eremington

[eremington]

"Yes, it is." He had to hide a smile at Augustine's indignant reaction. It was amusing, but Elijah didn't want to rile him up too much. He glanced over the room casually and levitated a foam block stashed against the wall, slowly moving it across the room till it was just behind Augustine. "I want to see if you can reach for any magic instinctively, a lot like muscle memory. I know you don't have the same sense of smell or hearing that you did as a wolf, but there are many magical abilities you can use to augment your senses." He gave Augustine a few seconds to make sure he was processing everything before tossing the block at his back, hopefully avoiding the head this time.

Augustine wasn’t sure what he expected, still silently reeling from nausea that always seemed to accompany him any time he got magically relocated. He had barely bitten back a gag, hardly listening to Elijah’s explanation when he felt the bitch slap across the back of his head.

“The fuck?!” He clutched the back of his head, hating how poor his reaction times were now as a witch. He swung around to look at Elijah in annoyance, adding, “That’s your idea of provoking me?!” Had he been a wolf, Augustine knew his teeth would have been bared— but then again, he could t have imagined it hurt much had he still had his elevated strength as well.

[eremington]

"I've always had this form Elliot. You just haven't seen it for quite a while." Probably somewhere over 100 years if Elijah remembered correctly, which once again made him feel off kilter enough metaphorically that he took a half step sideways to keep from tipping. He still felt kind of hazy, but the feeling that he shouldn't be acting this way kept nagging at him.

Share? He looked at Isabelle quizzically before looking over at Elliot. After a moment he leaned over to mumble conspiratorially to her. "Well given the way Elliot glared when I was dancing with Naz, I don't know if that would be the best idea."

“Flitter off? Don’t you dare. If you do I’ll have no choice but to chase you, and who knows what could happen if that were to happen.” He was a little jealous of Eli now kissing Belle’s hand though, what was it with this witch today? He was rather flirty which was unusual not that he particularly minded, it was kinda funny seeing him like this. “You’re awfully out of your usual form Eli, I think it suits you well.”

He chuckled, slipping his arm around Belle. He’d have to thank her for putting up with this pouting and soured mood. “As much as I’m enjoying this new side of Mr. Remington, I certainly cant have him taking a spot that is yours. I will admit I’m quite flattered though.”

[eremington]

"I hope so." He nodded in agreement with Rei, hoping he was right. "I suggested Eiji being in the Lycaon's custody because I was worried he wouldn't be safe in the supernatural side of zamok and knew too much to be in the human side. I thought the council would come back to it though, that they would figure out an actual long term solution but everyone just moved on." Elijah didn't think he'd ever get over the guilt of seeing Eiji languish in that damn basement, but figured Rei would at least appreciate the fact that he knew he'd messed up.

He watched as Elijah cast his spell and wondered just how incriminating it would be for someone to hear what the witch was going to say. "I haven't heard much of anything, just wild speculations mostly." People didn't talk about too much around firefighters, it seemed.

He could imagine that Elijah would take a reality like that easily in comparison to some of the other possibilities, likely looking in crowds to see who was looking back at him and hoping to see Eiji. "Wherever he is, someone cared enough about him to break him out. I don't think they'll let him be found easily."

[eremington]

"If it does happen, you'll have to be referee. As much as I'd like to see Ayumu's face, I don't think I would like the consequences." He cocked his head and gave her a spin. "But Naz, if I had a some on each arm I wouldn't be able to dance with you, and that would be a real tragedy." In his own defense, Elijah had tended to be an incorrigible flirt but not exactly a heartbreaker - unless you counted Matthew. "Besides, having multiple dates at the same time just makes things messy, it's better to just switch halfway through the evening."

"They would hate that," the spirit said, laughing at the the idea of Ayumu being shown up by the Remington leader. Plus with the way she was feeling, Naz thought Elijah might look quite good in her outfit. "This might have to happen, just for my own enjoyment," she teased. He did look handsome tonight so it would be for her enjoyment and all the party goers as well. "No, just myself tonight." It was rare for Naz to have a date at all, at least since her marriage ended many years ago. "I've seen how you flirt, I'm surprised you're not the one with a date on each arm."

