nyraxodeyer

[nyraxodeyer]

"Yes, it is. If there is a voice that rises above in attempts to unify there would be people willing to fall under whatever banner is raised. There's strength in numbers after all." She considered what he said. "Yes, and no? Sometimes there really isn't a choice." But she agreed with the rest. "Hate to admit it, but yes, it did work out in their favour too. I'm not sure that it would be over though? Maybe I'm being too paranoid or something, but I suspect they had some type of backup plan. They needed to get to the humans and honestly felt like they would do so one way or another." Or maybe they didn't it was hard to pin down the main goal of these experiments and her head was in no place to pour over every detail.

That perked her interest, "Oh? Which species?" She grew quiet for a beat, "Yes, that situation was vile. It does indeed feel like that was purposeful. But I had thought it was common enough knowledge on what the effects of a werewolf bite does to vampires." Her rising temper drew dark clouds overhead that she released with a deep exhale as she pivoted her thoughts away. "No, but the effects of magic on organs and thus people could be studied." She made a mental note to talk to Dhruv.

Nyra couldn't help the low scoff, "What can we do, it's already being planned isn't it? We just have to make sure no one gets hurt at this rodeo, magical and maybe even by regular means." She looked to him holding back a smile, "Propriety? Alright. Suit yourself. I was trying to be nice but okay, if you so wish. You can pay."

"We're a bunch of Boy Scouts, yeah." JC grimaced. Growing up, he had perhaps considered himself too cool to go about in a neckerchief, and while wolfhood had taught him how to live in nature, he was not quite sure he really counted as a survivalist. He shook his head back and forth, eyes returning to the road. "I think it's easy for people in need of a leader to try to attach themselves to whoever can fill that void. As fucking angry as I am at the wolves who attacked us, Nico reminded me that a lot of them were just...doing what they thought they had to do. I don't know how many of Silas's witches stand a chance. And that's not to say they get a pass. No. You always have a choice. But it is to say I think you're right. People will rally around him." He clicked his tongue. "I don't know. I can't say for certain. But everything worked out too well, didn't it? If our ranks weren't cut off from each other...we would have had more of an advantage." He rolled his shoulders. "What if every human had left the aquarium? Then what? Their experiment would be over before it started."

Listening to her, the wolf seemed to hesitate a moment before speaking up. "See. That flips it on its head. If the point was just the experiment, secrecy would be better. But if the point is chaos, then...." The motives, as usual, were proving difficult to grasp. "I have reason to believe that Damien...the Alpha...he had an interest in seeing how a wolf bite would affect other species. Meena and Dhruv...putting him in the position he was in, could it have been to force that to happen?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Is magic stored in the gallbladder?"

A grave heaviness seemed to settle over Júlio César's face. "I think you're right. The worst is yet to come. Do you know about this rodeo thing? Should we try and...I don't know." He sighed. "That's kind. But we'd pay. She's a politician anyhow. Propriety and all that."

[nyraxodeyer]

"Ah, you're not bad company in those as well." Nyra hardly ever left a single meeting without a headache or making an existing one worse. "It's just the nature of how things went, isn't it? High tensions and a need to do the right thing for the town. It's difficult." Nyra maintained — at least attempted to maintain — a professional relationship with the other council members, Meena being the exception as the clan leader grew to be one of her very close companions akin to family in this town, but the rest were kept at friends and colleagues. "Next time," she repeated, mimicking the move to raise her own glass up before taking a sip. "I have three centuries and many decades on you Poppy," Nyra said with a laugh. "Change in scenery and faces, mostly. Living and working in the same place does have its advantages but I feel I confide myself to the Emerald sometimes. And yes, you're a reason too." Despite her tone being of a teasing nature, she couldn't lie. "It is nice to meet outside that room, don't you think?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

“I’m great company.” Poppy teased back before flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You know as long as we aren’t in a council meeting.” That was the one part of the job she hated besides how political everything could be. Taking a seat across from Nyra and she crossed one leg over the other and she shrugged. “We don’t, but that’s what the council does to you. It puts strains on relationship.” She barely talked to Meena anymore and her friendship with Nico was better, but even they felt strained. “Nah, I’ll drink my beer.” Gesturing to the beer that she was bringing over with her telekinesis. “I’ll take note of your skills though and next time…” Trailing off as she tipped her beer towards Nyra. “Plus I shouldn’t mix beer and liquor. It’s a receipt that I can’t handle anymore in my old age.” She joked with a yawn. “So what brings you outside of the casino? And to which territory of all places?” She asked curiously, even though the bar hosted more than witches, it was uncommon to see the fae queen. “Is this your way of trying to get a good look at me? Cause please do.” She teased playfully, before taking another sip of her beer.

