[center][h3]Main Plot Summary[/h3][/center]
In the aftermath of the Cataclysm, two covens face off over what to do to the host of Nyrah the Ravager - [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5569074]Princess Nadine[/url]. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5568826]Gideon Cross[/url] the leader of [b]the Hollow Tap[/b], a South Side coven slash gang with monopoly over most of the lower district, wants her dead. On the other side are the [b]Keepers of the Grove[/b], who protect a magical Grove nestled in the mountains over Cloverfield near the town Raven’s Rest, who lost all of their Elders in the battle. Their new leaders [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5568826]Elara Wren[/url] and [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5568958]Bryn Woods[/url] argue to keep her alive with Nyrah sealed in her body, as killing her will only unleash it again. Eventually, Gideon agreed to let her live - as it’s punishment enough to live stuck with Nyrah inside her. He leaves, allowing the new leaders of the Grove to gather their dead to return home and rebuild. 

A year and a half later, on Sunday the 23rd of November in Raven’s Rest, a man called Bill prepares to close his tattoo shop. What appears to be a last minute customer turns out to be his exact doppelganger, lacking only his tattoos and wearing an inhuman smile. While Bill tries to shoot it, then hits it with a magical bat, he’s killed by the doppelganger. It then takes his place, and calls in emergency services as if it were Bill.

The next morning, the Keepers of the Grove meet in the church in Raven’s Rest. One of the members reports that someone tried to kill Bill last night. [color=00FFFF]Elara[/color] and [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] agree to check on him after the meeting. Pastor John, the town’s Pastor and member of the Paranormal Pastors of the Mountain, shows that there’s been various paranormal attacks to the west of the town for the last two weeks. There’s a looming Paranormal threat that Raven’s Rest, then Cloverfield, are faced with. [color=DC143C]Seren[/color], the final Grove leader, agrees to talk to the Hollow and  [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] contacts [b]Twin-Hill Coven[/b].

[color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] and [color=00FFFF]Elara[/color] go to Bill’s Tattoo Shop and meet [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5570088]Varnan Ingram[/url], who’s visiting Bill to talk about the Paranormal happenings. Bill appears, but [color=00FFFF]Elara[/color] realises it's not him because he has no tattoos. [color=f94f61]Varnan[/color] and [color=00FFFF]Elara[/color] ask where the real Bill is, but [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] just attacks. Bill transforms into a horrific monster, flinging Elara out the window. Varnan freezes it allowing the three to regroup outside. They manage to hold it off until Grove reinforcements come even though the creature slowly adjusts to their magic. They kill it, before the Grove group returns to the Grove itself.

In the Downtown of Cloverfield North Side, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5568826]Freya Collins[/url] opens her bakery, Cozy Bakery, for the day. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5569262]Elena Castellano[/url] goes to the bakery to meet a witness to the possible supernatural happenings of the city. The man tells her he’s being followed by a shadow, whispering to him, that no one else can see. But there’s no evidence for [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] to pursue it. Meanwhile, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5572727]Loni Rodriguez[/url] enters with her daughter, Luciana, who runs over to [color=#f88379]Elena[/color]. The two talk, before a regular of [color=9370D8]Freya’s[/color], James, scares Luciana. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] confronts him, and [color=9370D8]Freya[/color] tells him to leave. But instead he changes, revealing himself to be some kind of monster, disappearing into the shadows and taunting them all. ‘James’ reappears to attack another customer, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5569520]Elijah Tower[/url]. Elijah dodges and uncaps a pen which turns into the Spear of the Hunter. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] gives Luciana to [color=#f88379]Elena[/color], so she can run into the back to find salt to form a protective circle. [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] takes Luciana, putting distance between them and the Doppelganger to keep her safe. 

