AtomicEmperor

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

Le Tournesol:A Companion Post

---

The dinner party only got more strange and alcohol-filled as the courses went on. Bottles of wine were shared among the Temple members, strangely or not almost never making it to the couple of the hour. But it seemed like everyone at the table had a massive goblet or glass to go along with whatever else they were drinking.
Breads and soups, homestyle pastas, a cake made of donuts for dessert, the meal itself was carb central, and not a single plate left the grand table with food on it as they ate everything available. A compliment to the gluttonous, bacchanalian consumption of the near black wines they drank. Squabbles seemed to bubble up and sweep away, people tossing comments up and down the dinner table. One conversation seemed to run into the next as a neighbor previously uninvolved in the discussion only tuned in to drop a bomb and leave again.

Casey’s brothers managed to make the moment about themselves during the main course, leading to Junior’s self ejection from the dinner party altogether. A dour mood swept across the gathering for a long while before Leon gave into the mounting social pressure and apologized for his own behavior.
The wine flowed less freely after that, and while people didn’t stop being a hassle to one another, they did seem to cool down. Until an offer for free drinks at a nearby bar. Hari had, in the brief time between the two locations, offered to sort Trisha out with a spell she called “Condition Green”, which played with the brain to induce temporary sobriety.

It was enough to get those who had too much from point A to B, and many of the attendees accepted the safe passage knowing that their drunken revelry would be more welcomed at a hangout like Le Tournesol. The owner, a mid-level Temple Adept, was a strong community player. Everyone valued Andre’s heart and soul going into his faith and his business, with Lynette herself citing a great deal of her favorite memories in that bar alongside her late Husband.

Now, Casey too found himself there, among the people who remained from dinner. Clarissa had stayed, half to insure that Lynette remained safe, but half to enjoy herself in a loose moment. She, the Polycurse, Lynette herself, Elise…
It was typical that Casey found himself, alongside Leon, to be the only males present in the group. But, they’d been brought here on the grounds of Sycamore Tree Coven business; and so Casey found himself alone, were it not for Andre’s presence. Condition Green had already worn off for some, mostly Mia, but Lynette had very quickly demanded chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks: A clear sign that she was drunk to anyone who really knew her.

Fried foods were in the almost never category. Casey felt an invisible timer ticking away as he brought Trisha to the big table they sat down at. It was really just a few tables slid together, and plenty of booth space for people like Hari and Clarissa to ensure their deific boss’s safety by physically trapping her. Casey took a seat on the outside edge, starting to feel the buzz coming back after playing it cool in front of the Sycamore members…
Unlike his little sister, making out with the Shifter Leon had introduced… He draped his coat over the chair, still standing and reaching out for Trisha before she had the chance to sit down.

He hugged into her, taking a deep breath as he did.
”I give it an hour… I’m fucking beat!” he spoke to her sweetly, shuffling side to side slightly like he was trying to dance with Trisha.

“A whole hour?” Trisha giggled, beginning to feel a bit light headed again. She’d tried to pace herself during the meal, but alcohol had been the only way she could force herself to have a bit of every course. Even now she felt like she really couldn’t face another plate of food ever again. She swayed with Casey, arms loosely wrapping around his waist as she properly leaned into him.
“Maybe you can survive an hour. I already want to go to bed… or maybe I just need another drink.”

Noticeably, she’d managed to finish her drink on the walk from bar to table. Mainly to cope with Mia’s… weird baby bird behaviour, and then having to be in the presence of three Sycamore members grossly flirting. Just being around them was bad enough. Both Linqian and Aryin weren’t people she’d gotten along with. At all.

”Another drink? What would you like? Any orders for this table, give them directly to me.” Andre popped up as if out of nowhere - though it wasn’t so much out of nowhere as it was talking to Lynette with one, magically enhanced ear always listening out. ”Seeing as I’m about to lose my most capable employee for the night.”

Trisha’s brow furrowed, and she twisted around in Casey’s arms. Did she actually want another drink? If she kept drinking then she would get properly drunk, rather than just pleasantly tipsy. Then she might say things she wouldn’t normally… Did she really want that?
“Are you really willing to carry me home if I drink more?” she looked back up at Casey with a soft smile, before continuing in a much quieter tone.
“And I really wasn’t… that bad the other night when I got drunk? Honestly?”

Casey had to hear everything. Literally everything, as he got Trisha in one ear and Andrade and his Mother talking in the other.
”Oh, SCREW me Andre, you know the deal. Driver, driver, driver.” Lynette laughed, her love of citrus and vodka well known by her closest; especially the people she trusted handling her food.

Casey himself couldn’t help but laugh and lean in.
”You drink as much as you want, Honey Bee. I’m here to catch you.”
He didn’t exactly have plans of staying sober at this point. Theo and Norm were both on page, and had cars ready to get people back to where they needed to go.
”Y’know, Andre, we can get someone from Andrade’s place tonight for you. Hell, we can probably fill the bar for staff. My treat?” he asked, casually shifting focus to something polite before barking out for drinks.

”Ain’t really a problem, Your Grace, I already called in my useless son,” Andre snorted, craning his neck as his enhanced eyes scanned across the bar. It was beginning to fill up again, especially with that terrible pun focused ‘comedian’ (in the loosest sense of the term) kicked out. For now.
”Well, perhaps another set of hands would help things. For now, one Screwdriver for Her Grace, anything else?”

Trisha had been pondering over it as they spoke, content just being in Casey’s arms. If he said she could drink as much as she wanted, she might as well drink as much as she wanted. It’d make it easier to get through without getting more tense about things, hopefully. Because she really did want to go home but… this day was about celebration of Casey, with his family. She had to stick it out.
“Double rum and coke?” She was on the spirits now, might as well continue on the spirits for now. She definitely didn’t feel like going back to beer after all that food.
“I need something stronger to catch up with everyone else,” she continued with a grin, glancing towards the girls, then Lynette.

The two older women both started laughing like two old friends tend to. Obnoxiously, like they had an inside joke for everything… Or maybe that was just who they were? If you weren’t one of them, chances were you’d never know. But Lynette did raise a fist in the air.
”No shame! Just dive in, Babe!”
It was easy to see the breakdown of Lynette Hunter. The Lynette Hunter who came from St. Portwell, who went to New York with a bar crawling habit, and who never really lost her love of the party. Twenty years ago, there probably would’ve been drugs involved… But she never wondered why her children struggled. She only knew that she couldn’t let them dwell on it. And if they had the chance to get a little closer as a group? Why not let the alcohol flow, she believed.

But she gave up a lot of that regality for what could only be described as Eu de Refuse. The trailer didn’t stray far from the cauldron, and in certain parts of the surrounding area, there were still echoes of the old ways.
Casey knew it all at a glance, or at least believed he knew. He’d tucked his channeler into his underwear, not quite used to casting from anywhere but the hand. It was enough to utilize a great deal of the passive observational abilities Lynette had passed onto him.

Enough to give him a false sense of knowing everything. He’d not had long enough to understand that the folly in cheap tricks was that one had to be spot on in determining their judgement based upon so many small factors. Like a piece of overclocked technology, there was going to be a bottleneck somewhere that determined maximum performance.
And so was the battle, as even drunk, Lynette felt the weight of her own channeler in its custom strap. White Lux poured from her with such subtlety that Casey couldn’t yet hope to see the glint in his Mother’s eye.

Whether she was even drunk, or if it was all an act, was lost down the void darkness of the maw that opened up every time she tilted back her head to snort out a laugh.
”I’ll absolutely have what she’s having, Andre. And a Last Round for everyone.”
”There wouldn’t be any chance I could get something frozen? Hari asked, almost sounding like a burden.
”Oh, Dude! Mudslides! Andre? I’ll come, I’ll help, fuck I’ll make ‘em, just please tell me you still have that chocolate brownie ice cream?!?”
At Ed’s interjection, Hari gasped in a longing manner and leaned back, her tongue popping out of her mouth as she imagined the concoction.

”Oh, fuck… The bar food! Andre, I… Is the… Are the cooks in?! One of those fuckin’ hamburgers! With that crazy sauce! And extra mayo for the Mozzarella sticks!” Lynette excitedly included, unable to stop herself from bouncing up and down in the comfortable booth as she swung her arm forward.
”Go easy, Ly… He’s only one man! Andre, do you want me to help you until we get some more people in, Sweetheart?” Clarissa offered herself up for the good of the situation, as usual.

”You tryna get my license revoked by gettin’ behind my bar without the proper shit, Etiennette?” Andre chuckled, shaking his head. He took it all in stride, not looking overwhelmed at all.
”Be glad I’m lettin’ you drink at all, miss. But I got it, I got it. Screwdriver, two double rum cokes, Last Round for all, Mudslides- yeah I still got the brownie ice cream for em- and plenty of food. Kitchen’s still open another hour.”

Then he smiled at Clarissa, with a nod.
”Would be great if you could come to the bar to bring over the drinks, at least. Just till Louis gets here- what’s the point'a bein’ part purple if you’re always fucking late. But ya know, table service ain’t normally offered, only for the likes of you all.”
With all the orders in, and not wanting to open up for more, he gestured to Clarissa to follow him and headed over to the busy bar.

“I didn’t think mudslides had ice cream in them?” Trisha said, in slight confusion, mind having buffered from the sheer quantity of drinks verbally thrown around. She’d had one before, but it’d just been a bunch of liqueurs and cream… She shrugged, looking up at Casey again.
“Are we sitting down? You can keep hugging me… I’m happy to sit in your lap.” She smiled cutely, offering it very genuinely - she was more than tipsy enough to not really care about being so close in public.

Casey, not ever concerned about a bit of PDA, was happy to snag Trisha up a little tighter, spinning her and planting them both in the seat he’d intended to sit in. Clarissa rubbed Casey’s head as she passed, playfully messing up his otherwise neatly re-braided hair.
Hari had her phone out, texting Andrade to send Wendy over. That girl was certainly going to earn her pay and the tips that went along with them.
”Oh, I mean… Really they’re just like boozy milkshakes. He made them for Mom on her fortieth birthday, and we all had to have what she was having, so he had to make it good enough for all of us. Which meant no booze at the time…”

”Awww, Harietta, I love when you call me Mom…” Lynette cooed, swooning close to the youngest of the Crones as Clarissa was off for their order.
Hari smiled, letting their heads rest against one another.
”Well, who else has been there?” Hari retorted, a deep breath washing over her as she tried to relax a bit.

Mia’s body shifted, and she sloppily pushed up and away from the table. Her steps landed her directly in between the two women, who both laughed and smiled before letting Mia slide into a newly formed gap.
”Alriiiiight fine… I guess you can sit between us.”
Instantly, Hari and Ed shot each other a glance.
”God fucking dammit…”

Casey could see the slightest wobble in his Mother’s facial features as she let the words echo out of her mouth. The quiver of a smile unshone.
”What?” Lynette groaned, as if she was asking her daughter what she’d done wrong. What was, after all, so wrong with a little joke?
”God fucking dammit!” Mia smacked her fists against her knees. ”Why can’t you ever just say you’re fucking happy to have me next to you!? Am I seriously a fucking… Why…”

Mia wasn’t looking at Lynette, nor did she have the array of abilities that were hidden away from her on the White spectrum. She’d not notice her Mother’s slight grin. Only Casey could see the drunken pleasure she got from the action. The administration of drip-fed pain.

Trisha had practically gone limp against Casey, back pressed against his chest and letting his arms around her do the work in stopping her sliding off his legs. But, that very quickly changed as Mia started up again. She tensed up, legs automatically curling inwards at the knee, and hands moving from languidly fiddling with her hair to gripping it tightly. Her lips pressed together into a thin line, looking over at Mia.

Just like her, Trisha had no White Lux to speak of to notice any of the subtle undercurrents. Sure, she logically knew that Lynette wasn’t a good mother overall - it was so painfully obvious. But she was there. In their lives, as toxic as it might be. There was that jealousy, the feeling that always pushed Trisha to her worst, bubbling up in her chest without the normal sobriety to keep it down. Jealousy of something she shouldn’t be jealous of in the first place.

A poorly made joke required someone to be present in the first place to make it.
“At least she’s next to you in the first place.” What was supposed to be a thought, maybe a whisper to only herself, came out a lot louder than Trisha intended. Loud enough for everyone at the table to hear it, at least.

Lynette didn’t let her daughter get enough breathing room to come up with a logical argument to the presented sentiment. No matter how loud or soft it came out, it was enough that the whole table heard it and she needed to wrangle that momentum.
”And lo, presenteth thine most serendipitous interjection! That! That, Mia, is a reason for you to really consider things and stop being so worked up over them. We both literally moved our asses for you to get between us. Read the actions between the words, my little love…”

"Read the actions between the words!" Mia mocked her Mother’s expression and inflection.

Hari quickly put her arms around Mia and slid her up onto her lap.
”Hey, listen! You’re embarrassing me a little bit, okay? Now, I love you- And nobody here or there thinks anything but loving thoughts about you! You are causing problems that shouldn’t be happening right now, and we would probably all appreciate it if you could chill out for now.”
Her hands gripped Mia by the belly, or what little was there, and gently rubbed like a cat would paw at a bit of cushion or rug. Mia’s eyes were leaking, and Lynette was looking up at her daughter with a playful frown.

”Mummy won’t tell jokes like that anymore, Baby. If it hurts you so badly, we’ll insulate you. Just like we always have.”
Trisha could feel Casey’s fingers wriggle with discomfort. His head spun around, praying to see Andre and Clarissa coming back with drinks. What he saw was something totally different.

”Ma? Hey, I’m gonna be leavin’ soon… But, I was wondering if you wanted to do that thing…”
Leon’s frame loomed over them, and he put a comforting hand on Casey’s shoulder.
”Or are you too busy tormenting your Baby Girl?”
Lynette grinned at her eldest Son, then turned that grin to Casey with Trisha in his arms.
”Gettin’ your freak on, Hound Dog?” Lynette giggled, a terribly strange way to ask one’s son about their plans for exploits in the near future.

She held her hand out to him.
”Sure, sure… That lazy hack comedian’s gone. May as well entertain the people.”
Mia and Hari had retracted into some sort of wordless conversation, and clearly checked out of the moment. Ed, on the other side of Hari from Lynette, curled in close in an attempt to make the moment a little easier on her partners.
Leon knew, obviously, that his Mother was being troublesome. Like the both of them, his senses were beyond keen. But unlike them, it was all processed through the mind of a sex-crazed wolf demon. He couldn’t listen to it without a great deal of aggression and desire to fix it. Or at least give others the chance…

Taking his Mother by the hand, Leon led Lynette off toward the front stage. There were some instruments, thankfully an acoustic guitar.
Still bathed in gold, Lynette grinned at the crowd and spoke into the microphone.
”Testing… DiffiCult to the beautiful people of Le Tournesol, come in?” she laughed.
Leon made the guitar look like a ukulele in his massive hands, but as Lynette tested the microphone and got people’s attention, he plucked away and tuned as needed until he was satisfied.

”Fuck… I’m part thankful, part horrified.” he spoke quietly to Trisha.

Trisha was still pretty tense. The whole thing made her feel tense, and the Screwdriver she’d practically downed a bit earlier was really beginning to affect her. She was still fixated on a problem she didn’t understand - Mia’s problem, that was. Why? She had present family, who loved her, twisted as it was. Two girlfriends… It just had Trisha thinking about what she didn’t have.

But she forced herself a bit out of it, moving from still staring at Mia, Hari and Ed to twisting in Casey’s arms so that she could more easily look at him and over at the stage by sitting sideways.
“Why, is she bad at singing?” Trisha asked pretty bluntly, but quietly. She shuffled a bit, slipping her heels off under the table, pulling up her legs so they were bent underneath her skirts and her tight clad feet rested on his legs.
“I’m…” she trailed off, face scrunching up, before relaxing again.

“Didn’t mean to say that earlier,” she muttered, just to Casey. She really didn’t - but not so much because of the fuel it had given Lynette, but the insight it might’ve given about her. Her own relationship with her mother.

Casey looked down at Trisha with a bright, warm smile as he rubbed her arms.
”Don’t… Seriously. She’s drunk, she’s a grown woman, she’s got a warm, supportive group of people around her.”
There was a preemptive knock at Trisha’s Emotional Field before Hari gave her signature Pink Lux style over to Trisha for examination. It was like a little pre-recorded message that flashed on the table in front of Trisha, with its words reading “Only You can Hear.”

And then it started playing.
Casey is unfortunately right… Mia radiates pain. We’re like the heat sinks. One day, we’ll be coming down, and I’m sure she’ll want to apologize to you then.
The little hallucination puffed out of existence in a cloud of smoke. Casey didn’t react, even though he felt Hari’s Lux flush out of her body and into Trisha. It did catch him slightly, and he almost thought he heard Hari without her ever talking…

But like most hallucinations, the mind's eye captured the moment and extrapolated it, overlapping Casey’s follow-up sentence.
”Now, Mom being drunk, she’s liable to say anything. Nice, mean, this song could be vulgar it, could be a nursery rhyme; she’s just as likely to pull out her own book of poe-”

” It’s a very special day for the DiffiCult… One of my favorite Groundskeepers retired today. He was in charge of the whole operation, and he’s my darling Max’s best friend in the whole world. But I managed to hook the best man to follow in his footsteps: My middle Baby, my Late Bloomer. The Autumn Flower, my sweet sweet Caseau.”
Lynette’s voice seemed to get raspier, as if she had managed some time to smoke half a dozen cigarettes to really rough things up. It was… Sultry. Like Joplin, she had an aggression that belied the softness within.

”Ma, don’t…” Casey almost wordlessly whispered, the plea only passing through Trisha’s ear because she was so damn close. Lynette’s gaze was set squarely on her son, and she grinned ear to ear. Her voice was crystal clear through the venue speakers.
”Now, I’ve got a lot of kids. And I know for a fact each one is incredibly special. Truly worthy of Charm and Grace. My blood, my fosters, my sweet pets, everything that exists in my life: It radiates with Charm, and with Grace. And I know you’ll continue to honor our name, Casey… So, this song is for you. After that? I don’t care if you run away with your spoils and your glory. You deserve your night.”

Lynette spun to look at Leon, who looked lost until she did so, and he quickly moved the drumset to her front as she kicked her fancy shoes off to reveal still absolutely golden feet: nails and all. The full coverage was inexplicable, but the dedication was crazy.

Lynette’s Promise

For the fact that she was constantly moving, her chest bouncing up and down as her foot continuously slapped into the drum set’s floor pedal. It was clear that she knew what she was doing, and Leon backed her with crispy, flowing guitar play that let his long hair flow around his shoulders to cast his face in a dark portrait.
But ultimately, she was drunk. With each chorus, she grew a bit more passionate and convicted in her delivery until the end of the song, when the music stopped. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were welled with moisture. Even the trio had come out of their bubble, knowing each that despite the situation, she wasn’t just singing to Casey. Or, every selfish child likes to imagine that their mother’s love isn’t always so evenly spread.
”And I… Will always love you.”

