanse, she did her best to keep her emotions under control. The fear that had gripped her when she’d first tumbled into this fucked up bag were still raging, but she forced herself to control her breathing, to practice the techniques she used when she was channeling her energy. Deep, even breaths, even though it hardly felt like there was air at all in the room. She couldn’t feel it moving through her nose, into her lungs. The only sign that told her she was breathing was the fact that her lungs weren’t burning with agony, that her head wasn’t pounding. She couldn’t die here. She wouldn’t die here. She wouldn’t lose herself to this monster’s fucking burlap sack of magical bullshit. She wouldn’t die when she was… so close to Nell. She couldn’t leave her sister behind. Turning her focus from her breathing to the magical energy that dwelled within her, Luce began to envision a ball of flame enveloping her hands. When she looked to where her hands should be, Luce was unable to see anything. Not even the slightest flicker of flame. But, she could feel the energy pouring from her hands, into a potent, intense circle of fire. Swallowing, she closed her eyes despite knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. More. She needed to put more power in to feed the flames.

Nell turned and ran, leading the creature away from her sister. She didn’t know what was going on in the bag, but all she knew was that she refused to consider Luce might be gone, that she might have been swallowed up by the satchel and lost forever. And yet- even as she thought it, the rage that was growing more and more familiar each day rose in her once again. She wouldn’t lose another sister. Not now, not ever. Not if she could help it. So as the thing gave chase, she chose a target carefully, considering each tree she passed, making sure to get far away enough from Luce should things go awry with her plan. Finally, she turned suddenly on her heel, eyes flashing as she reached for her magic once again, honing it so thin and sharp that it made something of blade shooting forth from her hands, pointed at the enormous tree in front of her. The magic didn’t even hesitate as it sliced cleanly through the trunk, and the tree groaned as gravity began to claim the giant pine. Another push with her magic, and it was falling at an alarming rate, faster that it had any right to under normal circumstances. Finally it found it’s magically guided mark with a thud, and a delicious crunch as the creature and its freakish bones were flattened beneath it rang in Nell’s ears, retribution and satisfaction quick to follow. “Don’t fucking touch my sister,” she hissed at the arm that was peeking out from underneath the pine, twitching until it finally lay still, the thing dead.

Unaware of the destruction and chaos outside of the bag, Luce continued to harness the power within her. Her eyes remained shut, but she could see the flames in her minds eye. She could feel the red and orange tongues licking at her hands, barely restrained, waiting to be free. She could feel the power thrumming in her house, rising with her heart rate as she built up the magic. Before the magic could escape her control, she released it with a roar. Though the sound was consumed by the void, plumes of blue exploded from her hands, lancing through the darkness. Eyes opening, Luce stared at the fire that continued to stream from her hands. Though the void remained, the fire was consuming it as fast as it could form around the jet of pure heat and energy. And, as it did so, she could see something else. Orange. Red. She could see strands of impossibly dark material burning and uncoiling. Unravelling. Vigor renewed, Luce directed her flames to the burning bits of string and fabric until a hole had been burnt through and a column of blue fire exploded from the bag. WIth a gasp, Luce punched her way out of the nightmarescape and rolled onto the forest floor next to the smoking, burning sack.

The moment the creature had stopped moving, Nell was rushing back to where the bag and Luce had been, heart still thundering in her chest. Luce was okay, right? She had to be okay. There was no way Nell was going to lose her last sister today. Relief washed over her like a tidal wave as she saw the familiar head of hair that belonged to her sister emerging from the bag, and Nell wasted no time in taking her sister’s arm in hand, trying to help her from the forest ground. “Are you alright? Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?” The worry in her voice was nearly tangible, not willing to let go of all her anxieties just yet. “I thought- I was worried-” her voice faltered for a moment, not knowing how to tell Luce that for a moment...she’d thought she’d been left alone, sisterless to face the rest of her days.

The light, the breeze, the sound of the wind rustling through the trees, it was all a little overwhelming for Luce as she did her best to steady herself. She had no idea how long she’d been in that bag-- had it been seconds or minutes or hours? Being in there had removed all sense of touch and of time, that it left her incredibly disoriented. As the world spun around her, she felt a hand close around her arm, pulling her up.The touch was cool, the hand familiar. A grounding presence that brought her back to the world. Staring at her sister for a moment, Luce wrapped her arms around Nell, hugging her fiercely. “I’m still here. I’m okay, I’m not… I’m not going anywhere.” She said, repeating the words. “I’m still here.” And she always would be. Nell needed her more than ever. She would fight death itself to remain by her sister’s side.