[h1][color=ed1c24][center]Medusa Bloodrose[/center][/color][/h1]

[color=ed1c24]What a beautiful night.[/color]  Medusa thought to herself as she paced her garden.  She was tending to the rose bushes as she did every night.  The garden was well lit even at night.  The circular courtyard that housed the roses was strewn with bulbs from the Glow Wood,  collected by Elina Ruvina who often found herself wandering there.

She'd been receiving disturbing visions from The Elders recently.  She stopped to cup a flower in her hands,  drawing her face closer to it she cast her vision out into darkness.

Swirling there she saw shapes, wolves, great cats, and birds of prey.  Symbols of hunters,  and they drew closer to her vision.  All the while she saw something looming in the background,  something alien and hideous.  With a gasp her vision ended.

[color=ed1c24]The same vision,  every night for a week.[/color]  This was concerning.  Castle Bloodrose had stood against hunters before,  and she was confident it would do so again.  Something was different this time though,  and her visions were not making it clearer.

[h1][color=f26522][center]Lorelai Von'Strauss[/center][/color][/h1]

Lorelai ascended the spiraling stairs leading out onto the terrace that housed the roses.  She'd just finished with her interrogation of William,  a poor wayward hunter that strayed too far into Alexina's territory.  Alexina took offense to those kinds of intrusions,  especially from hunters.

Medusa had been reclusive of late.  She came down from her garden less and less,  leaving the other witches to their own devices.  Her lips curled into an unconcious scowl.  Quite a few of the younger sisters looked up to Medusa,  and her absense had caused a dip in morale.  Not to mention obscure and seemingly arbitrary requests for reagents.  The Castle's defensive wards needed rebound,  and their stocks were running low now of all times.

Lorelai arrived in the garden to see her finishing another vision.  [color=f26522]"The same one?"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Always as of late."[/color]  Medusa gave Lorelai a cold, wry smile.  [color=ed1c24]"How is Vespa?"[/color]

Lorelai suppressed the urge to roll her eyes,  Medusa had elaborated enough on her opinion of her 'fraternizing' with the 'younger witches'.  Never mind the fact that Vespa was a peer.  [color=f26522]"She's lovely as always. Concerned for her sister of course,  but I doubt that will change anytime soon."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"You know,  as the last of your clan you may consider keeping a man long enough to produce an heir to your bloodline.  Instead of..."[/color]

Lorelai was getting good at biting her tongue,  so good infact she was beginning to worry she might bite through it.  [color=f26522]"As I told you before,  one pact or another has left me barren Medusa."[/color]  She quickly moved to end the conversation.  [color=f26522]"Our guest had nothing to offer in terms of the status of Robert Flint or anything he might have planned,  we know he's in Seren's Folley,  nothing more."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Thank you for your report."[/color]  Medusa hesitated for a moment.  [color=ed1c24]I'd like to...[i]apologize[/i] for my earlier comment,  I haven't been myself recently."[/color]

Lorelai was somewhat stunned.  [color=f26522]"Of course,  if Robert Flint has any idea where we are we could be looking at the greatest threat to our home in our lifetime."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Indeed.  Have a good night Lorelai,  I do believe I will retire for the evening."[/color]

With that Lorelai took her leave of Medusa and made her way back down to one of the common rooms to continue her reading into an obscure demonology.  If the hunters would be upon them soon she'd be ready.