After a meeting with a new client, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5569251]Quill St. Sebastien[/url] enters Cozy Bakery from the back door to find it in chaos. In response to her entrance, the Doppelganger mind controls the Blinds in the cafe. Two attack [color=ba576c]Quill[/color], another two attack Elijah and one goes for [color=#f88379]Elena[/color]. The Doppelganger goes for [color=ff7360]Loni[/color], tearing through her shoulder and making her drop the salt. In desperation, she forms an anti-Apparition circle around her, shouting for [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] to get in. She manages to smash a mug across the head of the Blind attacking her, getting into the protective salt circle. [color=ba576c]Quill[/color] manages to fight off the two women attacking her too, knocking them both out. Elijah avoids the Blinds attacking him, and manages to spear the Doppelganger in the arm after it horrifically swaps where its head was. The two fight, with [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] going to get sugar for [color=ff7360]Loni’s[/color] wound while [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] uses the rest of her energy to magically weaken the Doppelganger. This allows Elijah to get in front of [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] before it gets her, killing the Doppelganger with a spear to the chest even as it utters ominous last words. With it dealt with, [color=ba576c]Quill[/color] says she’ll stay and sort out the Bakery while [color=#f88379]Elena[/color] and Elijah take [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] to a hospital.

In Lugar Apartado Three, in the subway tunnels under Cloverfield’s Financial District, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5573140]Moriah “Momo” Mottah[/url] tends to one of her Unborn- a child grown using biological magic and fed memories via contributed biological materials. They are the the progeny of Matriarchs like [color=15A663]Momo[/color], extremely powerful and barely human Green Adepts, from the great city of Culla in Italy where the Coven of the Whispering Flesh’s eldest and wisest reside. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] is the leader of the Twin-Hill coven within Cloverfield itself, which only loosely follows Culla’s ways while rejuvenating areas of the city and running various businesses- including the famous Sin Sisters stripclub. After tending to her Unborn, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] bumps into three well dressed men after returning to the subway platform nearby. One appears injured but as they surround her, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] senses that they aren’t human. They taunt her, talking about the place she’s protecting. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] ignores it, and they fight. She drives one between the platform and the coming train, twisting and trapping it. Another, she stabs in the chest. The final one slams into her, sending her flying, before she fights back and caves its head in. She manages to drag the Doppelgangers to a pit across unused lines, stretching them across it to close the circuit and electrocute them to death. 

After catching her train and returning to Sin Sisters, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] is interrupted while changing by [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] barging into her office. They discuss the Doppelgangers they both fought. [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] tells [color=15A663]Momo[/color] about the upcoming threat coming, which [color=15A663]Momo[/color] dismisses as Father John trying to scare them, only worried they found out about her Lugar Apartado. After [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] snaps about it, and explains more about where John got his information, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] relents. They discuss the possibility of breaking the treaty between Twin-Hill and the Grove if they need to to keep them safe. Then they decide to send [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5602461]Elay Motta[/url] to look into it.

Later in the afternoon, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] calls [color=b23b07]Bryn[/color] back. She fills him in on what happened, before they argue over how [color=15A663]Momo[/color] also blew up his phone and as his paranoia about everyone from the Grove hating him gets the better of him. Eventually, he agrees to help, as long as they meet in the Grove for her to share a recollection of the fight with him on Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile in the South Side of Cloverfield, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5572728]Vin Rodriguez[/url] escorts [color=FFFF00]Gideon[/color] to the Hollow Tap Bar. [color=FFFF00]Gideon[/color] mentions that David Smith, popular teacher in the Circle district of the South Side, might have an Apparition problem. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] says they’ll take a look and takes two men, Malik and Caleb, from the Hollow to check. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5570067]Paloma Gilmour[/url] goes to visit David after work, hoping he’ll be a lead for fulfilling her promise to her Apparition, the Samaritan. She arrives as [color=51684c]Vin[/color] transforms into a sexier Tony the Tiger and kicks down the door, jumping out and asks to have a word with David before [color=51684c]Vin[/color] presumably throws him in the river mafia style. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] tells her to leave, sensing the Apparition inside the house. [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] tries to push in and shouts for David, alerting the Doppelganger inside as it devours the actual David Smith. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] shoves [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] to the ground before it manages to spear her, before attacking it. They’re launched through a wall and it turns to attack [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color]. Caleb steps in to protect her, getting his head ripped off, before it goes for [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] again… And misses. Every hit. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] jumps back in while [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] tries to interrogate it, and it tries to beg her to let it go. The two wrestle through multiple rooms and buildings as it tries to convince [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] to get Vin to back off. [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] finally goes outside with Malik. 

