#npc: catherine vernon

[jesscopeland]

MYSTERY INC FILES... catherine & jess.

Jumping down the hallway stairs two at a time, Jess was on an adventure to the kitchen for something to eat. Pausing when she heard a feminine voice floating from her father's office, however, curiosity got the better of her. Pressing her spine to the wall and craning her ears to listen, she gave out a frustrated sigh when she couldn't make out everything being said behind closed doors. A second later however, and the door opened, kick-starting Jess into shock and action. Before her, Catherine Vernon stood, as suspiciously gothic as ever and apparently leaving. "Hey!" The word fell out of Jess with uncontrollable force, making her thrust away from the wall quickly to follow the woman towards the foyer, desperate to get in a word before Catherine slipped away into the night.

Catherine had finished her usual round of intimidating the Mayor, giving him her usual list of demands. HIM had left him, and the rest of West Hollow frankly, shaken from what he had done but while the devil worked hard, Catherine Vernon worked harder. Peter had really come around to simply accepting her, instead of arguing. In the middle of the meeting she had heard the sound of someone else, her enhanced hearing and smell picking up on another prescence. As she went to leave, she wasn't surprised to find Jessica Copeland there, and she turned to address her with an unimpressed raise of her eyebrow. "Miss Copeland, can I help you?"  

There was something intimidating about Catherine's stare, and Jess couldn't imagine anyone ever saying no to her and getting away with it. A slight quiver moved through her stomach for her father, glancing back to the door which he was left behind. What was it that Catherine always dropped by for? What could the two possibly have in common aside from the election? Quickly, Jess remembered the list of push points Nolan had given her, should this type of situation ever arise. Looking back at Catherine, Jess decided to take a leap of faith. "Yeah um. So, strange question... and I totally won't be weirded out if you are but - you and my dad....?" This was a buffer statement, something to misguide Catherine hopefully into making her think Jess was simply concerned with mundane gossip over any actual intentional detective work. "Are you two... like, seeing each other?" She sagged against the doorway, folding her arms.

Catherine looked over the girl. Frail, pale, skinny, naive -- human. She remembered this all quite well, forcing herself to never forget a second from her time before the blood rushed over her memories. From Josie's notes, Jessica was ditzy and distracted, and it showed. Catherine could never see her as a threat, and at her beginning of the question, Catherine tilted her head in bored curiousity. What could she possibly have to say? However, when she asked if they were seeing each other, Catherine had to laugh, and she did. "Oh, no. Your father and I have important business with each other. I lost the election but he enjoys my input, and Vermillion always needs updated permits and whatnot."  She sighed with impatience, beginning to turn towards the door, "Is that all? I'm a busy woman, as you may have seen."

The second that Catherine began talking about the election, a question flashed in Jess's mind, highlighted. "Right... Sure, but you can't blame me for being kind of curious? I mean, from what I heard you worked really hard to try and win that election. And for a while, right? It must have been kind of sucky to lose after being in West Hollow for so long....?"

Catherine turned back, eyes squinting as she tried to understand the girl's intentions. Her questioning...it was not normal. Catherine had been alive for a very long time, and so reading body language and social ques had become something of a hobby. She was trying to lead into something, and if she wanted to talk, they would talk. A sickly fake smile came over Catherine's face, "Why don't we sit and talk? You seem to be very interested in my work." she said, gesturing to their dining room and beginning to walk that way.

Although she kept a calm demeanor, Jess couldn't help the surprise she felt at Catherine's 180 personality flip. Oh shit, had she stood on a booby trap not three minutes into the conversation? She'd have to be more careful if she planned to keep up with the wits of someone who was rumoured to only be about 300 times her age. "Well. You know," Jess gave a noncommittal shrug as she sauntered towards the dining room, feeling weird to be ushered around her own home but complying all the same. "Dad's all boring meetings here, lame schedules there. He doesn't really tell me about the cool stuff he does whenever I ask... You guys seemed to work together a lot so I just thought, if he liked spending so much time with you then maybe I should extend the branch and get to know you too... since you're here pretty often." Then, like a true actress, Jess pulled out the sympathy card, "I mean, it's kind of hard not having my mom around and being the only girl in this patriarchal man cave." She gestured to the house around them.

Catherine had to give it to her, she was convincing enough for a human. If she was a younger vampire, perhaps she would have fallen for it, but she knew better. There were always suspicious humans, and others too, but Catherine had built this town. They knew better than to trifle with her. Catherine walked with the girl, nodding as she listened to her talk. She pulled out the chair for her, humming with faux sympathy at her words about her father. Catherine sat adjacent to her, folding her hands on the table with a calm smile. "Your mother, yes," she began, sighing as she thought back to her own husband. "I was married once as well, to a man who I loved dearly. Like your father and mother, we had our disagreements and parted ways. I truthfully would have wanted to stay with him, but he decided otherwise." she explained, her voice grating a bit at the end, giving away a bit of her frustration with how it had turned out. "Divorce can be hard, but it is a necessary evil of life. I would have thought by now a young woman like yourself would have learnt to dealt with it, but perhaps I have been too presumptious. I cannot offer you a mother figure and have adoptive children of my own, Jessica. Your father is a hardworking and caring man, and it should give you great pride despite his gender. I have met your mother on occasion and she is a strong woman who you should look to for female guidance. The reason why he doesn't tell you about the "cool things" with his job is because the only cool things are the things you already see."Catherine's face was stoic, calm, as she stared straight into Jessica. After a moment, she softened, though, knowing that she would inevitably get more questions if she scolded her. "I understand wanting to get to know me. If you need advice, I can give you advice. if you want to see how running a business and public relations works, I can show you. As far as emotional support, kindship -- I have enough on my plate. You are free to stop by my office is at Vermillion, though." It was as if she was giving a stern talking to to a child, something she only really did with Josie.

There was something about being sat down by Catherine and informed by her that made Jess feel oddly juvenile. As she began talking about a partner she'd had, Jess scrambled to grab her phone, eager not to miss anything. Pretending to quickly barely read a text, she placed the phone back in her lap, recording app running for later listening. "That sucks." Jess replied dryly about her husband, lacking all of Catherine's grace and decorum. Pretending to listen to the spiel about her parents and maternal figures, Jess lowered her gaze a little, as if disappointed. Honestly, it was relief. Being this close to Catherine was starting to give Jess the same creeps walking alone at night by the woods did. Exciting. Thrilling. But still terrifying. "I get it. You're a busy woman." She echoed Catherine's stern words but with feeling. Perking up at the invitation however, Jess smiled. "I've never been to Vermillion but heaps of people talk about it. I went to the website, it looks awesome. How long have you been in charge of it?"

Catherine made a quick mental note of her phone. Modern technology had a way of evading her true capabilities, and so she often just had the younger vampires deal with that, but she had basic knowledge of it. Whatever she had looked at was suspicious, and so she was going to try to be as noncomittal in her answers. "Indeed." she answered flatly at Jess's comment about her husband, not enthused with her choice of words, but it was nothing. It seemed, though, the invitation had caught her fancy, and upon her asking about Vermillion's history, she tried to think of a reasonable number. She was 34, was ten years reasonable? "Ten years. I inherited from my grandmother." No one ever questioned anything about Vermillion, unless it was about the food & prices.