[eremington]

"Only trying to learn from your charm, Atwood." He slid away from Elliot to catch Isabelle's hand, lifting it to kiss the back of her knuckles. He did feel a little cold on the side where he'd stood against Elliot but ignored it. "I could never hope to upstage you, Isabelle." There was a part of his mind that wondered what the hell he was doing, but it wasn't loud enough to completely shake whatever liquid courage he'd gotten. "Think of me as an interlude, a momentary distraction."

He wasn't about to admit to Elijah of all people the conversation he'd had with Naz that had started fine and rapidly gone poorly. He was in a really poor mood after and apparently doing a shitty job at hiding it. However, he was pretty sure that if anyone could that Isabelle could read him like a book no matter how hard he tried. "Fine, yes, I'm in a bad mood." He looked over to her as she kissed his cheek. He shook his head, taking a sip of the drink that Artus had handed him. The flavor was nice and was a nice change, he felt a massive shift in his mood, the jealousy ebbed way and there was another feeling instead. He instead decided this could be a little fun instead. "I don't know, Belle. Kinda seems like Elijah over here is trying to take your spot darling." The corners of his lips curled up a little. "I mean you've got you're arm around me and everything. Got something you'd like to tell me, Remington?"

[eremington]

"Exactly. It might also give us more clues where he's from and who he might know, or who might know him." He made sure to wait for Augustine to be ready before teleporting the two of them to one of the practice rooms in the tower that he'd locked down for the day. They didn't need anyone seeing Augustine's new identity and leaking it either purposefully or accidentally.

He started to take everything out of his pockets and rested them on a side table so nothing would be broken or damaged. "You're probably not going to like this part, but essentially I'm going to provoke you and see how you react. Like this." Right as he was finishing the last word, Elijah teleported behind Augustine and smacked him upside the head.

“Sounds good,” Augustine agreed, thinking how his own phone had been shut off since the incident. His phone going missing during a murder hadn’t been difficult to write off as thievery— but having it turned on where people could see messages sent, or try to track him? Another thing entirely. A burner phone for the time being was perfect— at very least until he bought a new device and number to transfer his existing phone’s data to.

The idea of fighting with anything non physical still intimidated the former wolf, but he gave a nod. Surely Elijah knew what he was doing? Not that trusting witches was the easiest thing for Augustine still, but he knew he had little choice. Nodding along, he reached out to take Elijah’s hand. “Sure, I guess. Sooner we learn, the sooner we have an idea what else this guy was up to, right?” Snooping around his apartment had been informative, although not quite to the level Augustine had hoped. It was as if the witch had lived intentionally always covering his tracks…

[eremington]

He led Rei into an empty office and placed a hand on the door to cast a silencing charm. Yes everyone was busy dealing with the aftermath of the fires, but he still didn't want to risk anyone listening in. Especially because he was more worried about Eiji's safety than any danger he could pose. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I've caught whispers, people talking about him being out, some fear mongering. But all of it's just rumors."

"With what we've seen before, they have a magic user who should be able to give him a disguise." He gave Rei a small relieved smile. "So he should be able to go out at least, better than what he had with the Lycaons."

He was glad the coven had someone like Daphne making sure they were all taken care of. If left to his father, there was no telling what important things would slip through the cracks. "Good. Glad to hear it." Even though he was being civil, he was finding it hard to say much else. "Yeah, sure," he agreed easily. He knew this would be a topic they'd circle around to at some point. He left Eli lead him to whatever room he considered private enough. "You hear anything?"

[eremington]

"Sour mood, even Isabelle says you're pouting." He reiterated with a smile, pleased that Isabelle had taken his side in their relatively shallow argument. Though what she said about Naz almost confirmed it for Elijah that Eliiot had been the person he'd seen glaring earlier when he'd danced with her.