[color=51684c]Vin[/color] and the Doppelganger fight to the near death, with multiple walls destroyed in the process. The Doppelganger mimics their venomous teeth, knocking Vin onto the floor. The manage to shove all their ribs into it, leaving them both in a bad state. They wrestle, the Doppelganger manages to slam [color=51684c]Vin[/color] into the ground and tear into their leg. As a last resort, [color=51684c]Vin[/color] uses the Final Blow, tearing through the Doppelganger with their claws and Black Lux. They lose all their magic, causing them to go through a painful transformation before they can heal any of their wounds. [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] tries to help normally, but [color=51684c]Vin’s[/color] injuries are too bad for that, so she uses the Bystander effect on them- freezing them in place so they don’t bleed out. It lets them survive until [color=FFFF00]Gideon[/color] and Marco, Hollow doctor both mundane and magic, arrive. Marco reluctantly uses his magic- transforming him and Vin into magical girls- to heal [color=51684c]Vin[/color]. 

Paloma is politely, but forcefully, invited back to the Hollow. They discuss what happened, with Paloma trying to flirt with Marco and failing. They interrogate [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] about her magic, before letting her go as she doesn’t seem to know anything. She meets [color=51684c]Vin[/color] outside to tell them about what she was trying to find from David Smith- she was trying to find the David Smith who’d visited a kid in a ward she worked in. She needs to ask him about the girl, and also what the Grove is. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] agrees to help, reluctantly, before they awkwardly half follow each other home and realise they live in the same building.

No more Doppelganger attacks occur on the leadup to Thanksgiving. But the city is never quiet… Late at night on Wednesday the 23rd, a group called the Underground attacks and wipes out the Adel Coven in the North Side of the city. The fire can be seen all across the North Side of the city, and news of it spreads everywhere, though its effects are yet to be felt in the South Side. 
[hr]
[center][h3]SoL / Side Story Summary[/h3][/center]
[hider=Hiding A Body - Vin & Paloma]Later on Monday, [color=51684c]Vin[/color] goes to an abandoned warehouse near the river following rumours of a Medium - planning to investigate and get rid of them if they really are. Back home, [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] calls [color=51684c]Vin[/color] out of boredom. After [color=51684c]Vin[/color] threatens to hang up they talk about what a Gangster job would look like for [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color], while there’s constant sounds of squelching and wailing in the background of their side of the call. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] admits to having a family of three, leading to [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] assuming that [color=51684c]Vin’s[/color] the mother and the screaming in the background is the kid. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] quickly clears up that it’s their sister's kid, before asking [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] to come help clean up some ‘body fluids’. A child accident, [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] assumes. 

[color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] turns up to a murder scene in the warehouse. Dead bodies of various degrees of decay, with one living Necromancer tied up by [color=51684c]Vin[/color]. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] explains that she killed to make zombies- acting like that’s the real reason they attack and tied the Necromancer up. They hope it’ll scare [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] off- but it doesn’t. Instead she doubles down and helps cleaning, and then dragging all the body parts down the river to get rid of. 

The two engage in a friendly game of who can throw the body part furthest, which [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] is terrible at and [color=51684c]Vin[/color] has to hold back. In the end, they agree to it being a draw because of [color=51684c]Vin’s[/color] magic use. [color=00FA9A]Paloma[/color] proceeds to try and therapise [color=51684c]Vin[/color], which goes nowhere because they don’t feel bad about the murder and think she’s worried [color=51684c]Vin[/color] doesn’t like her. In the end they get rid of the body with some vague friendship starting to form between them.
 [/hider]

[hider=Tuesday Morning Market - Vin & Sunrise Art Collective]On the morning of Tuesday November 25th, the Sunrise Art Collective- a group of Artists originally from St Portwell who moved to the city recently- set up their stall at the monthly South side market. All but their leader are there, a group of six: Nico, Domi, Ash, Alice, Johnny and Art. As they discuss the Hollow and what it's like living in Cloverfield, [color=FFFF00]Gideon Cross[/color] himself approaches with Marco. They reprimand Alice for selling Weed on their property without talking to them, and tell her they expect her to stop by the Hollow. After, [color=FFFF00]Gideon[/color] takes interest in the art their selling, and tells Marco to buy art to decorate the Hollow. Nico explains what they have and invites Marco to come look at the larger pieces they have at some point. As Marco is taking Nico’s phone, the leader of the Collective and his boyfriend, Julian, appears, immediately trying to intimidate Marco. He’s talked down, and the rest fill him in on what happened with Gideon.