Lifting her arms to fold them in front of her on the table, shoulders hunched as if she was completely infatuated (which she was now), Jess looked impressed. "So it's kind of like a family legacy thing, then? I didn't know your family had been around West Hollow that long. Or that you had." On the contrary, people didn't think she was an ancient vampire for no reason. "See," Jess sighed and sat back. "Dad never tells me anything..."

Catherine for a moment imagined her as one of them, a vampire, the blood staining her noisy lips as she begged for the hunger to go away. A move that would surely upset Peter, but she would be beautiful forever and perhaps even mature at some point. It was a fantasy though, as she didn't wish to take in yet another. "Yes, a family legacy. My family has been around since the founding." she answered point blank, her expression never changing. She hummed in response to her pouting, "For good reason. There are things in this town you don't need to concern yourself with. The boring, mundane," she paused for a moment, and then, the edge of her lip curved upwards. "Although I've heard that you have quite a few friends who think there's more to little West Hollow than meets the eye?" A curve ball to be sure, one she wanted to see the girl defend.

It was likely that Catherine thought she was the biggest fool around, and Jess would definitely need someone to patch her ego back together later after all this Playing Dumb was over. "Right, I forget how ancient this town is sometimes. It's so weird to think how different it might have been back in the 19th century. More petticoats, I assume." Jess mused with a light frown, then turned her expression back to Catherine, smiling fondly as if the woman didn't still creep her the hell out. Hearing her refer directly to Mystery Inc however, made the phone in her lap suddenly feel very heavy. "Well. Can't blame a bunch of geeks for getting creative, right? The summers get kind of long." She attempted to make a joke out of the one thing that Jess cared the most about, feeling her throat threaten to close mid-insult. Instead, she trained her expression into a comical smirk. "After all, every place has its history and secrets. But my spidersenses give me the impression that you're a non believer. Am I right?"

Ancient. Catherine hummed into a smile at the words, stopping herself from laughing. If West Hollow was ancient, then what was she? Prehistoric? She enjoyed the humans more than she cared to admit, with their small ideas and naivety. It amused her to watch them squirm under the uncomfortabilty of their existence, one Catherine had easily slid into. "Something like that. Have you ever studied American art history in school, darling?" It was more out of curiousity of how far Jess could really seep up when it came to actually studying. She discredited the conspiracy kids, except for perhaps one or two, simply because no human would ever uncover the monstrosities that plagued West Hollow. However, the look on her face was pleasing when Jessica realized what her question was -- she knew and Catherine knew what this was really about. "Nonbeliever." she nodded as she considered the word before continuing, "When I was a child, I lived in a shanty house in England. I begged for scraps on the streets of London and fell asleep cold and hungry. I brought myself to America and made my way. My belief was in money, a warm home, and food in my stomach. There is no need to entertain fantasies when this world has provided enough cruelty and fear in it's reality."

"Of course." Jess nodded, a comic frown gracing her features. "The greats, the Renaissance, the deaf and the mentally unhinged." She replied, wondering what Catherine wanted to know from her with that question. Listening to her brief description of her chilhood (or just earlier life, perhaps, who knew with someone who was rumored to be so old)  Jess's expression ranged from interested to outwardly disappointed. "That's one way to think about it." She admitted with a stubborn clip to her voice, Jess now squaring her shoulders and looking directly at Cattherine. Slowly, she was begining to wonder how that Josie girl did it... put up with this kind of attitude for a maternal figure. Jess would go crazy. "I don't know... I like the idea of West Hollow having it's secrets. I think every place needs something to make it different than the rest and everybody likes a good Ghost Story. I'm sure you've heard some of the rumored ones going around since you seem to know the ins and outs of everyone around here." Jess raised her eyebrows, subtly hinting back to the fact that even though Catherine didn't bother herself with such... juvinile stories... she sure did seem to somehow know of Mystery Inc.

Catherine noticed every little detail about the girl, from the way she moved in the chair to how the pitch of her voice changed as she thought of new things to assert to the vampire. At her mention of ghost stories, Catherine let out a small chuckle-- oh, yes, if only it were just ghost stories, perhaps there would be a headstone somewhere in London with her name on it, the death date actually in the 1500's. "I have heard a tad of these, ghost stories, you seem so enthralled with. Honestly," she sat back in her chair, her expression bored with the topic as she looked down at her nails, "they do nothing for me, besides bring more tourism into the restaurant. Your father knows it too, which is why I am always visiting to check up on tourist iniatives." Then, her eyes peered back up at the girl, leaning in close as her ruby red lips grew into a smug grin. "Why don't you tell me a few of these stories, hmm? I would find it so very interesting to see what a young woman and her peers are interested in these days. Tell me, child-- have you heard any ghost stories about me, Ms. Copeland?"

The way Catherine seemed so quickly disinterested, quickly made Jess feel less inclined to play the cat and mouse. She knew that she was supposed to be getting information out of the woman with little to no collateral, but this was getting uncomfortable and soon, Jess was going to wedge her foot in her mouth whether she tried to or not. However, Catherine's behavior was flawed. One moment, she seemed less than bothered with mystic stories that weren't deemed to be all real and the next, she was prodding a very spesific topic. Jess squared her shoulders. "Maybe you should ask that adopted daughter of yours then, what with her keeping your hands so full and all." She couldn't help the acid, not liking the way that Catherine had her dancing to her every tune whether Jess wanted to her not. Sure, she didn't want to end up dead in a ditch without a trace but this was getting weird. She couldn't help but imagine that Nolan would be asking these questions so much better than her. "Anyway, you just said you didn't care about them. So I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time." With that, Jess put her phone into her pocket and pressed her palms into the table, pushing herself to stand up. "But thanks. For listening, I mean. My dad's kind of lost his touch these days so... it was good to talk to someone who actually gives me a straight answer." Even if it wasn't the full truth.

At the girl's insolence, her change in attitude from the more sulken and behaved to daring, was a sharp contrast that Catherine both loathed and loved. It showed she had spirit, a side to her that could be exploited by her fiery instincts. It reminded her, honestly, a bit of Josie before she had been turned (although, unbeknownst to Josie, she had been much more unhinged before her transformation than she remembers). At the same time, she hated that tone, the rebellious attitude she was smacked with at her questioning. She showed none of this though, just letting her eyebrows raise as the smirk stayed on her lips. "I'm afraid that while Josephine also has quite an active imagination, she isn't as reliable as you, dear." Catherine's head tilted in faux curiosity as she leaned back once more at her thankfulness for listening. "Oh, Jessica, your father is more in touch on the pulse of this town than you think." She extended a sharp red nail out though, flicking away a stray piece of hand on Jessica's face. Jessica would make an excellent recruit, but, she no longer did that...unless of course, she became a real threat. "It has been such a pleasure to meet such a vivacious young lady like yourself. I do hope that soon you use your talents in the real world where they'd suit you better than as a...what is again? Ghostbuster?" Catherine let a deep chuckle come from the back of her throat as she stood up, just to watch Peter come out of his office, the shock clear on his face at witnessing the two together. Catherine could not contain the wildly satisfied smile that appeared on her face. "Mayor Copeland, I was just talking with your daughter. What a bright young woman you've fostered here." As she walked by him, she stopped him, her hand resting on his shoulder to whisper something wicked before she continued out, red bottom pradas clicking with viciousness as she went.