Elijah was reminded of the fact that he still didn't know if the drinks had different effects when he caught Artus walking away out of the corner of his eye and looked to see a blue drink in Elliot's hand. What had he been drinking before? "I don't know. You're his date tonight Belle, what do you think?" For some reason he was reluctant to move his arm from where he'd slung it around Elliot even as he mentioned his connection to Isabelle.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I had a bit of help on this one, this theme was a little outside my expertise." He could hear her before he saw her and he could feel some of the tension that he was feeling leave. He'd missed her presence, "Well, I was missing you of course." The tension was back the second she touched Eli's face, he'd never really been a jealous man. Hell at the christmas party he had literally talked to caleb about dating his EX WIFE! He wasn't a jealous man but he could feel that jealous growing. Eli's arm was around him which he couldn't say he was againt other than the fact he was kind of annoyed with the man. "A sour mood? I'm perfectly fine, Eli tho I appreciate the concern for my mood." Just when he was about to go searching for another drink, he had a blue one in his hand and saw Artus being the one to have put it there. He would have protested but the two were friends and given their relationship he'd trust him.

[eremington]

"Tell you what, if this coat gets too hot, I'll find you again and and we'll switch tops. I'll do my best to make Ayumu jealous." He'd seen the other spirit wandering around in an outfit that covered about as much as Naz's did. He rested his hand on Naz's waist stepped into a simple dance that didn't take up too much space but let them move enough. "Did you come on your own tonight or with someone?" He was pretty sure he'd seen a couple flashes of someone glaring at him through the crowd but hadn't seen them for long enough to recognize the face.

"I think it suits you," she complimented, admiring the bright colours. The spirit appreciated fashion and it was always good to see men being active participants in the fancy dress. "We could swap if you like," she teased, knowing she'd just end up giggling at the sight of the Remington coven leader waddling in heels. It was a party and that normally meant dancing, even if there wasn't a dance floor the spirit was happy finding an empty place to dance. It almost reminded her of the Christmas ball as she placed one hand in his, the other went around Elijah's shoulders. "This almost feels familiar, doesn't it?" she asked.

[eremington]

"Thank you Elliot. Though I think you've hit a good mix between dapper and on theme." He reached up to tweak the horns on Elliot's head. His focus on that meant that he was caught off guard when Isabelle seemed to appear in front of them out of nowhere.

"All I've done is to be charming all night." He learned into Isabelle's touch for a moment before shifting sideways to loop his arm through Elliot's. "Which is why I was trying to cheer up Mr. Atwood here who seems to be in a bit of a sour mood." Elijah hadn't thought dancing with Naz would make him react this way, but it seemed like he had to make some amends.

"Hello, Eli." He finished a second emerald green drink, and now he wished he hadn't. Elliot had already seen him dance and flirt with Naz. Not a great feeling. He was trying to ignore the envy in him, but it just wouldn't leave him be. First, it was Caleb, now this, God, he regretted this. "It's going alright, can't complain too much."

He needed to find Belle...the only sane person he could trust.

"How about you? Looking far more comfortable now than you were earlier. Still looking good all the same." It was annoying how even dressed down the man looked good.

[eremington]

@atwoodesq and @isabellexlaurent

Elijah had loosened up a bit and had one of the red drinks after Rei assured him it would be fine. So far he felt drunk but wasn't sure what other effects it had. He'd felt slightly warm and dropped his jacket and tie off at the coat check but kept his long embroidered coat hanging off his shoulders. It was the most interesting part of his outfit. He was making his way along one of the paths when he spotted a familiar face. He leaned up against a tree beside them, slumping a little so he could look up through his eyelashes. "How's your night been so far?"

[eremington]

"I hadn't thought of that comparison, but I'll take it." He replied, flipping the edge of his coat to make it wave behind him. "I've never worn heels like that, but if you say you can dance then I'll follow your lead." Presumably being able to become immaterial made it easier to wear stilettos all night long, and even dance in them. There didn't seem to be a designated dance floor, but there were open spaces and some music in the background, so he stepped into one of them with Naz and held his arms open for her to take.