Nico and Julian leave the rest of the group to look around together. After some shopping, Julian spots Domi- who went off earlier- in trouble. Domi snapped a photo of [color=51684c]Vin[/color] and was trying to give it to them, while they were preparing to beat her up. Julian steps in, and argues with [color=51684c]Vin[/color] before goading them into a fight by calling them a twig. They punch him right in the face, and the two exchange some blows before Marco steps in. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] just gets more pissed, especially when Domi takes another photo. Marco lectures her, and she agrees to not do it again, offering the photo to Marco as an apology- which he takes. As the three from the Sunrise Collective walk away, Domi brags about managing to get ‘access’ to the Hollow.  
[/hider]

[hider=Twin Hill Events - Momo, Kiki & Loni]On Tuesday afternoon, [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] goes down to Sin Sisters in order to ask [color=15A663]Momo[/color] to go to a Thanksgiving Week Festival happening at the Crystalline Mall, the largest mall in the North Side. In the end she doesn’t even have to ask, with [color=15A663]Momo[/color] inviting herself along after guessing Luci is talking about buying toys. After a brief argument about money, with [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] saying she doesn’t have much and [color=15A663]Momo[/color] pressing that she’s buying, they head to the mall.

There, Luci desperately wants to run around especially after seeing someone in a big golden turkey outfit. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] distracts her by playing ‘dragonfly’- the bug loving [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s equivalent of airplane. But when [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] refuses to make the sounds, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] gets concerned. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] explains it's because there’s a lot of rich people around- who can smell the poor on her according to [color=51684c]Vin[/color]. In the end she makes the sounds and they take Luci to meet the golden turkey. After, as they walk, they talk about [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s fears. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] explains as best she can, having grown up discriminated against for being a poor South Sider with [color=51684c]Vin[/color] feeding her fears. She doesn’t want her daughter growing up thinking she’s less too. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] promises they’ll both be there to help Luci live filled with joy, before taking [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] to one of her Lugar Apartado below the mall. 

Inside, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] explains the process and how she's making ten to break the mold. Then she shows [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] the Unborn inside- Armina, who [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] will be in charge of one day. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] reaches out with her Lux as instructed, finding a responding Black Lux with all of the dead buried above singing in her mind. Armina is being created with both Green and Black lux to help fix the problem of Hounding- the sickness Matriarchs experience from being around strong Black Lux. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] then explains she brought [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] there to show her joy to focus on what’s good in her life, and the safety she brings Luci.

They go back to the mall itself and meet Kiki Motta, [color=15A663]Momo[/color]’s youngest sister, and Sorella- a young Matriarch in [color=15A663]Momo[/color]’s care. After introductions to Sorella, and playing around with Luci, they end up going to a pet store. They play around with Luci there, and [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] shows off a whole bunch of cool creepy crawlies. They get onto the topic of [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s current boyfriend, which results in an argument about how smart he could be. When she reveals he was her teacher in highschool, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] bombs the shop with Green Lux before calming down and telling [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] she has to break up with him. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] doesn’t understand why, so [color=15A663]Momo[/color] and Kiki have to explain to her why it’s wrong. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] eventually understands and feels upset about it, agreeing to break up with him and let Kiki come along with her. 

After pet shopping, [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] and Kiki end up at a frozen drink cafe. After relaxing together, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] and Sori show back up with a gift for the two- incredibly expensive, high brand heels. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s joy is short lived after some rich men shoved into her chair, making her shy away and into herself. Sori reacts badly, resulting in the asshole berating her and [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] for not speaking English. Kiki violates the Matriarchal rules to feed Sori English, letting her rip into the man who only gets more angry in response. Before Kiki can respond, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] cuts her off- realising that the asshole is [b]Reese Voclain[/b], eldest son of the on the richest men in the city. She threatens to contact his father, but Reese’s friends go to drag him off. Before they do, Sori starts cursing at her again- only to be knocked out by [color=15A663]Momo[/color]. Reese and his cronies leave, leaving a panicking [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] only kept calm by Kiki’s pink Lux. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] reprimands Kiki for teaching Sori English on purpose knowing who Reese was, telling her to leave with the other Matriarch. After Kiki leaves with Sori, [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] calms down Luci, and the three also leave the mall. 

