[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/the-capone-gang-bege-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200420/030cdff421f7888c6535769bfc70380d.png[/img][/url][/center] [hr] [b][i] “Bad. Really bad. As in he could pass any second now. We have plans to give his Collecti-"[/i][/b] Maximillian was lying in his hospital bed. A tube ran out of his mouth and connected to a respirator nearby. A neck brace kept his head still, although his body showed no signs of movement any time soon. There were IV lines running everywhere. Lyss could hear the slow, but thankfully steady beating of his heart from the monitor nearby. [i]Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep-[/i] The lights shut off and the room was encased in darkness. Lyss could only see Maximillian’s dark form in front of her but… there was something else. Standing directly behind his bed. Skeletal fingers, elongated and dark with a substance Lyss didn’t want to identify began to creep over the edge. They moved slowly towards his head until they covered his beaten face. Lyss tried her best, but she couldn’t move. She was trapped in place like a deer before a car. She could only watch in terror as the deformed skull of a deer slowly lowered itself from the darkness and peered directly at her. For a second they were both still, suspended in a staring contest until the skull turned its head towards Max and- [i][h3]BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-[/h3][/i] Lyss gasped, her hand reaching outwards in an attempt to stop her, but she only found the empty space of the bed beside her. She sat upright and breathed heavily. Her heart was still racing. Her hands moved behind her head to rub her neck. It felt like she was being watched by those dark eyes. Lyss turned to look behind her, but she could only see the headboard and the wall behind it. The room was empty. Only the dream and the fear remained. She let out a heavy sigh and turned forwards again. Her shoulders sagged. She’d been to see Max the evening after Meifeng delivered the news. He looked awful. As much as she sympathized for Max, and as much as she couldn’t bear to see him this way, she could only think of the power that Annabelle possessed. Maximillian was the strongest awakened Lyss had seen in a while. If Annabelle Heart could cut him down so easily, how could Meifeng- or even herself now, think that they could stand a chance against her? Meifeng had been there that day. She popped in right as Lyss was thinking of the DENs and their number one target. At first Lyss wanted to walk right out of the hospital. She’d expected Meifeng to greet her with harsh words. To kick Lyss out of the hospital because she didn’t necessarily belong beside Maximillian’s deathbed, but Meifeng was kinder than usual. Lyss could see in the Agent’s eyes that she was grieving too. Still, Lyss didn’t say anything at first. The two stood together in the quiet room until Meifeng began first. [b]"It was difficult coming to you for help... I know it wasn't a good idea to drop in on you all but every night she kills more and more people. I hate to say it but we may need to put aside our differences and work together."[/b] Lyss didn’t know what to say. She stood there, staring at Max’s lifeless looking body, and wanted to say yes to the DENs agent. She’d willingly put herself in danger to stop Annabelle. Especially now. Yet… She wasn’t sure that the Coven would do the same. She didn’t want to put them in danger and it wasn’t her place to ask them to. For the first time, Lyss was completely honest with Meifeng. She told her she didn’t think that the Coven was ready for the fight. That Meifeng would have to wait, or she would have to find help elsewhere. It was up to the entire Coven to decide, and the Coven themselves were in a tough situation on their own. She left the hospital room then. A pit of guilt and anger sitting in her stomach like a rock. There was nothing she could do for Max, or the DENs, without her sisters. [hr] A text suddenly took Lyss’s mind away from the DENs and Max’s condition. She grabbed her phone from the night stand and saw Claudette’s message. [quote][b][code]Claudette - Just Now Please join the girls by the pool. It’s important.[/code][/b][/quote] Lyss sighed softly and she solidified why she hadn’t agreed to help Meifeng just yet. The Coven needed her, and she was more loyal to her sisters. Even if they weren’t the best in the world, they were all Lyss had. She needed to focus on them. To bring them together so that they could handle a threat like Annabelle in the future. [hr] Lyss eventually made her way downstairs to the pool. She walked up to the group with her hands in the pocket of her black joggers. She’d just caught the beginning by the way Claudette was speaking. Quietly, Lyss took a seat and listened. At the mention of Annabelle’s name Lyss felt her chest tighten. She could feel the eyes looking at her again, and she had to rub her neck once more to make the feeling go away. She was thankful that Claudette moved on from the subject. Instead of planning to join a dangerous cause, their leader suggested helping the members of the Coven that came to them for help. [b] “Does anyone have any ideas?”