[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/C1MRwJmJ/Tanner-Banners-Tuesday.gif[/img]
[sub]By[@Hedgehawk] & [@SouffleGirl123][/sub][/center]
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The day after the party, Carlisle had spent his time cleaning up the coven household and trying to get everything back to a sense of some kind of normal. His day was a fairly solitary one. It gave him some time to reflect on his ideals and some of what had happened on that party night. He had decided to stay the night in the Coven once more. He was far too exhausted to risk driving, and his mother surely had a million and fifteen questions that needed answering. He couldn't be doing with it. 

That next morning, life seemed to be coming back normal to the Coven. People were coming in and out, going about their business. Even if Carlisle didn't wake up until eleven in the morning. He still hasn't changed out of his party clothes, the speckles of blood from his nose had now fully dried on it. Leaving the bedroom he shuffled across the landing to go to the bathroom when he was interrupted by a loud screeching voice. One. He was familiar with: 

[color=FFFF00]"CARLISLE ASTON!"[/color] 

Looking over the banister, Carlisle saw his mother looking up at him, a look of rage pasted over her face. 

[color=FFFF00]"GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW"[/color]

With a soft sigh, and the roll of his eyes, Carlisle turned on his heels and began to the process of carefully walking down the stairs. He was being careful not to stagger forward and fall down the stairs. Once reaching the bottom Carlisle was greeted by the look of his furious mothers face. 

[color=FFFF00]"Where do you think you have been? Did you really think that I wouldn't hear about what happened at the start of the week?"[/color] It was clear that she was furious. Carlisle didn't help matters by simply groaning at her statement. 

[color=00FFFF]"Mother everything's under control. We dealt with the issue."[/color]

Mary Price stood in the coven’s alchemy room eying the very bare healing potion racks, she’d heard about the fights that had happened the couple of night before but she didn’t think so much of the stock would have been drained. Although she was no longer an active member of the coven now she had passed the torch along to her son she made a point of dropping into the house at least fortnightly to check on the potion supply, someone had to keep that room stocked and she knew it wasn’t Amanda’s priority. She carefully placed pink bottles with haphazardly scrawled labels on the shelves. Her handwriting had never been the best but that was why she colour coded the bottles and left guides around the room, it wasn’t her fault if no one read them. She was halfway through shifting her stock when she heard a shrill scream she knew all too well, the one of her old leader. Mary herself had had that same scream directed at her quite a lot, not having any qualms standing up to the woman’s authority in their time in the coven. With a sigh she tucked the bottle in her hand back into her bag and, leaving it in the room, made her way up to investigate the yelling match going on outside.

[color=fff79a]"Amanda Aston,”[/color] Mary greets the woman from the doorframe between the dining hall and the reception room. A slight southern drawl coated her words, a memento of formative years in North Carolina long gone. [color=fff79a]"Y’know it ain’t proper to be yelling at your young’un like that. Leave the poor kid alone, he’s been through enough this week,”[/color]

Amanda was just about to say something when from nowhere a third voice interjected. Amanda's face dropped. Somehow her face had managed to look even more irritated. [color=FFFF00]"Mary… Stay out of this. This doesn't affect you."[/color] She then quickly focused her attention back to Carlisle [color=FFFF00]"I don't think you understand how much of an embarrassment you have been Carlisle. Throwing a party on your first day back. Crying like a girl because you got rejected, and then getting cursed and lowering the barrier. The barrier for fuck sake. It's a beggar's belief. Now if I was still in charge of the Coven I would.. "[/color] 

[color=00FFFF]" But you aren't in charge anymore mother. This is my coven now. I made a mistake, and it is upto my fellow members to decide what happens to me. Not you anymore"[/color] Carlisle interjected, his voice low and clearly leaching energy. 

At the women’s dismissal Mary sighed and shook her head, moving ever closer to Amanda as Carlisle spoke. She eventually placed herself in front of the woman, filling the space between her and Carlisle. [color=fff79a]"You heard the boy, ain’t your playground anymore, Amanda. So get. Unless you have a [i]real[/i] reason to be here despite hollerin’ at your boy?”[/color]

Carlisle watched as Mary seemed to get even more involved. He was surprised that Mary would defend him considering he was fairly sure that she would have been informed of the night's events. Amanda however looked really frustrated now. 

[color=FFFF00]"My coven or not. He is still an Aston, and he still brings complete dishonour to [i]my[/i] name. Our name is supposed to demonstrate leadership and tough values, not this kind of wishy washy crap that Carlisle peddles. And you Mary, you shouldn't be getting involved at all. You are nothing but a pathetic little witch."[/color]

At Amanda’s final statement Mary scoffs, crossing her arms once more. [color=fff79a]"And here I was thinking we might have finally been beyond schoolyard insults at our age,”[/color] she replies followed by clicking her tongue. [color=fff79a]"I wasn’t kidding though, if you got nothing else to do here, get, woman,”[/color]

Carlisle fell silent. He didn't know what was about to happen, but he was prepping counterspell with his fingers just incase his mother attempted to do anything. Amanda huffed heavily. Steam almost coming from her nostrils. How dare this woman speak to her like that. She hadn't had time for this nonsense. 

[color=FFFF00]"Carlisle. You are a disgrace to entire family name. I knew having a warlock in the family would backfire. Should have sent you to some far away foreign school where you couldn't meddle. I would rather have the Aston name end on a high than have you drag it through the mud. Don't bother coming back Carlisle. You aren't an Aston anymore. And I will make sure that you don't take this coven over"[/color] With that Amanda stormed out of the household, leaving Carlisle to fall onto the steps, sitting down as he placed his head in his hands. 