The next day, [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] and Kiki go to visit [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s soon to be ex boyfriend. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]’s already started looking for another, much to Kiki’s dismay- because [i]she’s[/i] the only one [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] should be dating. They get to his place with her boyfriend, Adrien, welcoming them both in- though not without chastising [color=ff7360]Loni[/color]. Kiki doesn’t waste any time in questioning him. He denies there being any problems in their relationship, and that she was sixteen the first time they slept together- regardless of him being a teacher. Kiki demands he justify it, mentioning his family to try to intimidate him. Adrien doesn’t feel worried at all, and only proceeds to double down on justifying their relationship as [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] being the one to start it then. Kiki loses it, punching his face in before using her healing magic to keep him alive. [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] tries to beg her to stop, but she doesn’t. Instead, Kiki drags everything out of his mind- including that he had been manipulating [color=ff7360]Loni[/color] to feel worse about herself the whole time, and planned to get her pregnant and trapped with him. Kiki shows this to [color=ff7360]Loni[/color], which pushes her into a breakdown. Kiki sentences Adrien to ‘Gourmation’, and drags him away to kill him.

After, the two go back to [color=ff7360]Loni’s[/color] apartment. After a more relaxed meal with Luci and [color=51684c]Vin[/color]- who’s in a good mood- they eventually discuss what happened with the doppelganger. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] reveals that it copied their magic, and Kiki says that they need to talk more between their covens. She brings up [color=0D6793]Elay’s[/color] going to go into the mountains to investigate and a bigger threat- and [color=51684c]Vin[/color] realises they’ve had to deal with him a few times when he caused trouble on Hollow turf. After realising they don’t want to hurt him, Kiki asks [color=51684c]Vin[/color] to try and tag along with him when he goes into the mountain, to keep him safe and make sure he’s not being manipulated by the woman he’s currently hanging out with. [color=51684c]Vin[/color] agrees because they want to know what’s happening with the Doppelgangers and the threat, and they plan to have a Hollow and Twin-Hill meeting to discuss it in the future.
 [/hider]

[hider=A Drink from Death - Nessa & Elay]Dragging herself out of bed for the first time in days, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5592797][color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] Mendonza[/url] is at the rundown Trough Bar in the hope of finding someone to go home with. Not having any luck, she goes outside, only to be stopped and attacked by an ex. At the same time, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] is at the bar watching her- she was the last person seen with his current target, a North Sider's missing husband. Pushed by his cat slash Apparition partner Garf, he follows her outside, and beats [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s ex to unconsciousness. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] immediately latches onto him, pretending to be grateful and trying to hit him with a curse to make him want her. When this doesn’t work, she drops the act, sullenly refusing to tell him anything about the person he’s looking for- William Finkle. Eventually she stops lying, calling up William to find out where he is on the promise of dinner from [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]. 

On the way, Garf tells [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] that they may have a reason to stick with her- something she doesn’t believe and [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] is skeptical of. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] spends the journey trying to flirt with him, which [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] rebuffs, and she fills him in on what little she knows about William. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] shit talks her for how bad she is at being a ‘Hopper’, not even stealing money from them, which she just gets pissed off about before lying that her magic’s too weak to use to earn money and that she’s too lazy to improve it. Because she wants to keep hidden that she has strong enough Blue-Pink magic to completely change and control people, trained by her father- Charles Beaumont- who is currently in prison for attempting to take over the city.

They get to the hotel William’s in, with Garf going in ahead to find out what he has on him. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] gets the key to the room to let them in, making it easy for [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] to immediately knock him out. He uses Garf’s magic to wake him up a bit and make sure he knows his wife is divorcing him, leaving him with the papers. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] complains about expecting [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] to beat him up more… So he does, punching him in the face multiple times. The tension between them and [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] refusing to thank him results in [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] aggressively and passionately kissing her.

Later, they end up in a shitty diner. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color], with the help of Garf, tries to convince [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] to keep her around. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] guesses she can’t go North- which she lies about that she can’t, still pretending to be weak. After [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] calls her useless she changes tune, trying to convince him that she’s got enough magic to be worth keeping around. Eventually, after goading him about being awful at sex, he agrees to at least sleep with her that night. But [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] says she’s going to work cases with him if she’s going to stick around. 

