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[right][url=https://realestateagentpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/VictorianHome.png]The Le Fay Family Home[/url]
Sometime in the early evening[/right][hr]
Light from the sun was still peaking above the horizon and pouring into Simone's family drawing room, where she sat alone behind an old antique piano with her fingers softly lilting over the keys. Her black waves hung in her face as her eyes closed and her nose wrinkled in concentration, trying to find the chord progression that came in a dream last night. She carefully listened to the reverberations in the notes as the hammers struck the chords, producing a unique tone that only this piano could create. Some of her band's most viral songs had been written over these keys, but some she kept to herself, the only proof of their existence living in a beaten-up notebook she used to record her lyrics.  

Her head bobbed up and down as she finally remembered the right notes from her dream that made a beautiful, almost haunting, harmonic chord progression. She played it a few times, letting it inspire her as it echoed throughout the empty room around her. She quietly cleared her throat before opening her mouth and singing the first words that rolled around inside her mind.

[color=EC26B9][i]"Seek, and you shall find
old ones still hanging on the vine
Some of em' never lost their shine,
others wilted and left far behind
I'm on the line between
heaven and hell
Only time will tell

So, in a moment
just give me a moment
to breathe
Please, give me a moment
just a moment
to breathe

Bulls and crows make their home
In a place where no one knows
What's howling at the moon?
Like ah woo, ah woo, ah woo-"[/i][/color]

[i]"Simone, are you gonna play wolf in there forever or are you still goin' to that meeting? Cause you better start gettin' ready if you gonna be there on time. And I didn't make this fuckin' snake shark-coochie board for nothing."[/i] Her mother appeared from the archway leading into the kitchen. She licked the tiny silver spoon in her hand clean as she leaned on the old wooden arch. [i]"Ya little friends gonna go crazy for this garlic aioli I put on there. Damn, I'm good."[/i] She said, smugly chuckling her way out of the drawing room and back into the kitchen. [i]"But seriously, get ready!"[/i]

Simone laughed in amusement and rolled her eyes at her peculiar mother's antics. She was right, though. The light had left the room, and it was nearly time to answer Auri's call. She folded the piano cover over the keys and took a deep breath before heading up to her bedroom to change out of her house clothes and into something more appropriate for the evening. She slipped on a silky midi skirt and layered it in a long black leather overcoat with a low v-neckline embroidered with cream floral accents that flowed down her decolletage. She added a silver belt for an extra cinching of her waist to give her figure a much more flattering shape. She accessorized with silver rings, bracelets, and a pair of earrings in the shape of a [url=https://bohten.com/cdn/shop/articles/african-adinkra-symbol-of-the-month-sankofa-the-wisdom-of-learning-from-the-past-876684.jpg?v=1698991301&width=1100]Sankofa Adinkra[/url]. The Sankofa symbolizes taking lessons learned from the past into your future to build a more successful life. [color=EC26B9]"Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenkyiri."[/color] she whispered to herself in the Twi language as she fastened the backs of the earrings. The Twi language was foreign to her for that one proverb, but she had learned it from studying one of her oldest ancestors who lived in Ghana hundreds of years ago. It translated into, [i]it is not taboo to go back for what you forgot (or left behind).[/i] Seemed... fitting for the occasion.

She pulled on some opaque tights for warmth and her black leather heeled boots that went up to the knee which added a few extra inches to her short stature. She left her hair down around her face and snagged a scarf hanging from her door before spraying on a spritz of amber spice perfume on her way down the stairs.

Her mother hummed a familiar tune, one of Simone's songs, when she reached her back in the kitchen. [i]"Listen, I know you're not a child anymore, and I can't tell you what to do, but be careful going back there, Simone. We know how that all ended last time - and we need you. The family needs you to stay safe, okay?"[/i] she said with warning eyes, grabbing her daughter with both hands by the shoulders. She enveloped her in a long hug before turning around and thrusting before Simone a saran wrapped wooden board full of meats, fine cheese, crackers, and nuts formed into a slithering snake with olives for eyes. [i]"Now go."[/i] She followed her to the door and picked up a bell and a thin piece of metal that was always placed near exits in the house. She hit the bell twice with the metal, and a light chiming noise was emitted from it. It was a comforting sound. Just one of their many traditions. [i]"Love you."[/i]

[color=EC26B9]"Love you, too."[/color] was all Simone could chirp before leaving to jump in [url=https://img.pikbest.com/origin/09/31/87/75YpIkbEsTpFn.jpg!w700wp]her car[/url] in search of Auri's flower shop, deep in thought about this decision. She could turn back at any second, but something embedded inside her told her to go. So, for once, she listened. 