[/b] Lyss had no clue. She only knew of a few sources from the Black Market, but they operated out of Miami. She didn’t even know if they were still reliable, or if they’d turn her in to her old partners the second they recognized her. Maya prattled on as usual. Lyss could tell that the events of the training fight were still weighing on her. It seemed that it was still weighing on the others too. Mentioning the DENs only gave Lyss a headache. They were the ones asking for help this time. If they couldn’t heal Max, how could anyone expect them to know of a healer? Lyss rubbed one temple, but she felt eyes on her. [i]Real eyes.[/i] She looked up to see Emily staring, and instead of shrinking into her seat she raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t a shock that Emily looked at her with such distrust. What irked Lyss was the fact that Emily wasn’t even giving her a chance now. Claudette thankfully explained the DENs situation. Although she didn’t exactly explain the gravity of it. Hunting down a cannibalistic extra-normal that killed hundreds over night was much more than a handful, but Lyss didn’t want to talk about that right now. Herik, of course, was standing by Vashti like a bodyguard. His eyes were glued to Madison, and Lyss frowned. It wasn’t Madison’s fault that the Jaws went out of control, but after Babylon attacked Emily and Ellie, she knew that Herik was going to be aggressive towards anyone else with a rogue apparition tied to their body. At least Herik had a good suggestion. [b] “What about Kimberly Walton?”[/b] Sure, the Ghost Hunter may have run into other extra-normals than their little Coven. It wasn’t a bad idea to ask her for help, or for any leads that they could follow. Hell, Madison even had her number for some reason. She must be helpful, if Madison trusted her so easily. And, almost like [i]magic[/i], Kimberly was there. She even brought friends. Lyss hardly moved from her seat at their sudden appearance, but she straightened a little out of her slouched position. In front of the Coven, she didn’t mind relaxing anymore, but in front of strangers she couldn't show the weakness of it. She suddenly regretted keeping her hair in a messy bun, and wished that she’d at least worn a t-shirt that didn’t have toothpaste stains. For satan’s sake, at least she was wearing lipstick. Lyss decided to sit back and let the others speak, which… wasn’t exactly the best idea. Her eyes flew back and forth between Madison, Kimberly, Vashti, and Isla and Kim’s friend by the pool, so much that she could feel her headache getting worse. Vashti’s words were pretty much the truth, but Lyss felt like she was being over dramatic about most of it. Sure, her curse was extremely dangerous and out of control, but she couldn’t just stand there and act like the Coven or Madison didn’t regret how things went down on the training grounds. She couldn’t just stand there and act like she was the only righteous soul among them. Lyss was beginning to feel the anger bubble within her when she noticed the rage in Madison’s face. [i]Oh, fuck.[/i] Lyss sat up further in her seat and her hands rested on the arms. If a fight broke out, she would step in to stop it. She eyed Madison cautiously as she began to defend herself. Honestly, Lyss was agreeing with Madison at this point, but she had to agree that her sister was terrifying when she was angry. No wonder Vashti was so scared. Madison turned her eyes onto the rest of the Coven and continued to rant. Lyss almost spoke up in her own defense. She almost tried to reason with Madison, and explain that she believed that the Jaws acted on its own… … but she didn’t have the energy to do it at the moment. There were bigger things to fight about now besides Vashti’s whiney attitude about her curse and Madison’s pride. Lyss would deal with those later. The poor ghost hunter came to see the Coven because they asked for her help. They didn’t ask for a fucking therapist. So, she let Madison storm off, and she let Herik go after Vashti. Hopefully loverboy would get her to stop whining. For now, [i]someone[/i] needed to explain the situation, like Kim said, before they decided to ditch the Coven and get back to their own business. Which was…? Lyss didn’t know, and she would ask that later. As the air settled after Madison’s dramatic exit, Lyss took a moment to breathe before standing. She looked first at Claudette. [color=D3D3D3] “I believe Madison. The Jaws acted on it’s own and she needs our help too. If you want her to stay, go after her. I can handle this.”[/color] She gave her best encouraging smile before she turned her attention onto Kimberly and her friend. Rowan, wasn’t it? [color=D3D3D3] “Look, I’m… really sorry you had to experience that. We’ve been through a lot the past month and I think what happened between Vashti and Madison was the breaking point of it all.”[/color] Lyss sighed softly and stuck her hands into her pockets before holding her chin up high. This was business, as usual. She didn’t expect anything else from Kimberly but a yes or a no. They just wanted to know if she knew anyone that could help. That’s it. [color=D3D3D3] “We invited you here because we’ve run out of options. Many of our members are cursed, afflicted, or they have family members in need of a healer. We didn’t call you here specifically asking for [i]your[/i] help, but if you know anyone that could, or any leads that could take us in that direction, we would be grateful.”[/color] [color=D3D3D3] “So, can you think of anyone or any organization that works with curses and healing? I’m sure you’ve needed help before, too.”[/color] And although Lyss was asking this information for her sisters, she couldn’t help but think of Max too.