[nyraxodeyer]

"That they are," she confirmed with a tired sigh. "It's a good point of view, resonates with mine in a lot of ways. We, as a town, always seem to be a step behind the attacker and it's beyond frustrating to be caught off guard." Drifting in and out of thought, Nyra considered a lot of things before speaking up aided by a light shake of her head to deter that, "Not for me, no, I was thinking for you. Except it'll be in town. My advisor spot remains unfilled," she stated, finally laying out what she had been hinting at. "I was biding my time, thinking, maybe someone would step up but it seems like that'll not happen and I've grown weary of waiting." She has gone long enough without one and while she felt like she could hold her own during council meetings someone by her side to aid and bounce of thoughts wouldn't be bad at all. "There's a high amount of risk, council members have been first targets of attacks on occasions and of course there drama too, both in and out of council room. I'm not going to pester or hound you on an answer right away because this is something not just for the town but for the court and its operations too, so, think about it properly and carefully. I don't want to drag you into this if you don't want it."

Ana waved Nyra's concern away with one lazy swipe of her hand. They had more important things to discuss than a small scratch. "They might as well be children," she agreed. It was not just that she was 150 plus years old; Ana also had a tendency to believe everyone she met was at least a tad more foolish than she was, that she knew better than everyone else. Yet, it had been Ana and Beau who had taunted the werewolves into attack, who had fallen into immature commentary and teasing. She didn't regret it though. "I'm glad you see things my way." It wasn't like she wanted the whole town to turn into some sort of army--but they did need to be more prepared than they'd been in the past.

Ana hummed thoughtfully and leaned her head on her hand, sipping her wine (through a straw) with the other. "I find politics endlessly fascinating. There's no more compelling a drama or greater risk than being involved in politics. Why? Thinking of running for president, venturing out of the Lunar Cove arena and getting into some true danger?"

[nyraxodeyer]

"We were tricksters from what the human stories have us to be, but..." she blinked at Savannah perplexed at the action, taking a moment to find something to say that was both truthful and expressed her thoughts in a nicer way, "You have a very active imagination. While I will admit to swap of children as a test was not the nicest thing we've done but killing children? We're not that cruel. What is your impression of our kind exactly? I think we should clear up any other misconceptions you may have." Taking a second to move past that Nyra chuckled softly at the saying, "Yes, that's one way to put it. You started the myths about sirens drowning sailors, other sirens caught on and joined you to set those tales in stone."

In time with the question being asked, one of the staff arrived with their drinks on tray. Savannah's first with a glass bottle of coke, a separate glass with ice, if she wanted it, and a straw. "Chai," she said, smile forming on her lips as her freshly made steaming glass was set down in front of her. "Well, start at the beginning, is there anything pressing that you wish to know? All questions are welcome, you're new to this life I don't expect you to know everything." Taking a sip, she hummed, "Open but not sold...I see. Well, I've told you the benefits and what the court can offer you, do you have any reservation on that? Or anything else that isn't clear? I don't want to make this into a sales pitch this also has to come from you and there's no force to join if you don't want to. Whatever you feel is comfortable for you is what it should be."

"Oh good, well, at least my past self wasn't entirely evil, out here stealin' babies and all," She gave Nyra a small nod. "So... what did happened to the human babies? The ones who were swapped out and all? Did they wind up in some orphanage or we're they, well, you know?" She drew her finger across her neck followed by a small gulp as if to indicate what she was guessing might have happened to them, though she wasn't quite sure she wanted confirmation. "Oh... I heard. Apparently, I held the record on drownin' sailors or somethin'? Left a trail of poor souls sinkin' faster than a lead anchor in muddy water and all that?"

"What's your usual?" She tilted a brow curiously over at the woman beside her. "And where to start. I feel like I'm practically made of questions these days. But, yeah, well, she some rather bold ideas, doesn't she? And as for me, well, I'd say I'm open. Maybe not entirely sold just yet, but open."