[huvall]

A new assignment ... catherine x hugo

Three different texts in a row, all marked urgent, had brought the demon down to Catherine's home. She had been actually anxious about Josie from what she had learned from Augustus. If her prized bodyguard was really running around the town taking people hostage and killing them in broad daylight, this needed to be stopped as quickly as possible. Augustus was right when he said eventually he couldn't bury it forever, and so, Hugo's services were needed once more. Sitting in her home office facing a window away from the door, Edwards, her butler, made Catherine aware he was here to see her. After giving the okay to send him in, she took in a deep breath, letting the demon's smell wash over her to indicate his prescence. "I need you to follow Josephine." she said flatly, still turned away from him.

There wasn’t a lot in the world that made Hugo nervous anymore but being beckoned by a certain Catherine Vernon always assured a slight twinge to begin in his gut, a light sweat under his collar if he predicted her mood would be anything less than unsavory. Today, however, he was for once blind-sighted on what she could possibly want from him. After all, he’d found out almost immediately, courtesy of Ophelia The Witch, what exactly had provoked the ghoul infestation last weekend so this week, Hugo was on an easily earned holiday of sorts. Well. Until now. A thing he appreciated about Catherine was her absolute candor, and impatience for beating around the bush. Plain and simple, the assignment was laid out before him not four seconds after entering her office. Hugo attempted not to let a smirk grow on his face just at the topic of the assignment. “She getting up to no good again, is she? Sounds like you’ve got a wild child on your hands.” He grinned, putting his hands into his pockets and shifting weight to the back of his heels. “See. This is why I’ve never really been interested in parenting.”

At his, of course, flippant reaction to it, she found her nerves being tested. Josie was a subject that Catherine avoided unless she was giving the girl an assignment or praising her valiance for their kind. Not today, however, and so the immediate reaction for her was one of steely aggrivation. The vampire spun around at once, revealing the hardened look on her face as her icy blue irises met his own. "I would love to know where in that statement I invited you to joke." Catherine never liked being this harsh with Hugo, but today, her patience was nowhere to be seen. Catherine stood up, "I know you and Josephine had some kind of...affair, and are aware of how unbridled she can become at a moment's notice, but I'm afraid that her gumption has been a danger to us all recently. She kidnapped someone and lost them, attacked another vampire in front of humans, and apparently has been up to her other usual nonsense with less--" Catherine's jaw locked on the words, eyes looking down away from him as feeling them strange to use as she described the woman she sired, "--discretion than I taught her to possess."

He wasn’t afraid to ever hold Catherine’s gaze, but just about everything else about her remained prickly and sharp like a cactus covered in glass needles, so he knew his place. His smirk sobered quickly, laugh lines fading into a stern and obedient sort of expression. “Wow,” He responded instead to her recount on Josie’s recent adventures, a little surprised at her ‘gumption’ as Catherine had put it. No shit, he thought, Josie could be reckless at times but she must have been seriously bored to let it go this far. For a moment, he wondered if he was Option A for Catherine in steering her prodigy back into formal formation, and whether he should advise Josie that an Option B would probably would cost her dearly, though he was sure he wouldn’t really have to. They both knew Catherine. They both knew how this would go if either of them displeased her out of their own redemption.  “Well sure, of course, you can always count on me, Mistress. Anything you need.” He assured her with a nod. “Under the circumstances that she speculates, though... what might you want me to tell her?”

Catherine liked Hugo for many things, the top of which was the way he could quickly take a hint when need be. He was intelligent, obediant, and sometimes...fun, if she was still allowed to use that word. When Hugo responded with the surprised mark, Catherine nodded somberly, "Wow, indeed, Hugo. Josephine has always been a handful, but just one. Now I feel as though I am juggling, if you understand." searching the floor with a bit of shame. Hadn't she been a better teacher than this? She had practically handed the girl everything she needed, and now, she was going to carelessly expose everyone? Perhaps she should have just killed her, like she originally planned. When he asked, Catherine's eyes squinted, thinking of what would work. Coming from behind her desk, she walked over to Hugo slowly as she thought, finally breathing out and looking up to address him. "I want you to try and stay a distance from her at first. Just follow and watch her. If she knows that I've sent a babysitter after her, especially you, who knows what idiotic thing she will pull." The vampire breathed out some of the frustration she felt, then looking over Hugo. Smoothing her hands over his top and straightening it, she continued talking, "If she finds you, asks questions, you have to stop her mid-murder-- whatever it is, pacify her. Tell her it's just you, you're crazy about her, threaten her, have something more urgent, whatever works at the moment. You're charismatic and persuasive, as your kind usually is, so use your natural gifts and you will go far with her." Once she was done, she pressed her hands on both biceps, smiling genuinely at him. "This--Josephine means a lot to me, to all of us vampires. She is what enforces our treaty, but, you, Hugo, are what stops my head from being ripped off by one of the canines."

Hugo had just been thinking it the second Catherine mentioned it. If Josie knew that he was reporting every detail back to her superior under some secret service, there was no doubt that she’d attempt to put his head on a platter next. Nodding again but this time slower, Hugo quickly went through his plan for the week and mentally highlighted when the best time to check up on Josie might be. Of course, due to her biological makeup, however, it would appear unlikely that he might be getting any sleep this week. The thing that made it all worth it though was having Catherine dote on him, slender fingers adjusting the material of his shirt that unfortunately served as a barrier to her cool touch that always excited him. Still, it coaxed him into hanging onto her every word regardless. Hell, it made him feel special. “It’s a fine head, I like it where it is, your highness.” He responded with a grin, suddenly feeling more at ease as she stroked his ego (and also his arms). “I’ll do my best with Josie, you have my word. Always.”

Hugo, whether he was aware or not, was easy to manipulate himself. Catherine had taken more than a few psychology classes over the years, and it seemed that sexual energy was the most effective on getting him to do what she wanted, that and money, like everyone. Still, Catherine wasn't above prostituting herself out to suitable gentleman, or just using her own sexuality to her advantage. Hell, it was why she was still living today. With, Hugo, though, she was usually genuinely interested, and so buffing him up was no challenge. At the title change, Catherine hummed out a pleased chuckle. "We shall save that title for when I get that bumbling Mayor out of the way, hm?" she asked, eyebrows lifting at her suggestion, fingers lighting clutching onto his fuzzy chin. "If you do well with this, you will be rewarded with more than just money." Catherine teased, voice tilting into the more sultry tone. Just as fast she had began, though, she turned back and went for her throne chair, talking as she walked. "Do what you have to, as always. She has to eat but...make sure she is discreet, and perhaps doesn't completely drain them." Once she sat back down in her chair, she sighed, "If she does something especially outlandish, but I mean something like standing on top of City Hall and murdering someone to announce she's a vampire, then you can kill her. Only then. Do you understand?" she asked, her tone becoming much more serious from the lighter one she had touted earlier.

He felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck the more Catherine cooed at him, sending him all kinds of signals, some of which he was too apprehensive to pursue lest it be the wrong move on his part. Her absence felt cooler than her touch, and Hugo only wished that this was a little more than his average business meeting with the Vampire Queen. “I wouldn’t intend to take it that far. Josie knows where the line is, I just have to remind her of it it would seem.” He responded, feeling a tender jab in his chest at the mere thought of having to put Josie down. He knew that ultimately when the declaration of war was nigh, there wouldn’t be a lot of choices left in the world. Still, though. Josie meant something to him if nothing else good in this world did. “But I understand.” He assured her. “Anything else?”

