[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img]     [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img][/center]
[right][b]Interactions[/b]: Edict [@AtomicEmperor], Britney [@Punished GN], Layla [@Estylwen]
[code]The Halloween Festival[/code][/right][hr]
Linqian realised she’d made a very big mistake getting herself involved.

Her cold touch was doing nothing to Vashti. Not nothing- she was just ignoring it. Ignoring it and preparing to strike. She froze. Maybe if she went for the pistol in her bag she could-

That momentary hesitation would have cost Linqian her life, losing her the time needed to back away from a deadly slice to her throat. She flinched as Vashti’s fingers patted her cheek instead. It seemed taunting. Telling her how easily she could have killed her, then and there. She’d made the mistake of getting so close to a beast much stronger than her.

[color=CD5C5C]”Fooling around?”[/color] Linqian whispered, gaze not leaving Vashti. In case she decided to come back and finish the job. But she made no move to do anything more, and nor did Linqian. Fuck that. This wasn’t her fucking fight in the first place. 

Her normal, go to fuck off in response to the rest of what Vashti said died on her lips as soon as it formed. There was no point.

If Britney's friend - Sabrina Vanburen (and there was a surname that reminded her of another bitch she hated) - hadn't stepped in she would be dead. Fuck. 

One hand went to her throat, touching where Vashti had originally aimed. She almost expected there to be blood on her fingers as they came away. Instead there was only the dampness of melting snow. She raised her body temperature to normal and then a bit above it, causing the rain to evaporate as it hit her. She shoved trembling hands underneath her sodden cloak. Linqian had been in plenty of situations where she almost died. When her dad was enthralled, fighting against the Stygian Snake, the final battle, when her- no. She wasn’t going to think about that one either. She'd survived them all.

But this was the first time her life had been in danger when Jinhai [i]wasn’t[/i] around. 

Sloane’s words echoed in her ears. [i][color=gray]”Will you take responsibility for your brother having nobody left?”[/color][/i]

Linqian didn’t have any plans in place for that eventuality. Between Father Wolf and people like Vashti, who left with threatening words. She was probably- no, definitely- on her shit list now. Next time there wouldn’t necessarily be someone to stop it. Fuck. Maybe she should learn to use a gun, and not give Edict’s back to him. She needed to remember that it was just the two of them now. There was no fallback for if she died, no one to look after him in her place. No smarter, more capable brother that she'd always assumed would outlive her. She needed to try to stay alive, and to figure out a plan for if she didn't manage that. 

Now wasn’t the time to think about it. There was nothing she could do tonight. Linqian took a deep breath, hands clenching into fists and she pushed away the remaining tendrils of panic stuck in her chest. 

[color=CD5C5C]”What a fucking bitch,”[/color] Linqian complained to no one in particular. It just helped her calm down. Pushed away the quietly panicked state she'd been in after almost getting her throat ripped out. It still lingered in her shaking limbs, but she pushed all the emotions that came with it down. No way was she showing fucking weakness in front of people, even after that. It was easy to pretend to be fine, like nothing had happened. Ignore it, snap out of it, and have a good night. [color=CD5C5C]”Starts a fight and then pretends its a joke- fuck. At least she backed down, but fuck. Could've stopped the rain at least!”[/color]
 
Shaking her head, Linqian looked at Britney, then Layla. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed something… or more the lack of something. No Void. Good riddance, in her opinion. But that reminded her that she [i]had[/i] learned something that could be useful, and money making, this week. It had completely slipped her mind after Jack first told her it because it didn't seem like useful information at all. The void heart was being sealed, end of. But Edict was clearly still into Britney. Maybe he'd pay for it since it involved her? And if it didn't, whatever. Best to tell him it now before someone else let it slip in case it did pay.

Linqian moved back over to Edict, settling beside him at the opposite side to his guitar case. She still wasn’t sure what was in it, so best not to be next to it. She dropped her temperature down to slightly warm to offset the rain chill. She glanced over at the others... Possibly close enough to hear anything she said. Possibly not. Better to be safe. 

Turning to face him side on and getting close enough her chest practically pressed against his arm, Linqian pushed up onto her tiptoes. It was a pain to close the gap in their height and her legs were still feeling a little weak after [i]almost dying[/i]. Her hands moved up to rest on his shoulder for stability, still slightly trembling fingers curling around it and gripping enough that he couldn't easily shake her off. She leaned right in so that her lips almost touched Edict's ear, lowering her voice to a whisper. [color=CD5C5C]"I just remembered, Britney and Stormy sealed Alizee's parasitic ball along with Leon’s cult- the Temple last week. That’s why he’s not with Layla anymore. Jack told me... I can give you more details later, if you want. Oh, and your gun back. I assume you don’t want me to pull it out here?”[/color]

She lowered her heels back to the ground but didn't move any further away, lips curved up into a smirk and her eyebrows raised. If it was useful, he could pay her then too.