Not that any of it was particularly comforting for Casey. It was the last thing he wanted to hear, a funny code buried in a song that had prior significance. Seemed like it was meant to be, but it didn’t make Casey any less tense. He had his head buried in Trisha’s shoulder, and his hand was gripping hers tightly as they sat there.
Leon didn’t stick around, helping his Mother out of the drummer’s seat and back to her spot on the bench before giving Casey another kiss on the head. By that time, Wendy was there to relieve Linqian, and Leon absconded with his fellow Sycamites into the relative comfort of his own bedroom for a change.

Trisha tried her best to keep up with everything. Hari's message, overlapped with what Casey had said, then everything Lynette spoke about afterwards. And the song. She wasn't stupid enough to just take it at face value.
Except she was drunk. She could vaguely figure it out, but it was all just fuzzy ideas she couldn’t quite reach. Casey’s tension and strong grip on her hand told her a lot more than any thinking she was trying to do.

Then there was that stupid, horrible jealousy. It hadn’t quite been buried by what Hari said about Mia, and it was pulled back up where she didn’t want it to be. Casey was unhappy about the song - because Lynette would always love him? She would never… let him go? Of course, it made sense. She was controlling, the Temple was a cult. As of today, he'd gotten in deeper. Trapped, maybe. No, not trapped. But that was what she wanted?
But again. She was there. She stood up on a stage and said that all of her children were special. Loved, even if it wasn’t a good kind of love. Trisha had never even experienced that from a parent.

But it wasn’t about her. Couldn’t be, shouldn’t be. Bury it down, hide it deep. She turned her head towards Casey’s pressed into her shoulder, kissing it. She tilted her head down to kiss his earlobe too, before whispering into his ear.
“You hiding there for the rest of the night?” She didn’t know what to say as an actual comfort. What could she say? She didn’t even fully understand the situation.
“Just… think about it…” Being us. No, that’s not right. Love. Not there yet. Definitely not. “Less? Or not at all. Think about me instead.”

Casey shook his head in his imagination, being so close to her that she’d feel if he did it in reality. Drunk people almost always had pearls of wisdom, gems, little mental bugs that they could scratch out and let loose atop the corpse of existence. So, why was Trisha’s advice shit? Think about her? Casey found himself thinking about her constantly, and about how utterly fucked his situation was quickly becoming. How he didn’t want her involved in it like he was involved in it.

He was thinking about what he’d said before, crying at Trisha’s feet like a pathetic dog. The worry of having to cut her out, or keep secrets. Disappoint her, betray her trust, maybe hurt her to try and insulate her. Protect her. Back in the day, insulation was something he wished he had: He’d always wanted to feel safe and protected, and always wound up feeling like a beaten animal.
Now he wanted to take charge, and to give others the feeling he never had. Would they even want that? And then there was his Mother… He couldn’t tell whether or not she knew what he was thinking… But she was still looking over toward them when he looked back up.

His face was red. His eyes met Lynette’s directly, and she gave a cat-like smile, once more gently squinting her eyes. But the girls were back, somewhat… Mia had wound up pulling away from her partners, and from there Casey found a slight relief as Lynette’s attention was once more taken up by her daughter.
Ed took the chance to relax, stretch out, and take a long sip of her alcohol-forward milkshake, her head swiveling to eye Mia and Lynette’s somewhat private moment before her arm wrapped around Hari and pulled her tight.

”Y’know, Case… Seeing you and Trisha makes me think about when Big G was still around.” Ed commented gently.
Clarissa, having swapped seats with Mia to let those two have their time, tilted her head back in exasperation.
”Don’t it though? I swear, you two just keep looking more and more alike the older you get, Casey. Trisha? Have you ever seen a real picture of Gravity Richoux? I don’t really remember Casey having many pictures…”

Trisha twisted her position again slightly, legs swinging back around to dangle over Casey's rather than being curled up against herself. She leaned forward to pick up her thankfully existent drink, downing half the double rum coke in one go before answering. She looked at Ed first, then Clarissa.
“What, cause we look so perfect together? And depends what you mean by a real picture. One of my friends has posters with him on them, technically, so I have seen him. Didn't pay much attention to them, though, and haven't seen any pictures from Casey."

Her lips pressed together, turning her head to look at him without actually looking at him. Hiding the shift in her expression - because she had seen Gravity Richoux. In the dream, going from what he'd been in life to what he was now. She hadn't wanted to, and she couldn't exactly say that. She shrugged.
“So not really, I guess." One hand wriggled out from underneath Casey's, reaching up to caress his cheek with a smile. Drunk as she was, not helped by continuing to drink, she wasn't sure where to push the conversation. She could tell Casey was still uncomfortable but… from the song? From what was being said now?
“Don’t most people look like their parents? That's kind of the point… I can start pulling out pictures of mine if we want to compare?"

”Oh my God yes!” Clarissa excitedly jazz-handed before making for her small handbag and pulling out a big wallet. It was absolutely full of what seemed to be everything: Business cards, credit and debit cards, cash, but the bulkiest section was the now rapidly unfolding spool of little pictures she kept with her.
”I’m obsessed with capturing the moment, so… I’ve got plenty.” she grinned, scooting her chair right next to Casey and Trisha.

Casey groaned.
”I’m so not toasted enough for this…”
One of his hands left Trisha to grab his drink, which he quickly finished behind her back and smacked the empty glass back on the table.
His hand swung outward toward Hari, who he knew had taken the bottle of booze Mia was dipping into when they’d been headed to dinner. She gave it up pretty willingly, letting the weight of it dip slightly as she passed it along to him.

Clarissa had pulled a photo out of its place, handing it off to Trisha.
”Look, see!? Same age, same face, same hair…” she said, holding up a picture of the same man Trisha had seen in her dreams earlier. The effect on her Emotional Field would be noticeable, in that it seemed to highlight Gravity Richoux in the picture as if he had some sort of aura.

Trisha took the picture from Clarissa to look at it properly, moving it properly close to her face, eyes narrowing as she just stared at it for a moment. Mostly, the strange aura. Could everyone else see it? Was she so drunk that she was starting to see a fuzzy light around people in pictures? No, no, this was definitely magical. Was it because of the dream earlier? What else would cause that?
“Honestly…" Trisha held the picture back out to Clarissa, turning to look at Casey. She squinted as if assessing him, head tilting slightly from side to side.
“Oh, I see the similarities, but Casey is definitely more handsome. Maybe I'm biased, but it's definitely the case."

She then reached out for her drink again, and finished it off. A cute pout formed on her lips when she realized by finishing it so quickly she didn't have anything else to drink but… she'd sort that out in a moment.
“My dad's side always say I look like my mom, and my mom's say I look like my dad. Guess that means I don't look like either? Or both. That's the normal thing, isn't it. I think I look more like mom…" She rambled a bit, trying to decide whether to pull out a photo or not. Not that she had any physical ones. Or any of her parents when they were young. Or, actually, many of them at all.
“But my brother? Spitting image of dad. Or maybe it's just cause he took over the business…"

Hari laughed aloud.
”Oh my God, you mean uh… Fuckin’...-” she snapped her fingers.
”Ed-ed… Edward? Edgeword? Last year! There was this community outreach thing, and he was on the board of Trustees with Mom! He’s got that skeezy kind of look, right? Like he’s always hiding something?” Hari asked, clearly trying to parse out the name Ezra without actually remembering it.

“Ezra," Trisha laughed. Once she started, it was difficult to stop, a fit of giggling overcoming her until she leaned back and pressed her face against Casey's chest to stop it. Just… Hari was so right, he did always look like he was hiding something.
“That’s the one. You're right he does always look like that! That and like he's always judging you for whatever you say… like he's so much smarter cause dad chose him to take over, as if it wasn't just cause he was born first… oh man, everyone's always licking his feet cause of his money, but fuck, you're right."
She giggled again.

“But y'know, he cares about looking good more than anything. Enough to keep the rest of us quiet by throwing money at us, at least. Last time I went to visit I didn't even get past reception before I got a text saying he'd put a whole bunch of money in my account, like he didn't even want to see me-" Trisha paused, eyes widening and frozen with her mouth half open. Shit. She didn't want to say that. Play it off, play it off.
“He was just really busy that day, business, you know."

”That sounds exactly like my Birth parents. My birth Mom tried to reach out to me like, two years ago? Asking questions, telling me she regretted me leaving, yadda yadda… But, uh, Dad’s big on brainwash. When I started asking questions, I must’ve tripped like… Some stupid failsafe?”
Hari’s face went from sullen to frustrated, then back to sullen.
”I feel so bad for my Mom being a Blind… And my Siblings. He plays with them like puppets… He’s this politician in the Midwest, and he controls their lives like a crazy fucking architect.”

Ed couldn’t help but start up with a drunken laugh.
”My Baby?” Ed’s head turned to face Hari’s, who looked back at Ed with a questioning gaze.
”Whaaat?…” she questioned expectantly in reply. Ed just kept laughing, having to speak through little wheezing giggles.
”I love you… But those aren’t the same at all!”

Even Casey started shaking with laughter as he tried to hold it in. Trisha could feel him gently press his forehead into the back of her neck to hide his face.

“It's… really not…" Trisha snorted, holding a hand over her mouth for a moment, not moving much otherwise so that Casey could keep hiding against her neck. It was nothing like Hari's parents, but it gave her an amazing out. A Trisha special. Play down her own problems, play up someone else.
“There’s no magic in my family… Well, dad must've had a bunch of artifacts. Some of my sisters have it too, but nothing like that. No mind control- Not that I know of. Most are blind. Ezra too, he's just… a businessman. Typical, rich businessman. Only manipulation in my family is my sister trying to get everyone to love her- very mundanely."

She shook her head.
“If my dad or brother could brainwash people, I'm pretty sure it would've been a lot more peaceful growing up- uh, sorry. Sounds like shit. But yeah, not the same. That's… that’s much worse."

Even Hari started laughing at herself, shaking her head.
”Well, there wasn’t like thirty of us running around! I feel like at that point, the whole mind control thing is necessary… I’ve got two blood siblings, but Dad and I are the only magical ones between us. Mom, my Sister, my Brother… I mean, I was a puppet too, until I Kindled… Then, y’know, he… Just tried to kill me. At least, last time I heard him talking through my Mom, he didn’t threaten to come here.”

Clarissa snorted.
”That’s ‘cuz Von Voletta knows that it’s a quiet exit, left stage… You’re right where you should be, Baby. Ain’t nobody gonna get our Velvet Crone.”
Hari smiled at Clarissa.
”Oooooh, Sister Veil… Aren’t we blessed for that?”
Hari’s and Clarissa’s hands met together, clasping palm to palm as fingers entwined. They released a moment later, with laughter and smiles.

”But, I guess… No, not the same. But I do get… Uh… Not being wanted by someone who thinks they’re super fucking important. I know it seems pretty weird, but I do love my folks. Even if Dad… Has a hard time. But if it’s any consolation, I didn’t know Mr. Maxwell either. Their Dad…” Hari added, taking a sip of her drink and nodding back toward Casey.

Casey, who had sucked most of his little sisters’ backup booze dry, took a deep breath before speaking.
”Dude… He’d have loved you. I said it before, but… You’re just like Elise, and he fuckin’ loved Elise. Like, I remember he’d be fuckin’ yelling at me and Lee, and then Elise would come in to watch us training and he’d fuckin’… Like, stiffen up. And he’d get quieter, and more instructional. Less expecting us to just do shit on instinct. I bet he’d love that.”

Ed perked up, nodding in agreement.
”What about Trisha, Casey? You think they would’ve gotten along?”
Casey took a deep breath, craning his neck to look directly at Trisha’s face. He tried to smile, but his expression seemed to die off. Like he felt bad.
”Something tells me Dad would’ve loved you… I don’t know why.” he almost whispered, to the point that Ed leaned in.

”Mumble-Mouth! What?!” she asked him to repeat.
Trisha would be able to see the light come back to his eyes, and he gave her a weak smirk before twisting back to look at Ed.
”Gotten along!? Probably not, I think that Dad would’ve looked for reasons to argue with her once he got to know her.”

Clarissa laughed aloud again, covering her face after a rogue snort made it out from between her nostrils.
”How can you be so right!? He used to brutalize me some nights! We’d be sitting at the dinner table, I could feel Furio’s blood get hot as hell every time Max opened his mouth: He always had some question about why I wasn’t doing something, or why it wasn’t getting done better.” she seemed to remember fondly.

Trisha was still looking at Casey, even though he'd looked past her to Ed. Why did he think that his dad would've loved her? He said he didn't know why… there was no reason for it, was it just to be nice? No, he hadn't seemed happy about it. She knew that whatever Max was now, he'd drawn all across her emotional field - something the Queen said was supposed to be protective, even though it didn't do anything. But Casey didn't know about that…
She was a bit tense again. She hadn't said to Hari that she wasn't wanted. Not explicitly. Was it the case? Probably, unfortunately.

“Why would you sit at a table with someone like that?" she asked bluntly, as if it wasn't something she'd ever experienced - as if she wouldn't sit through dinner after dinner with her own mother breaking her down.
“If he was still around, and he did try to argue with me, I'd just leave. It wouldn't be anything I hadn't heard because, with my siblings and mo-" she shook her head, reaching for her empty glass, frowning when she realised it hadn't been magically refilled.
“Twenty siblings and someone's always got a problem. I'm not going to sit around and take something as an adult I wouldn't take as a teenager either."

”Oh, see? That’s exactly the kind of person Big G liked. He didn’t want you to talk back ever, he just wanted you to know he was displeased.” Ed explained, remembering plenty of dinners with Maxwell and the family.
”Whether you sat there and took it or walked away, he didn’t care. Just don’t explain and don’t fight back!”

Clarissa’s hand slapped Trisha’s knee in a friendly way as she cackled again.
”And I knew that shit too: So he’d jab at me and I’d jab back. He’d get more and more frustrated, and then he’d get up and head off back to the gym! We’d get a quiet dinner after that.” she grinned.
”Yeah… He was always a little miserable being Dad. He always wanted to be Gravity. It was the lineage, and the glory for him. Expectations, yadda yadda. Didn’t always know how to show that he cared.”

Food… It began to roll out from the kitchen and fill up the tables as Lynette’s many orders arrived. The two Richoux women broke their concentration from the discussion to begin inhaling french fries and chicken fingers.
”We talkin’ about Daddy?” Mia asked, looking and sounding like she’d been crying a bit. Lynette’s face was also a little wet, but that gold was holding so strong.

”Seems like we were kinda talking about dads. But, right now, yeah.”
Mia tried to look past Trisha, but couldn’t. She just looked directly into Trisha’s eyes and smiled solemnly.
”I wish you got to meet him, Trisha.”
”We was sayin’ the same, Dolly. Trisha was askin’ why we would ever eat dinner with him the way he was.”

Lynette instantly cracked up.
”Mmm! For a guy who ate so much food, he fuckin’ hated the dinner table! Give him his food while he’s walking around or something, he was fine! Like nothing! Then, you put him in a chair at a table, he turns into a prick!” she explained before starting to laugh even louder.

Trisha met Mia's gaze, eyes narrowing slightly in obvious displeasure that she couldn't hide now that she'd had even more to drink. Of course, it was further set off by the father discussion - Mia calling her own ‘daddy’, which was only ever used for James Vanburen by Tansy. His favorite, everyone else's least favorite.
“Well, I get that. Being stuck at a table when you want to be literally anywhere else is shit." Trisha shrugged - obviously to her talking about her own feelings, all those dinners at home she'd rather not be at.
“Not that it excuses being a dick… Why not just exclude someone like that from eating at the table at all? Guess it doesn't matter since he's gone now."
Drunk, bluntly honest Trisha was very much beginning to come out.

Mia’s head tilted backward. Lynette’s mouth dropped in shock, and Clarissa began to laugh with discomfort in an almost immediate gut reaction.
”Trisha!?!” Casey chided her from below, immediately taking her hands and holding them in his. He looked directly into her eyes.
”Baby!... That’s… A fucked up thing to say, Dude… Please apologize?” he did his best to ask her gently without trying to make her feel like she was being targeted.

”Noooo waaaay, let her cook dude! I always was curious as to why he bothered showing up at all!” Ed spoke up, eyes wide and her hand gripped tightly around her frozen drink.
”ETIENNETTE!?” Hari gasped.

Lynette, her dark black mouth almost lost in the half-light of the bar’s booths as it hung open in shock. Her body started to shake, and her eyes almost lit up as laughter overtook her. Mia’s face was incredulous, looking between Ed, Trisha and her Mother. With Clarissa also nervously laughing, she and Lynette seemed to goad one another ever closer to a climax of cackling that only two drunk sorority sisters could muster.

Trisha frowned, head tilting back to not quite meet Casey's gaze. She didn't really understand. She hadn't said anything that bad, had she?
“Apologize for what? For suggesting you excluded him? It's not that bad when you get used to it. For saying he's gone? My dad's dead too, it's just a fact." It was pretty obvious that last drink had been enough to push Trisha over some edge, from some ability to filter what she said to absolutely none at all. The filter that kept all the deeper things about herself inside… but also the shittier thoughts she had from company she didn't want to piss off.
“Fine, I'm sorry, okay?"

She turned her head around to look at everyone but Casey. The moment the words formed on her lips she knew she shouldn't say them, but it was already too late.
“At least my dad didn't bother pretending to care, and just didn't show up in the first place."

Casey almost fully spun Trisha in his arms to avoid her looking at his family any more than she already was. He wanted her back into their own little space, where he could tell her why it mattered that she didn’t talk like that. He wanted to lecture her like she was a kid, or like it was supposed to matter that Maxwell Richoux IV was a touchy subject. She wasn’t going to understand how Mia idolized their father, or how even he had stinging feelings about the situation.
But he truly didn’t want the scenario invoked any further. It was arduous, and in a fell swoop, Casey imagined that Trisha had ruined the mood of whatever this little afterparty was supposed to be. The Temple hierarchy who didn’t have lives. Leon had been here, but…

He stared into Trisha’s eyes, trying to find an ounce of brutality to hand back to her, to make her think again. He didn’t find anything but a tired ache for home.
”I said you could get as drunk as you want; but that doesn’t mean you can just go saying whatever. So lets get past this subject, and maybe tomorrow we can talk about making actual apologies.”

”Why the fuck would we want her apologies, Casey? Like she sounded so fucking caring a second ago?”
”Oh no…” Hari groaned, starting to get up from her seat.
”Stoooop, Mimi!” Ed’s hand fell away from Hari as she stood, causing her to shift focus toward Mia.
”No! Fuck that! Yeah, of course it's cool for her to ask that question, like why wouldn’t it be when your Dad doesn’t love you. I know my Dad loved me!”