While [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s asleep, [color=15A663]Momo[/color] calls [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]. [color=15A663]Momo[/color] browbeats him for not having enough cases and being in debt to her, and that everything is being paid for by others' hard work. She tells him if he takes this case he’ll get bailed out again. He argues she already has a case, but [color=15A663]Momo[/color] says that he’s giving her nothing. It’s this case, or he’s out. After discussing what they know, he agrees, but tells her to not complain about the bill she’s going to get for everything he needs.

The next morning, [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] wakes up with Garf on her chest after sucking out her dreams. He claims to be ‘on her side until he’s not’, which [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] doesn’t believe. After a shower, she comes back out to Garf turning from a fat orange cat to a monstrous, tiger like creature with fourteen feet and a second body coming from his belly. Garf offers her an accord. Let him eat her dreams and nightmares, and he’ll make sure [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] is attached to her. After some hesitation and questions [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] agrees, before going to buy herself breakfast. 

Upon returning, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] is nakedly mopping up after Garf’s pasta eating mess. They argue over [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] stealing his money, before kissing again. A few hours later, they go to Deciduous Apartments in Junglelands- [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s shit apartment home. There, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] pays a month of rent, and when the landlady finds out he’s a private investigator asks him to handle a case. They go to pack up her stuff, with [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] emphasising that she’s still going to be able to stay there even though he plans to turn it into a safehouse, before going to talk about the case with her landlady.

Irene explains that people aren’t playing because they seem to be addicted to some kind of card game. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] scoffs at it, negotiating a high payment and a cut of what she gets by not so subtly threatening her. They agree to look into it, getting the apartments of two victims. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] asks [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] if she’s been working on an addiction spell recently, which she gets pissed off about. 

At one of the apartments, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] admits he can’t do anything with Garf asleep. So [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] checks there’s someone in there. She goes into his mind and finds the Pink Lux addiction spell, before hooking her own cursed command onto it to make him go back to where he buys the cards. This lets [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] and [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] follow him. They end up in a bar where he shows a card and is allowed into the basement. After a drink, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] uses Garf’s magic to trap the blinds in magical laughter to get another card out of the trash. 

Downstairs, they find a strange underground magical card trading room. People are playing, ripping open packs, trading and buying. There’s three Adepts at the back who clearly run the place, but none of them are the person with the addiction spell. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] distracts them by pretending to be an addicted card buyer while [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] loosens the spell on all of the Blinds in the room. As [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] finishes and lets the Blinds loose, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] tries to get to the Red Adept but is blocked as she walls off herself and their stock. 

The Pink-Orange Adept who [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] is actively tussling with looks into [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s Garf cloak, with a Seed of Knowledge implanted that’ll let [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] hunt him down later. The final Adept, a Yellow, attacks [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] and drags her out from under the table she’s hiding in. Desperate, she starts to crack at his weak Emotional Field with her Blue Lux. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] uses the seed to teleport around, punching the Yellow Adept. The two fight, before [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] manages to beat the Yellow Adept. The Red Adept, now the only one remaining, attacks them with metal tower constructs. One manages to get [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] and slice through her leg before [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] gets to the Red Adept and knocks her out. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] mocks [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] for her injury, but picks her up anyway. But he does say he’s putting her in the trunk to go back to the North Side to get her healed- and no matter how much he protests, he does it.

They reach the car park of St Alexia’s, with [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] cursing [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] with boils on the way out. Garf then carries her up to the clinic, with Garf torturing [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] to make him come with them. When they get to the top [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s sister, Giovanna, threatens to shoot [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] with metal needles made with her magic. After pointing out [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s hurt, Gia relents and shouts at Garf to leave. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] refuses to lower her Emotional Field for healing, resulting in Gia healing her in the most painful way possible. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] suffers through it before being stuck in place thanks to the magic and threatened to answer Gia’s questions

[color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] claims she’s nobody and Gia asks about red flags. Because of it, before Gia can talk about it, Garf shows [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] what happened the last time they met - when he almost killed her because he was drunk over money. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] says she can handle herself, and Gia drops it, saying [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s banned and she won’t heal any damage he does to her, leaving [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] with some harsh words on the way out.