At his opposition to killing off his apparently still somewhat beloved ex, Catherine felt herself squint with skepticism. Did her pet know where the line was, or if it even existed anymore? She couldn't help but think no, after everything she was hearing, but instead decided to trust Hugo's judgement. Who knows what kind of hell he had to go through dating her, all Catherine did was groom her. She sighed, "Alright. If that is what you think is best." the vampire finally decided after a few minutes of silence. When asked if there was anything else, Catherine shook her head, picking up the pen on top of the pile of papers on her desk and beginning to scribble some things down onto them. "That is all. Thank you, again, Hugo, I know I can expect only the best from you. Perhaps in another life you would be a vampire," she mused for a moment before looking down to her papers, flicking her hand in dismissal.

[athenaofthesea]

UNDER ROYAL GUARD ♆

LOCATION: Pacific Merkingdom of the Moorishes, Underwater

SUMMARY: Based on (x) from the West Point Beach Re-Opening event. Athena is escorted down to the merkingdom where the King and Queen let her know about Catherine’s plans. Despite the PTSD from her past, Athena has to agree to be placed under guard. Nadia and Paio also suspect something about her lineage. Upset mermaid is upset.

OTHER INFO: @askwhleaders . Conversation with Paio and Nadia, NPCs.

ATHENA

Athena did not expect to be forced to follow a bunch of guards into the water, turn and swim with them to the merkingdom. Though they weren’t being outwardly threatening, she knew if she tried to resist there would be a problem. So she didn’t, but she was wary and anxious the entire time. 

Now, as she waited there in what seemed like some sort of majestic underwater living room, Athena tried not to look at the guards or at much of anything except the exits. It wasn’t until she heard a door open behind her that she turned and faced whoever entered. It was the king and queen themselves. Despite her first instinct to demand why she was here, she bit her tongue and resisted the urge to say anything first.

PAIO/NADIA

Paio was no genius by any measure, but he knew this was bad. Catherine’s scolding of them was threatening, scary, and more importantly, he knew that Athena’s head would be on a platter now. After the vampire’s demands to hand the mermaid arsonist were rejected by them, he knew that the next few months for Athena would be rocky — especially considering it had been him who had forced Nadia to agree to the whole thing and spare Athena. Arguing with Nadia about to do about Athena all the way down to the kingdom, trying to convince her away from just letting Athena be devoured by Catherine’s army of evil, he finally relented just before they went to where she was waiting. 

Swimming over to Athena, he sighed, trying to be the comforting one between them. “Athena, hello again.” he smiled, “Are they keeping you comfortable?” he tried to be as nonthreatening as possible. After a moment of hesitation, he took a seat across from her, “Obviously, we have some things we need to discuss with you after what happened with Magnolia Chital.”

It was more than obvious that Nadia at first hadn't been in agreement with Paio when it came to the situation with Athena. She was more than willing to let the other mermaid get killed for the mistakes she had made. Athena had meant little to Nadia, especially because the other mermaid had seemed to bring all of her troubles upon herself. So, why should Nadia help her? Though, Paio was always there to change her mind. No matter the situation, he was always able to make Nadia change her decision. Of course, sparing Athena was no exception.

Nadia followed Paio in swimming over to Athena, offering her a nod. "Hello, Athena," she stated in a civil tone, the words almost coming off flat. While Paio was more welcoming and kind, she remained stern. Nadia swam to take a seat next to Paio, nodding in agreement to his statement.

ATHENA

Athena usually felt the urge to move (in this case, swim) back when someone tried to get close to her in a situation like this. But when Paio moved forward she didn’t really feel that. She remained put, brows furrowed as he spoke. He was being nice again. But something was wrong, this was not the right time to be nice. She glanced over at Nadia when she spoke and then back to him. “… Something’s wrong, isn’t it? With… Catherine?” Saying her name was equivalent to stabbing her hand with a fork. “Is that why I’m here?” 

Wait, wasn’t she speaking to royalty? Was there some kind of… code she should follow? Athena respected the kingdom at least, even if she wasn’t sure how to feel about having a king or queen. But she wanted to show she gonna play nice. “Your… majesties?” She added, uncertainly, clearly not knowing the kind of protocol she was suppose to follow and not bothering to hide that fact.

PAIO/NADIA

When she asked if something was wrong with Catherine, Paio’s look drooped to the floor, looking down at the blue marble of the floor with forlorn. There was too much wrong with Catherine, but that was for another day. He had to soothe her, despite the fact that this was frightening for anyone. When she finally called out their title, Paio looked back up, nodding and letting out a tense breath. “Well…yeah.” he tried to chuckle, but it came out stiff, awkward. He shook his head, “You’re in very, very bad danger now, Athena, after what happened tonight. We want to protect you as much as we can, but you have to work with us.” 

When he responded predictable with trepidation, Nadia rolled her eyes, motioning up, “Oh, I’ll just say it— she’s going to come after you to kill you, Athena. Magnolia broke our deal, and wanted us to hand you over as payment. I think you should suffer for what you did, but my husband disagrees, so here we are.”

ATHENA

Athena listened carefully to Paio, only looking away to Nadia once she spoke. Then she stared back at Paio in disbelief. He didn’t know her, how was it he wanted to protect her this much? Did the king really care that so much for his people? It rattled her. She wanted to feel warm and happy about it, but she just felt frightened and guilty. Apart from the growing respect she was starting to have for the merfolk monarchy. But this was never a situation she wanted to put herself or anyone else in. 

“… Look, I- I didn’t ask for any of this. I thought I was avenging merfolk when I did what I did - when I was manipulated by that vampire to burn Catherine’s house. But I never wanted to put anyone in this position. I especially didn’t want the rest of the merkingdom involved. For that… I’m sorry.” She decided to say, looking between both of them. Her tail flicked a bit nervously under her. “What am I suppose to do… to help?”

PAIO/NADIA

Listening to the sincerity in her voice, it forced Nadia to look away, feeling a bit of pity for her. As much as she was growing to dislike the mermaid in front of them for what a headache she’d cause the kingdom, she also know that what was done was done. The time to repair was now, but Nadia was never very good at such things. Paio instead, took the lead, nodding his head sympathetically, “I— we understand. This is our bed, and we must lye in it now, if you understand.” Paio tried to crack a smile to lighten the move somewhat, looking to Nadia who glanced back at him, nodding curtly in agreement. 

Nadia looked to Athena once more, “If you want to help, go along with what we ask of you without complaint. If not, you can hand yourself over to Catherine.” she explained. Paio interjected, “What she means is that you’ll have to stay with us for the time being. We’ll have to put a royal guard on you at all times as well, and you’ll have to quit for job until we can determine it’s safe for you to be on your own and resume your life.” He knew how it sounded, and so he put a hand out to try and sooth her, “We can provide everything and anything you need. Anything you want, we have, and anything you need for us to do, we can arrange. You’ll get the best of everything and the best treatment. You’ll be practically royalty.”

ATHENA

Her heart rated increased, she could heard the blood pounding in her ears. ’We’ll have to put a royal guard on you…’ started it. Then it just got worse and worse. Never mind being treated like royalty. Sure, it would be nice to live in splendor but she would choose her small apartment and shitty job with her freedom, independence, and autonomy over a palace any day. Being followed around and living where she didn’t want the way she was as and had to when her mother was alive was terrifying. It brought her an alarming feeling of post-traumatic stress, making her feel almost like a helpless girl again. 