The spirit elder watched in amusement as Elijah's eyes drifted to her costume before snapping back into place. It was a clever trick to keep it perfectly in place so she didn't mind people looking. The witch seemed too noble to let his eyes continue to stray but Naz didn't let it dampen her spirit's. "Thank you, I like your outfit too. For some reason, it reminds me of the catepiller from Alice in Wonderland," she said, looking over the colourful coat. "I think that's just the shoes," the spirit replied. Naz's fingers tugged the slit of her skirt over, showing off the stileto heels. They would have hurt like hell if she was truly human. "We could dance instead?"

[eremington]

Elijah couldn't help a surprised laugh at Naz's comment, since it wasn't the sort of thing she would usually say to him. "Thank you Naz." He glanced down at her outfit before flicking his eyes quickly back to her face. There had to be some magic involved in keeping everything in place, but he wouldn't be caught staring. "Though I think you're better dressed than most of us tonight." He picked up one of the red drinks and offered his arm to Naz. "Why don't we find a place to sit, you look a little unsteady." Hopefully that would distract her from the fact that he hadn't drunk any of it yet, wanting to see what the effects were before he did.

the red drink | open starter

for: open to everyone ~ @vievecorcitystarters location: by the drink table

As she stepped into the elaborately decorated gardens and saw all the wonderful outfits, Naz started to worry that she had over dressed. That worry turned into anxiety which led her to the drink table. The first drink she snagged was red, the sweet mixture of pomegranate and dragonfruit were delicious enough that she downed that one quickly and grabbed another.

The drink was doing wonders to settle her nerves and she was half way through the second drink before someone joined her by the table. "You should try this one, it really is delicious," the spirit suggested, trying to be friendly. The drinks were stronger than the elder realised, feeling a little tipsy now that the first drink was hitting her making Naz giggle. "I think it's almost as delicious as you," she hummed, gently reaching up to tuck a lose stand of hair back for their new friend.

[eremington]

Elijah's midsummer night's dream outfit (two views)

[eremington]

“Hopefully the tides will turn for you soon, Elijah.”Nari replied, a genuine hope in his voice that the change would be for the better. Nari thought the family deserved some sort of peace, whatever form that came in. “Good. You need to be okay in yourself in order to help others be okay.” Nari replied with a small smile. The elf finished collecting the first bits on Elijah’s list and set the basket on the counter, “I’ll make a note of these other items so that we can get them on a monthly order for you.”

[eremington]

"Sorry about that. We'll also get you a burner phone to make communication easier." He tilted his head and looked at Augustine, trying to look for anything visual that would be a clue. The difference between human and werewolf senses wasn't something he had considered before. "Yes I am. We want to find out if he can fight, then make sure you're able to use his abilities for yourself if something goes wrong. For this first time we want to see if you do anything instinctively, basically testing your magical reflexes." He offered a hand. "If you're ready I can teleport you to the tower now."

Augustine bear jumped out of his skin at the noise— loud and close enough thag even with his weaker hearing was still too close for comfort. The name rung a bell and he exhaled in relief. “Know I said it was fine just coming over, but gimmie a heads up text or something next time… Still feels blinding adjusting to this guy’s limited senses,” he grumbled softly with a faint pout. “Anyways… You’re in charge of the Remington coven, yeah? And you think you can help me— uh— well, adjust? Learn whatever this guy knows?”

[eremington]

"Unfortunately I've gotten used to dealing with family related issues." Elijah shrugged and gave Nari a half defeated smile in an effort to not come off as completely cold. "I was ok and most of my property survived after the recent attacks. There are others who weren't so lucky, I'll be able to take time for myself once they're alright." As the words came out of his mouth, he could almost see Persy rolling her eyes at him and decided he should at least try to listen to Nari. "I will try though."

“That makes sense.” Nari agreed, pausing to take in the man’s demeanour. As coven leader, Nari understood more than most that it was Elijah’s job to hold things together and to reassure everyone that things were going to be okay, that things would be fixed, but that could have been no easy task considering what was happening involved his own son. “I imagine it is quite different when it’s your own kin.” Nari replied, though there was a kindness in his eyes, “You should make sure you’re taking time to process things yourself, if you can. Though I suppose I’m in no position to tell you what to do.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Nari nodded and picked up a basket to start filling it with the things Elijah wanted immediately.