[center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi43NjY3NjcuVTJ4dllXNWxJRVpoY21sei4w/bachelorette.regular.webp[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/r7scdkh.png[/img][/center]
 [right][b]Interactions:[/b]  The Gazebo Gang, Adora [@Punished GN]
[code]Tranquil Haven Park[/code][/right][hr]

Sloane had spotted Adora approaching the gazebo and pretended not to notice her, unsurprised when the imposing woman immediately invaded her space. The hand on Sloane’s shoulder was a quiet threat of violence, the kind that Sloane simply refused to acknowledge. She looked up at the taller woman with an expression of sheer boredom teetering on mild annoyance, like if Adora was playing a bit role in a junior high drama club’s rendition of Our Town and Sloane was her older sister being forced to watch it by their parents. Anya was quick to come to Sloane’s defense and Sloane immediately knew why. First of all, Anya was simply a good person. Secondly, Anya was the one of the only people here smart enough to understand what Sloane had been trying to accomplish instead of writing it off as selfish or power-hungry. 

Most importantly, Anya was the only other living person who [i]knew[/i]. Sloane could tell that she was trying to protect her. Anya’s argument was sound and logical—Adora shouldn’t have the rings because Adora didn’t deserve the rings. She had given them away and those people had given them to Sloane. They weren’t Adora’s to take back. It would be like an old farmer kicking the door open to a fine Michelin star restaurant, stomping mud and shit all across the dining room, grabbing a filet mignon off of someone’s plate, and eating it with their soiled hands while eyefucking your date because they were the one who’d sold the cow to the restaurant. It was simply not how things worked.  

However, Sloane felt dirty letting Anya take the heat for her. While she agreed that Adora would be better off getting professional help than traipsing about with magical rings, she didn’t like making Anya lie for her. It felt wrong and dirty, like if Sloane were taking advantage of her friendship with Anya by burdening her with knowledge of the truth because she knew Anya would cover for her in situations like this. Plus, there was a problem with what Anya had said: what if Adora agreed and gave Sloane her ring? And then what if Auri or someone else pointed out that, hey, a group of our peers were wiped out the other day, Sloane, why not use the rings or loan them to someone trustworthy? What does Anya say then? No, no, Sloane much rather wait until the right time, like when the people who matter start dying.

Sloane’s face softened as she looked up at Adora, feeling the anger burn down on her, and then she gave Anya an apologetic glance as she slumped forward. What looked like the world’s weakest attempt to headbutt Adora in the chest was actually Sloane’s second awful hug of the week, her arms hanging limply at her side like noodles. A flush of embarrassment was crushed by a tidal wave of shame. Sloane always thought of herself as someone who’d face death with dignity, but only an absolute monster would hold onto their pride when the lives of others were on the line. She said something, an apology muffled by a heavy exhale of disappointment and Adora’s hoodie, and stepped back. 

[color=silver]“I don’t have them anymore. I don’t have any of my artifacts anymore,”[/color] said Sloane, crossing her arms again. [i]My?[/i] None of them were hers in the first place, all either stolen or entrusted to her by people who shouldn’t have. [color=silver]“They were stolen from me alongside my counterfeits and a number of sealed Apparitions. Snatched from my business or my home, security measures somehow bypassed, hexes and countermeasures either dispelled or avoided. I had figured that the thief had ties to Sycamore considering how easily they answered every precaution I had taken.”[/color] Sloane laughed sharply, a rarely heard noise that sounded more like a dog getting its tail stepped on than amusement, and looked out across the park remembering the literal days she had wasted establishing webs of spells. [color=silver]“And I took a lot of precautions.”[/color]

[color=silver]“It’s not like I was trying to hide it at the time,”[/color] she said, looking back at Adora. She’d absolutely been trying to hide it, just like she was currently hiding her frustration. [color=silver]“If I couldn’t track down the artifacts then I had planned to inform the relevant parties about what had happened and go from there. It just happened that a few days later my old pals started showing up dead.”[/color]

[color=silver]“And I know a bunch of you are just absolutely nutting yourself right now thinking about how you’re going to use this information to cut me down as you ingrates just adore to do,”[/color] said Sloane, eyeing Linqian. [color=silver]“But save your breath because your opinion is as unimportant as you are irrelevant to this conversation. It feels weird to blame the victim here, but I’ll still take full responsibility for the theft. So yeah, I’m sorry Adora. I messed up. I'll handle it. Let’s move on."[/color] Sloane rolled her eyes. [color=silver]"After all, we have to end this meeting so we can go to the actual meeting."[/color]