In the lift down, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] asks which it is- if [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s stupid or suicidal. She dances around an answer that she’s not scared of violence, even though it’s because she feels she deserves it, and is horribly lonely. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] tries to convince her that he’ll kill her if he hits her, trying to push her away. She refuses to leave, and Garf says [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] can’t leave her anyway. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s still firm that she’s leaving the next morning. Before Garf lets [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] into the car, he asks her if she’s seen [b]Nikita[/b] lately. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] claims to not know any- even though she does, the former assistant of her Father who betrayed him right after the Cataclysm. 

They go to the New Leopold Building and the restaurant inside. While changing, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] finds a block of weed in the car, and gets [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] to contact a drug dealing ex she admits to having. Inside they’re met by another sister of [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s, Chessa, who questions [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] about [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] not being safe- but lets them go through after pulling Recollections from [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] to make sure he hasn’t hurt [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]. The two settle down for dinner, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] planning to get [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] an I.D. and better clothes the next day. After talking about her shitty situation and suggesting she gets a job there, they’re interrupted by [color=15A663]Momo[/color], who’s not too happy.

For [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color], seeing [color=15A663]Momo[/color] is like a nightmare- as she’s identical to her Progenitor, Cadenza Motta. Cadenza was captured by Charles Beaumont eight years previous, and [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] was forced to work on layering curses on top of her father's before the woman finally died. She uses magic on herself to keep it hidden as [color=15A663]Momo[/color] makes it clear she has a problem with [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] being there without having anything to offer. After [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] grovels in Italian, pretending that [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] is actually a new Detective for [color=15A663]Momo[/color]. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] plays along, agreeing to help with cases that require a bit of a subtler touch.

After she leaves, [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] pushes [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] about his family and learns what Matriarchs are. Then, that Cadenza and Nikkita Motta are his [i]moms[/i] and he’s been trying to find out what’s happened to them. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] knows what happened to them, but can’t tell him without blowing her cover and outing herself as participating in her father’s magical human experimentation. So she offers to help, even though she knows where it’ll lead.

Later in the evening, they’re both drunk when they get back to [color=0D6793]Elay[/color]’s apartment. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] goads [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color], bringing up how he acted in front of [color=15A663]Momo[/color]. He gets angry and she just pushes him more, until he throws a lamp at her. When she ducks, he gets more pissed, and hits her. Garf pushes him away before he can do anymore, even though [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] tells him not to and continues to goad [color=0D6793]Elay[/color], revealing she knows Italian and heard everything. [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] sends Garf away and then literally throws [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] out. Garf manages to tell [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] not to leave before disappearing. 

Assuming everything’s over, [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] goes back to the South Side and finds someone to go to a shitty motel with. In the early hours of the morning she still hasn’t slept, her partner asleep beside her when Garf appears. He says she should’ve waited, that [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] would’ve let her back in within an hour and he’s downstairs now waiting. [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] doesn’t believe him. Garf offers to help, pulling up all of [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color]’s suppressed memories about Cadenza so she can vividly remember what the woman was like. She was joyful until the end, and nice to [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] the whole time.

It’s not enough to convince her, or trust that [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] really wants her back. So she withdraws her magic from the man as Garf calls [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] up- only to take over the man and have him strangle her against the wall to make a point that [i]he’s[/i] in charge. When [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] hits [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] with her magic, he rushes in, beating up the man without much of a fight and tearing his head from his body. After ranting at her for wanting the worst, they clean the blood off them, and [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] tells her to phone the drug dealing ex, Kieran. She does, pretending she’s been attacked and needs protection. He tells her to come to the Black Book, a drug den and brothel in the 14th Ward.

Once there, [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] goes inside alone, with Garf watching from the roof and [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] planning to sneak in the back. She goes to Kieran, flirting heavily with him and convincing him to go somewhere private with her so she can ‘make it up to him.’ He pressures her into taking an Ecstasy pill, which she dampens with her magic. While she distracts him getting a drink, [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] sneaks in the back door. He knocks out the guard there, and then the guard downstairs, managing to drag the body into the room Kieran and [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] are going into just in time. When [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] gets there with him, Garf appears, and [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] makes Kieran take him to the door, which lets [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] hit him in the back of the head. Then, he removes the ring that’s giving Kieran his Emotional Field. The two taunt him, before [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] manipulates his mind so that he’ll obey and work for them. When that’s done, [color=8877BD]Nessa[/color] takes all of his money and [color=0D6793]Elay[/color] takes some of the pills, the two of them leaving to enjoy the rest of their day. [/hider]