[nyraxodeyer]

She huffed something akin to a laugh, "Always be prepared, right?" Such a life was not new to her, to constantly be wary and careful about things, looking out for danger never really stopped for their kind and she all about that in her long years. Sometimes realising our had been three centuries took her by shock, the many brushes with hunters and danger didn't spell an end. Yet. "Certainly," she nodded breaking out of her thoughts, "As much a I would like to think with Silas losing his magic his followers would realise their mistakes but we can't rule them out. Dark witches have loyal followers be it out of own will or through fear." Her mind began to turn again to far-flung theories, maybe they had base, maybe they didn't, but what JC said was true; Silas was in a lot of circles. "Do you suspect he had a hand in what happened at the aquarium? With the humans as well? We can't overlook whatever was released in the dark magic spell that was performed either. It might tie into something."

There were a number of reasons as to why Meena had been targeted, following one thought opened up plateaus to many more but it seemed simple too, she was in a high position of power disrupting that would cause more chaos than which already exists. "She's important. You've seen how everyone banded together to search for her, there was panic and fear, whoever did this wanted to see that." While she had no doubt that Meena wouldn't leave any stone unturned if it had been another vampire, could the same be said about the rest of the town? Thinking back to the camp events and what Dhruv had said, she didn't have enough faith to believe the efforts would be less intensive. "What he has to do with this all I have yet to figure out but..." she gave a faint shake of her head, "They were experimented on. All of the kidnappings, organ removals, it was for this — the powers that humans gained was from that." An absolute terrifying thought to think what such a thing in wrong hands would be like. "We've only seen the beginning of this I think." Though difficult to not let that fester, Nyra turned to give JC a smile, "It's no island or vacation home but I do own a hotel, if you're after a breather day the word and I'll arrange something for you, and Meena too if you want some solace. Won't even charge you."

"Stay on alert, and you never have to get back onto it." There was a heavy sort of joking in this remark, almost self-deprecation. But JC could hardly recall a recent moment where things genuinely felt calm, peaceful, or promising. Every shadow was a potential attacker; every newcomer a hidden enemy. It was no way to live, and yet, none of them seemed to have a choice. He rolled his shoulders as he pulled up to a stoplight, taking this moment to turn and offer Nyra a shake of his head. "There were dark sigils inside the aquarium. Silas...if he survived the change, which, look, I have every reason to believe he did...He's physically and mentally tough. But he can't do magic. No werewolf can. Be he has devoted followers, doesn't he? Witches who might be willing to obey even now?" He sighed. "He seems to be at the goddamn crossroads of: hates us, knows about dark magic, and...runs in wolf circles."

A brief nod of thanks came as he turned back to the road. "That's kind of you." It was a simple but genuine reply; still, he knew that the lines between factions remained tenuous. True unity had not arrived for Lunar Cove; he did not know if such a thing was even possible now. But he would not blame the Fae for protecting the Fae if push came to shove; he would do the same. "Is there? I just...why Meena? Hell, why not a less visible vampire? And Dhruv...Dhruv seems to be at the center. He gets kidnapped, and then his workplace gets robbed. I just don't know. Not to mention the others. Where do they fit in?" He grit his teeth. "We all need a damn vacation. Hard to take one in this world, though, huh? There's that weird island, but...well, I'm not tryna play Air B&B with whoever owns it."

[nyraxodeyer]

Option B: Poppy

Bars weren't her usual haunts when she ventured out of her hotel suite but Starlight didn't seem like a bad idea tonight, not when she wanted more than just silence and her thoughts to fill her night. Despite the few quick conversations she had with other patrons that spotted her, her mind didn't quite turn off like she had wanted, thoughts still spun over light clinking of glasses and conversations around her.

Closing time did put a damper on things but Poppy walking over did not. "Depends," she said, placing her chin in her palm and rested her elbow on the table, "Are you good company?" It was light and teasing, her fellow council member was always one. "I did lose track of time but maybe that's a good thing. We don't spend enough time outside meetings and obligations." She shook her head, "No, still haven't fully finished this," she tapped her fingers on the side of the glass, "Do you want something else? My bartending skills are beyond rusty but I could try to mix something up."

@lunarcovestarters

Option A: Dilan

Dilan had been frazzled between Leyla’s mysterious illness and all the weddings that she was planning for the summer. With her assistant out on leave from stress it left everything in her hands. “Out of the way!” She yelled as she pushed through the crowd with a dozen balloons in her hand. Feeling a sharp pain as someone elbowed her in the side and she released the balloons instinctively to grab her side. Realizing a split second later what she’d done and panic set in. “No! No! No!” She screeched as she tried to grab the balloons that were floating up to the sky. Managing to get a few, but the others were quickly out of reach. “Don’t just stand there help me.” Dilan told them as she jumped to try and grab the rest of the balloons.