Lynette couldn’t contain herself, leaning back in her seat with laughter as she threw some more food in. It didn’t even look like she was chewing it, just tossing it in and swallowing. Clarissa had since scooted her chair out of the direct blast radius in case anything started to happen.

Trisha had almost, almost, been willing to move past it. The part of her that needed to not be abandoned, that feared Casey turning around and dropping her, was almost enough for her to just nod sullenly at what he'd suggested and agree to talking about it again the next day (something she wouldn't actually do).
But then Mia opened her mouth.
“What the fuck do you mean?" She snapped, tone going from near monotonous to ice cold. It was difficult for her to actually look at the other woman, held by Casey as she was, but she tried her hardest by bending to the side over his arms and uncomfortably twisting her neck.

“My dad loved me too" He didn't. “What do you know? You can't even appreciate what's right in front of you, how would you know anything?” Jealousy. What Mia said touched one of Trisha's sorest spots, and set off the jealousy that had been burning underneath the surface all night. The hurt that came with it. All the fears she denied. And jealousy that Mia had all of these people still around her, when Trisha didn't.
“I’m not apologizing for nothing to someone who thinks my dad didn’t even love me. Just- just because someone isn't present doesn't mean they don't- fuck. It must be so nice to have everyone there all the time no matter what problems you cause."

Mia: Stunned fury. Ed and Hari: Anxious anticipation. Clarissa: Enraptured.
Lynette Richoux continued to laugh as if she was watching some sort of comedy production playing out in front of her. Like it was Saturday Night Live and she was the only live audience member. By the time she was able to speak, she was wiping her nose and eyes with a napkin included with her food.
”Oh, oh!- Oh, my sides! Mimi!? Oh, Mimi, Mummy’s so sorry… But I really don’t know how many times I’ve had to tell you that someone’s gonna come into your life one day and not care about how sensitive you are… We’re trying to build heaven, Baby: That means taking whatever love you can get!”

Casey wasn’t interested in letting his Mother goad his girlfriend and little sister into a catfight; especially not after he assumed his blood had just finished reconciling one thing.
”No way! Mum, you said we’re free to go? Cuz we’re fuckin’ going. Trisha, Babe, come on!” he said, trying to scoop the significantly smaller woman into his arms so he could forcibly eject them both out of the situation. Clearly he’d made a poor decision in letting her get drunk thinking that she was always going to be sweet about it.

”Awwww, Casey! This is healthy, Baby, you have to let people argue!” Lynette goaded again, a smile peeled across her face.
”Oh my God, both of you can seriously fuck yourselves! Lynette!-” Mia yelled, ”-Since you’re so fucking in love with Trisha! Why not tell her about how excited you are to try and get some money out of her!?”

”I mean, I’m thrilled, but… That’s kind of the point of business, isn’t it? I buy the honey, we mark it up, sell it to people like Mr. Devola for more… Legitimate good exchange is evil somehow?” Lynette retorted, stuffing a cheeseburger half into her mouth to rip out a chunk.

Trisha physically rolled out of Casey's arms before he could probably scoop her up, landing clumsily on her feet, almost tripping over her skirts. With surprising speed for someone so drunk, she got up in Mia's face - at least, as much as possible with the height difference.
“You know what? You can be my sister, Mia, since you're just like the rest of them. Shit, self centred, and you clearly fucking hate me like they do." Shit. Move on, double down, cover it up.
“You think I don't know that all anyone ever cares about is my money? I don't want your mother's love, I've got my own. And at least I'm not still dependent on her as an adult."

Casey, clearly trained in experiences like this from his days spent breaking up fights in barracks, swung his coat backwards over Trisha, pulling her arms tight inside of it before taking both arms of the coat and tying them behind her like a makeshift straight jacket. In a second swinging move, his foot flicked her heels and almost sent her hurdling forward into Mia before he grabbed her and lifted her up onto his shoulder like a bundle.

”Alriiiiight you ladies have a great night! Hari, Ed, I’m sorry!? We’ll-”
”-Hash it out tomorrow, Dude! Uhhh… Congrats and all! Love you, sorry, and… And sorry, Trisha!” Ed called out to them as Casey made way for the door to Le Tournesol before they were ultimately alone in the cold autumn night. Casey didn’t even wait for anyone to come get them, starting his walk back to their apartment building.

But not before he let Trisha down so she could walk with dignity.
”Y’know, there were definitely other ways you could’ve told me you didn’t want to stick around…” he tried to say calmly, moving to undo her from the bundle before putting the coat around her shoulders properly so she wouldn’t get cold.

Trisha stubbornly looked at her feet, whole face scrunched up. The cold night air was enough to slightly lift the anger she'd felt, but she was still upset. Then there was that panic beginning to bubble up from deep down, now that the object of her anger was gone, and it was just the two of them. She pulled his coat closer around her shoulders, only wobbling a little bit as she started to walk.
“I didn't…" Trisha started, hands clenching into fists. He was giving her an out, maybe, but what would that out lead to?
“I was going to let it go then she said my dad didn't love me." As if Trisha wasn't the one that started things in the first place, really. But it wasn't like she'd said anything that bad? Had she?

“My- my dad-" What was she even going to say? Her dad didn't love her, so of course she got pissed off when someone said the truth.
“It doesn't matter." Better it was sooner rather than later, right?
“Just get angry with me too. Don't make fake excuses for me."

Casey’s arm wrapped around Trisha, rubbing her shoulder and cuddling her close as he started the pace. There would eventually be a car, he figured, when they noticed he was out and on foot. It was good to test the response time anyway…
”I can’t get mad at you: I told you to get as drunk as you wanted, and drunk people don’t think.”
Not that he wasn’t drunk, but he was built quite differently when it came to situations like this. Too much tension let the adrenaline override his buzz until it was a dull thrum.

”I just… Y’know, I hate talking about Max. My Dad… He’s got five kids, and all five kids look at him differently. I’m sure you’ve got siblings who hate your Dad, and then others like Tansy… But… Well, I don’t know, I guess I always just assumed it’d make sense to not basically say ‘Who cares?’ to a person who had someone they love and look up to be taken away from them prematurely. Like, a little warmth. Especially when that person is trying to uh… Get you to like them. I’m still not mad, I’m just sad that neither of you are mature enough to get that while drunk.”

Trisha's lips pressed together as she slowly processed what he said. He was sad. That was just another way of saying he was disappointed. She would rather he was mad. But that was fine. She disappointed everyone in the end, anyway.
”I don't understand. If someone said that about my dad… ah." She tilted her head, almost expressionless. Lips slightly parted, eyes blank.
“I guess I didn't love him. Why would I? It's not like he-" loved her. “Was around. I guess I just don't get it. Family situation too fucked up. I won't bring him up again."

She made a half kicking motion, as if to kick a rock even if there wasn't one there. She was visibly calmer now - strangely so, if anything. Almost like she wasn't really feeling anything at all. A strange, despondent state.
“How am I supposed to know if someone loves another person or not? It's not like anyone's- I've- It doesn't matter. Nobody's around long enough for it to matter." Her voice got quieter and quieter, till the last sentence was a barely audible whisper.

But she couldn’t escape Casey’s rapt attention, and he glared down at his girlfriend for a few more moments before he couldn’t help but bring his face close to hers. His lips planted a kiss on Trisha’s cheek.
”Well? Let me show you, if nobody else has. ‘Cuz you were right. There’s people who don’t ever get love in their life. Even if all the love around me was fucked up… We can clean it. Clean it, and let it heal, and then you can look at it and you can tell yourself what love really is. Eh?” he offered sweetly, voice pitching slightly lower to keep the conversation intimately private.

Trisha finally turned her head to look at Casey. There was a hint of hope in her eyes, dark in the low light and clouded by alcohol. She didn't really believe it was possible. For her to ever understand, truly, what love was - or to have someone feel that towards her. For her to feel it too. Maybe she had, how would she know?
“I suppose… that'd be nice… but how do you- we- clean it? Even if we do…" Would anything end up directed towards her?
“And you won't leave before we're done? Not like- mm, uh, my dad, cause he died. Nobody else."

She tilted her head towards his, speaking softly.
“I’d like to know what it's like."

”You paint quite the picture, Trisha. At least… It’s not hard to know what you want.” he grinned to himself, still tightly clinging to her like she was the last piece of driftwood in the storm.
”I’m not gonna leave, Trisha. I mean… Unless I die, but, like… I only think that’d happen if I was fighting Father Wolf to protect you, right? Then, chances are, you’re next. We’ll be right behind one another.” he joked grimly.

”Now… Tomorrow? I’m not lettin’ you off the hook… We gotta talk when you’re feeling better, so we can debrief.”

Trisha leaned into him, more than happy with the notion of dying one after another. She'd much prefer that to continuing to live with the slim chance of finding happiness somewhere else - happiness and a future she'd started to actually believe in with Casey already.
It was scary.

“We already talked about it all, what else is there to talk about?" she grumbled, as if that was all there was to it. She didn't want to talk about it any further. Then she'd have to actually think about and confront it all again. She didn't want to. This was resolved enough for her. But still being drunk, she was being pretty obvious in her avoidant excuses.
“Don’t you have to start working tomorrow? You probably won't have time. Not that there's anything to… ‘debrief.’ What's that- what do you even mean by that."

”What I mean is you still said something that, to my sister, was a fucking devistating thing to say. And I recognize she’s sensitive to take it so seriously, but you may be surprised to know that what you said also hurt me. So, your half-assed apology at the bar was not accepted… Tomorrow, you’ll be able to think more clearly, and maybe then you’ll at least be able to understand why it is you should apologize. And then we can discuss it more.”

She had mentioned him working, and while it was true that he’d be in the big seat, that didn’t mean he didn’t have time for other things. In fact, a surprising appeal of the job was just how “off-leash” he would actually be. It was enough to stick around at home, or within the vicinity of other Temple-owned businesses where he’d be able to link up with other members of security easily. Once or twice a day, he’d maybe spend a few hours about town making routine check-ins. But otherwise, he was home.
He’d hear one of the six thousand alarms if needed…

”Because, trust me… We’ll have time to talk. I promise you, you’ll get plenty of Casey time, and I even learned that you can spend time directly with me in the security office… You can sit in my lap, watch me stare at black, blank screens. Is that an okay consolation?” he asked her sincerely.

Trisha had looked away again, struggling with the whole idea of apologising. She was surprised that she'd hurt Casey too. She was still struggling with the idea that anything that she'd said was hurtful at all. Would she understand tomorrow? Well, it was a little hard to think clearly right now, maybe… She could fake a better apology. If she needed to.
“Alright, we'll talk about it then. I'll try to sleep on it… try to understand…"

She looked back up at him, nibbling on her lip, before nodding.
“Yeah, that is. I was worried I wouldn't get to see you much. I have to tend to the bees but I don't have any other work at the moment… I'm happy if I get to be with you. You're my favourite thing to watch, anyway."

Casey couldn’t help but smile. Too drunk to drive, not drunk enough to feel anything other than sad.
So she’s a little crazy. Who isn’t in our life? And… He’s watching.
”So… You’re gonna just, like, stare at me? Like one of those little lemurs with those massive eyes?” he laughed, getting really close to her and opening his eyes wide to stare at her.

On his left hand, he took his index finger and extended it as far as he could, gently tapping on her forehead to mimic an aye-aye poking its long finger through a piece of wood to eat bugs.

Trisha also just stared back for a moment, but mostly out of confusion at first. Then she snorted, then started giggling. Her body shook with laughter, swaying gently from side to side, and she reached up to catch his finger, all four of hers curling around one.
“Would it be cute if I did?" She squeezed his finger, before twisting her hand to properly hold his, successfully capturing it before he could keep tapping her.

She finally, properly smiled at him. It was like the blunt brutality of everything she'd said earlier was a blip in her drunk mood, and she was back to what he'd experienced a few nights before.
“Well, I'd probably read a bit. Nap if I'm dragged out of bed too early. But mostly stare at you like a lemur, yeah. Wouldn't be able to stop myself when you're right there." Her eyes creased, looking at him cutely.
“Did I tell you how handsome you look in that uniform yet?"

Casey grinned at her final comment, thinking about how heavy things had gotten in between the two parts of the ceremony. He nodded to her, wriggling his fingers in between hers.
”Yeah… You mentioned it a couple times.”
Looking down the road, in between all the different cars, he could see a shimmering white aura accompanying a vaguely familiar dinging noise. The car coming to pick them up was attached to a little White beacon that let him know it was a Temple vehicle.

He instantly had a prank in his head, but he figured she’d be annoyed by it, or at least he’d lose the mood. Sure, he wasn’t planning on having sex with her like this, but some before-bed kissing was probably still on the menu before he lost her to the blackness of his eyelids. It was too emotional of a day to not have her there, or to relax together…
”The car’s coming. So we don’t have to walk in the cold.-” he decided to plainly explain. ”-You can’t see what I can. But, did you see anything weird today? Anything?”

It was a fishing line that he weakly cast into the ocean of Trisha, hoping it’d give him a fish. He knew… He just needed to hear her be even a little honest without being prompted.

Trisha shuffled closer to him, nodding as he mentioned the car. Since they didn't have to walk any further, she properly leaned against him, holding onto his hand tightly. For now, she was more relaxed than she had been, just enjoying being close to him. Her head tilted up, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion at his question.
“Define weird? Because everything I saw in the Temple was weird to me." It wasn't her avoiding the question, or purposefully not answering. She drunkenly and genuinely took it to mean anything, and everything had been weird for her.

Casey’s foggy mind tried to figure out how to ask about if she’d seen a ghost.
”Well… Like… I guess, rogue ghosts? I… I could’ve sworn that I felt something in the air when I came to get you, and I wasn’t sure if it was the Queen, or if…” he trailed off, letting the question linger.

“Oh." Trisha's free hand scrunched up her skirts, then let go of them. How was she supposed to answer that? Yes, I had a dream about your dead father, the topic we just moved on from? And his ghost was maybe there? Not when she'd seen things she felt she shouldn't. Bits of Casey's past, probably, that he hadn't opened up to her. It didn't feel fair.

“I didn't see any ghosts but… the Queen did sense one while I was sleeping. It woke her up but didn't hurt me. I think it took my emotional field to be some kind of drawing board. But I never actually saw it, and the Queen couldn’t figure out much about it." It was close enough to the truth - at least the bits she was comfortable telling him, the surface level facts like with all these things. It just felt… strange to talk about the dream. She’d barely started to figure it out herself.

As the car got closer and started to slow down, Casey threw a hand up. Seeing Norm in the front seat waving back, Casey made way for the back seat and popped it open to let Trisha in. But before she could, Casey stopped her; held her. His free hand hovered over her chest, and the index finger upon it extended to gently brush against her clavicle. He was tracing the Ichthys.
”It’s so weird, isn’t it?” he asked aloud, mostly to Trisha as he let her into the car.
”Like, uh… You spend your whole life not knowing what something means? Then, all of a sudden you find out, and it changes things for you.” he grunted, climbing into the back seat after Trisha.

”But I know what love means.”

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

Home, at Another Time > Inner Sanctum > Chapel

---

Deep underground, Trisha slept in that stone-walled chamber without physical disturbance for some time. Hours passed, time stretched along its course, and as the Queen's natural magic aura saturated the room, there was another presence looming below.
Like a predator, or a curious dweller of fathoms untouched, its mindful and protective nature pushed up around the room. Slowly, surely, its essence collapsed around the woman, comforting and warm.

Trisha's eyes would've opened to Leon's apartment. Only, it was missing some things. The giant television, the collapsing wall. It was open to a large dining room area that, until now, hadn't been seen by Trisha. People were sitting around it, eating and talking.

Looking closer, Trisha could recognize a face or two, though it was probably obvious who it would be… But they weren't as they are today. Lynette, a child Leon, who couldn't have been over the age of twelve. Little Mia was still in her high chair, settled next to a massive frame whose back was turned to Trisha.
It had short hair, and sat shirtless while massive hands played aeroplane to spoon the food into his toddler's mouth.

Four children were present. Leon, Elise, Mia, and another boy. Obviously it couldn't be Casey, as his little six year old face was too scrunched up and evil to be Casey's. It was instinct that really drove it home.
Not that it took long for him to arrive. Eight years old, the small boy entered the frame from the side. Rather than sit, he prostrated himself upon the floor, tightly pressing his forehead against the tile. There were no voices loud enough for Trisha to hear, but the vibrations seemed to spell everything out.

”Don't beg at my fucking table, Caseau.”
”I didn't mean it…” Casey's tiny voice barely registered. The massive frame rose from the table, and just seemed to keep going until his whole figure consumed Trisha's vision. Everything returned to darkness, until she could see two figures in the short distance of nothingness.

Approaching, it was Casey now. Her Casey, and the same figure from before. It could be none other than their famous father, the Ultra-Heavyweight champion of the world: Gravity Richoux. He was still so impossibly large, so tall, that even with Casey's own height and length, the old pro kept him pinned and at bay with jab after jab.

The two of them were boxing, physically fighting with seemingly all of their might.
”Do more, God damn you! Lazy, lazy, lazy! You have to do more, Casey!”
In a fit of rage, rather than continue the fruitless effort of trying to outjab his father, Casey raged, furiously diving for Gravity's knees. The two men toppled, and Casey scrambled up to his father's chest to press his arms down with his knees before raining elbow after elbow and fist into the flesh-covered watermelon that was the head and face.

Slowly, the body sunk into the ground until Casey was left punching dirt. A headstone replaced it, and all Casey could do was sob and wail as he held onto that headstone in total grief. His bellowing cries echoed through the dream.
Gravity stood behind him, but didn't look down at his son. He stared now, directly at Trisha, with one hand rising to point at her.

”Absolution!”

In the real world, it was just about four in the evening when the final book was passed along to Casey. It was his own to read through at his leisure, rather than a tome that needed to be transferred directly into his head.
He'd learned many secrets in those few hours, contributing now to an overall sense that he had once again jumped into something without fully considering the ramifications.

It was mostly Project Eden that disturbed him, and were it not for the emotional suppression wards forcing that little room into a state of pure logic, he probably would've had quite the problem. But now he'd practically grown in mental years, the process of intaking those tomes stretching his mental perception to the slowest kind of Hyperbolic Time Chamber he could imagine. A few hours had become weeks and months spent having things placed directly into his head by helpful spirits trapped within books.

Memories of people no longer living.

The entire thing finished with Furio officially passing the buck back to Lynette, who in turn symbolically handed the reins to her son. And just like that, they were free once more, expecting dinner for six at Port Saint. Casey waited for Lynette and Furio to take their leave with the tomes before he finally made way back down the hall. Theo had informed him that she hadn't once left.

