[center] [url=https://fontmeme.com/celtic-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230723/233741022a2e15c3da62a38756152b84.png[/img][/url] [img]https://i.imgur.com/KPDqM0h.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/rE9MSSq.gif[/img] [sub]A [color=0DD1ED]Catherine Hierich[/color] post featuring [color=2A7E2E]Zachery Carter[/color] A collab between [@Soufflegirl123] and [@Hedgehawk][/sub][/center] [color=00BFFF]”You look lovely, my sweet,”[/color] Catherine, mascara wand in hand, turned her attention from the bathroom mirror before her to the figure of her mother in the doorway. [color=0DD1ED]”Thanks, mum.”[/color] she replies with a small smile before turning back to the mirror. She couldn’t help but notice the shaking of her hands. She’d been a member of the coven for a month now, joining occasional outings and scouting missions, and all had been fine but this brought all the generations of coven members. This included the generation who fought against her father. She could only hope none recognised who she was descended from but considering her uncle was handing over to her she wasn’t hopeful. [color=0DD1ED]”Are you sure you don’t want to come?”[/color] she asks her mother, eyes still fixated on her visage in the mirror as she dragged the mascara wand over her eyelashes. [color=0DD1ED]”Your name was on the invitation too.”[/color] Cat couldn’t help but notice the small sigh that escaped the older woman’s lips. [color=00BFFF]”It’s not my world. I think I’m better off staying as far from it as possible, especially with that Aston woman there. You and I both know my name was only on the invitation in the name of diplomacy.”[/color] Catherine gave a somewhat solemn nod. She wished her mother would come along regardless but she had a good point. Ever since she found out about her magical heritage there seemed to be a weird distance between Catherine and her mother. Not that they had grown apart but there was that mutual understanding there was this whole world Catherine was a part of that Melanie Heirich could never truly understand. Her mother seemed to almost avoid magic all together. Cat didn’t blame her, until she started training her magic her mother’s last run in with it was escaping the destruction being caused by her ex. After admiring the finishing touches of her make-up Catherine turns back to her mother. [color=0DD1ED]”I should go but I’ll see you later tonight,”[/color] she says with a small smile before placing a kiss on her mother’s cheek. She starts heading toward the front door. [color=00BFFF]”Have fun. And say hi to your uncle for me,”[/color] her mother calls after her. [color=0DD1ED]”I will! Love you,”[/color] Cat calls back. [hr] Catherine made her way to the coven house, even after a month it was so impressive in her eyes. As she walked to the entrance she couldn’t help but notice Miles’ mother was at the door with Carlisle rather than his own mother. Catherine’s mum had mentioned she used to work in the diner with Mary Price back in the day, long before she knew of the magical community or that her colleague was part of it. She handed them her invitation and shared some quick pleasantries before entering the house. She wandered through the open rooms of the house exchanging short pleasantries with her generation of coven members until Carlisle gave his speech. After the man had returned back to the crowd, Catherine turned to continue her conversation hoping to find herself face to face with Zachery Carter. Zach had no idea why he was here in all honesty. He could have easily stayed at home. This was all some kind of pompous bullshit that he could do without. So yeah. They are going to crown a new leader. Whoop de doo. Carlisle was a spineless little shit either way. Zach had taken him down a couple of times. In fact the only reasons Miles and Zach had ever fought, was over Carlisle. He stood there with a whisky in hand as Cat turned around to see him. With a small smirk on his face he raised his glass. [color=2A7E2E]"Wanna take a picture? Might last a bit longer"[/color] Catherine didn’t know Zach all that well. She didn’t need to, his reputation preceded him and that reputation was enough to know she wanted to be as far away as possible. She scoffed at his comment, rolling her eyes slightly. [color=0DD1ED]”Why? Do you need one that bad?”