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Option B: Poppy

“Alright it’s closing time.” Poppy said with a sigh as she threw the rag over her shoulder and walked to the door. Ushering out the patrons who were finishing off their drinks, she watched the glasses collect on the bar as people stumbled out. Noting a person still sitting at one of the tables after everyone had left, she walked over to them. Sitting down across from them with a smile, she crossed one leg over the other. “So can you not follow directions or is this just a lame attempt to spend time with me?” She questioned curiously. “If it’s the second then I guess you got your wish cause I’m here and could use a beer.” Using her telekinesis to bring over the beer that she had been nursing most of the evening. “I would offer to refill you, but I’m off the clock now.” She teased playfully. “So help yourself, just nothing from the top shelf.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Option C: Safiye

“Do you want me to get that for you?” Safiye offered pointing to the empty coffee cup that was sitting on the table in front of the patron at Peggy’s Dinner. “I can refill it if you want or just take it away?” Offering both options up since she wasn’t sure which one they’d prefer. “But if you want my suggestion take the refill and get a piece of pie. We just cut the pie and refilled the coffee so it’s all

[nyraxodeyer]

"You signal death, Rangi, you don't cause it. Now, if every body you stumbled upon was your kill then it'd be deeply troubling and an entirely different matter except you don't do that. I understand where you're coming in your thinking but tell me exactly how you think you're hurting people? Because you don't strike me as vindictive." Self blame was not a new thing for Nyra, she had seen it in many folk and faced it herself countless times more. That guilt, the crushing insignificance, solidifying yourself as the cause of all the bad, it was a terrible feeling but it gave a reason to things, an answer when the world was cruel. "The only hurt I'm seeing you cause is to yourself."

Nyra's features crumpled slightly at what Rangi asked. There were many things she did not know the answer to, and this was one of them. Why people didn't love their own unconditionally and without expectation wasn't something she had figured in her three hundred plus years of existence. "Some people are simply not capable of it. No matter how much we try to prove ourselves, to be good, to be perfect, they simply close their eyes and refuse to see and accept anything that goes against their perception of things." She didn't have to point out that the subtype Rangi became was not what they wanted. "Their thinking of Banshees being something to fear shaped how you see yourself. You hear the worst things being highlighted day in day out it's only natural for you to internalise that." Her voice softened as she continued, "But I need you see that's not that case, you're capable of so much more, of far greater love than they can imagine. You just need to start caring about yourself the way you care for others."

"Because-- because I-- I hurt people," Rangi stuttered, shaking her head. "I hurt everyone around me. Because it follows me. Death." She shook her head more, her lips quivering. And she was trying really hard, to listen to what Nyra was saying, to take it in. All she'd wanted was to be left alone, but no one was letting her do that to herself. That's what scared her the most. She needed to stay away from people, to keep them safe, but they kept pushing and pushing and pushing.

She knew, of course she knew, that death was inescapable. That death didn't discriminate, it didn't wait, it didn't care for anyone or anything left behind. It just was. The same as the Earth turned and the sun rose, death was always there, and always would be, like a shadow hanging over her. Following her, matching her footsteps and touching everything around her. She was everything and more that her parents had said she was. She wasn't right, how could she be? She was dangerous. She was bad.

Her breath turned shallow and she felt something growing in her chest, something that made her feel too heavy, too weak, too terrible. "If I-- If I'm not bad then--" she looked at Nyra, really looked at her, eyes sparkling with uncried tears, even as one rolled down her cheek-- "why didn't they love me?"

[nyraxodeyer]

Nyra simply observed him in her own silence, thinking was it worth her time in trying to repeat herself and her intention of wishing to speak with him. The wink settled the answer for her, an affirmation; no, it said. "Suit yourself, I was hoping for company but feels like that can't be found with you." She gave him a quizzical look, "Asking for your attention so I'm better able to guide you is bad instruction? I recall calling out to you more than once. If I didn't have your attention what would help do if couldn't be sure you were even listening?" Thinking back on it, he had seemed to latch on to her comment about clean-up, but that felt a little childish if he concluded her wanting to help as bad instructions from that alone.