He opened the door to see a mass of blackness crouched before Trisha, both of its ethereal hands gripping one of hers in desperate prayer.
Its mass shifted, as if it turned to see who came in before it took to rising up. It stood taller and taller, back brushed against the ceiling as it buckled to look down. Palms still pressed against the floor, and two great cyan eyes opened to stare down at Casey.

”C-a-s-eeeeeeau…”
A hand slowly reached out, and the whole scene ended. Trisha would open her eyes to an empty room, and loud knocking at the door before it slid open a crack.

“Miss Trisha? It's Norm! Casey's almost done, he asked me to check and see if you were ready to leave, and to make sure that if you didn't want a bunch of attention from the crowds outside I got you to the car before he came out. You hadn't left yet, so… I figured I'd ask?”

Trisha was incredibly disoriented. She sat up, hands clenching in the fabric of the couch beneath her. She looked down at her hands, then up at the door. Was she actually awake this time? What… what was the dream? Had the last part been a dream? Or did it actually happen… no, that didn’t make sense. Norm just said that he was almost done, which meant he wasn’t out yet. Oh, right, Norm.

“I’m not ready, so I’ll just go out with Casey,” Trisha said, managing to keep her voice steady. She didn’t particularly want the attention, but she also wasn’t dressed and had no idea what her state was like. She didn’t want to be seen by anyone like this, which meant taking a while to get ready. She’d rather go with Casey, anyway. Make sure there was still a real Casey.

That all of this hadn’t been some long dream.

“Uh, let him know that I’ll be ready by the time he’s out!”
Trisha grimaced, forcing herself to stand up. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, and after that dream… she’d only woken up feeling worse. Confused. Had she seen memories? The younger Casey seemed to be… him crying at the grave? But then the last bit. Was it… well, it was obviously his father. Had he-

He was there. The Queen’s voice echoed in her head, louder than normal. More agitated. The bees felt it too, making themselves a nuisance as Trisha tried to get dressed. He drew all over our Emotional Field while you were dreaming.

Trisha wrinkled her nose, having a difficult time with all the pheromones. It didn’t help that her own body was giving off multiple, the Queen herself leaking out in her agitation. What do you mean drawing on our Emotional Field? How does that work?
Exactly as you’d expect. He drew on it. Some can draw protective symbols, or get through an Emotional Field in this way.
Did he?
No. He just drew a fish.

Trisha snorted. Right. She was slowly managing to come out of the trance-like state she’d been in upon waking up, brain slowly becoming more functional. The Queen was unhappy and awake inside her, and she wasn’t really sure how to deal with it. So she ignored it for now, managing to pull back on her dress. She took a few moments to smooth out her skirts, before going over to the bathroom. Her makeup wasn’t… as much of a mess as she’d expected. Fixable in the time she had. So she set about doing that.
You should think about leaving. He was trying to protect you. This place is dangerous.
You think I don’t know that? It’s a cult.
Yes, but-

”I don’t want to hear it,” Trisha said out loud, gesturing with her free hand. She knew that. She’d seen the same dream the Queen had, even if she couldn’t sense the apparition - presumably that was what Casey’s father now was - that had caused it. She suddenly knew so much, but she only felt more out of her depth because of it.
She didn’t want to let it come between something that felt like an actual chance at happiness.

“Why don’t you just go back to sleep?” Trisha suggested, brandishing the makeup brush she was holding as she reapplied some contour along the side she’d slept on. The Queen grumbled inside of her, but seemed to be slowly calming down about it. With it, the pheromones in the air turned sweet and warm, a calming embrace over Trisha, the Queen herself, and the bees.
She had a lot to think about, but now wasn’t the time.
We’ll talk later. Figure it out.

She was almost ready, makeup reapplied enough for her to be happy with how she looked. She took a deep breath, put her shoes on, then looked at the door. There was a moment where she considered going out, seeing if she could still sneak out and avoid the attention, but- she’d said to Norm that she’d wait for Casey. She didn’t want to disappoint him.
So she’d wait. Trisha sat back down, bees once again crowding her, pressing against her neck in an act of clinginess that she couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed about.

It wasn’t long after she’d finished getting dressed that Casey entered the room. He wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t happy; though seeing her still brightened him, and a subtle grin curved his lips ever so slightly upward. He leaned against the doorframe, one foot lifting to sit overtop of the other. Noteworthy, his eyes shimmered that same deep blue that Elise’s sometimes did, and the hand wearing his channeler was balled into a tight, gloved fist.

”Do you have many regrets in your life, Trisha?” he asked solemnly, trying to release the tension in his posture as best he could. He’d not developed his White Lux beyond simple life-detection, or the occasional use in an otherwise orange-heavy enchantment.
It wasn’t weak, of course, so much as it was underutilized. It had to be sharp, or things like remote manipulation would never be possible. He’d simply not had the impetus to develop things further.

So reading his Mother’s spellbook, having the chance to absorb what he could based off of the reading, had left him feeling strange. Like there’d been so much he was ignorant of. It was like opening a floodgate of shit he felt like he never should’ve known.
And that had nothing to do with all the secrets that now also lived in his head. All the Temple’s dirtiest laundry. Every fiber of his being wanted to draw battle plans and rip the place they were standing in out of the ground to show all the people what was underneath.

It was Casey’s single biggest regret, and leaped into the lead very quickly: The knowledge of his position. No wonder Furio was always so on edge.

Trisha looked up when Casey spoke, tilting her head. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she actually was still in the dream. Between such a seriously asked question and him just standing there, it didn’t feel quite real. But she couldn’t be dreaming anymore.

“Not really,” Trisha lied, standing up and approaching him. She was strangely hesitant, stopping in front of him before reaching out to take his hands in her own.
Did she have many regrets? She did. There was so much she wished she’d done, so much she wished she hadn’t. All those years she’d spent inside studying, practically cutting herself off from the world, with nothing to show for it. Her dad dying before she even had a chance to repair their relationship, if she’d wanted to. Not being able to save the two friends she’d been with when she was saved by the Coven. Ma- No. Not thinking about that.

“Just small things. Stygian Snake aside, my lifes been boring enough there’s not much I regret.” Another lie. She believed her life had been boring, sure, but there were still plenty of regrets. But she was unaware there was even the possibility Casey could tell that she was lying, and they weren’t things she wanted to get into with anyone. Her regrets were just flaws. Things she could’ve done better. Like her whole life.
“Why?”

Casey let Trisha’s hands go, only to wrap his arms tighter around her. He did the same kind of shaking she’d become familiar with, and when she could see his face again, they were runny with tears.
”I think I know mine… My biggest regret. That one day, you’re going to trust me. You’re going to trust me to the point where you’re not able to lie to me anymore… And I may have to break that trust to protect you. To keep you safe from all the things in my head… And I don’t know if you’ll forgive me.”

His aura reading, the facial recognition, the patterns, the little motions that her vocal chords made when she was unsure of what she was saying: It was instantaneous. It was painful. Casey sunk to his knees in front of Trisha, hands gripping into her dress as the hat fell from his head.
”God, fuck… What have I fucking done, Trisha… What have I fucking done?!” he cracked up from below her. Theo stood just down the hall watching. Casey’s hand rose up into a fist, his face never leaving the bottom of Trisha’s dress.

”BE GONE.”
Theo’s face became grim, and he only nodded at Trisha.
“O-of course, Sir! I’ll get the car, Your Grace!”

Trisha looked at Theo, then his disappearing back, then back down at Casey. He regretted something that hadn’t happened? But he already thought he might break her trust? For what? The Temple. She- yes, that could happen. But would her truly trusting him like that ever happen? It was something she’d never achieved with anyone. But would it really be breaking her trust if it kept her safe? She didn’t know.
“You don’t know that’ll happen. You can’t know that’ll happen.” Her voice came out hushed and hoarse, not quite sure what to say. Because she knew, somehow, that he’d learned things he didn’t want to. That he’d jumped into this without fully thinking it through. Because of the dream, she just knew.

And she felt that somehow, it might be her fault. A horrible guilt gnawing at her that she shoved down and down like she always did. It wasn’t her fault, couldn’t be.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Casey,” she whispered.
“We’ll get through this.”

Her hands found his face, cupping his cheeks and trying to tilt it up towards her. Then she leaned down, kissing him gently, trying to comfort him, to express feelings she didn’t have words for. Things she couldn’t say. Sorry. Her thumbs swiped at the tears on his cheeks as she kissed him.

He looked so devastated. Absolutely ripped asunder. But his eyes met hers, and the gentle glow visibly faded into dullness, just like Elise’s had when Trisha had first met her. But they still shimmered, and stared longingly into hers as he tried to find his footing.
”Trisha… I’m going to need you. You are the only person not wrapped up in all of this somehow… You’re my beacon. My light in the night. My North Star.” he muttered, doing his best to get ahold of himself as he tried to stand again. He was dizzy, and he couldn’t think without associating it back to a spell that gave him way more stimulation than he needed in the moment.

So he got hands on the door frame, pushing himself up until he was on one knee. His gaze turned to his cap, which he plucked from the ground with a whimper. Still, he could turn back and look up to see the brightest star. Her. So he had to rise himself, and to be the warrior he knew he was. To put on his bravest face again, and to lie to protect her.
”We have so much to talk about… Next time it’s quiet. I can tell now, Babe… When it’s not quiet. When the ears don’t surround us.”
Up from the knee, his hands reached for hers and held them with one, the other then moving to wipe away the moisture from his face more fully.

”They’re gonna want me to say some things to the crowd outside. You’ll stand with me?”

Trisha knew, from when Casey said she was the only person not wrapped up in this, that she couldn’t do what Elise had suggested earlier. She couldn’t lie her way deeper into the Temple. Not for the lying, but she couldn’t get deeper. Not if he didn’t want her to. One of them had to be out. She had to be.

“I’ll stand with you,” she said, squeezing his hand with both of hers. She smiled at him, like there wasn’t a turbulent mess of emotions inside her. The dream, Casey’s words… all of it. But she was good at pushing her way through things as if they didn’t affect her.
“For all of it. For this, and anything you need me to in the future- well, maybe not anything. Most things. I’ll be there. For you.”

The bees buzzed gently as she spoke, and a couple of them detached themselves from her neck to go to his shoulder. As if to confirm her words. The bees were an extension of herself, and understood her feelings far more than anyone else did. The subtle pheromones she gave out without even realising it.
“The bees too, I guess. They’re showing their support... Or maybe they just want to be higher up.”

Casey leaned against her, nodding his head gently as the bees landed on him. They were so innocent… The very concept was a bastion to his psyche. That there were things in this world without ulterior motive, or malicious intent or hidden desire. They were bees: They wanted pollen for the hive. They just happened to have a strange Queen situation. It actually brightened his smile a little bit.

”My head’s so full… I don’t understand how they expect me to go out tonight.” he spoke, taking her hands to pull her just slightly forward. His arm swung behind her back, holding her close to him by the shoulder. He rubbed gently, lovingly.
”Nobody else is in a great mood either. Well, at least Mom and Mia. It’s probably got something to do with their Lux levels. You said earlier that Elise didn’t seem like she was too bad off, right? Maybe there’s fucking hope.” he giggled to himself.

”So? What’d you get up to?” he tried to start a casual conversation, taking as much time as possible to leave. On purpose, obviously. He couldn’t see every celebrating face out there without resetting a little bit.

“Elise seemed quite… spirited, I guess? So there is some hope, it won’t be a load of unhappy people at dinner,” Trisha laughed, shrugging.
“Though that’s the dinner situation I’m most used to! That, and constant fights.”

She leaned into him, slotted in so perfectly to his side, and looked up with a smile. What did she get up to? Dreaming of his dad… but she couldn’t say that. What she’d seen was so strange and intimate. She wasn’t sure if she should’ve seen it.
“Literally nothing. I was planning to read, I even downloaded this book Rey recommended, but I just lay down and… fell asleep. Guess I was pretty tired. It did mean I didn’t have to suffer through all those hours without you.”

Casey’s hand tensed a little bit. He knew the moment she said she slept. He’d felt it. He’d wanted to run into the room, not knowing what happened until it was too late. He wished he’d caught the thing.
”Did you dream about fishes?” he asked, voice kind of casual with a hint of something behind it.

Trisha’s eyes widened slightly - not because she’d dreamt about them, but she knew that it had been drawn across her emotional field. Could he… see that? He did have white lux, it made sense.
“No, I didn’t,” Trisha laughed as if it was a ridiculous ask. It wasn’t even a lie. “That would’ve been nice, honestly. Sounds peaceful. I don’t think I dreamt, really. I certainly didn’t remember anything when I woke up.”

Casey nodded to himself. His hand in his pocket gripped his glove, and he planted a kiss to her forehead. In an instant, the full shape of her emotional field was in full highlight. It was honeycombed, thanks to the Queen within providing it.
The Ichthus had been intricately carved into the outside, and as he captured the image in his brain, he could see the very tiny print within the line. It wasn’t solid, rather words written so thinly and in such frequency that it appeared as solid lines.

It all formed the fish.
It all repeated again and again.

PEACE. INNOCENCE. ABSOLUTION.

It was a quick kiss, but Trisha would’ve felt something. Something small ripple across her Emotional Field. His head brushed against hers gently as he leaned in for a little more affection.

”It’s funny. Today was supposed to be the first day where my Faith would be my life. Now I’ve never been less sure of it.” he offered the thought to Trisha as an olive branch.

Trisha’s brow furrowed slightly at the ripple she didn’t quite recognise. But the Queen was asleep again, and she didn’t have much experience with that stuff. She could recognise Greyson’s prodding, and Reyna’s when it got strong. Maybe it was just her being sensitive?

“Really?” Trisha tilted head up, nose rubbing against his as she smiled. She didn’t really understand why he was telling her, but she was certainly glad his Faith wasn’t becoming his life. Then where was her place?
She didn’t even realise it was an olive branch, or anything close to it.
“Because of what you read? Was it that bad? All those… secrets?”

Casey simply nodded his head.
”Lots of things nobody warned me about. Things I wish I didn’t know.”
He shook his head.
”Like, y’know, some cultures… Or like, other cults, you’ll raise a dog or something. Something you love, you’ll keep it alive and get to know it and keep it healthy and love it. Why? So you can sacrifice it. To step into adulthood. To put the childish toys away. Even the Bible says shit like that. I thought I already made enough sacrifices, y’know, going to war and shit. Leading troops. Killing others in the name of international peace. Kill one murderer, you replace him, but if you kill two murderers, you’re doing the world a favor.-”

He was rambling. He knew he was. It was trauma unfurling inch by sacred inch within the folds of his mind. And it was all awful.
”-I’m fuckin’ cooked. Gotta go and fuckin’ stare at people through a screen. Figure out what they’re thinking without them saying. I gotta know everything now, y’know? Like, everything.”

Trisha’s eyes narrowed slightly, her chest clenching. She… wasn’t surprised. Shouldn’t be, at least. Furio had said about it making him paranoid. She’d seen the screens when she went into the office. The spying from Lynette. The control she had over all the Temple members.
It was horrible, and it made her skin crawl. What else was he going to sacrifice? Himself? Her? The discomfort across her body only increased.
But not enough to want out. Not enough to lose Casey, who she could already see a future with. Hope that would only hurt her but she couldn’t stop herself from having.
“Because everything and everyone could be a threat? You have to spy on people to keep them in line, and beat them up if they’re not?”

Questions she already knew the answer to, really. She frowned, leaning her face even closer to his. There was one thing she didn’t know… hadn’t been able to ask. But she found herself able to know.
“Why did you take the job?” she whispered.
“Why when you didn’t have to?”

Casey’s face turned, and he looked at her with a genuine smile. Like, the one she’d gotten used to. It was warm, it had the real feeling. He wanted so badly to give her everything he had.
”Well, the question is flawed. It assumes I didn’t have to.”
His head looked around, and he sent a ripple to feel where the next bug was. It wasn’t active, but it was always recording, and just took her fishing for one night.

So he did what he never could have before. He squeezed the bug, summoning White Lux to crimp it’s magical supply and deactivate it temporarily.
”But, I knew it’d have certain perks. And it already does. Like her little tricks… She’ll never listen to me talk without me knowing again. She handed me the fucking keys, Trisha… I’m driving the car.” he gritted his teeth. At this point Trisha would certainly be able to feel the effort as he affected his Mother’s embedded listening ward.

”All that talk about trust between her and I. Y’know, I think I get why she’s acting so melancholy. She’s worried that I’m gonna call her on all her bullshit now, and that she’s gonna have to kill me. She’s worried I’m the threat. And I fucking beat Furio… But I don’t think I’d be able to beat him, and the rest of her loyalists. Not at the same time. So I’ll play ball, Trisha. We’ll play. But, she’s not gonna walk on me. And I won’t ever let her use you to get to me. I swear to you.”

The bees buzzed in confusion, little bodies pressing close to Trisha’s shoulders. The magical fluctuations, the sheer effort, shifting the magical pheromones in the air to a degree they could all sense somewhat. They calmed down once it was done.
“I won’t let her use me either. I’m not someone that can be used. Not by her, not by anyone. I’m willing to play too so that she can’t.” She bit her lip, considering whether to bring this up now. But wasn’t it the perfect opportunity, if they weren’t being listened to? If he was already talking about it.

“It wouldn’t just be you, I don’t think. You’re not the only one who doesn’t believe in her bullshit, or whatever it is. Elise talked to me on the way here about possible… plans. I don’t know her well enough to trust her, but Leon too. He talked about getting us out, and working together for it.” It was all things she’d wanted to talk to him about, but been worried to. There was his Faith, and there was the listening. But not right now.

“But if she even thinks about killing you, I’ll kill her first.” Her tone turned cold, gaze hardening. She was deadly serious. Would it be possible? Probably not, but she didn’t care. Bees could get in places so easily.
“I’ll do it.”

Casey’s face twisted up at the mention of his siblings, and became stern when she suggested that she’d have some kind of hand in his mother’s demise. He’d never let something like that happen either, but he’d let her have her flame. Her own confidence. She’d need it just as much as he would. He needed his own Emancipation, like his sister…

”Be careful talking to them. Duplicity, Trisha. Nobody has less than two plans. That’s why we’ll make two thousand.” he spoke confidently.
But the image of the fish. The presence.
”Like, now there’s things I don’t know if they know. And I have to try and figure out if they do before I can even talk to them about it. Even then, they could hand me over to her the moment that they get caught in their little scheme. Nobody wants to be spanked, Trisha.”
The Sanctum had been cleared out, and so had the chapel as they ascended.

At least, until they got to the very top and looked out toward the door to the outside. There she was. The woman of the hour. She had a wide, glassy smile spread across her face as she tilted her head slightly. She was still dressed head to toe in that golden outfit she’d been wearing all day.
”You two look so fuckin’ cute together, Case. Trisha? How are you, Honey? You did fantastic earlier!” she spoke with warmth, and sounded like she had nothing going on besides what was in front of her.
She’d been standing by the door, looking out at the crowd. Walking forward, Lynette made her way to the edge of the stage.

