[hr][hr][center][hider=STARSET - TELEKINETIC][youtube]https://youtu.be/ozqoyg-Gi_E?si=qYvBkopDe94SCEKJ[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr][hr]

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[color=lightgray][i][u]Location: Tranquil Haven Park, Gazebo -> New Lair[/u][/i][/color]
[@Punished GN], everyone present, [@Fernstone]

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[quote=Tayla][color=DE198A]"So actually do something to give a fuck. Cause I could be dying at home and not with you assholes."[/color][/quote]

Void had to smirk. Another morsel to add to the pile of hate towards Auri. [i]Good.[/i]

[quote=Jasper][color=98FB98]“For fucks sake, this is not high school anymore.  Grow the fuck up, let’s get this meeting finished, get to the hideout, and then take care of business [i]again[/i], and then we can all fuck off to our own lives.”[/color][/quote]

Void had to roll his eyes. Especially at the finger pointed briefly at Layla.

[color=A299FD][i]“Ignore this morsel. Playing mediator is just a ploy to feel like they're contributing in this meeting.”[/i][/color]

Layla made a face. [color=7ABBFF][i]“That's mean, Void. Jasper is an artist. Not a battle general.”[/i][/color]

[color=A299FD][i]“You're forgetting someone wants to kill you. You don't have the luxury for the [i]arts[/i].”[i][/color]

Layla’s gaze dropped at that, and she turned silently away from Jasper.

Void only scoffed, watching the scene continue to unfold. He smiled gleefully as Anya shut down Adora, who lost her edge in a near instant, slinking off like a mouse to the edges of the gazebo.

[i]Good.[/i]

[quote=Britney][color=f4eb93]"So tell me, Voidy, how many little girls have to die a senseless death before you're [i]finally[/i] satisfied?"[/color][/quote]

Void's eyes constricted into little pinpoints of light, staring in shock at Britney. Near instantly, he was plunged into the painful memory of holding Alizée in the morgue, her eyes refusing to open.

[i]It wasn't fair.[/i]

[quote=Britney][color=f4eb93]"Whatever he's telling you, don't fall for it. You're just one in a line of many to him. Alizée [i]literally[/i] died less than a [i]day[/i] ago, and tell me: [i]what[/i] is the first thing he does? It couldn't be a [i]redder[/i] flag."[/color][/quote]

It was Layla's turn to look on in shock. Was that really all she was? Leon certainly didn't make her feel that way.

She was in the right spot, wasn't she? She was doing the right thing, wasn't she?

Her entire life, she lived with the guilt of serving the entities from the other side, trying to avoid yet another bite to add to her many scars. But now, for the first time, an entity gave her [i]power[/i], was [i]kind[/i] with her. Made her feel like she was more than her curse of sweet blood.

Was everything she was feeling, a lie?

Would she be abandoned and left alone, after all this?

She stood there, frozen in her stance, eyes staring at Britney frantically, searching for meaning in her twisted and tormented life.

That was, until cold, dark hands slid over her eyes, hiding Britney from view as cold numbness seeped into her bones.

[color=A299FD][i]“[/i]Erei oblaan. [i]That's what I said when we first became adjoined.”[/i][/color]

Void spoke softly in Layla's mind, pain in his eyes as he slowly turned Layla to face him, hands cupping her cheek.

[color=A299FD][i]“It means ‘until the end’. Nothing can separate us, and everything I do will only make you stronger, sweetheart. Don't listen to these seeds of doubt, they will never understand you like I do.”[/i][/color]

Void gently let go of Layla, white specks of light fading away as warmth slowly came back into her bones. She stared in awe at Void, and realized something.

No one understood the entity in front of her. No one saw his heartbreak at the sight of Alizée. No one could hope to understand.

[color=A299FD][i]“I push you because I have a goal. I miss them. And I know you miss your family.”[/i][/color]

Void paused, carefully choosing his next words. Layla only needed a soft nudge. She had already bent to most of his power in the first few hours of fighting between them. 