"Not really no. Do you want me to feel that way? Yes, being stripped of our abilities felt wrong since it's what makes us, but just because humans are without magic regularly I don't see them as powerless. Opposite really. There's resilience where we're reliant." Not to say she wanted to experience more of such a thing, to have that happened not just once was a great cause for concern, especially now when the reverse was possible. "Alright, then. I'll wait. Looking forward to council meetings with you as well, welcome aboard."

"Says the one stalking me," He countered. The corner of his lips etched up as he pointed out, "Not to state the obvious, but there is a whole lot of beach. You could swim somewhere without a magical rain cloud hovering above it," He shot her a knowing wink, before he collapsed back across the sand. His gaze shifted up toward the clouds up above, hardly phased by the rain that was currently pattering down across his face. "I didn't ignore you. You gave bad instructions. There is a difference," He quipped, barely tilting his head in her direction from where he laid.

"Sucks to know how we fell on the daily huh? But, yes it was sudden and, after I talk to Ben about it, I'll be more than happy to tell you all about it. How's that?"

[nyraxodeyer]

"Stolen child orphanage? No, it wasn't like that. It was common forever ago and a dark part of our history unfortunately," she explained, "A Fae child was swapped with a human one as a test to see if they could return home. Such practices are taboo these days though. I don't recall your past life doing that," she shook her head but maybe there had been instances she couldn't remember, much of history and time blurred together after centuries of existence. "Yours was a different kind of legendary tale."

Nyra gave her a small smile and a shrug to boot, "You can do these illusions too if you wish." With her saying her preference, she wordlessly signalled to the staff, adding her own in the mix, "My usual, please." Watching them go, Nyra turned her attention back to Savannah, "Won't be long. In the meantime, is there something else you want to know about our world or the court? I know Vanessa doesn't care for it much, is your opinion the same as hers or would you be open to giving us a chance?"

"Yeah. That," She gave her a nod in agreement. Only for her eyes to widen momentarily at the mention of stealing children. "Now wait just one minute, y’all really used to go ‘round stealin’ firstborns? What did ya even do with them? Start a stolen child orphanage? Wait- did I ever steal one? You know the past me from before I all up and evaporated into thin air?"

"That's one hell of a parlor trick," She murmured under her breath as she watched Nyra play with their surroundings. "You got coke?" She asked, feeling still somewhat out of place as she slide into the seat across from the other fae.

[nyraxodeyer]

She observed him for a moment, steady voice didn't betray any emotions but that didn't reflect an absence of worry either. With the confirmation came a quiet sinking feeling of what that meant for people. "Seems like rest isn't on the cards, does it? Deal with one invading pack only to have to be back on alert for another." Her gaze darted towards him, brows furrowing at what was said, "In what way? Do you think he was involved with the pack or what happened inside the aquarium?" She couldn't see a link to Silas but with the thought now in her head, it was hard to shake out dismiss it. "His involvement is the last thing we need."

She understood that, things to do and doing what one could worth all that was happening. "If we can do anything to help just say the word. The pack always has my support." Nyra nodded in agreement, "It is difficult, yes, but I want to believe not impossible to find something that might help us. There's a pattern to it all, isn't there? The kidnappings and the experiments — they want power. Magic. Either that or just cause chaos amongst us just to see what happens." Massive even both, that couldn't be ruled out either. "Even a moments reprieve feels like asking for a lot these days. A few months of quiet would be a miracle but it's need I feel, at least some time to recuperate."

JC's voice was steady as he spoke, and his features remained stoic as he drove, despite the lingering concern just behind his eyes. "No, we can't. I fear we're heading toward a major power struggle. Multiple Alphas cannot exist in the same territory. One pack will simply have to consume or dissolve the other. And that's not to mention...there's another wolf out there likely building a pack of his own. Silas." He flicked his gaze sideways before returning it to the road. "I'm not even convinced he hasn't already had a hand in some of this." A heavy silence settled over him. "Thank you. We're grieving. But there are things to do, and new members. We're doing the best we can."

He gave a low hum of affirmation. "I feel that. I'd offer help, but I feel like we don't even know what we're looking for. Lori was so...in our faces. These kidnappers, whoever they are, they're shady. Under the radar. I don't even know what they want." He wrinkled up his nose. "Honestly? I'd like a good few months of quiet. Too much to hope for these days, isn't it?"

