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 [right][b]Interactions:[/b]  Britney [@Punished GN] Linqian & Anya [@Fernstone] Clancy [@Zombiedude101]
[code]Kari’s House, Inside[/code][/right]
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[color=f4eb93]”[i]Sloane,[/i] what the hell?!”[/color]

Sloane turned swiftly as she heard Britney’s approach, but she didn’t step back a single inch as the woman who towered an entire foot over her invaded her personal space. For weeks they had somehow avoided breaking the terms of their unspoken ceasefire—the terms simply being “don’t fucking talk to me”—but now Britney wanted to disturb the peace over the stupidest, most asinine reason. Naturally. Britney was a lot of things, but she wasn’t an idiot. She should’ve seen the logic presented in Anya’s (honestly unnecessary) excuse for Sloane pushing forward, as if there wasn’t already a precedent set that every idle minute the Coven had was time that would be misused and wasted.

It was crystal clear what Britney was trying to do. She was simply jumping on the first excuse she could find to besmirch Sloane before Sloane could do the same to her. How petty. Sloane had figured the situation had allowed them to table their grudge for the time being, but apparently some people just couldn't resist taking a cheap shot. Sloane was furious, but she gave Britney no impression of it as she coldly stared at her as if Britney were a door-to-door evangelist asking Sloane if she had heard the good word. 

But how dare Britney talk to Sloane like this wasn’t her area of expertise. The dead found no value in their possession; that remained firmly in the realm of the living, and in all of her years as an antiquarian nobody gave a shit about a little dinged up wall. There were no memories for walls. What, was Kari’s family going to come and slice out a little square of drywall and place it in a home shrine dedicated to her spirit? Was that her favorite piece of plaster: the little bit behind the door that was certainly already dinged up because Kari had failed to put a protective stopper there? 

Ridiculous. This was absolutely ridiculous. Britney was the last person who should be speaking about respecting others. How many people had Britney forced Apparitions upon? How many people did her negligence end up killing? How many friends had her fucking little god complex turn into enemies? Just the other week she had nearly gotten Auri and Jack killed while simultaneously stripping Layla of an Apparition that, regardless of how dangerous and problematic it was, gave the young lady a way to at least defend herself against Father Wolf. Sloane’s jaw tightened. Hell, Father Wolf was probably someone that Britney had cursed or adjoined back when they were facing off against the Stygian Snake. 

Yet she couldn’t even say any of that, because everybody would just jump on Britney’s side because that was the way things just worked in this stupid, backwards Coven. It didn’t matter if what she said was even an undeniable truth. Anything that came out of Sloane’s mouth was viewed as wrong because they were all simply just rotten bastards desperate to disparage her. 

[color=silver]“It’s just a dent,”[/color] said Sloane matter-of-factly, unable to resist the urge to at least point out the stupid, tiny, insignificant thing that Britney was overreacting about. A bit of spackle and some paint would make it good as new. 

[color=CD5C5C]”Fucking hell, Sloane…”[/color]

Oh, yes, here it came. Now that Britney had opened the gates, the dogpile on Sloane party could begin. Of course Linqian was the first to jump in. There was something nostalgic about the whole thing. Sloane was unable to hide her eye roll as she turned to the woman who just days ago she’d offered to generously pay for her brother’s funeral. What anger was starting to peek through was wiped clear of her face as it blanched at the mention of Jinhai. Unfair. Low. What an awful thing to say. What a tremendous amount of proof that Linqian knew absolutely nothing and was unworthy of her twin brother. If this was Jinhai’s house she would’ve done the same thing. Jinhai would be able to see that time was of the essence, because Jinhai wasn't a clown.

Sloane found it a bit difficult to breathe. This was a waste of time. Linqian was an idiot. She probably wanted to keep Jinhai’s ashes trapped in a cabinet. She probably loved having the ammunition always in her pocket. Sloane wouldn’t be surprised if the only reason Linqian hadn’t outright accepted her offer and instead asked to get the whole Coven involved in the funding of Jinhai’s funeral was so she could keep him around a little while longer whenever she needed to earn pity points. 

[color=silver]“It’s. A. Tiny. Dent,”[/color] she said, holding up her thumb and forefinger to illustrate how small of a scuff it actually was.

[b]"You could've knocked,"[/b] said a voice. 