As her heart rate increased, so did her breathing. She beat her tail once, swimming back just a foot. “No,” Athena breathed out, shaking her head. “No, you don’t understand. I can’t do that. I can’t-“ She inhaled, trying to gather her thoughts into more sensible words. “I can’t handle being-” Imprisoned. “-not being free. I need my space, my apartment. My job, my… my privacy.”

PAIO/NADIA

As soon as she began to panic, Nadia’s eyes rolled, shaking her head, “Then you might as well just walk into Vernon Manor! Because it’s—“ before she could finish, Paio put a hand on her, his usual touch to signal she needed to turn it down a notch. Stopping, she huffed out, swimming away from her chair and instead to look out the window of the palace to calm herself down as Paio talked. Getting up from his own seat, he swam to sit next to her, putting his arm gently on her shoulder, “Athena, I need you to just take a second and breathe a little, please. What Nadia said….it’s true. It’s either this or certain death. She will come after you and kill you, and we value your life. As much as it may be frustrating for you, it is for us as well.” He shook his head, “You’ll have all those things, besides your apartment and job of course. We have plenty of space both in the palace and mansion on shore, which means plenty of privacy too. The guards will only follow you when you leave the grounds of either.” He knew it wasn’t optimal, but as much as she didn’t like it, he knew the alternative was torture at the hands of the vampire clan.

ATHENA

Maybe it was his peaceful nature that did it, but something about Paio made her calm down at least a little. She didn’t even flinch at the touch. Her breathing slowed as she watched him and tried to listen. The mermaid had no choice. If she wanted to live, if she didn’t want to disappoint this king that had done so much for her… she had to accept. No part of her wanted to. But she had to. If she fought this, she would only be making things worse for everyone. Athena thought of the people she loved… she didn’t want to let them down either. She hadn’t even found her family yet so she just couldn’t die right now. 

Even though it was akin to driving painful needles through her skin, Athena nodded very subtly. And even as she did that, she felt the urge to start panicking again. But she held it together. “… Okay,” she breathed out. “When, um…” She looked away, closing her eyes for a heartbeat before looking back at Paio. “What do I do right now? Get my things?” She looked defeated, helpless. No matter how hard she tried to run from the life she had before coming to WH, it seemed to have found a way to trap her again. It was everything she’d dreaded and feared. It took all her willpower not to storm out of that palace at that very moment and swim as far away as possible.

PAIO/NADIA

Paio felt himself relax a little, Nadia glancing over to see how the two were doing and hoping she’d calmed down just a little. When Athena asked what happened next, she motioned to the two guards at the door of the room, “Eric, Beck; They will lead you back home to retrieve your belongings, and then back to either here at the palace or the mansion to sleep tonight. I recommend staying underwater for tonight.” she said sharply, knowing that not even Catherine’s henchmen could get her underwater. The two guards nodded to Athena as a sign of respect. Paio nodded in agreement, “Those are our royal guard, but we will assign you your own tomorrow. Let us know if there are any problems, please — we want to make this as painless as possible. It shouldn’t feel like captivity.” he tried to reassure her with a soft smile. He knew, though, the reality of what she’d be living through, Even going into stores to shop or out to eat, she’d be followed closely behind by the security so that she wasn’t snatched up in the street. 

“I would like to, once more, stress how dangerous Catherine is when she’s angry.” Nadia spoke up once again, coming towards Athena. “Don’t try to pull any tricks or stunts to outsmart your security or on her. She has a large connection that spans continents, as do we, and she’s out for her payment.” Paio sighed, looking to Athena tensely, “What she means is that in the meantime, we’ll figure out another deal with Catherine so one day you can get out of all this.”

ATHENA

Athena turned a bit to see who Nadia was addressing and immediately tensed up at the imposing view of the two royal guards. It wasn’t like the single witches and warlocks her mother had hired against her over the years, these guys looked worse. But they wouldn’t do worse and she had to remember that. Despite how much fear she felt about the situation, Athena trusted Paio. Nadia, on the other hand, she didn’t exactly distrust but she was much more intimidated by her. 

When Paio spoke again she turned back to him, looking just as distressed as before. But she listened patiently and nodded since she couldn’t return the smile. It was only thanks to him that she hadn’t tried to fight back more. He just wasn’t someone she wanted to fight. Her gaze switched to Nadia when she came closer. “… Right,” she said, looking back to Paio. “One day.” One day. Going by how much she had to try to be okay with this now, she couldn’t imagine living very long in this situation. It would kill her. And it would be a slow and painful death, far extending her physical form. It would crush her soul to be imprisoned again. 

“I’m telling you know… I can’t do this very long. If there is anything at all I can say to Catherine or even…” She closed her eyes and inhaled before continuing as normal. Fuck. “Or even do for her to get out of this and give the merkingdom some peace of mind again, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.”

PAIO/NADIA

The two guardsmen simply nodded to Athena, not speaking and keeping their spears upright, looking straight ahead once they paid their respects to her. Nadia had fell into royal life easily, never having been intimidated by the guards, finding their presence soothing or invisible on most days. Paio on the other hand, ever the adventurer, had always found himself trying to play hooky from them, and so he understood the way in which Athena looked to them. There was only so much he could do to help the young mermaid, and unfortunately, she had made this mess herself. 

Looking between themselves Nadia and Paio shared of a look of pity and worry before turning back to her. “Soon.” Paio reassured her. Nadia shook her head at the other offer, “It’s not safe for you to even go near her. Catherine is a master of deceit, trickery, and manipulation. Probably why we have been so close over these years.” Nadia mumbled the last part with a small smirk, waving her hand to dismiss it entirely as she went on, “We will have to talk with our advisors, guards, other leaders, and species experts to determine what the best course of action would be. I’m sorry but it’s much too—“ before she could continue, she had finally gotten a good look at Athena, and noticed something glittering off her tail. Gold. Taking a quick glance, her eyes growing wider, she finished her sentence a little slowly, “—too risky to put you in that position until we can control the outcome. Paio, sweetheart, may I speak with you a moment?”

Pulling her husband aside to the other side of the room, she lowered her voice, “Have you seen her tail? There is gold in it. You know that no one but those in a royal bloodline can have gold.” she stressed to him. Paio looked back over to her, brows furrowing and noticing it before looking back to Nadia. “Perhaps it’s just a lighter yellow?” Nadia huffed out, shaking her head, “I know what I am seeing, but….if she is royalty, it means she is related to either the Anthemoessa’s bloodline or ours, and since there is no black forming, I would be more inclined to believe it’s us. Unless there is another kingdom in Europe she is related to.” Paio sighed, putting a hand on Nadia’s arm, “I wouldn’t worry now about it. She already has so much to deal with….we have to worry more about her being alive than we do her being an heir to the kingdom.” Nadia, after a second or so of hesitation, finally nodded. 

Swimming back to her, Paio put on a large smile, clapping his hands together, “So, when would you like to get this show on the road?”

ATHENA

Athena listened, heart sinking though she’d expected as much. She kept her eyes on Nadia respectfully as the woman spoke. The pause took her off guard. She seemed to have noticed something on her tail. Athena was used to looks, especially since there were little to no nicks or stains on them. It wasn’t that she took extra care with the aquatic appendage, she just hardly ever had the chance in her past to change into this form. It wasn’t brand new but it was definitely lightly used. 