[nyraxodeyer]

"Hmm," her features pulled to a frown as she caught Ana cover her wince, "You're still hurt, let me do something." As Ana continued Nyra's head shook, while she would agree that yes compliments were dished out rarely, she wouldn't say that in any capacity that due to her doing the Fae were safe. "They feel like children I have to wrangle in sometimes," she admitted honestly. She wanted to guarantee safety, in and out of her court but with so much unpredictable mayhem, there was only so much she could do to ensure it. "I want that," Nyra nodded, "There needs to be some preparation to prevent this for the future we get taken up by surprise so often it's becoming irritating."

She looked to Ana with a slow smile, her mind settling on something that she gave more and more thought to these days, "How do you feel about politics?"

"We can only hope. My poor girl." Ana ran a finger lovingly over the tattoo and sighed rather dramatically--it was as much theatrics as she was willing to give to her injury. In all things, Ana had always pivoted toward aesthetics: complaining that her shoe was scuffed or her dress ripped was far easier than actually admitting how frightening it was to be hunted after all this time, or to be reminded that their little "safe haven" was not, in fact, as safe as they hoped. She now leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, while bringing the cup to her lips. "No. No, Dear, you've done enough." She shook her head and waved her hand, dismissing the question, a gesture somewhat dampened by the fact that, this being her injured arm, she had to bite her lip a moment later to keep from wincing. She took another sip of tea to cover this.

"There's not a place on earth that is safe," she agreed. "But Lunar Cove is safer because of you. I know the Fae are. And you know I don't give compliments often." She paused here, considering her next words. "You know, I've been saying it for years: if we were more proactive, on the offensive, not just constantly waiting on the defensive, we could prepare for things like this."

[nyraxodeyer]

At least it was something Nyra thought as Rangi snapped at her. Usually one to not tolerate such a thing she did allow it this time as a part of her felt like this was needed. Silent and poised, Nyra shouldered the questioning as they came, didn't interrupt until she felt the girl was done and even then she waited for a bit longer before she answered with questions of her own. "Why do you think you're wrong? Because you feel death? How is death wrong?" She shook her head, "No, I don't feel death quite like you do, I don't have premonitions. I'm not saying you have to readily accept who you are, everyone is on a different scale when it comes to self acceptance but I don't want you thinking there's anything wrong with you just because you're banshee, because there isn't. I see you for all you are, with and without magic, there is nothing wrong with you."

She hesitated a little before continuing, "This might sound jaded, and I apologise if it's not something you want to hear but Rangi, death is not something you or anyone can avoid. It will always find a way to collect whether we like it or not, it doesn't care for our approval nor will it wait till we are ready to let go of someone. I'm sorry, I really am that you faced such losses at such a young age, but don't think of this as the end. Death is only a physical end, they're still with us in so many ways." Her voice softened considerably, "You can still think I don't understand you, that's fine, I don't know what it is exactly like to be you but that doesn't mean I'm not here for you. I am."

"No, that's not-- it's--" Rangi shook her head, ran her hands through her hair, "you know what I mean! We can't-- asking yes or no questions isn't fair." Because she would have to answer honestly. She didn't even know how she felt, really, how was she supposed to know what was true and what wasn't? What was a lie and what wasn't? She put her face in her hands, curled her legs up to her chest. She didn't want to deal with any of this. She didn't want to think about her feelings and the pain and the hurt. She didn't want to think about all the suffering that came along with every scream that came out of her mouth. She didn't want to think about the body, the bodies, the blood, the tears, the anguished cries that sounded so much like her own had.

"And how would you know?" She said suddenly, her head snapping up. "How would you know what it's like? Do you see death every time you touch someone? Do you feel it in every breath? Hear it in every nightmare? Do you wake up in the middle of the night in a place you've never seen before, standing over a body? Bones? How is that not wrong?" Her voice was cracking-- she was cracking. After all this time, she was finally cracking. "How am I not wrong?"

[nyraxodeyer]

She thanked him again as she buckled in. A handful or saying another will rise eased the worry that creased her brow but information was information. There was more concern to ones that fled, "We can't rule out the possibility they regroup and attack again, can we?" she asked but the answer to that was obvious. It did bring her some peace to know that JC was trying them, successful or unsuccessful, there at least was some traction in the right direction. "How are you holding up? And the pack? I wasn't there but I heard...I'm sorry."

