#d. aureamoretti

[pelcrus]

closed starter for @aureamoretti location: caught slippin part 2 electric boogaloo note: popopopopopopop

A makeshift chair had been propped up for the Great Old One to sit upon. They had tracked this little wolf all the way here and now all they had to do was simply wait for her. There were so many more of these little cretins to find, but they would find them all. This little radar ability came in handy for them and the other Great Old Ones. Finding their targets was just as simple as breathing and all of them would meet their ends sooner or later. If these rebels did not become useful or accept the world all of them were thrust into, then they would be torn apart and left to feed the ground that they walked upon. A rustle of leaves caught their attention and caused their chin to tilt upwards at her presence. "This demigod was a spartoi. He had brothers." There was a point to this. "You have brothers, too. Well, one." They got up from their seat and walked towards her. Aurea Moretti. Yet another of the Ivy to be put down. There would be none of them left either because the Great Old One knew that the coven would not turn over or kneel for anyone. "Your brother was incinerated. Would you like to know how you'll die?"

[legioneoin]

closed starter for @aureamoretti location: lupercalia note: i mean good luck or whatever

Although he had lost his Capture the Flag competition, it didn't mean that he wanted any of the rest of his family to lose. He wasn't really sure if Virgil or Tripp had signed up for anything, but he knew that Aurea most certainly did. And that something was the most important competition at this entire fucking thing. If she won, it would mean big things for the Ivy. If she lost, then there would be no change at all. Their family would be just as powerful as they were before. Either way, Eoin would be cheering his sister on in the stands and pretending he wasn't when she looked in his direction. He was sure to be the loudest person there. "Have you calculated your chances of winning this? There's quite a lot of competition."

[bansheepaloma]

Paloma tried not to think of everything that had happened during that war. Really, she had been stuck in a padded room for most of it so all she had remembered for a while was four walls and her dear banshee neighbor that she had just screamed at the entire time. Not in a bad way or anything though. It felt like Chrysaor and her were bonded now. More than they already could be given the fact that they were banshees at least. But now she was even more bonded with Aurea because they just...well, the lycan had seen her die. The spirit had to imagine that felt like a lot. Paloma herself had seen more than enough people die to become desensitized to it at this point. Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about that for now. For now, they just had to think about the fact that they were going to help each other get dressed for this party. "Oh, of course. Because us girls need to always help each other out," she stated with an exaggerated wink. An arm slung around the other's shoulders which made her realize that she absolutely had not put a towel on so she was just fully naked. If only she had shame to care. "Just a dress? No chains or anything?"

Oh. Oh. Aurea could see this whole thing between them going one of two ways. On one hand, they'd kind of been trauma bonded together on account of Aurea had literally seen the banshee die, it was something she wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. Either they were going to keep seeing each other like this, keep lowkey checking in on one another, or they were going to awkwardly smile and wave forever. Option two seemed eliminated the moment Paloma invited her over. It's not something she tries to prescribe to, the idea that all women are somewhat mysterious, Paloma is simply just a person. An incredibly hot person that she's more than a little worried about on account of the whole seeing her die thing. "Well I happen to need assistance with my dress so I just think it'd be best if we helped each other out." It's very matter of fact, downright diplomatic even.

[legioneoin]

"Well, we both know how much he loves his memes." If anything, Virgil liked them far too much. Eoin was starting to get tired of the massive amount of exclamation points that came with said memes, too. He wondered if his brother did anything else with his time, but he knew that the other did. After all, he was the sovereign of an entire coven. "We shouldn't worry about him. Virgil isn't those other sovereigns. He's better than them by miles." Not that the rest of them were bad by any means. They just weren't Virgil.

"I keep a folder full of memes solely for him." She admits, head nodding as she goes back to measuring out chocolate chips. The recipe calls for only a cup but she pours two into the bowl, it was all about balance. "I'm worried about him. Sovereigns around here don't really have a good track record." Those in power in general in Rome seemed to be under fire from what she was seeing, hearing. It was constantly changing hands every few months. The witches in particular seemed to be playing trauma roulette, passing around a baton to see whose coven got heat next.

[bansheepaloma]

Paloma honestly didn't expect this girl to actually have the lollipop on hand. She looked down at the Tootsie Pop and then back up at the lycan and then back at the Tootsie Pop. With squinted eyes, she grabbed it from the other's hand and slowly unwrapped it. "You're not trying to poison me, are you?" She said it with a hint of a serious tone before she quickly waved her hand with a smile on her face. "I'm just fucking with you." Then she popped the lollipop in her mouth and looked in the mirror again. Bathroom talks with the girlies were always a treat. You really never knew who you were going to speak to. This one didn't seem drunk yet though. Paloma would be sure to buy her a drink. "Imagine if you had tried to poison me though. I'm already dead so that would've been disappointing for you." It was a joke. She was joking. She was so funny.