Although she was used to the curious glances, there was more than curiousity in Nadia’s face. It look like shock. Did she have something stuck to her tail? Athena self consciously glanced down at herself but just then Nadia pulled Paio to the side. She decided it must not have had to do with her looks at all and it was just a coincidence Nadia had glanced down at her in a moment of realization. In fact, it was probably another realization concerning her probable death. Wonderful. 

So Athena sunk down into one of the chairs, curling her tail to the side of it and looking absently around at the room as she waited. It was a magnificent palace. It was exactly the place she would have daydreamed about living in as a little girl. Now it would be her prison. A lump formed in her throat as she thought about her how much pain and suffering had gone into her finding out about West Hollow, scrounging up money to get here and start a live for herself. And through a single moment of weakness and a vampire, it was ruined. She’d come here to learn about her family but the only thing she’d managed to learn was how to try and deal with heartbreak and endless near death experiences. 

She looked over at Paio when he addressed her again as the the two royals came closer. The king smiled widely and looked happy. Athena wasn’t sure she’d ever smile again. She straightened herself up from the chair, the equivalent of standing up, and nodded. “… I’ll get my things.”

[athenaofthesea]

❝ ATHENA & MICHAEL

Conversation 1.0

LOCATION: Rovell Residence, West Hollow

SUMMARY: Athena confesses to the werewolf alpha, Michael, about having caused the fire and indirectly putting the innocent werewolf in his pack in jail. She finds out he already knew and suspects it was because of Harper. The two reconcile.

OTHER INFO: About the Vernon Manor fire conclusion. Post speaking to Harper and Hugo about what happened. Involving the mention of other WH NPCs: Thomas Smith (vampire) and Charles Montgomery (werewolf).

ATHENA:

After spilling the beans to Hugo and everything since then, Athena felt reckless. After all, if she was able to risk telling a demon about what she’d done, it was more than reasonable to assume it would be alright to finally come clean to the leader of the wolves himself. After all, it was his man Athena had unintentionally put in jail. Maybe this would make up for it in a way - help Michael to find a way to get Charles out. 

 Quickly and feeling on edge, Athena drove towards where her GPS said the address to Rovell Residence would be. Before she’d even parked, Athena already felt like there were eyes trained on her. Possibly wolves somewhere nearby, watching her, trying to determine her motives. Athena inhaled deeply and ignored the her paranoid feels as she made her way to the door of the house to knock.

MICHAEL:

Michael had been talking with the pack about what to do with the information Harper had gave them for some time. There had been much debate among them whether or not it was credible, worth it, or even if they were perhaps wrong about Charles. There was talk of who and if anyone should go round up the mermaid, or if they should perhaps talk to the merfolk Queen and King about it beforehand. The werewolves had been following her for days to report her behavior back to him and keep visuals on her. However, Michael tried to weigh their options as closely as he could before causing a scene and once again getting the short end of the stick. Apparently, though, it seemed destiny was going to come for him regardless. Hearing the screeching up and parking of a car, Michael looked outside the window of his living room to see the mermaid making her way to his home. At the knocking, he opened the door, blinking as he faced her. "Can I help you?" he asked, looking her up and down suspiciously.

ATHENA:

"You're Michael, yes?" Athena asked, looking over his shoulder afterwards into his house and then back to him. "Athena Ray. Can I come in?" She asked with a bit of a sigh. "I have information regarding Catherine's fire and... your guy. Charles." She was getting tired of feeling the eyes of people behind her, somewhere, watching her.

MICHAEL:

Michael nodded his head at the question, noticing that she was casing out his house for others when she asked. That alone was suspicious enough to make him wonder if she was going to pull something here to. When she asked if she could come in, Michael shrugged, going to open his mouth before she hurriedly began to answer any question he would have had. Huffing out a chuckle, he moved to the side to let her inside. Closing the door behind him, he locked it. If she had such important information, he was going to get to the bottom of it. "Athena Ray." he repeated with a nod of his head, "I've heard a great deal about you." he started, face serious and concentrated on the mermaid. Michael gestured over to a couch for her to sit before speaking again, "My guy, Charlie-- he ain't deserve to be where he's sitting right now and I think you know why. I think you are why. You're just lucky you came to me first before I had to have my pack round you up. The jury was still out last meeting we had about you." he explained.

ATHENA:

Athena walked in confidently for someone entering the home of a werewolf alpha. Her heart was racing and she inhaled deeply before turning a few steps away from the door to face Michael again. She was about to speak what she’d rehearsed in her mind before his words sunk in. Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?” She asked, shaking her head once in disbelief. “Are you telling me someone told you already?”

MICHAEL:

Michael nodded his head, masking the amusement he felt at the fact that she seemed unaware that he had already have someone tell him about the fact that she knew more than she had said. For how confident she had started, it had all seemed to deflate right in front of it, and he liked it that way. No one who let an innocent man go to prison for something he didn't do should be calling the shots. "Oh, that's right. I had someone give me your name specifically and that you had information on the fire and the fact that Charles may not be guilty. Risked a lot to get it, too." he sighed, coming closer, "Now, I'm sure you know that I can't give you their name, but, since you seem to be open to telling me about it, why don't you have a seat and we'll talk it over? No judgements, no yelling-- just talking."

ATHENA:

Athena breathed in and then out. It hadn’t been Hugo - it definitely hadn’t been him. Despite everything, she felt that she could have at least trusted him with that truth. Which left… Harper. Although, she didn’t tell Harper the whole truth, it was possible she deduced it for herself. Athena made a mental note to get back at her for it. 

She straightened up, grit her teeth and nodded. “I hope you realize I’m coming here at great personal risk too. I didn’t have to tell you anything, but I’m done hiding this. For that guy and his family, I’ll give you all the information I have on who was really behind the whole thing… on one condition.”

MICHAEL:

At her tough facade, Michael felt his eyes roll. He didn't have time for any of this -- not when he was being so nice to her, anyway. "How about you drop the dramatics first? Personal risk my ass; there's already a man sitting in prison for what happened along with the fact that if I really wanted, I could have had my wolves drag you here and beat you senseless until I got what I wanted out of you. Don't act like you're doing me a favor -- you did ya'self one. And I'm the nice one compared to Catherine." he explained matter-of-factly to her. Finally, he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest, "But alright -- what is it?"

ATHENA:

Athena glared as he spoke before finally turning and walking a couple steps away. It was a slow, absent-minded gait. She looked around taking in her new surroundings. “… I was hired and manipulated to do this.” She said, putting a hand into her bag. Athena took out a wad of cash and turned to face Michael again as she held it up. “Get him in jail in place of Charles, not me, and I’ll tell you everything that happened and everything I know about him.”

MICHAEL:

At her stark confession, Michael's mouth turn agape as the rest of his face went into shock. He thought that maybe, she had just done it because of some personal vendetta against Catherine but that-- that was so much worse. "Whoa, what?" he asked incredulously, and when she turned with the wad of cash, shook his head once more in disbelief. He moved to stand in front of her immediately, swatting the money away, "I don't need money to do that, but you, you gotta tell me everything you know and did. What your talking about is serious and complicated and...." he sighed, thinking for a moment before eyes met hers again, "And requires planning to do what you're asking. Now, I'm not saying I won't do it, but I need to know this is all legit."