[color=CD5C5C]”I’m guessing you want to tag along with them?”[/color] Linqian then asked him in a more normal volume, nodding towards the other three… well primarily Britney. The main person she assumed he'd want to stick around it. She didn’t care either way. She liked Britney enough that it made up for the annoyance that was Layla, and her other option was finding Sully which would require at least a phone call. If he was sober enough to pick up. Too much effort for now. She then looked at Layla, raising her voice to make sure she'd hear. [color=CD5C5C]”Though going to a haunted house at our age is fucking lame without getting absolutely wasted first.”[/color]
[hr][center][h1]Lihn Phan[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/DaeyXno.png[/img][/center]
[right] Interactions: Clancy [@Zombiedude101]
[code]The Halloween Festival, Kids Section[/code][/right][hr]
The kid didn’t run away, which Lihn saw as a victory - but also perhaps another indication for how terrible his parents were. She tried to get a read on his emotions, but it was slightly… strange. She kept up her calming aura but retracted any emotion reading. She shouldn’t, anyway. 

“Right, Pinnochio,” Lihn laughed lightly, entirely unbothered by the slight sarcasm in his tone. Her daughter had been going through that stage recently - being sarcastic about [i]everything[/i]. It didn’t phase her one bit. 

But how did she explain it to him? She hadn’t dealt with this before with her own daughter… It would probably be best to just tell the truth. Children could often tell when you were beating around the bush. 

“Unfortunately, your costume looks… very similar to what a hate group wore,” Lihn rubbed the back of her neck. “You’re a kid, so no one will think you’re part of it, but it can be very triggering for some people. The group was incredibly violent and racist. White supremacists, if you’ve heard of them before.”

She gave an awkward smile. Hopefully he’d understand what she was talking about. It was a sensitive subject, but she wouldn’t want him to get in trouble with some people who took it the wrong way. He was just a child, after all. 

“I have a spare pair of cat ears, if you want those, so you still have a costume?” she offered, gesturing to her bag. She wanted to ask more about what he was doing alone and what was wrong, but she knew not to push too hard. “Then maybe I can help you get to wherever you’re heading?”
[hr][center][h1]Trisha Vanburen[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/eJhsguy.png[/img][/center]
 [right]Interactions: Adora [@Punished GN]
[code]The Halloween Festival[/code][/right][hr]
Trisha’s sneer quickly turned into a frown when Adora brought up her father. Ten years on, and she was still incredibly resentful about her family situation. Fucking bitch. The bees clinging to her started to grow more agitated, buzzing increasing. One crawled up her neck, sitting just below her chin. They sensed her irritation and wanted to attack the source, but she stopped them. As [i]nice[/i] as it would be to swarm someone with bees, it would be difficult to explain.

She really didn’t want Ezra threatening to cut her off (again). Not that the blame could get back to her when it was the bees but ugh… she needed the family money now more than ever.

“The costume’s cute, shame about who’s wearing it. I’ve got no interest in seeing your nasty ass. Gross” Trisha pretended to gag. Disgusting. As if she’d fall as low as going for someone like [i]Adora[/i] when there were plenty of others. “Maybe I just wanted to greet an old friend… Ah! You must not know what it’s like to have friends anymore! After all, you got your last one killed, I [i]bet[/i] you haven’t had any since! Must suck to be so sad and lonely you’re flashing to someone you haven’t seen in years, hoping they’ll enjoy it. What would Lisa think? She'd be disgusted, I bet… Ah, but we’ll never know, thanks to you.”
[hr][center][h1]Bianca Manalo[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/M9y8V0W.png[/img][/center]
 [right]Interactions: Lynn [@NoriWasHere], Meifeng [@Punished GN]
[code]The Halloween Festival[/code][/right][hr]
Bianca had tagged along with the power rangers and maids going to get drinks - almost pissed was how the festival was best enjoyed, after all. A couple of shots would let her properly enjoy the night. Then she’d decide whether to strike out on her own or stick with the power rangers. With so many back in town, she was sure her ex-covenmates would be out in droves-

Like at the drink line, performing some kind of budget exorcism of the Rot. Phew. Bianca was glad that Stormy seemed to have the situation under control because she really didn’t want to have to deal with the paperwork for that, and she totally would have to help since she knew their abstractions. But it was all good. She gave Stormy a cheerful wave and smile. 

"Heh," Bianca side-eyed Lynn, sliding up to her. She grabbed one of the free beers and raised it to Lynn, before knocking it back. She then pulled out a ten dollar bill, because she wasn't a thief, and slid it over. It was a bit of a pain with the long, werewolf fake nails she was wearing but hey. Not gonna steal drinks. "I get it. Me too. Absolutely nothing better than women... And that? Yeah, very hot." She coughed. "Don't tell 'em I said that, they're my superiors."

She grinned at Lynn, seemingly completely cool in her attitude towards her.

Of course, Bianca had witnessed what had gone down after the raid. What Lynn had said to Linqian was [i]not[/I] cool, but Bianca could understand emotions were running high after they were all raided. And that was between them. Her and Linqian hadn't been together for a long time... Though even with a long period of no contact, Bianca still cared for the incredibly temperamental woman. If Linqian ever let her, she'd like to be friends again. There was a lot they knew about each other that meant Bianca could actually be a support for Linqian... Something she knew was desperately needed. Especially after she'd slapped Lynn like that. 

But hey, it wasn't her place. 

"How you been doing, Lynn? It's been a while..." She then held her hands up in a half apologetic gesture. "I'm off duty, no need to worry."

Not technically true, but they'd only be on duty if something actually happened. The situation here seemed to be under control now that Emily had fled. Seeing who was on the Sycamore Tree side, Bianca was inclined to believe it was her fault... But she was a neutral party, of course.

She then turned her head back to Meifeng with a laugh. “I think it’s cause of what you’re wearing, boss. They’re [i]blown[/i] away.”