[indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6Yi4gad.png[/img]
[hider=Mood Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts&pp=ygUSem9tYmllIGNyYW5iZXJyaWVz[/youtube][/hider][/center][right][h1][color=f49ac2]Edict[/color][/h1][/right][right][sub][hr][color=f49ac2]Mentions:[/color] Nobody Relevant [color=f49ac2]Direct Dialogue: [/color][color=CD5C5C]Linqian Han/[@FernStone],[/color] [color=f4eb93]Britney Williams/[@Punished GN],[/color] [color=7ABBFF]Layla Hyacinthus/[@Estylwen][/color] [color=f49ac2]Location:[/color] Festival Grounds, Cracker Island Historic District [/sub][/right][hr]
[/indent] There was a great deal of relief as Vashti Nour cleared the area. While the rain didn't let up, it did begin to follow its dark cloud owner about the fairground to give some small relief to the Sycamites in the little huddle. At first he wasn't sure how things were going to go, his finger clenched as tightly as it could against the drop lever of the case. His friend screamed for the drop on the lizard woman, its magical ammunition capable of shredding augmented flesh by disrupting the Lux related spell or effect associated with it. He figured that while it may not be enough to deal with her once she was pissed off, if he acted first there may be a few moments where he'd catch her in that vulnerable state between transformations. Whether he managed to actually make the shot or not was a more complicated matter, and most of the aforementioned relief came from the idea that he didn't need to test it now. 

With Vashti walking away, the small group was left to their own devices. Edict felt determined to not let the girls out of his sight, especially if Bean Vanburen was rolling with her. When she offered to dry their clothes, he humbly accepted whatever help she could give as even he wasn't stupid enough to step on the toes of a VB. His Father always taught him to be respectful of those people, said it was Old Money like that which kept them in business. The rich and the poor, a cycle of thieving and skimming and scrimping, all with the understanding that it was the man in the middle who would foot the bill. The sucker. 
He knew that Sabrina wasn't her old man... But hearing her clip Vashti's wings with authority made him pass a second more subtle look in her direction as she finished her task. It was still wet and cold, but at least they weren't soaked.

That's when Linqian approached him. He could feel her shaking slightly, and chalked it up to the cold rather than trying to pry into her leery mind and find out. As she hugged around him, he felt her purposeful tug upward, and he gripped his arms around her back to support her and pass on a little warmth. But then, she started yapping in his ear about something he almost couldn't make out over the din of the festival. Slowly parsing it out, his brow furrowed into a v-shape as his eyes passed between Britney and Layla. In that moment, he was one hundred percent sure that what he'd been approached with the other day at that meeting had everything to do with little Layla Hyacinthus. 
Edict had never paid her much mind. Probably because he'd never been in a position to deal with the House of Cards. How could he have ever known she was connected like that without having seen her at some sort of event? He wasn't allowed to go to those until he began really earning on the streets, and since then their merry band of murderers had taken something of a dive. He had been propositioned about their takeover, even, which in the end had been nixed by one negotiation or another. 

[color=CD5C5C][i]”Though going to a haunted house at our age is fucking lame without getting absolutely wasted first.”[/i][/color]
[color=f49ac2][i]Correct.[/i][/color]
He didn't actually speak, however, simply giggling to himself. Before she could fully let go, Edict took her right hand gently, and subtly stuck it into his left pocket as he casually spun both their bodies. He was masterful at slight of hand maneuvers like this, blocking her arm reaching into his pocket with the bulk of his coat. Inside was what felt like a small brick wrapped in paper. 
[color=f49ac2]"Grab and hold, its yours."[/color]
And with that same subtle movement, Edict stepped in front of Linqian, the motion allowing her to hold the envelope as it slid out from his pocket. In the same motion, he fluffed the coat on his shoulders to insure it blocked the sight of Linqian stuffing the envelope full of money into her back alongside the pistol he wasn't asking for yet.

Frankly, he wasn't confident that the night didn't have more surprises ahead. 
[color=f49ac2]"You may still need that other thing though."[/color]
His head turned, approaching Britney as her smile overtook his mind. He could feel the burn in his throat as he began to instinctively unfurl the lotus' roots in complete disregard for his channeler still secure in his breast pocket. It wasn't any kind of real spell ever, more like a leaking of pure Pink Lux that just permeated an area with the general sensation of being trapped in a box full of one way mirrors. It took a White Lux user to actually tell what was happening, unless you were close enough to him to see the glowing of the veins in his throat as the energy escaped. 

[color=F5388C][i]The look of gratitude, inside still hiding something I could never get to the bottom of. Would I be satisfied if I did? Would I kill her just as easily?[/i][/color]

He shook the thought out of his head, approaching Britney and smiling with a gentle smile as he reigned his energy in. As soon as the feeling had come over the surrounding, it was gone again and pink smoke curled from his nostrils.
[i][color=f4eb93]"I'm sorry for being an asshole to you there. It won't happen again, I promise."[/color][/i]
[color=F5388C]"You told me you never wanted to see me again: First time we see each other again and I'm doing the same shit? You had every right to be mad."[/color]

But before he could lock her down, she was off toward the booze line about something or another. She'd always been like that, and while it annoyed him then, the irony of what he said left him with a genuine smile on his face. At least until it was just Linqian and Layla.
[color=f49ac2][color=#F5388C]"L[/color][color=#F43C8E]i[/color][color=#F44191]n[/color][color=#F44693]q[/color][color=#F44A96]i[/color][color=#F44F98]a[/color][color=#F4549B]n[/color][color=#F4589E],[/color] [color=#F462A3]p[/color][color=#F466A5]l[/color][color=#F46BA8]e[/color][color=#F470AA]a[/color][color=#F474AD]s[/color][color=#F479B0]e[/color] [color=#F482B5]g[/color][color=#F487B7]o[/color] [color=#F490BC]w[/color][color=#F495BF]i[/color]th them... I'm gonna stick around with Layla, make sure that we spread the firepower around a little bit, y'know? You're better with those people than I am anyway. We'll catch up, and yes I'll take a Stel. Thank you."[/color]
Whether she believed him or not was her call, but if he couldn't talk to Britney about what happened and what he knew, he'd be able to at least try and soak the truth out of this junior Coven member. He didn't even wait for her to leave earshot before he started trying to butter Layla up.

[color=f49ac2]"So how have you been, Hon? Not sure if you remember me at all, but my name's Greyson. I didn't see you at the meeting the other night, you not want to show up? You didn't miss much."[/color]
At worst she wouldn't take the bait... Well, actually at worst, she was in deep with the House, and she may have some way of knowing he tampered with their agent the day before. But, he barely remembered the girl, never mind recalling a reason to be afraid of her. What was the worst that could happen?