[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OKGd0x2.png[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/MTl00a8.png [/img] [h1]Ruby White & Lynette Hunter-Richoux[/h1][/center][right][b][code]The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals (Yesterday)[/code][/b][/right][hr][hr] It had been a long day, but Lynette knew it wasn't done yet. Her days were never done. Twenty-four hours of waking life; the surveillance operations couldn't just be passed off to others when it was an entirely spellbound affair. The funeral earlier that day had taken a great deal of her energy, and now she was feeling sluggish as she once more changed her clothing. An all day affair in a heavy, dark black mourning gown. It was weighted at the bottom, and in between the fabrics were concealed ballistic plates to deter any sort of Blind assault. Stripped down, Lynette looked in the mirror at her nude frame. In vanity, she managed to pose for herself, a smile cracking across her face. She shifted her legs, arms, watching the almost unnatural musculature ripple just beneath her pale skin. She bit her lip at the sight of herself, nodding before finally breaking off. In that moment, she felt the same lurching connection that she'd felt a million times before. The sensation of deja vu that told her she was locking into a sequence. Her innate gift of White Lux manifested in dreams of vivid clarity that detailed action and emotion with uncanny accuracy. In the moment, she caught the edge of anticipation and sadness. Both welled up as she edeticly recalled the clothing she proceeded to don. Her favorite dress robes. She remembered Max bringing them to her, how her Mother-in-law had made them with the assumption that Lynette would maintain her position as Priestess of the Dawn. The burned orange and gold swirled together upon the stole, the pure white cloth of the robes themselves shining in the dim light. She followed the dream to the letter, making way for her lockbox and undoing it to remove a wide brimmed hat. She fluffed up the middle, letting the pure white witch hat climb up to its full height. Also removed from the box was a blade. The metal was black, cold, and jam packed with so much orange magic left behind by Max that she figured if she cut someone with it they would just explode. He always told her to keep it close, but seeing it was painful. But, magic told her she needed it now, so it folded into her big sleeves and sat right near her hand where it was accessible. And then it came, the interruption. Frantic knocking at her door. “Mistress!? Mistress! She's back!” Lynette clenched her jaw. She didn't know who [i]she[/i] was, but she could render a few guesses. Wordlessly, she pushed the door open and blew past the attendant to make way for the main chapel. This is where her dream gave out, leaving her to deal with what came next. [hr] … The doors to the main chapel burst open; kicking down the door was the esteemed leader of the Greenwood Coven, Ruby White, except in her plain clothes, which consisted of black leggings, some sneakers, and a red Nike t-shirt. Notably, she had that massive tree branch she used as a staff in hand. Everyone looked at her in awe as she raised her staff in the air and shouted, “... Bring me Lynette!” Ruby began, “Tell her the Chosen One has returned!” She screamed… and all the Temple members were looking at each other in confusion, mumbling this and that about a ”Chosen one.” That was when Ruby grabbed her staff with her other hand and fired a few pale-yellow blasts of her spring beams at the ceiling. Each blast was enough to punch a hole through drywall and left behind various plant life and vines. Everyone ran away screaming as Ruby reached into her pocket, pulled a blunt out, slid it between her lips, and pulled out a lighter. She sucked on the blunt in the open fire as it created smoke. Her eyes landed on a vase. Then she walked over to it and pushed it over while waiting for Lynette to show up… At first it was left to Clarissa to deal with, and while she didn’t lift a finger against her once proud sister, she did let loose with a verbal tirade while the others ran. It wasn’t until Lynette actually arrived on the scene that she cleared herself out and left them to speak. Lynette, ascending from the stairs, stared down at Ruby as she smoked on one of the pews. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, her old pupil. No wonder she wore the robe; she needed the comfort. [color=8882be][b]”And here I got dressed for this. What the fuck do you want?”[/b][/color] She had no interest in pretense or image with Ruby. Out of anyone, she cared the least: She knew Lynette’s mind. “Wow, rude,” Ruby said… before she took a large step forward and loudly tapped the bottom of her staff against the floor. “So, Lynette, the Temple’s esteemed leader, I have a question for you…” Ruby took a long drag of her blunt, held it, before letting it out, and then asking the golden question, “... Why did your little pet bitch attack my friend and [i]ruin[/i] my plan to take Judas’ head?” Ruby asked, tilting her head. “Maybe you forgot, but don’t [i]your[/i] people and [i]my[/i] people have a little deal where we stay out of each other’s way?” Ruby narrowed her eyes. [i]“... Are we forgetting how much of a fuckin’ powderkeg the city is right now?”