She was going through the motions again, her mind extremely heavy as she finished up dinner and began plating it. Why was it that memory that came through? Was there something there that would even comfort him? She just didn't understand, and she had barely noticed the fact she had stopped humming until she went to sit at the set table and she kind of smiled a little at it. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed him making her tea. She had a feeling that the silence was bothering Mitchell. Something about it always seemed to do that to him. She had given him the silent treatment before and he had never taken well to it, but this time she wasn't exactly meaning to be as quiet as she was. She was just still all around confused as to why the memory she wanted to show didn't come and that one did. She took a seat and when Mitchell spoke to her, she looked up at him a little bit stunned. He would have taken her? No one had ever told her that, then again, no one had ever seen that bit of her memories either. Little did Mitch know she went on to prove the coven wrong and married a warlock... The thought disappeared from her mind quickly before she gave a barely there smile at what he had said about his mother. "Well, Mitch, you could have anyone you wanted, but I appreciate the thought. Your mother sounds like a very smart woman." She fell quiet again, her mind still a bit heavy when he had asked her about the ball. When he brought it up, she had just taken a bite of her food and she was about to answer when he brought up being a good dancer. Now that she would have to see for herself. "I suppose I'm a little excited. I've never been to a ball before, so it could be fun... I guess." she paused and took a sip of her tea. "Now the dressing up thing I could live without." She finally went to comment about his dancing skills when he brought up Cassandra and she nodded. "I miss that woman. She makes me wish I could have returned South after everything that happened, but she got my reasoning for not returning back to the Lockhart Archives." she said, and she thought about the South Leader. She was probably the only person who knew nearly everything that had happened in Ophelia's life. She had been there since the day she was born, and Ophelia had always looked up to Cassandra as an odd sort of family member. Even once her father left the coven, it never stopped Cassandra from coming by to see them in the fall before she headed up to Checkov's coven. Then again, Cassandra had also popped in unannounced throughout the years as well. She had come by just a few days after the council left when they had found out about her being a necromancer. She had allowed Ophelia to stay in her coven for a year after her family was killed, and then when Ophelia took off again she made her promise to always keep in touch. The only time that promise was ever nearly broken was the 55 years she had been on the run after New Salem and Sanctuary burned. Ophelia looked over at Mitch and asked, "So, you're a good dancer?" she decided that keeping the topic on the ball would be rather wise right now because talking about anything else just felt a little bit wrong. She took another bite of her food before speaking again, "I'm not too bad myself. A little rusty, but not bad." Her mind wandered back to the lessons she had with her father, a smile on her face as she thought about it. [I]"What are we doing father?" Ophelia asked as her father turned on some music. It was just her and him in the living room and he smiled to her. "You'll be seventeen next week, Lia, means you're of marrying age, so it's about time I taught you how to dance. We'll be going to all sorts of glorious parties and balls and hopefully we'll find you a suitor that is worthy of you." he chuckled, and Ophelia shook her head. "That's ridiculous father." she laughed a little too, but she saw his face get a little stern and she sighed. "Fine, what do I do?" "First, you curtsy." he said, and when they both properly greeted each other, he stepped forward and placed his hand on her waist. "Now, you'll place this hand on my shoulder." he said, taking the proper hand and placing it on his shoulder and then he took her other hand in his. "Now, you'll follow my lead. Ready?" "Ready." she said, and she heard him counting aloud as they began, and she smiled a bit. She stepped on his foot a couple of times, but for a while he didn't say anything as they continued to dance together. "You're picking up on this rather quickly, Lia." he complimented and she smiled. "What can I say, I have a great teacher." she said, and her father smiled back to her. "D'you really think I'll be able to find someone?" He sighed a bit and spun her slowly before they fell back into step. "Ophelia, you will. Perhaps it won't be right away, but you have to remember, love is it's own brand of magic. It will bring you where you need to be and you may not even realize it." She nodded and spoke again. "Thank you, father."