She's got to redeem herself from their last encounter and it just so happens she's been laying in wait. Because surely Pinkie Pie was going to turn up again, or maybe she was just truly that hopeful. Aurea's good with girls everywhere else, she has had no issue anywhere else, it's just Rome. Maybe it's something about being home, she feels too much like Eoin and Virgil's kid sister. The last time she'd been around here she'd been too focused on working to really think about dating. It'd been only when she'd fully left Italy did she start figuring all that out. She might be a gay disaster who had taken a hot second to realize she was stricly no dickly, but she had to pull it together. Tucking her lipstick back into her bag, without missing a beat, she pulls out a cherry flavored Tootsie Pop. Because she'd stocked up and she liked candy while she was working on her bike anyways. "Did I guess cherry right?" She asks all too nonchalantly as she holds the sucker out towards the blonde, red lips upturned in an almost sly smile.

[legioneoin]

As she linked her pinky with his own, he simply nodded his head. "Good." Eoin didn't want anything to happen to his cousin. Or, well, she was more like a sister to him than anything. Had been from the moment she was dropped off on their doorstep with her little wolf stuffed animal. Maybe he should've expected that was what she would seek out becoming later in life because of that, but he hadn't really bothered to question that kind of thing. She was still a Moretti. She was still Ivy through and through. That would never change. But then she was mentioning Virgil. Their brother and dear sovereign. "He'll be fine. I think he's more worried about us than himself." Which probably wasn't a good thing. It left him open to an attack if he was too busy focusing on them and not actually his own well-being. "Virgil would never tell us if he's not fine, but I want to believe that he's okay throughout all of this. And if he isn't? We've got his back, don't we?"

She pauses, fingers twirling the cue in her hand as she listens to what he has to say and it's not the usual banter. They're serious, the two of them, individually at least. They could sit there and bicker and prod at one another over the dumbest thing like who could eat more breadsticks (Eoin) or who could get from the cab to the house quicker (her). But when it came down to it, they were forces to be reckoned with in their own right, the whole coven was like that. Aurea finds herself nodding, rendered briefly speechless as she steps forward to offer her pinky to Eoin's. "I promise." Her finger flexes around his and then she's stepping back and nodding towards the table. "This mean I'm allowed to talk about being worried about Virgil? Is this a safe space?"

[legioneoin]

"I'm sure drinking won't ruin your ability to sing." Then again, how would he know? Eoin just liked messing with Aurea all the time. It was how he showed his love for her. No matter how often he mentioned she was adopted, it was barely ever malicious when it was said. If he really wanted to hurt her feelings, he knew how to. The thing was that he didn't want to do that. She was family and she was important to him. That would never change no matter what decisions she made that he might've thought were questionable. Nevertheless, he let out the slightest chuckle at her words. "I'll make sure to take that into consideration. Feels like it's mandatory to get out there if you decide to sing Mr. Vain."

legioneoin​:

Eoin would never say that his sister, or cousin really, was a nuisance, but she was indeed annoying to him. Then again, he found Virgil anoying sometimes, too. They always dragged him into things he didn’t want to be involved with and then he would have to suffer through some stupid dance routine. Then, they would critique him for something he didn’t even want to do in the first place. Of course he wasn’t good at it. He didn’t want to do it. “My renegade? I’m sure there’s more important things than my dancing capabilities for you to worry about, huh, sis?”

“Yeah, like how I can’t drink if I’m going to keep singing.” It’d never stopped her before, but this was big, this was a whole ordeal and she was going to give it her all. She refused to let Dante carry the performance, if she was main vocals, she was going to give range. Hands on her hips, Aurea looks from Eoin to the rest of the crowd of people and she lets out a slow breath. She’s confident, maybe too confident, but she’s not somebody used to being in any sort of spotlight, not alone. “If I launch into Mr. Vain, I better see you and Virgil on the dancefloor.” 