ATHENA:

Fair enough, Athena thought. She decided she trusted the werewolf. She put the wad of cash the vampire had given her back into her bag. “His name is Thomas Smith.” She said. “He’s a vampire. Brown hair, brown eyes, stubble, tall… Maybe a couple inches less than you. He came up to me outside my apartment and asked me to meet him at the cafe after my shift. I did.” Athena looked over her shoulder and then back to Michael, gesturing behind her. “Mind if I sit?” She didn’t wait for an answer before walking towards the kitchen.

MICHAEL:

That name was familiar. "Officer Thomas Smith? He was the responding cop on the scene of the fire at Catherine's." Michael thought aloud, but also informed her. Letting out a huff at the thought, it made a lot more sense now concerning the evidence, but not all of it. Michael followed her into the kitchen, moving towards the cabinets and taking out two glasses while he talked, "Of course he's a vampire but-- to burn Catherine's house down? To have someone else do it?" he sighed, shaking his head as he put the glasses under the water dispenser on the fridge for them to fill up. He then turned, sliding a glass her way and sitting across from her on the island. "What happened next?"

ATHENA:

Athena sat at the island table, leaning against the marble and watching Michael as he talked and got the glasses. “I assume he wanted someone that would never be suspected or connected to Catherine in anyway.” She brought her glass closer to her after being offered it. “He told me Catherine was responsible for hundreds of merfolk deaths throughout the years. Even showed me pictures of…” She gulped, looking down before meeting his eyes again. “The deaths… Anyway, the info he gave me and how he spoke… it was really convincing. I had no reason to believe Catherine wouldn’t be targeting merfolk living mostly underwater if it was easier to get away with than humans.”

MICHAEL:

At the explanation she gave about the information Smith had provided her with, he rubbed the bridge his nose in frustration. That made sense, but still, it was maddening. It was made even worse by the fact that it had been so easy to convince Athena. Why would a bloodsucker care if their leader killed a bunch of merfolk? Most, if not all, of the ones he encountered would rather get shot in the face than have to go against the Queen Vampiress. Michael nodded, deciding not to push it-- over and done. "Well, I'm sure Catherine has killed some merfolk over the years, but she fortunately is not responsible for what you're talking about. It's a slim chance anyway; vampires in my experience prefer human blood and merfolk are the hardest species to get at because you have the protection of the sea to contend with. You ever see a vampire swim?" he joked slightly, letting out a chuckle to cut the tension that sat heavy in the air. After a moment, he bit down on his lip, "And so what happened next?  He give you money for it and then set the scene up or something?"

ATHENA:

“I know, I figured it out a few days after some research… Anyway, well, after almost an hour of talking with him he finally convinced me. Got me mad. Then he offered money and I asked him what his stake was on this. Why would he care about the merfolk?” Athena sighed and lifted the glass to her lips to take a sip. After swallowing she continued. “He said he wanted justice." She said with distaste. "That he hated Catherine and everything she stood for. He said she’d killed his family and he wanted to gather people to get back at her. I know that was probably all a lie now.” She grit her teeth. 

The mermaid paused for a beat. “… He offered me 3 grand to help him. I’m not in the best place with money, so that finally drew me to agree to do it. He’d told me already that he planned to scare her out of West Hollow slowly. And that the first step was to burn down her house… No one else was going to get hurt and it was a simple enough task. I was also angry enough at this point that I probably would have wanted to do that on my own anyway.” She huffed in annoyance, looking down at her drink. “So, when I agreed he went into detail how it was going to go. He promised me I would never get caught. But I didn’t really get the full plan until 2 days later when it was going to happen.”

MICHAEL:

Well, that answered his question about why she had been so easily duped into believing a vampire would ever go against Catherine. Michael was sure there were vampires out there who hated Catherine but, fortunately for them, they didn't live in West Hollow. There were many moments where Michael had wondered just how much reign Catherine presided over the vampires of Oregon, much less West Hollow, but he pushed it aside for now. A vampire had hired someone to try and burn down their leader's house. Taking a sip of his water, he shrugged, "Well, he wasn't lying entirely-- he did probably hate that Catherine stood for that truce. My werewolves had similar problems, but they would never lash out like that." he said grimly. 

 Michael continued to listen to the story, then connecting the wad of cash she had pulled out to him and nodded. He could hear the anger in her voice, the remnants of her passion carrying over into guilt at what she had been capable of. He couldn't say that he didn't understand. He shook his head the whole thing in disappointment that it had been able to go down, but an eyebrow came up when she mentioned that she didn't get the full plan. "Full plan?"

ATHENA:

Athena took a long swig of her drink as he responded. Reliving the whole thing made her mouth dry with nerves. Fortunately, it also felt satisfying in a way. She put the glass down and nodded grimly. “The next time we met was in his truck by the forest. Thomas gave me a full outfit to change into in the car and said it would disguise my mermaid smell. He also gave me a lock breaker for the window and told me to use it to get in. Then I was suppose to take a small tin of gasoline and pour it all over her kitchen and, frankly, enormous dining room and light it up with a lighter.” 

She inhaled slowly before continuing. “… He said Catherine wouldn’t be in the house. Thinking back on it, I’m sure he lied because he also said if anyone came and saw me, to throw down a smoke bomb. So, when I heard her run downstairs, I did and I bolted out the front door… Thomas was waiting for me to get in the truck and we drove down to the highway and out of town. He burnt the clothes with me at an empty beach to destroy the evidence and then he told me I could swim back home.” She looked away thoughtfully. “He was really thankful and going on about the vampires getting what they deserved… I left and that was the last time I saw him.” Athena glanced back at Michael.

MICHAEL:

Michael took a drink as she continued, listening intently, smiling with amusement at her description of Catherine's house. Ah, yes, he knew well of Catherine's expansive property and its frankly disconcerting Victorian and Gothic style that she refused to update to modern times. It said a lot about her, he had said the first time she had invited him over to discuss truce terms, and Catherine had laughed it off as if it wasn't nothing. He didn't recall her laughing much other than that. When she was done speaking, and he noticed how she was visibly shaken by the whole thing, Michael reached out a hand to softly touch her forearm, "Hey, you ain't got to go through this alone, now." he reassured her with a look of genuine concern. Giving it a supportive squeeze, he let go and pulled away, shrugging, "What you're telling I--I've never heard anything like it, quite honestly," he chuckled lightly, but then sighed, "However, all of this, I--we need more evidence to bring to Catherine. You didn't properly meet that woman but she is absolutely terrifying, even without the fangs. I once saw her slap one of her own vampires across the face. Bringing this to her without evidence or corroboration is asking for a death sentence. I have a plan in mind I could present to her that could get Charlie out, but you're going to need to give me something to work with. Is there anything else you have besides the cash?"

ATHENA:

Athena listened to him, only slightly surprised to find the large, scary werewolf was almost fatherly. He was patient and understanding, and no longer looked like he was ready to bite her. Then again, it had only been because she was threatening the life quality of his good friend. She couldn’t blame him for that. 

Athena nodded slightly. “… I heard the death sentence thing.” She muttered and looked away. After a deep inhale, Athena gazed back at Michael and shook her head. “I don’t have anything, I’m sorry…" She exhaled. "I’ve kinda tried to accept the fact there’s not much I can do now to help me survive - I just want to do something good before I go, if I have to. I didn’t mean for your guy to get arrested. In fact, I had no idea they were pinning anything on the werewolves.” She shrugged. “All I can offer is the truth, which I’ve given you and my faith you’ll help me not die if you can.”