[/i] The memory seemed so distant now, but Lia needed that bit to keep her going through it all. He hadn't been wrong either. She had met Abel nine years after they had all died, married him five years after that, and then after 20 years she had watched him die right before her eyes. She shook her head a little bit and looked at Mitch. "Are you excited about this whole ball business?" -- Cassandra's eyes turned slight red color when Issack spoke of Mitchell. Perhaps she was a little biased because he was guarding a woman she had known her entire life, but Mitchell had never done wrong. She let his other comment slide as Kathleen spoke and she smiled. She would have to go and see Lia and Mitch later, and she smiled more as Kathleen spoke. Hearing she was from Starforge was nothing short of extraordinary. One of her own witches had come from there and was a particularly good hearted witch for being a dark soul. "Three years? Hmph... I can't say I blame you though. I'm here once every few months. My coven is at least warm colors and not near as creepy." She laughed a little and Dana did too. "Perhaps one day we can bring Kathleen and Ophelia for a visit." She said and Cassandra raised a brow. "My, my, guests in my coven. I'd love it, but I don't think Checky would allow it. Especially with the wolves being a bit more restless lately, but we make due." Cassandra sipped on her wine - blood mix and smiled a bit before Kathleen spoke again. Her eyes softened. "Sugar, you are a witch, you are one one of one of the most interesting people I've ever met for that. On top of it, you lived in Starforge and they have given me some of my best witches. And then to top it off, though you may feel off balance, you are doing wonderful." She gave her a smile. Issack's comment caused Cassandra's eyes to redden all over again, but before she could say anything, Checkov's eyes flashed red and he spoke. "Issack, I believe you and I have gone over this. You will [i]not [/i] disrespect my witches in front of me nor will you insult them. Besides, your knowledge of them is a bit... lacking, and so your [i]opinions [/i] hold no weight. Now, we will drop the topic and have a nice dinner." Cassandra's face immediately went into her wine glass to hide the smile that had spread over her face. Oh, she had been there when that conversation over and over again, and Cassandra had always rather enjoyed Checkov's demeanor towards Issack on the topic. Then again, she also knew why Checkov was so adamant about having and respecting witches. He wanted one to finally find a way to break their bonds to the sun, and she knew how close Lia was, and she knew she'd get there for one reason. Her father, Terrance, had been working on the same thing for her up until he was killed. Even after he left her coven. She looked at her food a moment before she raised her glass. "A toast. To a great night." -- Atticus was glad to avoid the confrontation between Cassandra and Issack, and he relaxed slightly as he drank his wine and listened to Issack speak. He saw how much pride he took in the East and Atticus could see things he vaguely remembered in him. Things he didn't like about some of the people from just before he could start really remembering anything. It made him be quiet for a minute but he nodded. "Sounds nice." Then he started talking down about witches and Atticus looked to Checkov when he noticed how offended Kat got, it wasn't hard for him to notice it, and he was glad Checkov did the tell her to mind her tongue, but rather defended her. That was a good thing because if not, Atticus would have said something and all hell would have have probably broke loose. He raised his glass to Cassandra's toast, and he nodded, watching very carefully as everything went on around him. And then Checkov spoke and Atticus immediately quieted at the topic. "So, Kathleen, are you excited to finally be attending the ball this year? My seamstresses will be meeting with you and Ophelia tomorrow to get you two prepared." Once Kathleen answered, Atticus finally spoke up again. "So, sir, what exactly is the ball all about?" Checkov smiled a bit and nodded. "Well, Atticus, for as long as this coven has stood, we throw a ball to honor our place atop the chain. It also gathers all of the covens to promote peace and unity, it took a while for us to regain a good standing after the west fell, west fell but now we are strong again. It's a celebration above all, and it also acts as a betrothal gala for our younger members." Atticus nodded, still having questions but he decided to ask Mitch more about it later.