[bansheepaloma]

Paloma was planning a lot of things for this fabulous Lupercalia. She had signed up for one of those competitions. In theory, her chances of winning it all were very slim, but she would absolutely enjoy the process of embarrassing any man that came in her direction. If she was going to get taken out, she only hoped it was one of her Valkyrie sisters. Or maybe just a woman in general. That was for later though. Right now, she was worried about her stage presence. Then, after that, she was very interested in Aurea's performance in this Alpha gauntlet. The banshee was awfully excited about it actually. Which made it even better that the lycan in question had actually sought her out. "Oh, of course I was, but I do love a compliment." She placed a lollipop in her mouth and then held another out to Aurea. "I've seen you kicking a lot of ass. Talk about dream girl, huh?"

Person: @bansheepaloma Location: Backstage Aurea had been privy to a decent amount of live music in the states with all of the biker bars she wound up in. It's loud, it's fun, she loves fun, but this is Paloma and her band and she didn't think she could really smile any bigger than she was when the blonde flounced offstage. She'd managed to make it to see their set between well, everything going on, all of the anxiety brewing in her gut. The excitement was stronger though, the butterflies that seemed to take up a permanent residence in her gut whenever she even thought about the banshee. "You were amazing!" Her face actually hurts from smiling so wide but her face doesn't fall as the musician approaches.

[bansheepaloma]

She was wearing combat boots. This woman was wearing combat boots with a full body pantsuit. It was almost as if they were twinning. To some degree maybe. Either way, this woman was just her type of lady and she was more than interested in whatever was being offered her way. The pink hair was a choice she had made about twelve hours before this party was supposed to kick off. Well, actually, she guessed it wasn't supposed to really be a party. It was just supposed to be a funeral for some satyr guy. Was it supposed to be sad? Satyrs were weird folk honestly if this whole function was anything to go by. The comically large dicks were just dragging along the floor. It had to hurt at some point, right?

A hand went up to her hair though at the compliment she received. Thank Artemis that was enough of a distraction from the two satyrs making out over in the corner over there. "Oh, thanks. You know, I decided on this like a few hours ago. It was just blonde before." Then she dropped her hand and pulled the lollipop she had out of her pocket. "Want one?" She pulled out another and held it out to the lycan. "It's green apple, but I also have grape and...cherry. I think."

Person: @bansheepaloma Location: Some staircase between the bathrooms and the dancefloor She's getting an umpteenth glass of wine, a different flavor this time, a red, because she's kind of determined to find one she likes when she sees it. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots something bright and bouncing up the stairs and Aurea is, first and foremost, a connoisseur of...Women. She'd tried the dude thing once upon a time, she still dipped her toes in every once and a while if they're particularly pretty, but there just wasn't a spark beyond a physical connection there. Not like there was really a physical connection with women at all most of the time because she's too overwhelmed to actually get a date with one of them. She is wearing a cape. She looks to the very pretty woman holding the drink tray and if she can look directly at her, she can find Pinkie Pie. There's a nod of solidarity and then she's retreating in that same direction. "Hey, I love your hair!" And it's very enthusiastic, almost too enthusiastic. Was it hot in here?

[legioneoin]

Eoin had every bit of faith that his siblings and cousins would make it out of all of this okay. Virgil was fine which meant Aurea was fine which meant Tripp would be okay, too. And Mazikeen as well. Thankfully, he hadn’t come back to a damn massacre. Well, for the people he cared for anyway. The vampires that had been lost in the battle didn’t matter to him at all so it wasn’t like he was going to cry about it. However, there had been one person he was looking for when his sister came up to him. The thought melted away for the time being as her arms wrapped around him in a hug. Had they thought he was dead? He wouldn’t have blamed them, but that ring had come in handy. If anything, Eoin was always prepared no matter what. “I’ll be sure to tell him you uppercut me or something.” His lips pressed against the side of her head before he pulled away. “You’re okay?”

Person: @legioneoin Location: New City Who Dis

She finds him as she herself is covered in dirt and blood and she doesn't care that she looks scared shitless when her arms go around his middle immediately. He's alive, she knew it, Virgil knew it, but it'd taken a lot of convincing. For days she'd searched and sniffed and torn through things to get to him, all the while thinking that there was a chance she'd really beaten him for the last time, that she'd outlive him. "We don't talk about this." Aurea's crying into his chest, sniffling as she lets go of him in order to properly assess him. "If Virgil asks, I punched you on sight."