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”Well, It would be nice to look at myself for a bit. Be the only interesting thing in this hellscape of a party”[/color] Zach uttered with a small sigh. He really didn’t know why he was even bothering. With a small swig of his whiskey he let out a small sigh. [color=2A7E2E]”I have never seen you around here. You new? Or have you been so plain that you blended into the background my whole life?”[/color] [color=0DD1ED]”Bit of both,”[/color] the young woman shrugs. [color=0DD1ED]”I also have better things to do with my time than jumping house party to house party.”[/color] Catherine didn’t give the man any of her information, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted him knowing who she was. Part of her called to just move on and find someone more agreeable to talk to but she pushed it away. [color=2A7E2E]”Nothing wrong with house parties so long as Carlisle isn’t there to waste your time”[/color] Zach said with a grumble, bringing back memories of college and all the house parties that had been ruined. [color=2A7E2E]”Sides, Tanner is a boring old place, Not exactly many parties going on, and having only a couple of bars really limits your options you know? So here I am, standing in a gaggle of pompous wasters, having some whiskey”[/color] [color=0DD1ED]”What would Carlisle being there have to do with anything?”[/color] Catherine asks, cocking her head. Carlisle was another character she barely knew, the man seemed to distance himself from her somewhat, but he didn’t seem like a particularly bad person. Zach gave off a deeper sigh [color=2A7E2E]”Because Carlisle and Miles would always be together. People seem to forget that me and Miles are friends too. Miles would spend the whole party trying to get Carlisle come out of his awkward little shell and that was just boring as hell. And once Miles had finally got drunk enough to have some real fun, Carlisle would try to whisk him home like some kind overzealous mother. He was such a kiljoy”[/color] Zach had started to grip the whiskey glass in his hand a little tighter only realising when he looked down at the white skin of his fingers. Cat became relatively still in place. The last thing she had planned was to become part of an impromptu therapy session. She seemed to be good at getting herself into those. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man acting almost like a jealous girlfriend and he hardly seemed the type to take good advice. [color=0DD1ED]”Maybe Miles is just closer to Carlisle,”[/color] the woman muses gently with a sigh. [color=2A7E2E]”Yeah, but who would want to be friends with that loser. Miles stands up for him as well, that is the sad thing. He can’t see what a dead weight that guy is. Still. Maybe I am just defensive because I don’t have any other guys to hang out with in Tanner. Me and Kolby don’t get along, and Rowan is always in his own little state of mind.”[/color] Zach began to fidget, he didn’t quite like the fact that he basically admitted weakness in front of someone, yet alone someone who he hardly knew. [color=0DD1ED]”Right,”[/color] Cat replies, her voice trailing off. Honestly she never took Zach as a vulnerable type. It was nearly uncomfortable, not so much the vulnerability itself but that in contrast to how she perceived that man. Her eyes fixated on the glass in the man’s hands for a moment as he spoke. [color=0DD1ED]”I mean, Tanner’s small but it’s not that small. I’m sure there’s someone at these house parties you’d get along with,”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”There is that. Last time I was at one of these parties I ended up getting a whiskey bottle in the side of the head. I had a concussion for three days afterwards. I have too much history with Tanner, everyone knows me and my business. It's not like college where the campus is so big, and there are so many people that you just blend in.”[/color] Leaning his head back he necked the rest of his glass in one, feeling the burning liquid light up his chest, causing Zach to cough lightly for a second. [color=2A7E2E]”Thing is, many people just assume I am this hyper flirt that will sleep with anything with a pulse. And to a degree they aren’t wrong. But no one ever asks how I am, or what I am doing. It is always [i]‘Stay away from him’[/i] or [i]‘urgh’[/i] I do actually have complexities, but no one wants to listen or stay close enough to find out”[/color] Catherine choked down the temptation to reply to his comment about what people think about him with an ‘aren’t you?’ but instead remained silent as he ranted. [color=0DD1ED]”And how are you?”