[/i] Lynette was still a bit sore about the whole thing; it’s not like Alizee hadn’t paid for the mistake with her life. She did her best to listen to Ruby, and taking a deep breath she descended from the dais down to Ruby. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and held up her hand. Two fingers extended, expecting a hit from the joint. She didn’t speak at first, clearing her throat. [color=8882be][b]”Well, you didn’t exactly come to see the funeral, did you? The problem was dealt with the night it came up, and a young woman died. But now you come around like it’s some sort of problem I need to settle when [i]you[/i] were the one who, and this is [i]self admitted[/i]: YOU had plans to pop the powder keg.-”[/b][/color] She paused to stare at Ruby; the kind of stare she used to give when she was disciplining the girl all those years ago. [color=8882be][b]”-Especially with the Sycamore Tree and their [i]situation[/i], Ruby! Why the fuck did you have plans like that in the first place!?”[/b][/color] Ruby bared teeth. “... Lyric Brown, Felica Harvey…” Ruby named as she pounded her staff on the ground. “The friends [i]I[/i] had that were killed by the Nazis for their artifacts.” She was silent as she said, “After Kaiser Draeger went down, [i]their[/i] artifacts went into the hands of those bastards, and all [i]we[/i] were trying to do is get them back. Problem was that a lotta’ them are under Judas’ wing after Das Sonnenrad fell, and he has a problem when you fuck with his men.” Ruby shook her head. “So, we were going to remove him from the equation. I mean, if he was willing to let literal [i]Nazis[/i] under your wing, then he [i]really[/i] had it coming.” Lynette grabbed the bridge of her nose and growled. Her hand flicked out, snagging the joint out of her hand and pulling a heavy tug from it. She held it in for quite a while, longer and longer until it was too much and she had to drive it like a flame from out of her lungs. [color=8882be][b]”Oh, Ruby, if you weren’t such an egomaniac you’d have [i]help[/i] with this sort of thing! And then we all could’ve been involved and we could make sure that these things get handled in a way that isn’t how we handled them back in the day!”[/b][/color] She stuck her hand out, passing the joint back to Ruby as she took a deep breath. It cleared the lungs and brought a moment of her blood rushing to her head. [color=8882be][b]”Now what? You want some sort of help? Recompense for your lost wares? Or did you just come to hear me blow smoke up your ass about a problem you made? Or do you forget that I love you and that you’re welcome back here along with your entire cast if you could just end your childishness!?”[/b][/color] “Problem [i]I[/i] made?” Ruby tilted her head, placing a hand on her chest as she feigned shock. “I… I want to remind you that the Greenwood Coven wants no issue with The Temple of [i]Graceful and Esteemed[/i]… Whatevers,” Ruby began, standing up straight and shaking her head. “And in return, I want you to affirm that incidents like this will be avoided in the future.” She sighed. “... Maybe, we could work together to that end,” Ruby hung her head. “It’s becoming obvious that Greenwood - my people - need help out here in St. Portwell. Except against Emily. That bitch’s ass is [i]mine[/i].” Lynette gripped her hands, balling them into fists of frustration. [color=8882be][b]”Ruby, you know we’re not adverse to trimming the fat, but whatever 8th Street’s problem is, we need to deal with it the same way! We are working toward Paradise! This land is [i]sacred[/i]! The thing in the fucking ground, Ruby! You know it’s necessary that we have as many bodies as we can get!”[/b][/color] Ruby jammed a thumb into her chest as she valiantly said, “And 8th Street is [i]my[/i] problem to deal with. Not the Temple. Not yours. [i]Mine.[/i] I’m sorry, but this is something I have to do, Lynette.” [color=8882be][b]”The fucking [i]Chosen One[/i] can’t take faith that her enemies would be taken care of by natural process? That the fruits of our labor won’t be borne to us as we have worked for them so far? Ruby, you could have everything you want and more at your fingertips, but you’re too impatient, Gods Damn You!”[/b][/color] Lynette barked, smashing her hand against the pew. [color=8882be][b]”Why must it be this way with us!?”