”Very nice to bring him home after such a hard time. We had a few cries, didn’t we sweetheart?”
It was easy to forget Casey was a Richoux. The Smile cracked across his face, and widened until it was a warm grin at his mother. He didn’t feel her magic ebbing or flowing, but she wasn’t the master for nothing. Pure White Lux was nothing to play with.

”We did, Mumma. I was tellin’ Trisha about it, and now about how I’m just so exhausted I don’t really wanna go out and eat.” he played them off, smiling at Trisha.

”Well, y’know, we can get things started a little early. No need for you to show up early or anything, it’s… Not like it’s a party for you or anything, right?” Lynette chided, narrowing her eyes at Casey with the wide grin shrinking to a playful smirk.
”I damn well know Trisha wants to go out. Get some drinks? Have a free meal at a really nice restaurant? Get to know your boyfriend’s family more? That sounds like fun I’m sure.”

She was very clearly playing tongue-in-cheek, but was that how honesty was supposed to go? Just acknowledging the duplicity of it all and letting it roll over? Casey knew for certain, and knew that if he wanted to protect Trisha, he couldn’t automatically get defensive in her stead. He could never know whether or not she was able to fully follow the second conversation happening beneath the first.

”You guys’ve all done a pretty good job introducing yourselves, I think. But, we’ll be there. Don’t worry. Right T?” he looked down at Trisha, nodding at her with his most genuine smile.

Trisha had been wearing a fake smile directed towards Lynette the whole time, just like Casey had. While she was someone who often didn’t care about covering up her true emotions, a grumpy scowl almost perpetual on her lips in the Vanburen manor, she was well able to do it. Well practiced from time spent with her own mom.
“Of course we will,” Trisha tilted her head up towards him, smile turning more warm.

Obviously, it was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to go home. But there was more to it than that - layers to Lynette’s words that she couldn’t quite understand. Places she felt she shouldn’t push.
“I wouldn’t want to miss out on trying the menu at Port Saint. My sister took me to Cantina Farrow just after it opened, and it was really nice. I can’t wait to see how they differ.” She spoke as if she was just telling a fond memory with a sibling, rather than making it clear she wasn’t dependent on them at all. Of course, it was the opposite of a fond memory, as anything involving Tansy was. But it had its uses.
“I feel like I already know you all so well, as if you’ve been in my life the whole time, but I suppose can’t spend too much time together, right?”

Lynette’s smile went from that still fake plastic kind of playful grin she’d been wearing to something completely different. This was, as far as Trisha had seen, the same grin that Casey gave her when he was especially pleased.
It wasn’t fake. It wasn’t hollow. It was warm, and tender, and absolutely gushing with emotion that overflowed from the center of her. Her hands clasped together, as if she were about to faint, before her arms opened widely.

”There. It. Is! The spirit! The absolute spirit of it! The game is on! Trisha, seriously, you’ll love Port. Got really nice bar vibes, all homestyle meals, but you can definitely feel his influence. It’s obviously best when he’s in charge, but his sous chef Mario is great too.”
She threw her hands up in a little celebration.
”We’re gettin’ drunk!” she cheered, heading toward the door. ”Get ready, babes! The adoring public. Casey, you’ve got fiiiiive minutes, then they’ll pull you.”

Casey was a little stunned, but at this point all he could do was treat it like a boxing match and keep swinging. This is what life was going to be. Cheeky at the best of times. The door opened, the chapel flooded with people, and a few minutes later the two of them were whisked away to a waiting car and brought back to their home. The two of them spent the time practically wordless, letting their physical affection speak the volumes that the two of them simply couldn’t give.

Home > St. Port's

---

Two empty social batteries, one entirely drained of any emergency cache left in it and the other teased by forces beyond it’s control. They were interrupted by a small crowd of Richouxs waltzing up onto their roof and knocking on the door. Still out any sort of doorbell, they simply skipped it and opted for the direct approach.
Casey, not wanting to constantly channel White Lux to know where everyone was at all times, was scared out of his mind by the rapid knocking of five people at once. Mia, Hari, Ed, Elise, and another man who looked a bit like Casey were all standing around in fine clothes of black and gold.

Casey opened the door for them, letting them flood into the house. Hari and Elise both stuck around Casey, while Mia, Ed and the fabled Junior mingled a bit more toward Trisha. All three of the girls were still looking and smelling fresh, like they’d managed to avoid any recycling factories on the way back home.
”Hey Trishaaaaaa… How’s the dress treating you dude?”
”Yeah, dude, you’re really rockin’ it. You looked good at the ceremony, standin’ and talkin’ like us.”

”Oh, gee, thank’s Mia! Thanks for introducing me, that’s great.” Junior piped up, annoyed expression oozing from between his lips. He held out a hand to Trisha.
”Trisha, my name is Maxwell. You can just call me Junior, unless you want me flattered… Then, by all means, call me whatever you want.” he said slyly, a grin forming on his face.
”Did you like your halo during the ceremony? I made those, y’know, they’re totally independent drones. Well, usually, I can give them direct input.”

He sounded utterly snide and self aggrandizing as he mentioned his mastery over balls that turned into hoops. As if he should be praised.
”Oh, Junie… Are you seriously trying to impress a girl by talking about your shiny gold balls again?” Elise prodded from across the room.

Junior’s face turned a little red.
”Hurr hurr, I’m Elise, I play with fleshy balls because the gold ones have too many moving parts.” he pushed back, making fake gagging sounds as he mimed out sucking on a pair of testicles.
”Is that really your technique, Cuz? I can show you some pointers…” Ed laughed.

Trisha gave Junior the briefest handshake she could - just like she had when meeting anyone, but just the brief touch made her uncomfortable. It was the feeling she’d got from the dream, and just how familiar the way he acted immediately was. Like so many of the men she’d dated before - full of themselves, and bragging about it to attractive women. She’d jumped on it so often without recognising the pattern but now that she was with someone else, she could see it. It only took a few sentences to see it.
“Nice to meet you, Junior,” Trisha flashed him a polite smile.
“The halos were pretty, but the way they moved was uncomfortable. It threw off my bees, so it wasn’t my favourite experience.”

Her smile turned a bit more genuine as she turned towards Mia and Ed. She was quickly getting comfortable with them which was… both nice and scary.
“Eddy’s right, awful technique, you should take her up on her offer,” Trisha laughed slightly, hand coming up to cover her mouth as she smiled. At the same time, she stepped more towards Mia and Ed, and away from Junior.
“I don’t know much about orange lux, is it really that hard?” Considering what she’d seen Casey do, it didn’t seem like it would be…

”Hard how, like the moving parts thing?” Mia asked, but Elise stepped in to comment on Trisha’s question a bit more.
”It’s only hard if you’re less oriented toward it. There’s so many different ways to Artifice that any kind of specialization is impressive. One of the hallmark of Richoux Orange magic is Automation: The idea that you can get objects to move without you paying attention to them is pretty difficult.” she offered her vast knowledge up freely.

Casey grinned.
”Like when I played air hockey with Leon at the arcade…”
Mia spun.
”Oh so fucking typical, you and Leon would go to the arcade and not invite me…” she responded, a bit of lemony tartness in her voice. Hard to tell if she was fake mad, or real mad.
Casey tossed his hands up.

”Hey, Leon only came because someone asked about him, and I think they were both satisfied with the arrangement.”
”Classic, Casey hug’s Leon’s taint and Leon gives him headpats like a good little Blind.”

Casey’s eyes went cold and dead.
”Why are you here?” he asked simply, coldly to his younger brother.
Junior grinned, stretching with his arms a bit as he spoke, pushing air out to tighten his voice up into a sarcastic joking manner.
”Just to make you sufferrrrrrr.” he giggled to himself.

Ed wasn’t particularly fond of when Casey and Junior were together, and she usually made that known by letting a more nervous part of herself come out.
”Alright, come on now… Casey, Trisha? Mom said you guys were good for dinner, so we figured we’d come and get you…”
”Yeah, we actually still technically have reservations, so… Maybe we can not start a fight?” Hari’s voice cut between everyone, a little rougher and more hoarse than Mia or Elise. She sounded a bit like Janis Joplin, especially after having done so much talking earlier in the day.

Casey held out his hand.
”Yep, sounds great. C’mon Trisha…”

Trisha was immediately at Casey’s side, taking the offering hand, fingers threading through his before she squeezed it comfortingly. Her eyes were also slightly cold as they moved towards Junior, narrowing.
Magical elitism. Just one of the many things that rubbed her the wrong way. But she lightened up, gaze softening as she tilted her head up towards Casey.
“Let’s go. I don’t want my promised free, fancy meal ruined, after all.”

She swung their joined hand and stepped towards the door, at the same time as using her free one to gesture everyone out of their home.
“Also, Mia,” she turned to look at the younger woman, offering her own explanation. “We went to the Arcade with my friends… one’s just a big boxing fan. Wasn’t really planned, I just never would’ve heard the end of it if I didn’t let him come along.”

It didn’t really lighten the girl’s mood. The group shuffled out of the apartment and back into the cold November evening, making their way back down to the ground floor before splitting up into a couple of cars. Elise volunteered for Junior duty, taking him in her car. It left the back seat of Casey’s free for the trio, who piled their skinny asses into the back seat before Mia pulled a bottle of whiskey from seemingly nowhere.

”Fuckin’ horseshit…” Mia mumbled under her breath, popping the top and taking a swig from the neck.
”Mimi, what the fuck…” Hari chided, moving her hand up to grab the bottle. But Mia pulled it away, leaving it in Ed’s range. She opened her mouth around the bottle head and tilted it with her jaw, forcing it to spill into her mouth and down her throat.

”Haaaaa, Baby Cow stole the nipple.” she laughed, then took another swig before Mia pulled it away from her too.
”Heyyyyy! Fuckin’ don’t!” Mia whined back.

As they started driving, Casey looked supremely annoyed. His hand reached across the center console, just to rest on Trisha’s leg. Just a little more peace and comfort.
”Mia, what’s the problem… Why’s there an open bottle of booze in my car? You want me to get arrested.”
”Oh, you mean you don’t get police immunity now, Mister Blade Man?”

Hari threw her head back in mental anguish.
”What the fuck has gotten into you these last twenty-four hours!?”

“How long is the journey?” Trisha muttered, hand covering Casey’s on her leg. She could easily feel his tension, which made her tense. She twisted around in her seat to look at the three in the back, eyes narrowing at Mia specifically in what she hoped was a stern older sister look. She didn’t know, she’d never tried it.
“If you spill that- or worse, throw up- in the car, we’re kicking you to the curb, literally.”

”Oh, cool. Glad you’re fitting in well, Trisha. I’m happy you liked the dress, now you can just kick me out of your life.”
Hari’s hands clapped together.
”Oh. My. God. Mia Renee… There’s no way.” Hari snapped, her hand lashing out and grabbing the bottle.
”How dare you act like that to her!” she continued.

”How dare I? The fucking loser Richoux?”
Casey took a long, deep sigh.
”You’re not a loser Mia!” he pleaded.
”Oh, I mean, she kind of is being a loser right now. What the fuck, Mia!?”

Ed had a stern look on her face as she lipped something in French to Hari, who shook her head.
”No, not happening.”
”I just can’t think of anything else.”
Mia’s face twisted into anger.
”Oh, yeah, great. Two idiots no waiting, lets try and be vague about getting high in the Security chief’s car. Smart.”

Casey tucked his face into his hands as they came to a stoplight.
”To answer your question, its literally right down the road. Only faster to drive because we won’t have to walk home or get a cab later.” he groaned, muffled but still trying to answer Trisha’s question.

“Oh,” was all Trisha said at first. Her expression was annoyed, hiding her confusion. Why the fuck would she want to kick Mia out of her life? Where had she said that- how would she, when she was dating Casey? Was Mia suggesting that they were going to break up? No, now she was jumping ahead.
“Then all three of them can walk?” She pointed a finger between each of them. “Cool off, bicker where we don’t have to hear it?”

Hari looked very sad immediately.
”You fuckin’ see, Mia? Stop! Just stop. Save it for now, we’ll talk about it later, Baby…”
”How fucking noble, you just don’t want to get kicked out of the car. Lazy ass… Casey, let me out!” Mia barked.

”With a fucking open bottle? No. you’re just gonna run off into some fucking pit. Trisha, please… It’s just a little while longer, we’re not kicking anyone out. Nobody’s getting fuckin’ kicked out.” Casey’s voice was stern without being loud or rude.

Ed shook her head.
”I’m gonna tell ‘em, Mia.”
Mia’s eyes went wide, and she immediately slapped the cork back into her booze before shutting her mouth. She simply pouted. But that didn’t stop Ed. She figured it was important.
”I… She’s sad. I guess yesterday, you said something like you didn’t want her as your sister, Trisha. Or something, she-”

”STOP! OH MY GOD, STOP, LET ME OOOOOOOUT!”

Trisha, just like Mia, was grumpily pouting. She’d folded her arms and gone to looking out the window, prepared to suffer through the rest of the short car journey… but her head snapped back round when Ed started talking. Had she said that? She didn’t remember saying that… oh. The joke she’d made to Elise?
“What the fuck? I didn’t mean it like that… I mean fuck, I don’t want you as my sister, but not because of you. I hate most of my sisters. I don’t have a single good memory with any of them! I’d much rather- assumed we’d be- well, y’know, friends.”

She let out a frustrated breath, hands scrunching in her dress. She hated talking about stuff like this, but she hated being misunderstood more.
“Casey’s seen how I am with someone I don’t want to be my sister. It’s very different. Family is very different for me, so… I really didn’t mean it like that.”

By the time Trisha was done explaining herself, Mia had buried her face into her dress, pulling it up over her head so that nobody could see her shame anymore. Hari tenderly held onto one of her long, dainty hands, and played with it by running her free fingers across the back, tracing the veins along Mia’s knuckles.
Ed was paying attention, however, and nodded.
”And none of us expect you to be our… Our sister. Y’know? It’s not realistic. But she wants to be close to you. Just like everyone, she does her best.”

”Lil’ Mimi… Don’t you feel silly yet, girl? Overreading into things?”Hari chided, trying to get her dear partner back out of her shell.
”Elise said ’I fuckin’ guess she’s my sister.’ And then… You just joked back… I don’t know, of course I feel stupid, but like it never feels like a joke!”

”But it is Mia… It’s all just jokes, Miss Sensitive! God, do you really think-”
No. He couldn’t. He knew too much. He knew that their Emancipation was all staged, and that they’d never been abandoned. He saw the plan, all the recordings in memory, it all flooded across him.

But they were also pulling into the parking lot of Port Saint’s. There was a big banner outside that said “Congratulations Casey!” in big gold letters on a black background. People were gathered in the parking lot from the Temple; mostly mundane Adepts or Blinds who often accompanied them.
They all wanted to taste a little greatness.

He stopped the car out front, knowing there was a valet service, turning his body to look at the girls.
”Mia Renee, if you think for one second any of us would abandon you, I think you should really consider how Junior and I treat each other first. Think about how nobody is ever actively aggressive toward you, or how everyone puts up with the fact that sometimes you guys let your hygiene slip. Nobody says anything. Because we love you, and we don’t want you hurt. Like this. So, let's put the cat back in the bag for now, and go eat dinner like adults. Come on.”

“And,” Trisha looked directly at Mia, forcing her lips to twitch back up towards a smile. “I like you better than basically all of my actual siblings, alright?”

Ed pointed at Trisha excitedly.
”See!? See!?”
Mia lifted her head, letting her dress cascade down to once more sit across her almost non-existent cleavage. Her face was still annoyed, though amazingly her makeup hadn’t faltered in spite of the tears.

Casey was already on Trisha’s side of the car, opening the door and taking her hand to help her out as he waved off his quickly mounting fan club of older women. A lot of the Temple’s Blind members were people Elise’s various healthy living clinics brought into the fold. Addicts, people looking to change their lives, often people who were convinced that God would be there for them. Their true nature was hidden under the many mundane layers, and left them so open and exposed on the face of the organization that people didn’t question what was inside.

It was the only way to make it as a Doomsday Cult: Letting people decide what their level of involvement was, and never giving them so much that they couldn’t be allowed to back out. Problems only arose when families of the disenfranchised membership began kicking stones over to look for their long lost loved ones.

So, the occasional untrained Adept, or non-kindled Potent, would find their way in, and the core would expand underneath the covered skin, and nobody would ever ask questions.

Ed helped Mia out, who helped Hari in turn. The three girls were familiar with a lot of the local members, and made it a point to chat about with them as if nothing had happened. It let Trisha and Casey escape to a small private moment.
”Mother of God, if it isn’t one thing, it's another…” Casey grunted as they shuffled into the entryway of the restaurant.

Immediately, the vibe was a cozy ocean-side cabin: the wood was warm, benches were roughly hewn logs lacquered to a shine stuffed into one another and bolted in with the most rustic looking accents. Casey took whatever coat Trisha had decided to wear, sliding it off of her like a gentleman would before hugging her from behind and kissing the top of her head.
”Thank you for not freaking out…”

“I’m used to worse,” Trisha replied half jokingly, leaning back against him. She was used to siblings who purposefully misread things, who acted hurt, who got genuinely hurt… and to herself. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t lie to herself that she’d act any different. Pretend to others, sure, but not to herself.
“At least there’s only six- counting Hari and Ed- it’s practically child’s play!”

As if she hadn’t been entirely ready to kick them all out of the car, or just get out herself. Like it didn’t just take one person to completely set her off.
“But no promises if we have to take them back later, and they’re more drunk.”

”I mean, if your performance the other night is any indicator of how you usually are when you’re drunk, I condone and encourage you to drink as much as you’d like tonight. I believe we’ve got a personal bar in the event space, so no waiting.” he smiled, opening the door into the restaurant.

The two of them were met by immediate cheers as the whole place erupted. Casey looked out and saw plenty of familiar faces, and smiled to himself as he thought of a reason why it wouldn’t be some kind of Temple banquet. He figured a few tables, maybe they’d open up the patio and put a few space heaters for the Temple parties, but…
”Woah, holy shit! I guess Andrade’s breakin’ the bank tonight huh!?” he called across the crowded establishment. Not a single person spared a laugh.

It could’ve easily been one of those creepy cult things where they were forced to laugh, but… Was it so hard to imagine that on the surface, they all recognized the same sorts of qualities that Trisha did? That, more than his chiselled features as the most stark member of the Richoux siblings, he had a certain air about him. A tender charm, in the same way a friendly dog had a magnetic quality. You wanted to smile at it and pet it.

Trisha was a bit overwhelmed, holding onto Casey’s hand like it was a lifeline. It wasn’t the amount of people - she’d attended so many banquets and galas thrown by her family, or other rich families. It was the attention. While it was on Casey most of all, she was right by his side. She really wasn’t used to it and tried her best not to feel too uncomfortable. Too worried about fucking up as she straightened her spine and smiled.
“Where’s that personal bar, then, might as well get started with that?” she looked up at Casey, talking at a normal level - mostly to him, but loud enough others could hear her.