Without even thinking Sloane moved to step in between the source of the voice and the two women who had been cutting her down. Her guard lowered as she recognized Ashley’s cousin from the church, looking a lot worse for wear then from before. Was he a vagrant? Sloane was about to ask how he found them and if he was doing okay when he suddenly felt the need to throw his own worthless opinion into the mix. She was getting ting insulted by a fucking preteen. Sloane shot Clancy a withering stare that quickly adjusted up at the ceiling, her head vibrating that for a moment it appeared as if it were about to erupt. She’d earn no favors by yelling at a homeless kid. [i]Fuck this.[/i] Furiously running her hand through her hair, Sloane wordlessly turned away from the kid as Linqian started talking to him—mentioning Jinhai yet again as if to prove Sloane’s unsaid point. 

She mouthed silently to herself yet again that it was just a stupid little unimportant and unintentional dent. 

They could sit and commiserate and waste time freaking out over a door. She was going to search the house. She'd do it alone if she had to. Sloane passed by Anya on her way towards the stairs, shooting her a dark look that spoke volumes: [i]I need space. Get these morons back on track.[/i] As if any of them would be any help anyway. None of them could focus on the thing that actually mattered. They may as well all just take turns stabbing themselves in the gut until they bleed out and save Father Wolf the inconvenience.

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 [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Aislin [@Estylwen], Patio Pals
[code]Kari’s House, Patio[/code][/right]
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[color=goldenrod]“Dude, Ken said he was getting the key…”[/color] said Sully, a hand on his forehead as he shook his head in disapproval. 

He took only but a second to briefly poke his head inside of the house and glance at the damage, grimacing at the dent in the wall. Sully was sure he could probably fix it, but right now he decided to give Britney the space to deal with Sloane. He didn’t know Sloane all that well, but he remembered that back in the day she and Britney had spent a decent amount of time together. He was sure that Britney could figure out what was going on with Sloane and course correct her.  He realized that news of Lyss’s death must’ve been hard on everyone, but there was really no need to go about and cause a scene. 

[b]“Suuullyyyy, long time no see…”[/b]

[color=goldenrod]“Hey? Oh hey!”[/color]

Sully’s eyes brightened as Aislin made her appearance. Of course he recognized her! Aislin had always tried to keep the Coven’s gathering peaceful which Sully was eternally grateful for, but really the best thing about the gal was how she was always holding. There was never a lack of the devil’s lettuce when Aislin was around. Between her providing bud and him supplying the Budweisers the two of them were likely the most responsible culprits for any gaps in the memories of their Covenmates. Actually, considering that it was downright shocking that Sully actually remembered her. He went in to give her a massive bear hug, pulling back from delivering a catastrophic blow as she gestured to the sling. 

[color=goldenrod]“Oh shit, right I gotchu girl,”[/color] said Sully.

He filled the Chalice with the healing elixir and held it out for Aislin so she could take a sip. It was becoming a running trend for Coven meetups where he had to almost immediately heal an injured teammate. He guessed from the sling (and it was a guess because while he was a healer Sully sure as hell was no doctor) that Aislin’s injury was pretty fresh, but Sloane’s busted up nose had looked kind of old. Part of him felt a strange kind of relief that by just showing up he was already being helpful, but that part was drowned by a wave of guilt for having abandoned the crew for the better part of a week. He liked hanging with Greenwood, hell, he probably even preferred hanging with Greenwood, but he was the only person left in the Coven who had any healing. He had to be there for them. 

He frowned. That wasn’t quite true. They didn’t really need him. They just needed the Chalice. The dreams had shown him that the cup had owners in the past, and someday it’d have owners in the future. Jokes about being the Chosen One aside he wasn’t anyone special. He was just the Cupbearer. He was little more than a magical water boy. The frown shifted into a confused expression as he glanced inside of the house, surprised by the appearance of some kid. 

Wait, the kid? Sully was mentally whisked away. A phantom gunshot rang out, Sully’s nose tickled by the illusory smell of flesh burning as the spirit of Dean Walker punched him in the face and his shoes filled with sand. He blinked and was transported back to the patio, awkwardly tilting the emptied out Chalice still up to Aislin like an exhausted first time mother feeding her baby a bottle. He shook his head. No way was it the same kid. It was just some squatter that Sloane had scared. Linqian had it handled. Sully coughed and pulled the Chalice away from Aislin. 

[color=goldenrod]“Sorry, might’ve pregamed a little more than I should’ve before the meetup,”[/color] said Sully, charading himself slamming back a couple of shots. He held the Chalice up in the air and gave it a little shake as he announced to the patio, [color=goldenrod]“The bar is officially open. If anybody else is feeling a little rough just form a communion line and this bartender will absolve you of all your ailments. No scratch is too small nor is no headache too insignificant. Hey, wait!”[/color] He gently pulled Aislin back to his side, slinging his arm over her healed shoulder. [color=goldenrod]“What kind of trouble did you get into the other day? A biker didn’t jump you looking for Tayla too, did he?”[/color]