[rawlinsbriggs]

"Not too long." How was he supposed to say that it had been five years since he had been back in the world? How was he supposed to explain that time really meant nothing to him now? Well, he guessed it did to an extent. Rawlins felt like he was more concerned about the time he had left than ever before. There was Narcissus there. The one person he loved that was immortal. He didn't know how to deal with the fact that he would be gone one day and the tiefling would still be here. That was something for another time though. The one thing he was 'happy' about was the fact that he'd found someone to help him while Kayce was doing whatever the fuck he did in his supposed spare time. It really wasn't spare time though. Technically, he was supposed to be here since the damn auto shop was his in the first place. Maybe Rawlins should've actually renamed the place to Briggs Auto. "Why do you ask?"

Person: @rawlinsbriggs Place: Gaines Auto "How long have you been in Rome?" This is a dude surrounded by wolves on all sides now and there's something that's...Aurea had spent a lot of time around a particular type of man before she'd figured herself out. And she thinks Rawlins is one of them, pretty and yet there's something inherently sad that cheekbones can't hide if you really get a good look in their eyes. She looks over at him as she grabs a box of tools off of her workbench, hellbent on maybe bonding a little as well as fixing the ever finicky kickstand on her bike.

[bansheepaloma]

People really didn't know how to stay home, that was a given. Paloma had learned a long time ago that people would brave any storm just for one night of normalcy. She couldn't really blame them. She was often the same. The only difference between her and them was the fact that she was already dead. It wasn't like she needed to worry about a plague going around and giving her the cooties. If these people didn't care though, neither did she. Hence why she was up there DJing to her heart's content. If someone were to cough in the crowd, she wouldn't have heard it through the headphones covering her ears. There was a drink passed to her and she was downing it enough to where she thought she maybe felt a slight buzz. False alarm though. It was just the room vibrating from the bass. Boring.

Eventually, she took a break and let the music just play from her booth so that she could go use the bathroom. At least she could do that. As she basically kicks open the door, she's met with the sight of that lycan she had run into before at that masquerade. The cute one. She had given her a lollipop and then went on about her business then. Paloma could take a break now to have a chat though. "No anything this time. I don't suppose you have one for me, huh? Pretty please?"

Person: @bansheepaloma Location: The Clerb People didn't stop partying, that was a thing. Vaccine or no vacancy, if music was playing, if booze was flowing, people danced and Aurea thought it was insane, but she got it. Some people were desperate for normalcy and she couldn't quite say she blamed them. It's why she'd gone out herself, snuck away from the hotel and the garage and put on short and slinky and ordered a couple of fun martinis. The music was good, kind of ambient but still danceable and she finds herself on the dancefloor eventually. What's shocking is when she looks up and sees that behind the DJ equipment is none other than Pinkie Pie, the girl who had handed her that green apple lollipop at the masquerade and then sauntered away. The actual club is dark, Aurea doesn't think she can see her, and yet her face heats up anyways because she'd fumbled that bag. So she tries to shrug it off and just dance with other people, tries not to keep sparing glances at the booth. Eventually, what feels like hours later, she's in what everyone knows is a save point when you're drunk, the bathroom. It's nice, painted in the same bisexual lighting that the dancefloor was doused in and she's fixing her lipstick in the mirror when the door swings open. She catches her out of the corner of her eye, a flash of pink hair and she's had a few drinks, she can do this. "No green apple this time?" She asks, glancing to the pixie of a woman in the mirror.

[bansheepaloma]

"Oh really?" People she likes, huh? Paloma thought she would end up having to be the one to do all the work here between the two of them, but it seemed she had pegged the other all wrong. Now she was curious about what else she had judged incorrectly. Not that she had judged the lycan at all anyway, but it had been clear to her that the other was definitely not the type to just be hitting on people. For fuck's sake, the banshee had offered her a lollipop at that funeral and she felt like the girl might've fainted. Yet here she stood with a lollipop in hand to offer to Paloma. It felt like destiny maybe. No, that wasn't it, but it was something and she quite liked it. Oh, and then she was complimenting her music? A woman after her heart. "Yeah, for sure. I DJ. I sing a bit. I play a little bit of drums. I'm rusty at that though. And I can shoot an arrow like nobody's business." Then she smiled and continued. "Flustering girls are my specialty, too."

"I don't poison people I like." And internally, Aurea does some kind of victory lap around the room because she'd said it without thinking too hard on it and maybe that meant she was back, baby. Pinkie Pie is a spirit, the only reason she knows that, that she's familiar with it, is because she's spent some time avoiding them for the most part. Or at least in large groups. There was something different between what had happened to her mother and this kind though, or at least that was what she was trying to tell herself as she's tipsy in a bathroom and desperately trying to engage with one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen. She smiles something sly at the joke and leans forward to wipe a pinkie at the corner of her mouth to make the lines of her lipstick just a bit sharper, eyes seeking the other woman out in the mirror. "I liked your set. Nobody really does anything fun anymore, they just mash Kim Petras together. Is this what you do? Music? When you're not giving candy out to girls too flustered to talk to you?"