MICHAEL:

For a moment, Michael considered that if Athena had been in his pack, he would have probably enjoyed her. She seemed strong and fierce but also considerate and thoughtful, and Michael always liked to see strong women capable of holding their own. Not that he enjoyed that she had enough nerve to burn down Catherine's house, but he had also been half amused when he had heard the news. She did have it coming. 

"Of course-- you were honest and brave enough to come to me with what you did. Not many people have that kind of strength, Athena. For that, my pack will protect you as best we can. With the truce down, vampires will fight back, but we have a little more strength and claws than they have." Taking a beat, he finished his glass of water and then looked back to her, his face focused and concentrated. "Here's what I'm thinking-- I'm going to go back to who told me about all this and hopefully they have more evidence than me. When I get the evidence we need, whenever that may be, I'm going to go to Catherine and hopefully convince her to help me frame Thomas instead. He deserves to go down for this, not you. Catherine will....well, who knows." he sighed.

ATHENA:

The last thing Athena ever expected was for someone to compliment her in the way he did. No one had ever called her honest or brave before, and it caught her off guard for a small moment. She stayed silent, listening until Michael finished speaking. The mermaid nodded once at the end, not feeling completely reassured but at least thankful for the man’s mercy, understanding and help. Athena hadn’t expected to find much of that and doubted there would be much more - especially not from Catherine. “... Thanks,” she said slowly, looking down at her drink before meeting his eyes again. “I’ll prepare for the worst either way, but thank you for understanding.” She sighed. “Sorry again... about Charles. Will you let him know if I can’t?”

MICHAEL:

At the mention that she might die and when she had begun making arrangements for Michael to tell Charles, Michael could only feel his heart sink slightly. That was the way of their world, wasn't it? The constant preparing for death, targets on your back, everyone watching each other like hawks to discern whether or not they were an ally or enemy. He nodded, sighing. There was no use in assuring her she wouldn't die -- he had said the same thing to Carmen when they begun dating. 

"Yeah, I will. I visit him once a week. It's as much as I can go with the drive -- he's up in Sheridan right now. They're talking about transferring him out of Oregon to a more minimum security, but he refuses to go cause then he can't see me." Michael said solemnly. "If you wanna go and see him, maybe tell him yourself before any of this hits the fan, then I could let him know you're coming by to talk so he could put you on the visitor's list. He could use someone he knows is listening." he gave a small smile, hoping to encourage her.

ATHENA:

Athena barely returned the smile, lips twitching up slightly but resembling more of a grimace than anything. She took the rest of her drink, downing it before putting it down on the island and responding. “I would but I doubt he’ll want to see me. Plus there’s a lot I need to get done before Catherine inevitably finds out what happened.” She straightened a bit, evidently wanting to speak up about something before hesitating. She exhaled and relented. “Actually - I don’t have any family left, except maybe my father. I’ve been trying to find him. He’s a merman who met Melinda Ray about 125 years ago here... Do you know anyone who might fit that description?” She tried, looking both sadly hopeful and not very confident.

MICHAEL:

Michael couldn't say he was surprised when she barely returned the smile, more disappointed than anything else when she turned down the offer. He nodded, accepting her decision, despite his disagreement with it. "You'd be surprised on how he would feel about it...but I understand. It's tough to confront your demons." he shrugged. He then managed a small chuckle, "What, you got a bucket list or something? I mean, I'd say Carreau is more scary than Catherine, honestly. She has others do her dirty work but HIM will beat the shit out of you himself for looking at him the wrong way. You ever seen one of them gargoyle out before? Pretty fucking nuts." he tried to lighten it up a little, but sobered up yet again when she asked about her father. When she asked, he shook his head, "I'm not very tight with the merfolk clan and all. You'd be easier asking someone like Paio about that. I will look around for you though, keep my nose on the scent." he gave an encouraging smile at the joke. "Just try not to worry yourself too much, alright? I'll try to watch out for you as best I can, despite what a shit move you made. How many people have you told by now?"

ATHENA:

Athena let out a weak humorless laugh. Demon gargoyles? That didn’t sound nice. Fortunately she only knew one demon personally, and he was probably too proud of his good looks to turn into a creep stone monster thing. “No… I haven’t. Hopefully I never will.” 

 She nodded with a small smile, quietly wondering how the merfolk royalty were… and if she could even find time or way to talk to them. Why would they bother with someone like her? “Thanks…,” she said. “Um… Just one other person?” She grimaced, hoping there was no need to elaborate. “It kinda just came out but I trust him.” Sorta. Maybe.

MICHAEL:

Michael had to be able to see the humor in the supernatural, or else it was far too real and far too devastating to think that he was a part of it. Thankfully, he had never seen himself in wolf form. He shrugged, "You never know in a town like this." When she mentioned another person, Michael gave her a skeptical look, eyebrow cocking upwards and looking her over for a moment before replying. "If you're sure. I hope so-- for your sake." he pursed his lips, taking a moment, before letting out a tense breath. He didn't want his next words to come off wrong, "You know, if you want to stay here for the time being, you can. I have spare rooms and this is wolf territory, meaning vamps usually think twice before starting trouble around here. Talbot's is only minutes away too, if you get hungry. It's the best way to keep you safe while I work it out. You don't have to, but it's an option if you want to avoid death."

ATHENA:

Athena pressed her lips into a subtle thin line at his first comment, and decided not to respond to it. Afterwards, her brows creased and surprised lined her face. That offer had not been something she ever would have expected from the werewolf alpha, especially not after everything that had happened. Despite taking a millisecond to consider the benefits, the mermaid quickly shook her head. It was risky for Michael, his family and his pack and Athena refused to deal with that on her conscience after everything. She didn’t mention that, but she did respond with the other reasons. “I appreciate the concern, but I have a lot to get done on my own before Catherine finds out. I’m also not the best team player and I doubt the other wolves would want me around. It’s just not my scene. Besides… it would be suspicious at the moment. Could be even worse than staying at my place” She said with a grimace. “I’ll lay low on my own.”

MICHAEL:

Michael's face was grim as she denied it. He had half expected it, but still, his face read plainly that he considered her to be making a mistake. For a moment, he wondered if he should press her and make take the offer, knowing that out in the world her fate would be decided more than he could help her. Shaking his head, he sighed, "If that's your decision." he didn't hide the fact that he disagreed, but wouldn't say it aloud. Taking the empty glass from across the island, he took the cups and placed them in the sink behind him, speaking as he did so, "I appreciate you talking with me. Despite how stupid what'cha did was, it takes a lot for a mermaid to confront a werewolf on land. I hope you make it out there." Nodding his head towards the door, "You're free to go."

ATHENA:

Again, she hadn’t expected Michael to care much but he evidently strongly disagreed with her decision - only proving he’d actually genuinely meant the offer. It was nice to know. However, her choice remained firm. Complete independence and the freedom to control her own fate and life was something Athena fiercely wanted to protect now that that luxery was hers to have. She no longer wanted to depend on someone else.

Her lips pursed, but the mermaid didn’t argue she’d been pretty stupid. However, she didn’t think of her choice to come to the werewolf’s residence was brave. It was more so something she wanted to do to clear her conscience. But his kindness was something Athena didn’t take for granted. It was a rare commodity during her century or so of life and she appreciated it. With a vague smile and hopped down the stool. “Good chat... Hopefully the last of it’s kind that we’ll have.” She said, referring to the terrible situation they were in. Athena took a few steps back as she spoke before turning completely and heading towards the door.