[right]Flowers and Canvasses
Twilight[/right][hr]
She sat parked in her car, thumbs tapping on the steering wheel in a simple yet musical pattern. She was always producing music and sounds, even subconsciously. [color=EC26B9][i]"So... you really about to do this. Yup. Okay. No turning back now."[/i][/color] she thought to herself, biting down on her lip almost hard enough to break the surface of her soft lips. She tried to steady her breathing as much as possible, reciting the lyrics she had written earlier that evening. [color=EC26B9][i]"Just a moment, please give me a moment, to breathe..."[/i][/color] 

Before she could psych herself out, she hopped out of the car with the charcuterie board and headed inside the flower shop. The sign on the door read closed, but she pushed on it, and it gave to the pressure. Not closed for the meeting... party... or whatever the hell this was supposed to be. Truth be told, she was nervous to see her old Coven. While she didn't grow particularly attached to many of the members due to her maintaining a silent boundary, never revealing too much about herself in fear of exposing the family, there was... one person she was more anxious to see than the others. The interesting bond that Kali and Simone developed over their time in the Coven was one that almost filled her with regret. She divulged too much to him on more than one occasion, and at the battle of the Snake, she basically saved him from entirely losing himself to his abstraction. After leaving the Coven, she disappeared to go on tour and ghosted Kali, even when she felt he probably needed her. Her feelings were complicated. Yes, she felt terrible, but would she have acted differently if given the chance? Probably not.

Simone walked slowly and deliberately through the shop to the meeting space, thoughts spinning. Among the flowers was a butterfly sitting atop her favorite kind. Lilies. She stopped to bring one to her nose to smell the inviting floral scent. It helped her calm down, and she allowed herself to look upon the crowd as she approached the group. She found the table where the food was and unwrapped the charcuterie, placing it among the rest of the snacks. She popped a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth and poured a short cup of water for her to nurse on as she found a seat around the rest of her old Coven members. She made eye contact with Auri and gave her a friendly wave of her fingers in the woman's direction. She seemed busy preparing for the meeting, so Simone let her be for now. She engaged in thoughtless small talk with some of the old members, who felt more like acquaintances after all this time. She was able to catch up with a few of them before Auri started the meeting. She stood as it began, propped against a skinny beam next to everyone, sipping her water silently. 

All she could do was smile awkwardly and nod as Auri asked how they were doing. Knowing that Father Wolf had killed some of the members of the Coven filled her with dread. It was why she was here. He could be coming after her next. Selfishly, it was less about feeling bad about them dying and more about ensuring her safety and the security of her lineage. She would never admit that though; if you asked her, she would say the opposite.

Her eyebrows raised when Luca mentioned Britney's name. Among many other contributing factors, Britney was also another reason Simone left the Coven. After finding out the lengths she went to to destroy the Snake, it definitely rubbed her the wrong way. She looked at Luca with an air of concern, a perfect example of Britney's digressions. But she asked herself, would she stay in the group long enough to help Luca? At this point, she felt like she needed to use the group to end Father Wolf's rampage, and that was all. She didn't know if she would stay after that goal was reached, and she could sleep at night knowing he wasn't after her. She was conflicted.  

She remembered the lesson of the Sankofa symbols that dangled from her ears. Don't be afraid of the past. We must acknowledge it to move forward successfully... So it was reassuring when Auri admitted to her wrongdoing and promised to do better in the future. She would be surprised if the other more egotistical members did the same. However, at the mention of them being a family, Simone already had one and didn't need another. She needed allies. 

Suggestions? Simone had plenty but kept her mouth shut for now. What would be the procedure for choosing leadership among the "family"? Because she had an inkling that the previous leadership left a terribly sour taste in the mouths of other members, too. If this was a collaboration, how would decisions get made in times of uncertainty and conflict? These were things that she felt were pertinent to the conversation, but she did not act upon the thoughts. It was enough that she was here at all. She didn't want to put herself in the spotlight with them to attract undue attention now or ever.