Her reply came with a low nod, "We have precautions in place like always. I do feel like I need to up safety measures though." Nyra's gaze drifted out the window, there was a lot of things she wished she could do, things she wanted to do but to guarantee safety didn't seem within reach any longer. "What does the other side look like to you?"

"Hop in." Júlio César's car was neat and evidently well-kept, a point of pride, although not necessarily new. At one time, it may have represented a serious investment for an up-and-coming young athlete with funds to spare. Today, it perhaps felt like a relic of a life now largely upended, but he could not justify replacing it when it still got him safely around town. He, after all, could no longer wander the way he once did.

With a soft sigh, JC flashed Nyra a look as she got settled. "I don't know. At least a handful got away. Maybe they left; maybe they're hiding and trying to regroup. The loss of an Alpha is not necessarily a pack's death sentence. Another will rise." Lunar Cove itself was proof enough of that. "I've been trying to track their scents, but..." The air hung too heavy with the stench of blood. "People should be careful. They may try to rebuild ranks. Full moon is coming. I hope you and your Fae are staying safe as we try to come out the other side here."

[nyraxodeyer]

Melodic and light her laughter carried across the storm and waves at what he had said. "Obsessed? Oh darling, you think a little too highly of yourself," she said easily dismissing his counter. "Not to state the obvious but, you're currently causing it to rain keeping me in my Siren form. I sought out the beach and you happened to be here. Felt like a win-win." She did want to speak to him too, fortunate that it happened to be right away. She could, and would easily, burst a bubble if he had thought she sought him specifically for any other reason than curiosity to him gaining powers that Sirens normally held. Nyra looked to him with a puzzled expression, from his asking to why she was here and to questioning when he ignored her, she tried to asses if he had struck himself with lightening he wielded to forget so quickly, "When we were stuck in the aquarium. When you got your powers."

While she suspected it wouldn't have been a permanent thing, his confirmation had her nod. "I see. How did you come by them? It felt sudden," she mused out loud, "Ours were stripped while you and the other humans had gained them in reverse."

"I don't know. Maybe you're obsessed with me," He countered, as he leaned back. Tilting his head up toward the sky as he let the heavens rain down upon him. The drops soaked his jet black hair, while the tilt of his neck swept it back from his face. "Oh, so you did swim all the way over here to see me. Who would have thought?" He passed her a fleeting glance. His brow curving up her way before he returned to staring up at the sky just as another bolt of lightening illuminated the darkness around them. "And when did I ignore you, exactly?" He rolled his eyes lightly over as a roar of thunder shook the sky. Fuck, he was going to miss this. As much as a part of him didn't want to admit it.

"There is no point," He finally said after a prolonged beat. A sigh slipped from his lips as he laid back against the sandy beach. "It's already wearing off."

[nyraxodeyer]

"In a sense, something out of a fairytale then?" she commented at what she had said, "Well, stealing children is taboo now. Adaptability to modern times ensures survival rates to a extent." But to appease her imaginations once they stepped into her office, Nyra illusioned away the marbles floor for a plush grassy area, the once white ceiling now a blanket of deep indigo speckled with countless stars that told stories were she to connect them to constellations. "We are mythical and ancient enough, aren't we? I've seen Versailles and countless other palaces," she said and changed the scene to an opulent ballroom with crystal chandeliers, their outfits too, changed to match the aesthetic of her illusion, "What do they all have compared to magic? Compared to us?" With a small nod, Nyra let the illusion drop and revert back to her office space, "A front is one way to put it. It's home to many fae and a place to safely be themselves for all that join." As she sat and signalled for Savannah to sit, one of her staff came through, "Please let them know what you'd like, we can keep talking in the meantime."

Savannah stepped further into the lobby, her boots making soft little thuds against the polished floor as she took it all in. It wasn’t that she was disappointed—just… thrown. After all the stories, all the whispered legends about the fae, she sure as hell hadn’t expected their grand court to look like the front desk of a fancy hotel. Her lips parted slightly at Nyra’s question, but it took her a second to find the words. Finally, she let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head. “I dunno,” she admitted as she moved to tuck her hair behind her ears. “Somethin’ a little less… marble countertops and concierge service and somethin' a little more grand gardens to rival that of Versailles? A bit more ancient, mystical and liable to steal my firstborn if I blink wrong sort of ordeal," She shot Nyra a wry smile as she continued to glance around. "Huh. So, this is more of front then? Okay. Office is fine and sure. I mean if you're offerin' who am I to say no?"