[/color] she echoes cautiously, not quite sure how those words came out of her mouth. She was quite visibly taken aback by the sudden 180 this conversation had taken, even if she was trying not to show it. Zach was expecting some kind of brush off response. Something along the lines of ‘oh well, you are a whore aren't you? So what's the point in talking?’ But to his surprise, Catherine came up with something entirely different. Zach didn’t answer for a moment, trying to think of the right sentence to say. Normally he would deflect the question, become aggressive or hyper flirty. [color=2A7E2E]”Honestly? Lonely”[/color] He muttered out, he kept his voice low, so that no one who was passing by could overhear him. [color=2A7E2E]”I always knew adjusting back to Tanner would be hard, but not this hard. Living on my own, trying to work and get some money, and then trying to be sociable in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. It’s hard”[/color] Zach looked down in shame, his eyes fixated on the now empty whiskey glass. Cat knew how it felt to have others know your business and be judging you off of it. Sure, their specific situations were vastly different but she knew the feeling of everyone in a room thinking they knew exactly who you are. [color=0DD1ED]”Yeah, I get that,”[/color] she responds with a sigh. [color=0DD1ED]”People just acting like you’re one thing you’re not, or at least not completely.”[/color] The young woman fidgets with her rings as she talks before looking up at the man. [color=0DD1ED]”So prove them wrong. That’s what I’m trying to do.”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”It's a bit hard when most people won’t give me the time of day anymore. It wouldn’t shock me if after this conversation, someone leans in and warns you to stay away from me, because they are trying to be helpful.”[/color] Zach noticed by looking upwards that Cat seemed to be just as uncomfortable at the moment. Raising his head back up he tried to give off a weak smile. [color=2A7E2E]”I suppose I ought to go get a drink and get out of here, before the dance starts.”[/color] At his first statement Cat couldn’t help but chuckle. [color=0DD1ED]”Honestly? Someone will probably say the same thing to you about me,”[/color] she replies, her eyes floating around the room. Were those weary looks real? Were they pointed and her or Zach? Or were they all figments of her imagination and insecurity. [color=0DD1ED]”You like parties, this is a party. Not gonna show ‘em too great if you run away now, Especially before the actual handover.”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”I don’t really think that Dancing is my thing. Well. Not the dancing they have in mind. Side’s I don’t have anyone to dance with. I wasn’t planning on leaving, just standing on the outskirts and hiding as many drink bottles as I can find incase I bump back into Erin”[/color] He said with a slight chuckle, trying to deflect his insecurities. [color=0DD1ED]”Neither do I,”[/color] the woman replies with a shrug. [color=0DD1ED]”What’d you do so bad to get everyone whispering anyway?”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”Be aggressive, push people away, and try to sleep with anyone who would be near me. Worked for a while, but now my reputation is so infamous that most people who live in Tanner give me a wide berth. How about you?”[/color] [color=0DD1ED]”Less of what I did and more of what I come from,”[/color] Catherine sighs, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. It seemed odd that she was finding camaraderie and empathy in Zach Carter but here she was. [color=0DD1ED]”Very long story short my dad sought out Tanner for refuge then a couple of years later betrayed the coven by leading an attack against them. Obviously they didn’t succeed but judging by what people have said they were very close.”[/color] [color=2A7E2E]”And by association you must be bad too. I see. Well people suck.”[/color] Zach said with a soft laugh as he rolled her shoulders. [color=2A7E2E]”Well, I am going to get some more drinks. You are more than welcome to come and hang around while everyone makes fools of themselves dancing”[/color] He asked softly, running a hand through his hair to make sure his fringe was nice and messy. [color=0DD1ED]”I’ll think about it,”[/color] Cat replies with a gentle smile. [color=0DD1ED]”I’ll see you around, Zach,”[/color] Zach turned around and began to walk off [color=2A7E2E]”Offer is always there, Just look for the sulking guy in the corner”[/color] He laughed as he went towards the drinks table.