[/b][/color] “Impatient?” Ruby tilted her head. “I’m only saying that it wouldn’t sit right with me if I used the Temple’s resources to, you know, defeat my arch-rival. As far as all the other fuckers? Yeah, sure.” She sighed. “But, Honored Temple Mother, how can we fix the broken bonds we have between us? I know I left a few years ago to strike out on my own… but, St. Portwell is… well…” She awkwardly laughed, hoping that Lynette would get the point. [color=8882be][b]”Don’t fucking butter me up, girl. Honored Temple Mother my cunt. You have your own Coven, you’re your own woman now. You’ve dug holes. I told you: I love you. Just end this [i]Chosen[/i] bullshit. I am a mere prophet: my duty is to usher in the realm and the age. After that, we can talk about who is meant to rule.[/b][/color] Lynette took a longer breath, taking the joint back to pull another long draw. “Fine,” Ruby rolled her eyes, speaking like an annoyed teenager. “But, I don’t want to rule St. Portwell. I don’t even think the city should be ruled. The city is meant to be [i]free[/i]. The only problem is that we got assholes like Emily, Judas, and Kaiser Draeger who try to impose their will on others.” [color=8882be]”You will learn in time, my Love, that someone must hold the leash. And when that time comes, we will have the war that will settle things. For now, it’s all a game. A long set of postures and poses as we jockey for position.”[/color] Lynette’s personal posturing was over. She let her guard down, quick to welcome back as was her philosophy. It was impossible to burn a bridge with the woman, and in turn she expected that no bridge would ever be burned on her. Every option was open. They were established, and St. Portwell’s tenuous status as nexus of the Paranormal world was only getting more tenuous as the prodigal children returned in flock. The Miracle Children were home. [color=8882be]”So, Ruby… Tell me about the artifacts. What happened?”[/color] Ruby shook her head, “The Artifacts I am looking for belonged to my friends, Lyric Brown and-” Lynette interrupted her: [color=8882be]“Sisters! Your [i]Sisters![/i]”[/color] Ruby sighed, gritting her teeth. “... My [i]sisters,[/i] Lyric Brown and Felicia Harvey… Lyric was a genius that who made a whole lot of them, and Felicia had the Unicorn Gem. One day, they were hanging out with my fellow sister, Autumn when Das Sonnenrad goons attacked them. They spared Autumn because…” She awkwardly trailed off before she continued, “... [i]You know,[/i] but they took their artifacts, and that was why Greenwood went to war with the Sunwheel Cult. Why Greenwood allied with that bitch Emily… all I want to do is get the artifacts that they loved or worked hard on, out of the hands of the Nazis. That’s it.” She sighed. “Everyone keeps getting in my way…” Lynette’s face became frustrated immediately. There was a sense that tension climbed from the floor back up to the ceiling. [color=8882be]”Spared her!? Fucking [i]spared[/i] her? God, their philosophy makes me fucking sick. Jobs half done, ends left uncut over some crap about races that don’t matter?”[/color] There was a pause as she tried to think of what to do about the situation that didn’t involve direct murder. [color=8882be]”Alright… We play ball with them. Play into their bullshit like we’re willing to go for it. [i]Us.[/i] Not your Coven. We’ll barter for them on your behalf, maybe send them a few of our supplies. We get back whats yours, pay for our wayward Daughter’s transgressions toward you, and we can move forward on the same pathway. If it comes to blows? Then we can both go in for it.”[/color] “Barter with the Wolfpack?” Ruby asked. “Have fun with that… but if you ever want some bikers dead, you know who to call.” [color=8882be]”You think we don’t already deal with Judas and his group?”[/color] Lynette replied in a snappy fashion. “Well, from what I hear the PRA took care of him,” Ruby said, “But rumor has it someone else took over… I think Dean Walker.” She shrugged. “Either way, this marks the day of a partnership, correct?” Ruby answered. “Maybe if we were working together, we could have avoided the whole situation with Alizee and I’ll uh…” She looked around. “... I’ll see if I can fix the holes in the ceiling.” Lynette’s face formed a genuine smile. It was noticeable, a tick that almost everyone in the Temple joked about. [i]If the teeth are out, she’s about to shout.[/i] Currently, she was soft and only one side of her mouth curled up practically to her ear. [color=8882be]”Nevermind them, Ruby. The plants are lovely.”[/color] Ruby nodded her head, before she took a long drag of her neglected blunt, held it, and turned around. She took a few steps towards the door and then looked over her shoulder, “Keep in touch, Lynette,” Ruby said, “I know we both went down different paths… but I think some part of us are…” She loudly gagged. [i]“... Similar.”[/i] Lynette’s smile held. [color=8882be]”Don’t be a bitch, Ruby, you know you love it. What was it when you were younger? Aunty Lynnie? We’ll see you again soon, the Kids are coming home for the Troubles ahead… You’ve seen it too, haven’t you? Why else would you be scrambling to reclaim artifacts now?”[/color] Ruby was silent, and didn’t respond. “... I have to go talk my girlfriend out of putting cat ears over regular clothes as her costume,” Ruby sighed. “I’ll see you around.” That was when Ruby swiftly departed.