Mary stood in shock as Amanda said her peace, shaking her head in disapproval. As the woman goes for the door Mary holds back the desire to hurl an insult her way. Instead she makes her way to the staircase muttering [color=fff79a]"What kind of mother…?”[/color] under her breath, her thoughts cut off as she looks up at Carlisle on the steps.

[color=fff79a]"You don’t mind her, Carlisle,”[/color] she says gently, slowly making her way toward him. She takes a seat on a nearby step and gives him a small but warm smile. [color=fff79a]"How are you holding up, Kiddo?”[/color]

Carlisle didn't say anything at first. His brain was trying to process exactly what had happened. How bad he had screwed up. He knew his mother was demanding. She had spent a good point of her life berating him, usually for his lack of power, not his behavior. He had already felt ashamed with everything else going on this week. This was just the final straw. Rather than reply to Mary, Carlisle began to bawl his eyes out, sniffling hard as he didn't even try and and control his emotions for a while. A few minutes later he began to slow his sobs down and actually start to speak.  [color=00FFFF]"I messed up. I messed it all up. It's all over the place."[/color]

Carlisle’s sobs tugged hard on the woman’s heartstrings, being that wretch’s child was a fate she wouldn’t wish on her worst of enemies. Mary instinctively goes to her side to pull tissues from her bag that wasn’t there, left on the potion room floor. She gives a sigh, musing a gentle [color=fff79a]"Com’ere,”[/color] pulls him into her embrace as he sobs. When Carlisle finally calms himself down she pulls away and gives him another gentle smile. [color=fff79a]"Look, kid, I’d be lying if I didn't say some of your choices lately weren’t… wise but it’s nothing world ending.”[/color]

[color=00FFFF]" You say that l, but I have ended up pushing both of my best friends away. The whole Coven think I am so weak piece of shit that falls for the first trick in the book"[/color] Carlisle rubbed the end of his nose on his sleeve before sitting back up. He did have to admit. It was very nice to be hugged. [color=00FFFF]"Lilith won't even talk to me unless it's about Coven Matters"[/color] 

Mary pursed her lips for a moment as Carlisle talked. [color=fff79a]"Has your ma told you about her… I think it was her 4th or so month as leader? She would have been a good few years older than you too. Some leader of a clan known to cause trouble told her they wanted to have our covens meet as a sign of peace or somethin’ of the likes. My divination essentially told me it was a bad idea, I did try and tell your mum but she refused to listen and marched the whole coven into a trap. Luckily for her I didn’t go, I was I think 5 months pregnant with Miles at the time and wasn’t runnin’ into that mess in that state. My divination showed me them in danger and I had to get all y’all memaws and pops to save them. My point, Carlisle, is that your mother made just as big and just as stupid mistakes as you. And you need your team to support you, this coven ain’t the Carlisle show, it’s a body. You need to use all its parts. Despite what your mother says, that’s not weakness, that’s the point of the job.”[/color] She clicks her tongue once again, thinking through her next words carefully. She was indeed closer to Lilith than Carlisle, having helped raise the girl in her teen years compared to Carlisle crashing at her house when his mum got too much every now and again. 

[color=fff79a]"Look, kid, you fumbled the bag with Lilith but that don’t mean that friendship is done with forever. Just… give her time to cool off for a while. She still needs her friend but you need to actually treat her as a friend rather than a prize, y’hear me?”[/color]

Carlisle listened to the story that Mary had spoken. He had never heard his mother mention anything like this. All the things he had been told were that of glory and success. Hearing her mention Lilith however, he gave off a deep sigh. [color=00FFFF]"I get it, but, I never treated her like a prize. Okay. Maybe not intentionally. I always wanted what was best for her, and what was going to right by her. I thought I could give her a relationship where she felt special and had no worries. I just don't understand what she sees in someone who has hurt her before. Even if that person is also my best friend."[/color]

[color=fff79a]"Look, Carlisle, I'm not the best to come to with relationship advice and honestly even I can't figure out Miles' and Lil's relationship but what I do know is Lilith likes who she likes. You can't blame anyone or pity yourself for it."[/color] she takes a sigh, looking out into the reception room before her. Memories of her time came flooding back. It seemed this generation would be just as dramatic as hers, if not more. [color=fff79a]"Do you need a place to stay? I've only got the couch or we can pop an air mattress in Miles' room. It ain’t much but it sure is better than nothing,"[/color]

Carlisle shook his head at her last question. [color=00FFFF]"No, No, it's fine. I can stay here. I have been staying here for the past few days."[/color] He would eventually sit back up. [color=00FFFF]"I am just clearly not cut out for any of this. I can't run the coven. It would be far better for everyone involved if Lilith or Serena took over"[/color] 

Mary nods at Carlisle declining the place to stay and and stands up with a grown as her body ached. [color=fff79a]"You're no less unqualified for this job than your mother was,"[/color] she says simply, looking down at the boy. [color=fff79a]"You've got heart, Carlisle, just need more gumption,"[/color]

Carlisle tried to stand back up himself having to hold onto the banister to support himself to stop himself from falling down. [color=00FFFF]"Besides, I think I am the last person that Miles wants to see right now. And I get what you mean. Maybe one day I will have that kind of gumption."[/color] With a sigh he began to make the final few steps down the reception area. [color=00FFFF]"Thanks for all this. Not many people would do this right now"[/color]

[color=fff79a]"Anytime,"[/color] she replies, starting to walk toward the potions room before turning her head back to see the young man. [color=fff79a]"And Carlisle? Don't be a stranger. Miles needs you around to,"[/color]

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