[color=A299FD][i]“If you stick with me, you'll see them again. Until then, you only have to obey my every word.”[/i][/color]

Layla swallowed, her mind flashing back to the night her home went up in flames. She thought of what she missed. She thought of how the Temple treated Void. She thought of Leon. She thought of how Void was tender towards Alizée, her predecessor.

[color=7ABBFF][b]“You're wrong, Britney.”[/b][/color] Layla said, turning towards the woman. [color=7ABBFF][b] “Besides, what does it matter if I die too? We're all on the chopping block, aren't we?”[/b][/color]

She took a breath, [color=7ABBFF][b]”I appreciate your concern. But I've been useless most of my life. Void is my chance to actually be able to do something.”[/b][/color]

[color=A299FD][i]“Yes, use me like I use you.”[/i][/color]

Layla shivered, her head bowing a bit. [color=7ABBFF][i]“Yes.”[/i][/color]

The conversation continued to devolve. Raised tempers, harsh words, including her own. Until it circled around again, and Britney was breathing down Layla's neck.

[quote=Britney][color=f4eb93]"... And The Void Heart is a [i]flying[/i] threat to our safety in the public eye. Do you remember what he was making Alizée do? What he's trying to groom [i]you[/i] to do? See-through his bullshit. You're a tool for him. Trust me."[/color][/quote]

Now Layla felt targeted. Pushed. She could feel her temper rising, and that terrible tug-of-war in her heart to keep her cool, or cut where it would hurt.

[color=A299FD][i]“She deserves it for trying to drive a stake in between us. Say what's on your mind.”[/i][/color]

[color=7ABBFF][i]”I can't. It's mean.”[/i][/color]

[color=A299FD][i]”If you don't say something now, Britney will never let up.”[/i][/color]

Layla swallowed hard, and leveled her eyes at Britney. [color=7ABBFF][b]“For all intents and purposes, [i]you're[/i] just as much of a threat as him or anyone else here. I may have never said anything at the time, but that doesn't mean I [i]approved[/i] of you forcing curses on innocents just to push your own warped a-”[/b][/color]

[quote=Auri][b][i][h1]"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!"[/h1][/i][/b][/quote]

Layla flinched at the butterflies scattering in her vision, and fell silent.

And just like that, they were off to the new lair. Layla followed along near the front of the group, curiously getting the better of her. She saw it in the distance, angular features distinct and unique. The blue bird may have just been her imagination, but the worn gloss of the pews was very much real under her hand.

And, suspicious in Void’s eyes, Britney, Stormy and Auri slunk off to a room to the side.

[quote=Adora][color=fd8a6c]"... All that just to fuck off and leave us twiddling our thumbs?"[/color][/quote]

Layla stared in silence, a little lost as to what to do with herself. A huge, angry and irritated group, and no leader in the room.

Wait.

No leader in the room.

Void smiled evilly. [color=A299FD][i]“Time to push plan A again. You know what to do.”[/i][/color]

Layla made her way to the front of the church, hand leaning on the pulpit front the side. She cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts before addressing the crowd.

[color=7ABBFF][b]”...Guys. I think something needs to be said. I can see how fed up you all are. Anger at being hunted. At being in this sorry predicament. And you're right! But I think what could really help us right now is a change in leadership. Tayla and Sloane would attest to this, I'm sure. You're furious, I can tell.”

“What we need is a new leader that can [i]actually[/i] protect us, instead of giving impossible assignments and getting us killed. Like with what happened with Alizée.”[/b][/color]

She paused, eyes meeting everyone's in the crowd, gauging their reactions, before raising her hand.

[color=7ABBFF][b]”All in favor of electing a new leader, say ‘aye’.”[/b][/color]

[quote=Anya][color=9966CC]”Since our illustrious leader has left us before divulging any useful information, why don’t we share what we know and see if anyone here has some leads?”[/color][/quote]

Now it was Void's turn to speak up. There was a pained edge in his deep, metallic voice as he addressed Anya. Layla wouldn't know this, so he spoke instead.

[color=A299FD][b]"There was a boy at Veni Vedi. Said he knew something. If we can find him, there's our next lead. He [i]might[/i] be alive, despite getting shot."[/b][/color]