Clarissa, hair still pinned tightly to her head in neat little rows, bounded across the restaurant as Casey was shaking babies and kissing hands- Or, the opposite.
”There they aaaaaare! Casey, Baby, I’m so glad you made it. And you, Trisha, oh my LORD you were so cute today. I was so happy to come home and see your little face lookin’ back up at us.” she said just loudly enough for them both to hear under the drone of the bustling restaurant.
”C’mon! Lets get you guys comfy, gimmie those coats! And your hat, God damn you, it’s rude to keep it on inside, c’mon now!”

She snatched the coats out of Casey’s arms and the hat off his head. As they were ushered into the function hall near the back of the facility, they were greeted by a great big table made of wood, which could easily sit at least twenty people. At the head were double seats; one with a C sign hanging on it, and one with a T. There were plates of fruits and bottles of champaign set out among the glassware, and a golden fountain in the middle that sprayed water into a basin below the top, and slowly froze the water into ice that gently fell into a bigger bottom basin.

Ultimately, the ice would melt and recirculate through the fountain, creating a constant three-tier liquid-to-solid gradient effect.
Lynette, Furio and Andrade all stood around the bar with drinks in their hands, as it flanked one side of the table where nobody in particular was meant to sit. Lynette was still dressed in that same crazy gold dress, her skin painted gold well into her ears and eyelids. She was laughing, mouth agape to show off the uncanny darkness of the flesh within.

She matched the theme color well, at least.
Seeing the two of them, she shouted incoherently, raising her arms and rushing to hug around the both of them. Amazingly, whatever gold she was painted in didn’t rub off on either of them. In fact, to the touch, it seemed like there was no paint at all… Whether or not it was magic, or just really well sealed, was still up for debate.

It didn’t take long to realize she was babbling away in French.
”Ma… Momma, please… English: I can’t follow you when you’re sloppy like this, and I damn well know Trisha doesn’t speak French.”
”I SAID… I’m so excited to HAVE YOU HERE CASEY!” she spoke loudly, laughing and leaning into Casey. ”And I’m happier that you’re here with someone you love.”

Casey blushed.
”Oh yeah, you’ve been hittin’ the Screwdriver since you got here, haven’t you?”
Lynette giggled, smiled, and threw her thumb backward toward the bar.
”I’ss Wendy. I swear. She’s… She’s a peddler!”
Casey laughed again, doing his best to redirect as best he could from what his Mom had drunkenly said.

”Jesus, yeah… I’m sure. Trisha? Babe? How about you get yourself set up at the bar with what you want, get some fruit and stuff too if you’re a little hungry. I don’t want you drinkin’ on an empty stomach; I’m just gonna make sure Lady Grace here doesn’t make a fool of our group in front of the Blinds…”

There was a moment before Trisha responded, staring at Lynette, then at Casey. It was difficult to just ignore the word love being used. But it was just a drunken mother thing, right? Not that Trisha would know with that… but it was definitely the alcohol that had Lynette saying that, Who’d assume they were there after less than a week.
“Alright, I’ll do that… I’ll not start with shots so that I’m still sober by the time you get back.” She squeezed his hand before letting go, so that he could do whatever he needed to.

She went and straight up snatched one of the plates of fruit from the table, before going to the bar. She smiled at Furio and Andrade, but didn’t say anything, just quickly ordering a light beer after some internal back and forth about whether it was even appropriate for the function. But she wanted something with less alcohol to start… It was fine. Definitely fine, she forced herself to munch on a few pieces of fruit as the bottle was quickly obtained and poured into a glass placed in front of her.
Trisha immediately took a long drink, before turning to Furio and Andrade. She couldn’t exactly just ignore them now that she had her drink.
“How’re you, Furio? All… healed?”

Furio was grinning ear to ear, lifting up his hand to show Trisha a bandage. It looked like it was fully encompassing his hand, though three fingers still jutted out from the bandage.
”Doin’ just fine, Honey. He got me just like I hoped he would, so I figured I’d keep the wound. Not like I’m gonna be workin’ as hard anymore, after all. Why not have the trophy?
Two fingers and a thumb. That was all that remained of his right hand.
”How about you, no hard feelings? I know it’s probably not… Not something that is normal, right? For your Boyfriend’s uncle to try and kill him, then hug him a couple hours later?”

Andrade couldn’t help but laugh, his black and gold chef’s jacket shimmering in the comfortable low light.
”Blunt doesn’t even begin to describe you, Fu.”
Furio also laughed and shook his head.
”What, I’m not playin’ dumb. I don’t want the girl fuckin’ hatin’ me, I don’t know how I’d have lived with myself if I seriously hurt that boy.” he frowned.
”I told you, acknowledge you made a stupid decision, and move on. Don’t you think, Trisha? It would be better to forget it happened!”

“Well, he wouldn’t have to live with himself if he’d seriously hurt him,” Trisha said, before laughing to play it off as a joke. It was hard to tell, really, and the bees blending in with her dress were so still there was no obvious aggression from them.
“You’d also know if I hated you, believe me, I can be blunt too. But yes, pretty stupid decision, let’s not dwell on it. I watched too many hot headed people fight each other to near death as a teen to be anything but bored with it.”

It had certainly felt like coven members were trying to kill each other whenever they fought. Trisha was surprised none of the many casualties had been from infighting. She ate another bit of fruit, trying to force her appetite to appear in preparation for the meal. She then raised her glass with a slight smile.
“To no hard feelings and just forgetting it happened.”

The two men looked between one another, both smiling widely as they began to giggle. Furio opened his arms.
”You’re a keeper, Trisha. C’mere.”
His arms wrapped around her slightly, body bumping the plate of fruit just out of the way. Andrade rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic grin. When he pulled back, Andrade figured he’d take over.

”That aside, I’ve been using your honey the last few days, Trisha! You’ve got some fantastic variety in between the different batches, it’s actually been pretty fascinating to try them out. Do you want to come see what we’ve been doing?” he asked, throwing a thumb back toward the door that led directly between the kitchen and the banquet room.

“Really? I’ve never really noticed the difference, but I wasn’t trying to.” She followed his thumb, one hand automatically going to one of the bees on her bodice, stroking its little body. She could sense the slight stir of the Queen inside of her, though she wasn’t quite awake. Casey had said to set herself up at the bar, but it wouldn’t be going far, and he’d probably notice, right? She did want to see what they were doing with her honey. The bees’ honey.
“Yeah, I’d really like to see that, actually. After all that time it's been sitting around… I want to see it being used.”

Andrade’s eyes lit up. If there was one true love in his life, it was his food.
”Shit, give me this then-” he plucked the beer from her hand, turning to the bartender.
”Wendy? A toddy for our dearest guest.” he grinned and pointed to direct Trisha’s attention. Even Furio turned his head to look at what was going on. Wendy smiled and nodded, making way for a little electric kettle and a jar that Trisha would recognize immediately as her own honey. She took an old fashioned comb-shaped dipper and spun it into the jar, pulling out a glob and letting the stick sit in the shaker for a moment.
Pouring hot tea over it loosened the honey, letting it slough away and dissolve into the warmth. Nutmeg, a splash of cognac, and finally a spritz of lemon. The dipper muddled it all together before she finally pulled it out to thoroughly mix the drink, then poured into a wide mouthed cup.

It was warm in Trisha’s hand, and the perfect thing to drink on a cold November night.
”It’s a traditional Hot Toddy, but if we put it on the menu with your honey, I’d love to call it a Hot Trisha. We’ll start branding it, we can get your name on a couple other menu items involving the honey. Once people start asking who you are and why you’re attached to the product, we can push your stuff more directly. They’ll want it in their homes.” he grinned widely, encouraging her to take a sip.

Trisha was glad she had gone for a drink immediately, choking out a mixture of a laugh and a sharp breath at the name suggestion. There was absolutely no way she was agreeing to that. The word combination… Hot Trisha… well it certainly wasn’t false, but she didn’t want it to be a drink.
Before she got into that, she raised the cup to her mouth, gently blowing on it before taking a sip. Her eyebrows raised slightly. It was nice… like tea, which she always drank with a lot of honey anyway. She’d never been that fond of the flavour of cognac either, but it was balanced here by the honey.

“It’s really nice.” She took another sip, smiling.
“Really, really nice. If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t believe it’s my honey… but you definitely can’t call it that. Literally anything but that. Do you know how many family members I have in St Portwell? Well, not that it’d be a good name anyway…”
She awkwardly raised the glass to her lips for another long drink. At least give a better suggestion… but one didn’t come to mind.
“Maybe… Tee instead of Trisha. Like bee with a T. Still me, just not my actual name.”

Andrade smiled, waving his hand in the air slightly. He looked like he was trying to conjure something out of thin air.
”Tea-Bee. One syllable doesn’t work for the drink, since it’s meant to have the same ring as the normal drink. So, a Hot Toddy becomes a Hot Tea-Bee. I hate to obfuscate it so much, since it just becomes more annoying for the servers to tell a snappy story about it. A name’s usually easier…” he paused, ruminating for a moment more.
”You and your fuckin’ marketing shit… Just call it a Honeydrop and be done with it… Fuckin’ Hot Toddy, Hot Trisha, I think they’re both stupid fuckin’ names.”
”And a Honeydrop gets dropped from your memory as quick as you drink it.”
”Then are you really give the ingredients any sort of respect?”

Andrade sat stunned for a moment, and around the same time, Elise and Junior made their way in. Accompanied by the girls, who had found Gin and a few other members of Project Eden. Gin happily waved to Trisha, despite her facial expression never reading anything other than discomfort.
She did seem a little compelled to move toward Trisha, but her attending companions kept her where she was; right by Lynette and Casey.

She even clung to Lynette the way a little child does, and in turn the gilded woman patted Gin’s head and stroked her shoulders in the way one would caress and care for a pet.
”Anyway, come on…”
Andrade waved Trisha on toward the kitchen, taking strides without looking back, only to disappear behind the swinging door.

Trisha made sure to wave back to Gin, before staring after Andrade’s quickly disappearing back, swiftly finishing her drink.
“Uh, if Casey comes over and didn’t notice where I went, can you let him know?” she asked Furio. “So he doesn’t worry.”

She didn’t really wait for an answer, assuming that he would… After all, duel to the death aside, Furio had been pretty reasonable. She put down her empty glass, grimacing at the telltale warmth settling in her chest. She drank too quickly… She’d have to pace herself. It was fine. She followed where Andrade had gone as quickly as her heels would allow her, pushing through it and into the kitchen. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She’d hardly been in a normal kitchen.

What came next was a full breakdown of all the things humanly possible with the natural sugar known as honey. An obvious sweetening agent, the tour began with desserts and things one would typically ascribe to the syrup’s wheelhouse. There were plenty of pastries, between challah breads and cookies, crackers almost caramelised with honey throughout.
Then a talk about textures, exploring the idea that honey with moisture could only be used for so much. There were a lot of little jars being infused with different herbs and spices, and under one of the metal cabinets was a jar of fermenting mead that obviously had to be made.

”Whatever batch it was that we chose for the mead? We’re looking at almost sixteen percent alcohol. You don’t usually touch numbers like that in the mead market.”

He was clearly proud, and talked about different sauces they’d tried making with the honey before they settled on trying to mass infuse different flavors and see what came out best.
But what he was most impressed with was a trick he’d pulled from a different Chef, whom he admired and respected in the short time they worked together. She’d shown him that you could always caramelise the honey and dehydrate it like that, grinding down the candy into powder.

But the cooked honey never tasted the same; so they began to dehydrate it mechanically, using a constantly circulating ventilator to wick any bit of moisture out of the raw honey.
Pure granulated and processed honey sugar could be used in so many places that the liquid honey simply couldn’t, and he showed off a piece of steak that was dry-aging in a crust of the stuff an inch thick.

By the time he’d shown her everything, it was getting close to showtime.
”So, I mean… I know we can’t rush perfection, but I’d say we’ve got a lot that can be done and not a lot of raw product left to do it. Obviously, this experimentation has taken up a good chunk of what you had. We kept the grade three stuff out of the food, just storing it for stuff like your drink, or spreading directly.”

Trisha’s head was practically spinning with everything she’d been shown and told. She hadn’t realised there was so much food that could include honey, or so many different uses outside of that. She’d never thought to try or look into it until now. She was impressed. If it was her working with her honey… she couldn’t have done any of it.

But of course, there was the matter of honey production. If they’d already gone through a couple years stockpiling… she would definitely need more bees. Which came with its own issues she didn’t want to think about tonight.
“Well, they’ve gotten set up in their new hive and started making honey again. It’s… not something that can be sped up without numbers. It’s already faster than a normal hive, because they don’t have any brood to tend. With the amount I have in a week they’ll have made enough for…” she frowned, quickly calculating it. “Just over three jars of honey, assuming they adapt well to the new environment. When I checked yesterday they seemed to have.”

She smiled, looking down at the fairly still bees dotted all over her dress.
“I know three a week doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a lot of work for them.”
”My dear, they live and breathe, do they not? We can’t rush what must come naturally; we can only get people addicted to it now so that by the time it comes around again, it sells out instantly.” he held out his hand to shake.
”Now, go enjoy your party: I promise, we’re not going to make you eat all honey tonight. Just dessert, and it's a surprise.” he grinned.

“I couldn’t rush them even if I wanted to,” Trisha laughed, smiling brightly as she shook his hand. She was genuinely excited about it in a way she hadn’t been for a long time. Excited about something that could build her future that wasn’t a partner.
“Good, I don’t want to get sick of something I have to work with… but I’ll look forward to dessert.”

She raised her hand in a half wave before going back out the way she’d come.

”Oh, and Trisha!?” Andrade called to her, just before she managed to scramble off. ”Feel free to eat tonight… Our friends have made sure you’ve got nothing to worry about. Even if it leaves us all a bit more hungry.”

Trisha paused in the door to look back at him, smile faltering, confusion clear across her eyes. Not at what he was saying - she understood it perfectly - but she hadn’t expected it.
“Alright, I’ll eat as much as I can then… Thanks, Andrade.” She’d try her hardest to not let their effort go to waste, even if eating at a large dinner was always a challenge for her.

She turned back around and through the kitchen door, back into the function hall. She immediately looked around for Casey, hoping he wasn’t surrounded by too many people. Even if he was, she’d probably still go over to him.

At that point, he was actually sat in his big chair at the head of the table. It almost made him look little despite his own stature. As Trisha came out, he lept up to his feet and moved to her, grabbing her hands.
”Hello my baby, hello my HONEY-” he laughed aloud, smiling at her and dancing a little bit.
”How was it, how’s the food look? Furio said you guys were talkin’ about the honey?” he asked curiously. It was hard to not notice Gin very quickly sneaking up on their flank.

While most of the room was now full of people talking and chatting, they seemed to congregate mostly around Lynette at the other end of the table. Whether it was just because that’s how important she was, or if they were somehow told to give Casey some space, wasn’t clear.
The clearest thing was that Gin either didn’t care enough, or cared too much about Trisha to care about anything else. She didn’t speak, but she did hover in their direct vicinity, enough that Casey wordlessly placed a hand on her head and pulled her in to a one armed embrace while he listened to Trisha.

Trisha was in a good mood after seeing all the honey products, even if it’d been a bit exhausting, and she smiled warmly at Casey. Her eyes creased cutely and shone in a way they normally only did when it was just the two of them. She even smiled genuinely at Gin, though it didn’t have that same gooey warmness to it.
“Honestly? No idea about the food for tonight. Andrade was showing me everything they’re doing with my honey… It's a lot. I didn’t know you could do so much with honey. Not even just in sweet things… They even had this steak dry aging with honey sugar around it. Also, the mead they’re making is looking like it’ll be much more alcoholic than normal. I’m a bit concerned that some of the girls have been going out drinking without me knowing for that to happen…” She laughed.

“Oh, I tried a drink first with it, a Hot Toddy? But y’know what Andrade wanted to call it…” she trailed off, grinning playfully, voice lowering. “A Hot Trisha… can you imagine?”

Casey grinned, Gin grinned. But he caught his counterpart in his periphery and turned to face her fully. He didn’t stop smiling, but he did wait quite a bit longer than he had to before he shook her.
”What’s so funny!?” he laughed playfully.
She looked back at him, and didn’t really understand if he was mad or not, since he was still laughing. She decided she’d just keep laughing too.
”It’s a fuckin’ pun…”
In turn, Casey cracked up. His free hand lifted up to smack his own face, resting in his eyes.

”Y’know, Babe? You are a pretty hot Trisha.” he laughed again, eventually letting himself calm enough to redirect Gin’s energy off of it.
”But, yeah… I hope you guys work on it a bit more; I know how he gets about shit like that.”
And then he looked back down at the still lightly giggling Ginara.
”Now, what brings the Director of Eden to this side of the table?”

”Ooh, T-trisha mostly. Pretty good, the alarm works… I mean, for the bees. Did you know that fifteen thousand of them swarmed out at one point all in one go?”
She was dressed in something that at least wasn’t her usual lab coat and sweatpants; opting for a formally masculine suit complete with a long coat and haptic finger gloves to be able to touch her screen without actually touching her screen.

She pulled up a little application that showed some vital data about the bees in real time, holding it up for Trisha to look at.
”The Hive-House is full of sensors too, so we can see how the comb is developing between the sections.”

Trisha had to laugh along with them. It was pretty funny all around.
Still, she couldn’t resist moving to Casey’s other side, going up on her tiptoes to get as close as possible to his ear.
“Hot Trisha is a one of a kind, completely exclusive, only for you, Babe. I wouldn’t want any others to exist.”

She lowered herself back to her heels, wobbling a bit when she forgot they were higher than normal. She then leaned a bit forward to look at the application Gin was showing her, eyes narrowing in concentration as she deciphered what it was telling her. It was… impressive. All things that she could glean off her bees made much easier to access. Really, it made her redundant… no, that wasn’t the case. Without her there weren’t any bees at all.
“Swarmed out… today? Without me calling them? Do you get an alarm when any of them leave?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wouldn’t be able to call the bees without someone in the Temple knowing. There was a cold anxiety in her chest that she tried to ignore thinking about that. Instead, she concentrated on the data.

“Is there any way for me to get something like this?” Trisha asked as she looked at it.
“I can read their pheromones, but I need to be around enough bees who were in the hive recently. Something like this would make things much easier for me.”

Gin nodded, sliding to another screen to show Trisha the influx of bees moving out of the hive. The time: two forty-nine that morning. The wakeup call.
”White Lux sensors indicate a high-level magical current that starts the event. There's a rapid surge of apparitional Lux after that, and within five seconds the massive chunk of the hive uproots to go on the warpath. I get notifications for every little dude coming and going…”

She grinned, pushing her glasses tighter to her face with a smugness.
”I'll send you the QR code for the download later on. Do you want me to pre-make your login creds?” she asked very seriously.