[nyraxodeyer]

She said that often too it is what it is, but as of late she begun to grew wearisome of that phrase. Why must things be such? Of course the answer did not follow, it never did. Certain things were the way they were because they simply had to be. A wolf bite to vampires was deadly and Nyra saw that again as pain gripped another one of her friends into bouts of anguished lulled by a lethal dosage of drugs. "She hummed a little at what Meena said, "That does seem to be the only way doesn't it?" Blood could easily be arranged but waiting for the hallucinations to relent and the wound itself to heal seemed far to long of a wait. Thought she saw and could see it Nyra could not imagine what Meena had gone through and what Gia was currently going through.

In a blink Gia went down again and Nyra thankfully held her surprise to a quiet blink at the swiftness Meena snapped the others neck. Clearly her through, she nodded, "Hmm sure. He's around here somewhere...." As she called for Gerlad, she turned to Meena, "Anything else you feel like having or just a drink?"

@georgianaortiz

It wasn't the first time she'd died. There were several times in her human life that Georgiana danced with death. It finally stuck the time fate would slip the woman her first taste of magic. As an immortal she'd died more times than she could count. Overdose was high up on the list of reasons. Which included the most recent time. It was nothingness, a lack of complete and utter knowing, which by comparison to pain worse than death was glorious.

A quiet gasp escaped the vampire's lips as life returned to her body several minutes later. It was hell. Worse than that, even. Hell was the beach, and this was something else. Agony beyond her ability to comprehend. A suffering that shuttered her mind, causing Gia to fluctuate between states of consciences. Her view of reality slipping through space and time, as she was flooded with hallucinations of her near two centuries of life. She began to weep. Unintelligible blubbering accompanied by the rattle of her body, until it'd curled itself into the tightest ball it could.

Happy Birthday

Words that plunged like a coin to the bottom of a fountain shattered the false reality in which Gia's mind existed, giving way to a splinter of truth. She did not actively live her past, but had been damned to be haunted by it within her mind, alone. "Please.." Voice raspy from sobs, Gia begged. "..please kill me again.."

@cantfightmoonlight

[nyraxodeyer]

"Not fair in what sense? That people care enough for you to want to check in on you? Is that what you find unfair?" She knew in exactly what way, but if it meant that Rangi would talk more, she would keep asking obvious questions. Finally as she turned, she looked much like how Nyra imagined she would - a shell of a person that let sorrow consume her. Lips pressed to a thin line as Rangi spoke, in a way it was a good thing she felt to let such thoughts be voiced, but it made her own heart heavy to hear such a thing from someone so young. The life that awaited them was long.

Her features fell a little, but Nyra looked to her with a small smile, "The point is hope. At least that's what I think it is." There would be more of this though, grief, happiness too, loss, and it would repeat again. "I'm immensely sorry that you've gone through what you did, Rangi, heartbreak is painful and our kind feel it strongly than others. I get, I understand, it's not easy," she continued, "But death is often times inevitable, we cannot stop fate. It's horrid, all-consuming and results in a far greater pain than we realise. But just like the waves that will continue in their ebb and flow for lifetimes to come, death is something that will happen too. We just have to love the time we have. It might seem stupid and impossible, I certainly thought so in my years of existence, but it is how it is." She shrugged a little, memories kept her going, even though not all were happy. "I'm not telling you to not feel, you should, but try not to lose all hope either, this is not the end of things. To be scared, to want something different is normal, you are not wrong. But who you are is not wrong either. I need you to know that."

"That's not fair," Rangi said, finally turning over in her bed. She sat up but she didn't look much better either way. Hair a mess, bags under her eyes. She was dehydrated, probably, certainly hadn't eaten enough in the past few days. She knew she wasn't taking care of herself, she was doing it on purpose. The most she'd been able to drag herself to do was shower and feed her cats. It was all the energy she had. But Nyra was asking yes or no questions and Rangi didn't have enough of her faculties to try and talk her way around them. "Maybe I don't want to feel better," she finally said. There, that was more than a few words, right? She huffed and looked away. "What's the point if it's just going to happen again? And again? If I'm just going to scream again? If someone's just going to die again? What's the point of it all? I don't want to be like this anymore." Maybe her parents were right, maybe they always had been. Maybe she was nothing but trouble. Maybe she was a bad omen.

Maybe she didn't want to know the answer.