[bansheepaloma]

Trauma was something Paloma was all too familiar with in her life. Actually, she was pretty sure she wouldn't know what to do with herself if there wasn't something absolutely tragic happening. Fortuna's luck could only last so long for her. Plus, she was a banshee. If she felt a scream coming on, it always meant bad news. Death, death and more death. Sometimes she loved it, sometimes she hated it. Either way, she was going to suffer from that scream. She only hoped it didn't hurt someone she cared about in the future. That would certainly put a damper on things with the cute lycan. "I mean, you know there's a bunch of other places to pull a lollipop out of," she stated with a smile. Not that she was about to do so, but the thought was there. Nevertheless, she stood up. "Do you want to come with me to get dressed for this party? My outfit is very elaborate and I might need assistance."

Something about the way Paloma says it causes her brain to actually short circuit because she can't quite....What had she been saying? Thinking? It'd been a compliment and Aurea can't help but think about what Virgil had said, what he'd asked her. 'You like this girl?', that's what he'd said and she couldn't help but think that she liked just about every girl. But there's something about this one in particular, a bit of mystery around her, some kind of weird trauma bond that's maybe one sided even. Aurea had watched the blonde die, she'd desperately tried to flirt with her. And now she was commenting on her ass. Adult life was so goddamn weird. "Well I hate to disappoint, but I'm not about to pull a lollipop out of my cleavage." It's dry but she smiles anyways, tries to shake off the slight heat in the cheeks on her face, totally not her other cheeks.

[legioneoin]

Eoin nodded his head slowly as he picked up the spoon and leaned his elbows on the counter. He might as well dig into the cookie dough, too. "Of course he's going to worry. That's his job. Our job is just to be insufferable to him in return," he joked. It wasn't particularly purposeful, but he was always somehow being annoying to Virgil. He had to be as the younger brother and Aurea had to be to the both of them as the little sister. That was how their relationships worked and he wouldn't have it any other way. He'd really missed them. Turning around, he leaned against the counter next to Aurea. He tapped the spoon against his lip as a shoulder bumped into hers. "Just throw a joke his way and you'll be able to distract him long enough to get away from the look. We both know puns are his kryptonite."

"I think he's going to worry about if I'm okay or not. He won't say it directly, but you know he'll give you," Setting the spoon down, she steps around the counter enough to be able to lean against it and cross her arms a little too tight across her chest. It's Virgil's trying to be casual stance but she always thought it was very much a 'disappointed dad' kind of thing. Less disappointed, more concerned. He'd given her that kind of look a lot that last year she'd been around. She doesn't think he wanted her to go but she also wonders if he wanted her to be able to get out and see the world. It wasn't something they talked about, but they hadn't had much time to. They had that now, without threat of her head exploding or Eoin getting captured. "The look. He's got enough to worry about."

[legioneoin]

"Yeah, you." As much as he gave Aurea shit, one thing was for certain. Eoin would do absolutely anything for her. They were technically cousins, but she had been his sister for as long as he could remember and that would never change regardless of how he spoke to her. Yet she was still reckless. Thankfully, it seemed like she was with people that were able to hold their own in a fight. If she didn't come back to them though, well, he would make sure they didn't see the light of day ever again. "I know it doesn't take you long to find it though so just...be careful. I don't ask you for a lot, but just do that for me. Please." He looked at the pool table, the game taking a backseat for a moment. Then he walked over to her. "Promise I'll do the same," he stated as he held a pinky out towards her. "Come on. Link up."

"Moi? Reckless?" Her free hand gestured towards her chest in feigned shock before she's leaning over the table and looking to the cueball. He knows her too well, even after spending time apart. They are similar, the two of them, have grown up trying to one up one another. But where they diverge is a stark contrast, Aurea set out by herself, took time helping out away from the family, had wanted to see things through a bigger lens. Doing so had made her see the full picture of what home had to offer. "I haven't gotten into any trouble yet." She points out as the striped balls ricochet off of the sides of the table, sinking on in a pocket. But they know she's going to, it's bound to happen eventually, it's bad enough she finds herself wistfully looking to that forest and wondering what the wolves there are up to. "I can get myself out of it."