Trisha grimaced when she saw when it was. This morning, of course. When she’d called all the bees in panic. It was embarrassing how that happened, the pheromones she’d given off in panic too…
“Every single one? Won’t that get annoying? I swap out the ones with me multiple times a day. Sometimes they just come over because they want to…”

Well, it wasn’t like she was the one getting the notifications. She could see its use if her life was in danger… but it was also a type of tracking. That made her uncomfortable. Something to talk with Casey about later.
“Yeah, please do. I’d just like access to the Hive sensors, really. I know when they come and go, obviously.” She was still looking at the screen, clearly impressed.
“Did you guys also make this whole application in a few days?”

”Junior and I made it in a few hours. You can skip a lot of steps when it's held together by magic; don't worry.”
Junior had a sensor of his own: Some considered it a magical power, that he could hear his name mentioned anytime, anywhere.
”Oooh, shit yeah. The bees…"

Looming over Trisha’s shoulder, Junior looked down at the application screen before looking up at his big brother and grinning.
”It’s pretty great, isn’t it? It’s like I’m always in your hands. Flattering, really.”

Gin laughed at what was an innocuous comment to her.
”Oh, me too. You’re carrying us around, Trisha… And it's like you’re carrying the bees, but twice.”
But of course, Casey wasn’t about to make a point out of admonishing Junior for the current creeping. Not with Gin there; not with them all gathered to be happy. Trisha had, intentionally or not, ended up pumping his confidence a bit. Thanks to the “Hot Trisha” comment, he felt like he could at least take on the challenge without feeling like he was less than.
”Oh, so there’s nut in the code?” he asked casually.

Junior was about to answer, but Gin laughed and spoke first.
”Bees don’t do nuts, dude. Maybe there’s flowers in the code?”
”Definitely pollen… Lots of… Pollen… Speaking of sticky reproductive proteins; Casey, are you gonna get the bull balls again?”

Casey grinned.
”I know it scares you, but they’ve still got more texture than that shar pei you call a brain.”

Trisha flinched slightly as Junior just appeared over her shoulder, something she played off as stumbling in her heels with a step closer to Casey. She didn’t like the sudden appearance right behind her, and a few bees crawled out from hiding spots in the braid along the top of her head in reaction.

She tilted her head, trying to keep up with the conversation and all of the hidden shit underneath it. Sure, she was used to it when it came to certain members of her family, but it meant it wasn’t just as easy as listening and understanding.
“Oh, well, I planned to put it on my tablet rather than my phone. I only need it when I’m at home.” She didn’t particularly want to carry around a Temple created app, and the idea was even less appealing after what Junior had said. Something she decided to just ignore otherwise.

“Like you ate them, Case? Is that what he means?” Trisha tilted her head up to Casey, before laughing.
“Like Lanciao- The one time my mom took me back to the Philippines with her my cousins gave me it without telling me what it was. It’s kind of worse, though, it’s got everything. I’ll take you there one day and you can try it.” She grinned, before her gaze moved to Junior, smile getting a lot less genuine.
“It’s not bad, really. But I’m sure your brain is plenty textured - when I tried tuslob buwa, that’s pig’s brains, it had something of a texture to it.”

Junior’s face twisted into the most evil kind of grin he could give Casey. In turn, there was a shift in his own demeanor as he furrowed his brow to look at Junior.

”Don’t do it…” Casey asserted.
”It?” Junior questioned, practically rolling his shoulders with it like the Cheshire Cat.
”Whatever you thought. Don’t say it.”
”Casey…” Junior still grinned, hands slipping into the pockets of his slacks.
”Be disrespectful in your own head, or you won’t be eating here.” Casey growled. His gaze turned down slightly to Gin, who was messing about on her phone with nary a clue as to the tensions mounting.

”You’re assuming, right? Like, assuming I’m being… Disrespectful? The only thing that passed through my head is-”
”Maaaaaax…” Casey growled again.
”-is that I’m so happy the both of you are adventurous eaters! That’s all! I think it’s great that you’ll both just…-”

Casey patted Gin’s shoulder, letting her go before launching at his brother with both hands. He gripped him by the collar, one hand flicked up and smacked him across the face, and the other spun him before shoving the wiry Junior back toward the wall.
”Ough! Dude! I didn’t even say anything!”
”I. Don’t. Care. Go bother other people if you really feel like you need to be here.”
”I saw you guys talking about something I worked hard on, the least I can do is fuckin’ joke around a little bit!”

“Casey, calm down.” Trisha jumped forward, hands going up to grip his bicep. Her thumbs rubbed circles against it, and she looked around, worried that people were going to start looking over, and it would become a massive thing. She didn’t know anyone here well enough to know how that would go, but she knew when it was her own family it just made things worse. More annoying to deal with. She stopped looking around to look up at Casey pleadingly.
“Just let him go, it’s not worth it.” It was true that he hadn’t really said anything, but she wasn’t going to say that, because she got it.

”Oh, actually, I’d like another drink, why don’t we go over to the bar? Just the two of us.” She looked past Casey at Junior.
“Jokes are supposed to be funny, by the way. I get it, you’re in Tech, but learn to read the room.”

Funnily enough, nobody paid it much attention; save for Furio who was apparently glued to the bar. But he really only laughed, and as Casey turned to see him doing so, he started to laugh too. It was ridiculous, and if anyone knew, it was Furio.

”I get it, you’re in Tech? What’s that supposed to mean?” Junior asked before blowing air out from between his lips and swinging his arm as if to wipe it all away.
”Never mind, forget I asked. I’ll go hang out with people who like me: Gin, good luck keepin’ that app held together with shoestring.”

Being acclimated enough to this scenario, Gin was easily able to keep her own anxiety low by simply dissociating. She didn’t even hear Junior say anything when he left. She didn’t even really see Casey getting physical. By the time she looked up, Casey and Trisha had already moved off to the bar, and she was standing by nothing… So she found a comfortable seat near the head, where Trisha would be sitting, and planted herself down.

Casey didn’t bother looking to see if Junior left or not, and was still laughing as Furio cleared away for the two of them. He patted Casey on the shoulder as he slipped off.
”He knows just how far to push, the little fuck…” he groaned at Trisha. ”And I’m not dealing with it anymore. I swear!”

“And you shouldn’t,” Trisha said. She turned around towards Casey rather than the bar, arms slipping around him and leaning into his body.
“All that stuff people say about putting up with family is bullshit, anyway. Next time properly beat him up… I just didn’t want my appetite ruined tonight.”

She looked over at the bar, then back up at Casey, deciding to move on from that shitshow… She didn’t want to think about Junior, or the discomfort she felt just by being in his presence. There wasn’t even a reason for it.
“Hey, want to try a Hot Trisha?” she asked, trying to use a flirty tone but breaking down into laughter half way through it.

Even Wendy, the bartender, started laughing.
“Fucking Hot Trisha coming up, Your Grace!”

Casey gave a genuine smile to Trisha, quickly wrapping her around his side and cuddling her tightly.
”You’re so cool… Thanks. And thank you, Wendy… Do you have any clue about how we can fix that?”
Wendy snorted as she tried to muddle the honey into the warm tea.
“Oh, God… Nah, honestly I’m not that creative. Give me the booze, I get it. But, words? Fuck that.”

He shrugged as he finally received his drink, taking a sip and nodding.
”Why not a Queen Tea? Like Green Tea, or Queen Bee…” he offered, shrugging his shoulders.
“Oh, see? You always do that… I’m so glad you’re back for good, C-L… Lord Grace!”

“I suggested Tee instead of using my name, and Andrade started going on about marketing and it being a snappy story, so… you’re welcome to suggest that and listen to the same rant? I like it, but he’s the fussy one.” Trisha said, looking at Wendy with a smile, then back up at Casey.
“Does everyone have to call you that? Bit awkward… I’m not going to get shit for using your name, am I?”

Casey looked a bit dazed and confused at the second part of what Trisha said. His brow narrowed, and his lips turned down into a considerate frown. The young woman was probably close to the same age as them, blonde, and dressed in a black and gold uniform that matched Andrade’s. It was clearly for the event tonight, special for one night only.

As she washed away at a glass, she simply smiled.
“Well, no… We don’t have to, so you won’t have a problem. It’s… Well, we were asked to for tonight, but honestly? I think I like it. When we were kids, nobody really thought Casey was gonna do much. So, him doing this now? Pretty cool to me.”
Casey’s confusion turned into surprise. He knew that a lot of the other kids in the Coven at his age didn’t think much of him. But, hearing her say that he was welcome in his position made him happy.
”Well shit… I mean I won’t argue with that; thanks, Wendy!”

She smiled back.
“Of course… Now, should I keep ‘em comin’? Do you want another, Miss Trisha? Or something stronger?”

“I’ll just be sticking to your name, but it doesn’t mean I think you’re any less cool,” Trisha smiled, one hand moving away from hugging Casey to wave in front of her.
“Another of the beer I had earlier, please. I don’t want to drink too much before eating… and I didn’t get to finish it. Andrade stole it from me.” She pouted slightly, but wasn’t all that upset about it, obviously.

“Do you like it?” she then asked Casey, gesturing to the drink.
“Pretty nice, right? I was surprised… I think they’re using my honey in the dessert tonight too? It’s really…” she trailed off, head moving from side to side in an embarrassed motion.
“Weird. Something I helped make being used.”

Casey absolutely slurped the warm tea beverage down until there wasn’t a single drop left in the cup. It was like watching someone pour it directly into a can. His lid tilted shut, and he had a smile on his face.
”Oh, that’s fuckin’ great. Definitely not something to drink with dinner though… Vodka and tonic?”
“Mint?” she asked him, swiping everything up.
”Why not?”

He grinned back down at Trisha.
”So you said… The dessert? I wonder how, because he promised me he was making… Well… I guess there’s a bunch of ways? Are you flattered by it? Or is it weird in a bad way?” he asked Trisha directly, not so much concerned as he was curious.
Wendy handed over the beer and the V/T, and Casey nodded them off as he turned Trisha back toward the table.

“Flattered, I think,” Trisha nodded with a smile, taking a sip of the beer. Maybe not the type of drink for a fancy meal, but she’d never been fond of the drinks that did go with something like that.
“I’m just not used to it. I have a large family, so there was always someone doing something that everyone else paid attention to… Even if it wasn’t actually impressive. I didn’t really experience that.” She said it all so nonchalantly, shrugging one shoulder, as if it was just a novel new experience and that past lack of attention had never bothered her. Her voice got much, much quieter.
“Now I have something to show for it all.”

She shook her head, not sure why she’d actually given that answer rather than the various half truths she could’ve gone with. So stupid. She awkwardly tried to move the conversation on before he could actually say anything about it.
“Does everyone else have assigned seats, or is it just us?”

Casey heard what Trisha said about being lost in the crowd and internalized it. He’d felt the same thing in a smaller setting; but it was hard to ignore what sorts of feelings that conjured up in him. But he felt her redirection actively, like a ripple in his White Lux that was so ready and active now around him. It was hard for it not to talk to the reality around one, and he imagined this is how his mother and sister always knew whatever he was thinking… It wasn’t just for remote viewing.

”Just us. Kinda funny, right? My day, my event, I can’t pick my seat! ‘Cuz they want all eyes forward. Mom’ll be at the other end, and an empty seat for my…”
A little light left his eyes.
”That's… So… Fucked up…” he muttered to himself, eyes now glanced down the table toward the other large seat. Maxwell…

“So we could be sitting next to anyone. No choice? That's a bit unfair.” Trisha said, before her eyes followed his towards the other end of the table. For his dad. She could practically see that black, ghostly outline… but it wasn’t there, of course. She visibly tensed. It was fucked up. Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she remembered the dream again. She still didn’t understand it, and she hated that. She leaned more into Casey.
“Let’s make sure to die at the same time,” she whispered, so quietly it would be difficult even for Casey to hear.

“At least we get to sit together,” she continued as if she hadn’t even said anything. It was a thought that had just slipped out accidentally, and she was going to pretend it hadn’t. She should've eaten more of that fruit before she had a drink…
“I’m very good at ignoring everyone else at large dinner parties if I have to. Or just pretending to listen, the old routine of nodding and smiling. When we were younger it pissed Tansy off more than me actually getting annoyed at her.”

”I’ll leave your decision to you, of course… But I’d love it if you chose to listen. Someday, what you hear could come in handy.” Casey replied, either ignoring or not hearing Trisha’s comment about dying.
In truth, he had missed it for the echoing of a hundred voices. Inside and outside, they were talking about each and every little thing going on in their lives. He was acutely aware of things he’d never been aware of before… Like how warm the room was, or how everyone’s voices sounded just a little sharper than they should at a place like this.

And then he was still thinking about Junior, and about his Father. Max was on his mind, and he hated that particularly. But the drink was good, and Trisha was good, and he turned his head to look across that long table at his Mother. She was being spoken to, and replying, but still managed to convey some emotion in his direction. Her hand was resting on the armrest of his Father’s reserved seat, and her thumb rolled down in a particular fashion.
He knew instantly that it was knowing, and that it was purposeful. As if to tell him that Maxwell the Forth would be proud of him. As if he didn’t know, and didn’t hate every bit.

Casey didn’t let his gaze linter on his Mother long, passing her off a sullen smile before snagging an apple off the table. As he did so, wait staff were beginning to pull those fruity offerings from the table. It was clearly some sort of que, some visual notification to let the engaged party know that mingling was safe to be done at the table.
Andrade slinked out from the rear, holding up his hands and clapping to capture everyone’s attention in the room.
”Alright, get comfortable now! Get sat, come on, we’ve got food coming, first course in fifteen minutes! Understand? Get your drinks, get your seats, get your appetites ready like I know they are…”

”Hungry Temple stomachs!” Lynette shouted, raising her wine to the air and hearing the entirety of the open dining room cheer in unison for the prospect of food.
”Eat, drink, and be merry under the protection of the Lord of Blades!”
More cheers, even from the attending patrons of the private area. As people began taking their seats, it became clear as to what the night had for company. Something like a protective barrier between the more Temple-oriented individuals and the Couple of the Hour formed.

With Gin having claimed a spot early, she remained near the head closest to Trisha, and she wound up flanked by Ed. Naturally, across from her, Mia settled in closest to Casey, with Hari on her side. It was about as far as conversation would go without things getting uncomfortable, however, and beyond them were the likes of some of Project Eden’s finest, close staff, and then more of the family before ending off with Lynette.

Another cheer rose up from the dining room as Casey and Trisha sat, with Leon making it into the dining room with an incredibly gaudy, almost vampire count-like outfit on. He took his seat on the end, but not before coming to the head and leaning over Casey’s chair to plant a solid kiss atop his head.
As he pulled away, he came up with two Jewellery boxes which were handed off to Trisha and Casey.
”These are from Dear Nonnat, Casey. I asked if she could spare something to match for Trisha.”
The boxes were unmarked, and opening them revealed two pendants with massive center gemstones cut from what appeared to be some kind of crystal grown in a golden striped pattern. The fixtures were pure gold, and heavy as could be, with little black and yellow stones surrounding the centerpieces.

Casey gave his brother a wide-eyed look, then looked back at Trisha.
”Jesus, Man!? You… She…”
His gaze turned again, and locked on Trisha.
”Our Nonnat! Our Grandmother in New York, she… Is very sick, and I haven’t even thought to go visit her.”

Trisha stared at the pendants with wide eyes. She was used to opulence, but this was really on another level. It honestly looked like it would hurt her neck to wear.
“I’d look like a gold digger if I wasn't already rich…" she half joked, gesturing to the silver ring on her right hand. She honestly wasn't sure how to react. It clearly had some meaning. She just didn't know what, and she didn't understand family in that way. A gift from family for her was a poor apology for not giving her the time of day. That clearly wasn't the case here.

She turned her body towards Casey, smiling at him.
“Then we'll just have to go visit and thank her when you have time. Maybe go to a few places along the East coast? But primarily go and visit her." She then looked back down at the pendant, towards Leon, then at Casey again.
“Should we… put them on now?" Her voice lowered enough that only those close enough to her could hear. “I don't really know what they mean."

Leon laughed and shook his head, patting Trisha gently on the shoulder.
”They don’t really mean anything. Just a congratulation, and she was honestly thrilled to hear that he’s dating someone so I don’t think she was troubled by a two-for-one.”
Casey laughed aloud.
”Nonnat’s an Artificer, she makes magical artifacts. Or, used to. I assume the Casket made these.”

Leon nodded.
”Yeah, the components were a few pieces of her older works. I’m fairly certain it was the Caden collection.”
Nodding, Casey held the pendant up again, bringing it closer to Trisha’s. His had a thicker necklace and a bulkier centerpiece, while Trisha’s certainly looked a bit more fragile. The metal of the pendant was slimmer, creating the illusion that her center stone was even bigger like a wide open eye.
”She’s got this machine; it’s a recycler, basically. Dump shit into it, feed intent through magic, and it’ll spit out what you want. Like artificial intelligence-shit.”

Leon kissed his brother’s head again, patting both of them gently.
”Enjoy ‘em. And don’t worry, they’re not bugged or anything.”
Casey half grinned up at Leon, neck almost creaking.
”Oh, I’d know…”
The wolfman could only nod his head and accept his brother’s ominous statement, retreating to the bar before making way for a seat near his Mother at the other end of the table.

Casey’s attention returned to Trisha.
”We putting them away?”

“Yes, as nice as they are…" she touched the back of her neck and laughed.
“I’m not sure my neck is prepared for something so heavy. Especially if it's magical."

She closed the box hers had come in, looking towards the bag she'd brought. It was small, just enough to fit her phone and purse, so she turned to Casey and held it out to him.
“I assume you have somewhere to put them?" She was relieved it was just a gift, though a genuine one it seemed - something that still made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Now we have something else that matches. These outfits, the pendants… soon we'll have a whole matching collection. What should we get next? Halloween is a while away, so not costumes… watches? Earrings? Rings-" oh shit not rings, matching rings normally imply marriage, shit- “Oh, maybe matching outfits for a date?”
Saved. Perfectly played off.

”Probably start with matching outfits. Save the rings for when we’re married.”
Casey said it with such smooth casualness that it probably didn’t even sound like anything. He imagined the joke coming out like Charlie Brown’s parents’ voices.
”Hari’s purse.” Mia commented, holding out her hand across the table toward Trisha and Casey.
”We keep everything in there, and it’s always safe.”
”So fuckin’ true, like anything we need? Goes in her bag.” Ed piped up, laughing a bit as the both of them looked at Hari.

Sighing, the young woman reached down.
”What the hell am I getting?” she asked, coming up with her purse.

