[center][hider=Cast][img]https://i.imgur.com/TmElvVJ.jpg?1[/img][/hider][/center]
[center][h1][i]We Witches Three[/i][/h1]
[h3][i]Part I, The Witch Mother’s Secret[/i][/h3][/center]

[center][b]Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, The Witches Stronghold
Time: 12  p.m., Day after LHU Attack[/b][/center]
[hr]

[color=mediumpurple][i]”Do not insult my intelligence, Circe.”[/i][/color] Hekate snapped at Circe, pacing over the lavish tile of her inner sanctum, dark garments floating in a phantom breeze. The two witches hadn’t seen nor heard from one another in 180 years, and Circe’s idea of a greeting caught Hekate in a sour mood.

[color=palevioletred][i]”I meant no disrespect,”[/i][/color] Circe appologized, her sultry voice conveying more sarcasm than sympathy. [color=palevioletred][i]”But the topic requires further discussion, given recent events . . .”[/i][/color]

Hekate glared at her former pupil, falling onto a stone bench with dramatic flair, leaning her head back and releasing a dreadful sigh. Circe had always been meddlesome, more so than Medea, though no one would know it given how isolationist she was. This wasn’t the time for Circe’s prying hands.

[color=mediumpurple][i]”Does it? 2000 years it’s gone withough discussion, why bring it up now, amidst all this chaos? The Winter Court is rising once more, the witches of this city, this country, are falling to lesser men, powerless. The Five Families are short one coven and infighting will soon begin if I don’t maintain control. And then there are my other associates in town . . . I don’t have time for your meddlesome inquiries.”[/i][/color]

[color=palevioletred][i]”Precisely,”[/i][/color] Circe rebuted, setting herself next to her mistress, taking Hekate’s hands in hers. [color=palevioletred][i]”You don’t have time, but not for the reasons you may think. My Lady, you’re spread too thin, and you haven’t the time to spare to all these pet projects.”[/i][/color] 

Circe caught Hekate’s attention, staring deeply into her eyes.

[color=palevioletred][i]”I won’t mince words, you’re nearing your end. You’ve felt it, I know you have. You have been diligent in your protection and granting of the cunning flame for centuries, but there is one duty you’ve overlooked. Finding y-”[/i][/color]

[color=mediumpurple][i]”My successor,”[/i][/color] Hekate interrupted, turning away from Circe, head turned downward in sulken dismay. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Yes, I know. The duty I have failed to uphold.”[/i][/color]

Hekate spoke of the role of Witch Mother, a unique title but one held before she assumed that mantle. In the years preceding the rise of man, the Witch-Fire took shape, forming a duality that became known as the Witch Mother and Witch Father. It is their nature to be reborn in a continuous cycle; every few centuries a new leader rising from the living, the dead, or the Other. When the new Witch Mother or Father rises, the old one fades. Hekate’s infernal husband, the Bucca, rose to power in the early 15th century, his predecessor, an Egyptian sorceror priest, falling as he rose. 

In those early years, Hekate too should have fallen, but something happened. Her successor wasn’t whole. Hekate reigned as the Witch Mother centuries longer than intended, but recently, she could feel the new Witch Mother near, not quite whole, but growing in strength. 

[color=mediumpurple][i]”There is too much still at stake. I cannot fall, not while the Winter Court is at work, not while I’m needed.”[/i][/color]

[color=palevioletred][i]”Nor do I wish to see you leave.”[/i][/color] Circe spoke with genuine emotion this time, placing a hand on Hekate’s lap and the other cupping her face. [color=palevioletred][i]”Medea and I have served you well, have we not? Allow us to shoulder your burdens. She has already been dispatched to see the end of the Winter Court, and I shall take your place as ambassador of the families here, and elsewhere. Do what you must to see your reign last for another 2000 years, but do not fool yourself into believing it will go away, that you have more time.”[/i][/color]

Hekate smiled, kissing Circe’s forehead. 

[color=mediumpurple][i]”You are too good to me, the both of you. I shall do as you ask . . . but do not fool [b]yourself[/b] into believing you my master.”[/i][/color] Hekate joked, the two of them chuckling heartily. 

Hekate felt a faint pull, someone calling to her. Her face turned sour, her spirits lowered considerably. 

[color=palevioletred][i]What’s wrong, my lady?”[/i][/color] 

[color=mediumpurple][i]”It would appear time for you to meet one of my associates.”[/i][/color]