For when they were married… like it was a definite. Like with all of these things, it made Trisha feel conflicted. All she wanted was to be with Casey forever, but there was also that ever present fear that it would be pulled away from her when she was in too deep. Was she already in too deep? No, no, just surface level. And really, he said it like it was nothing, it wasn't even serious. But then did that mean he wasn't thinking about it seriously?
“I like the sound of matching outfits first, let's do that," she laughed lightly, also playing it off.

She then handed the pendant over to Mia, looking at Hari with a smile.
“Thanks, Hari. Some really elaborate, magical-?" She glanced at Casey for that, “pendants."
She shuffled slightly in her seat so she was closer to Casey, one leg moving towards him to press against his. She was glad with who’d ended up at their end of the table, but she still wasn't comfortable with the whole large meal scenario.
“So, I have to ask, what are the portions like here? Is it normal portions with three courses, or is it fancy restaurant eight tiny portions?"

”Not magic, Babe! Just uh… Magically made.”
”We’re doing Family style, I’m pretty sure. We’ll have a few serving dishes of whatever’s brought out, so you can take as much or as little as you want.” Mia practically spoke over Casey, slipping the two pendants to Hari.
The searingly red haired girl popped one of the boxes open, ogling at the contents before snapping it shut and tossing them gently into her purse. She gave Trisha some eye contact and a playful salute.

”Ugh, God please no…” Gin quietly protested, still mostly fixed to her phone. She was fiddling with something before swinging it around to show to Trisha.
”Yo, check it out. Sensors can lidar the fuckin’ hive… They’re building a new section, see?”

Trisha was relieved to hear that the food was a self serve style thing, probably, so she didn't have to worry about being rude when she couldn't eat a whole plate put in front of her. She could probably force herself through it but… it wouldn't be enjoyable. But she still smiled back at Hari before her attention was taken by Gin.
“Really? Huh, you're right," she leaned over to look at Gin's phone screen, looking at the grainy, laser created images of the bees. It wasn't something she normally got to see - she could sense it, but she only looked inside the hive when she was pulling out sections to collect the honey. She nudged Casey, bringing his attention to the phone.
“Look at that, babe, the girls are hard at work… We'll need to go in and give them loads of fruit later."

She reached down to gently stroke one of the bees on her bodice, and it gently buzzed before crawling on her finger.
“That’s really cool, Gin. I can keep up with them without having to call a whole swarm… which nobody wants."

Looking over, Casey’s face turned into a wide grin.
”Oh, no shit! I’ll have Andrade bag up a bunch of that fruit and we’ll give ‘em a nice feast for all their effort.” he exclaimed, looking down the table toward one of the other Project Eden members.
”Fuckin’ bees, dude! Lookin’ great, man!”
”Oooh, let’s see!” Mia went to stand, but Gin wholesale shoved herself halfway across the table.

”Ginara!?” Lynette’s stern face stared down the table at her. Pretty hard to take her seriously when she was literally golden, but it seemed to work on Gin. Sheepishly, the girl slumped back into her seat. Mia laughed, pushing up and standing to come around and look as their manners dictated.
”Oooh, wow… I… Don’t know what I’m looking at.” Mia finally admitted in a flat, almost disappointed tone.
”Like a million little lasers making a picture of a dark place.” Gin explained. Mia’s face made an o-shape before she began nodding.
”Oh, so, like… The comb, and then where they’re building?” her long fingers prodded at the screen, causing it to change to another screen which Gin gasped at.
”Oops…” Mia shrugged, spinning finally and without much ceremony to hit the bar. Long island iced tea, as tall of a glass as Wendy would give her, and she hit her seat with renewed enthusiasm.

”So, what do you think, Trisha? You’ve got pretty much everyone who's anyone in the Temple at a table with you. Shit’s like the Last Supper except you’re like a guest…” she laughed, joking just low enough that they maintained volume with the din of the table.

Trisha tilted her head, smiling even when there was some confusion in her eyes, a dull brown in the current lighting. Was she supposed to feel anything special over that? Intimidated, honoured? If anything, she just felt how she always did in any large dining situations - a constant, niggling want to flee.
“I think I could run St Portwell if I really wanted to," she joked back, also quiet enough to keep it among people at their end of the table.
“Mundane scene with my family, magical from the Temple… haha, the city’s at my fingertips."

It was a joke, of course. She'd very purposefully never gone for anything using her family name… membership of a certain, barely functioning group aside. She shrugged.
“With how I grew up I learned not to think about how important someone sitting at a table with me was. Dad always had someone round… Some of the people he married were famous, and my sister now too. But it'd be pretty exciting and new if it did turn out like the Last Supper. Haven't experienced that. There isn't any special, magical Temple table manners I need to know, are there?"

”Oh, nah. We’re such apostates, the table comes pre-blessed so we don’t even bother with saying Grace.” Hari responded, happy to give any bit of info she could.
”Carved right into the bitch.” Gin let her leg swing up under the table, kicking it and making the cups rattle from below.
”Please don’t kick the hand-carved blessing?” Mia asked, despite her tone very clearly being a commanding one.

Gin frowned, tilting her head back again.
”Stiff, stiff… Killing meeeeee-”
”Listen, we’re all stuck here. Don’t be rude, Ginara.” Mia did her best to hide how frustrated she was, but in the end it only served to make her lash out in other areas.
”Mimi…” Ed frowned, looking at Mia across the table. The response was a long sigh and hands being tossed into the air.
”Okay, sure. Just let her kick the table, but when she tries to stand on the table-”

Gin turned her head to Trisha, a frown on her face.
”Can we talk about games or something, Trisha?”
Mia scoffed, snagged her drink and took it down entirely before shoving off to get another.
”And I’m the jerk…-” her voice trailed off.

Trisha was doing her best to stay cool about everything. Her hands dropped to her lap, clenching and unclenching in her skirts, scrunching up the fabric in them. She looked from Gin, to Mia, to Gin as they went back and forth, trying not to frown about it. Just about maintaining that same, not quite genuine smile. It wasn't the company. It wasn't even the clashing, really. It was just too like all those family dinners she has to suffer through, and she was just waiting for it to turn on her. It always did.
Normally this was the point where she'd leave and lock herself in her room. Once she hit a certain age she stopped suffering through it, and later on didn't even show up in the first place. But she couldn't leave. There was nowhere to go, and it would just upset Casey.

She wasn't normally a mediator. Wasn't good at it. One hand came up from her lap just to grab her beer, and she quickly downed the whole bottle.
“Alright, we can talk about games, but Mia's right, Gin. You shouldn't kick or stand on the table… it'll disturb everyone else. It might disturb the bees." She gestured to the ones that were visible. A couple had even crawled onto the glass in front of her. Hopefully she'd put it in a way that would get through to Gin.
“I’m quite boring with games, though. I've mostly just been playing… Left for Dead Two with some friends. Really, I play whatever they want to. One is really good at them, but the other two of us who always play too… aren't. I just can't get aiming with a mouse and by the time I shoot it's too late and there's a zombie in my face. But maybe you can recommend something to me so I can branch out more?"

”Oh, dude you need something slower right? If you’re casually gaming, you don’t wanna keep up with some asshole bunnyhopping through your map. Do you like having stuff to kill and fight? Or do you think that it doesn’t matter and you could be cool like… Looking at spreadsheets or something?”
Hari had gotten up with Mia, but Ed was keyed in and listening to the conversation at hand.
”I play phone games… You guys use your computers?” she asked, looking at Gin.
”Eddy’s what you call a “whale” in the game she plays.” Gin laughed, nodding at Ed’s question.

“I definitely need something slower," Trisha laughed, managing to relax slightly now that Mia wasn't there going at Gin, thinking about what she actually liked. What did she like? Probably much slower games. She wasn't much bothered about the killing things, that was just what Sal and Cass enjoyed (even if Cass was bad at it).
“I think I'd prefer games without the stress of killing or being killed. When I play alone I normally just spin up stardew valley, honestly… relaxing stuff. I'm happy to do spreadsheets, but I don't really see what they have to do with games? Like the spreadsheets are the game, or games where you use spreadsheets to keep track of stuff?"

Trisha then looked at Ed with a smile.
“Only on the computer for me. A friend tried to get me to play some mobile game with her, but I just couldn't enjoy it…" She wasn't entirely sure what Gin meant by a whale, but it would be too embarrassing to ask, so didn't bother, just nodding as if she understood.
“I’m actually on my phone a lot less than people expect me to be… and I figured when I have a proper desktop why not use it?"

Ed nodded, a thoughtful look on her face that turned to Gin. She felt the look, and her head turned to look at Ed with a grin.
”I mean, it’s still there for you.”
Ed’s head tilted back and she groaned.
”I’m gonna be so lost though, and like, it’ll take me away from the girls…”
”Bros before hoes, Slaaaaag… Trisha’s gonna fuckin’ love when we mod the fuck out of Minecraft and go on a peaceful adventure of science and technology.”

“Oh, I never actually got to play Minecraft," Trisha's eyes lit up slightly at the prospect. The gamers in her friend group played it growing up and had grown out of it by the time they got to university - or had stranger things to take up their time, like emulating an entire new console.
“I’ll be lost too but Gin's right, that sounds pretty great. Why can't Mia and Hari play too? I'm up for it and I've got Casey to think about too."

Ed shrugged.
”The Polycule gets what the Polycule wants, y’know? I’m pretty in-demand for cuddle puddle time.”
Gin gagged. Ed laughed.
”But, they’re not really gamers like that. I’m mostly not, but… I’ve kind of always wanted to be.”

”You spend like three grand a month pulling PNG files on your phone. We all know you’re just worried you’ll get sucked into a new life that you’ll never get out of.”
Gin wasn’t stupid. Sometimes her acuity, however, managed to be surprising regardless. It was that terse, snappy kind of observation that cut through Ed’s barrier of good humor. She didn’t voice it, but Trisha would be able to see Ed’s despair as it flashed across her face.
”How do you do this every time, Gin?” Ed grunted, a slightly defeated tone in her voice.
”Do what? Cut the crap? That’s why I’m the Project Director, and why Auntie L trusts me.” she nodded along, looking back at Trisha.

”This gumbo-dumbo had me build her a legitimate gaming PC, paid for it, then never picked it up. Still hasn’t. There’s not even any crazy Junior-type Lux Board in it… It’s nice, all Japanese parts. We paid a fuckin’ mint ‘cuz of the Sanction Tax.”

Trisha narrowed her eyes, once again thrown into a situation she'd rather avoid. They weren't her problems, and as soon as she put her foot in it there was someone else to blame. But she was stuck here, for now.
“Gin… Don't-" she grimaced, waving a hand in front of her face, really struggling to not snap. She didn't want to look bad. She didn't want to set off things more, but she really couldn't just let it go…
“You can't just say shit like that. 'Cut the crap' or whatever, most people don't like it." she wouldn't like it, but she wasn't pushed enough to bring that into it. But if it had been her instead of Ed, and Gin just bluntly said some harsh truth, Trisha would've snapped. She was close to it anyway. The whole situation, the location, was getting to her. She had a short fuse at the best of times.

“But if there's already a gaming PC for you…" she turned towards Ed, forcing a slight smile.
“Maybe you could try playing with us, just a bit, when you have time?"
Then she thought of something else, furrowing her eyebrows and lowering her voice.
“That computer I was provided doesn't have a Junior-Type lux board in it, does it?"

Casey, who had been silent in his judgement in order to observe the interaction as it went, finally cleared his throat.
”Uh, no… And if it did, I’d be very upset. Now, Gin-”
The woman had her head in her hand.
”Please, don’t…”
Casey frowned, taking a slightly deeper breath.
”Just hear me out: You’re okay, and we’re okay. Alright? You know damn well what to say and what not to, and sometimes the brain just can’t stop itself. Own it, don’t cower, but recognize that it’s wrong and apologize when you do. Don’t hide, we’re not kids anymore.”

Gin looked vaguely displeased, especially having her talk about games derailed. She was still facing Trisha with most of her body, but leaned back and allower Ed to grab around her shoulders as she slowly tilted backward. It wasn’t a vocal apology, but a physical one: A kind of communication that many of the Temple Members seemed to share with one another.
Lynette was well trained in the art of listening to everything at once, and while she didn’t openly say anything, she did shoot a glance between Trisha and Casey, eyes warm and almost cat-like in their satisfied narrowing.

”I will… Thanks, Trisha. Maybe you guys can help me regulate it too…”
”Regulate my baaaaaaaalls… What are we regulating?”
”Mount up, Bitcheeeeees!”
"It was a clear black night, a clear light moon! Warren G was on the streets, try'n to consume-"
The three girls, sans Gin, began to rap in unison like they’d done it a billion times before. They had, and loved it.

There was a long moment where they were all absolutely vibing together, with Gin still in Ed’s arms as she bobbed them both side to side with the music. Mia must’ve sucked down a few drinks in the time her and Hari were at the bar, because she’d switched to something clear and was very openly starting to wobble.
And the first course hadn’t even come yet.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

& &

Mood Music

Edict & Leon & Kenshiro

---

Mentions: There's a lot, I'm being lazy. | Direct Dialogue: Too many people as usual. | Location: The House on the Hill

---

“Talk to me after this, I can help you with that.”

Luna

Leon's spine crawled thinking about what sort of demons the Mafia kept in their collective closet. Edict mirrored the strain, still trying to stay tuned into the ongoing verbal chaos. He couldn't think of anything in particular that House of Cards was capable of producing; after all, Void Heart was gone. What could be more unruly or aggressive than what the Temple wanted Layla to deal with? The vampire dolls seemed pretty spot-on from what he'd seen in Layla's mind, and as his gaze slightly turned to see Leon's reaction, he found a bit of despair in those eyes.
"Well... I'd still love to vet things, y'know? I'm not here to tell you how to live, but we're all responsible for your safety and your chance to learn, Layla."

Edict tried not to grin to himself. He was amazed the girl hadn't been hooked on the food yet. Maybe they were afraid of feeding the siblings?

”You can if you want to. I don’t mind. I’ll take on the responsibility for all the other 8th members I don’t believe should.”

Luca

Ken was an immovable object at the best of times. Edict had heard Luca's small plea to Ken's consciousness and wasn't shocked when he heard the response.
"I simply refuse to believe this. My only reasoning is that you clearly never could've been aligned with that wretched Cunt and her pet lizard: Your heart is too big, and you act in compassion even toward your greatest enemies. I will not let your small voice burn out into the night as you try to save those who would harbor Evil." Ken's conviction rumbled through his chest as he stared dead at Luca. Of course tears welled in his eyes, his passions almost always getting the best of him in these darkest of days.
"Kenshiro... Come on, my friend, we're all Adepts here. We should try to preserve a little life, right?"
"I'm not interested in your Cult's Supremacist rhetoric. Honor yourself like you did at the Festival, and save your morality."

Leon grimaced, and Ken's attention was taken up by Drake making an entrance.
"There's a man who knows the blade! D-"

”... Why is she here?”

Drake

Lynette Dominguez as well, and Edict couldn't ignore someone tall, dark and beautiful. She threw him off keeping track of Drake's brewing conflict with Luna; a problem exacerbated by the arrival of Love on her heels. Britney and Linqian? Aryin too, but at this point he had a hard time not giving himself up. With Tayla around, it was only going to be harder as he did his best to keep surface level thoughts from echoing into her ears.

"You know you look damn cute with that sword Brit? We were-"

”We know how to move forward, how to find Kari’s notes.”

Jack

"I mean, yeah. I may've mentioned something kind of silly, but it ain't a big deal." Edict did his best to bury the bait idea since it seemed like nobody seemed to go for it. He had faith, at least in Britney, that her "target" status was questionable at best. She was a strong Adept, one of the most well-versed in her school of magic that he knew.
Jack continued on about the entities related to the dreams, and wound up getting Edict, Ken and Leon's attention for different reasons. Ken's mind turned to a joke that he kept internalized, having listened to Kari talk about Britney so harshly sometimes. He couldn't help but relate the scant images of Sunshine to Britney, and hearing that they had Green Lux... A thought that Edict shared for a very different reason. He was worried that someone would try to point out the very same observation, creating a near-miss of thought that may've caused more sparks than necessary if they impacted.

Leon was mostly concerned about the whole of it. The association, the Chalice being involved somehow, the feeling like he almost knew who Sunshine was despite never knowing the woman. It wasn't canny, and he didn't want to dwell on that face longer than he had to. Lelou Faim's energy rippled through him as he began to pass inward toward his mind's eye. Stormy arriving was a welcome distraction, and Leon began to move away from Layla hoping that his desire for involvement in her plans had been made clear. Jack continued on about his and Kenshiro's plan to recover the Brass Needle, continuing to cringe as he thought about what a burden it must be to fear the Apparition. Maybe in Luca's case, one was right to be fearful. But, he couldn't help thinking about his own prisoner. His Betrothed.
Oh, Leon... You know just how to wake me up...
He gritted his teeth, throwing back his head in slight frustration.

”Don't dock my pay for being late, alright?

Linqian

"Man, what do I look like, some kind of animal?"
As he said this, Edict brushed a hand against Linqian and induced a quick Recollection to bring her up to speed. Not without getting a look at some nasty bruising and serious teeth indentations across her skin.
"Jesus, Linqian, were you fuckin' a bull mastiff or something?" he whispered.
The bull mastiff in question began to blush as Leon did his best not to stare and wave at Aryin and Linqian. It had been a great time, after all. It was the perfect distraction to keep Edict from defending Luna from herself as she had her personal problems with Drake spilled out into open taunting.

But Lynn had remained quiet in wait. Waiting to drop a bombshell of information, and a request for a mission that many never would've accepted.
There was a slight burst of energy that washed away from Kenshiro, drawing attention through sheer force of will. The Wayfinders... Hatanaka...
"Oh, yes! Yes, absolutely, let's stage a suicide mission into the Multiverse's maximum security prison for some other -"
Stopping himself, Ken's face became stone cold and frozen as he did his best to keep his opinions to himself.
"Yoko... Is not a good woman. Even if we find her, she will not want to help us."

Leon's hand raised. The voice in his head, present now that she'd been prodded enough by his own thoughts, had him by the shorts as he struggled to not offer himself up...
THE PIT THE PIT THE PIT THE PIT THE PIT THE-

”The Pit redirects any teleportation back into it. Meaning it's going to be next to impossible to get out.”

Britney

”Aaron’s right. That just ain’t an option. I mean… Just, how the fuck are you even getting there?”

Amara

"We don't teleport out of it... We open a hole, we have someone keep it safe, do what we have to do, and then leave through the door we came through. The Temple would offer its services if that meant extending an olive branch to us, and I'd be happy to coordinate it. Especially if... One of the Blessed Pale Adepts says they saw me in a vision... I'm compelled to answer that call."
Leon's voice was loud and clear as he offered himself positively for the Pit plan, having absolutely nothing to do with the ravenous, frothing desire of his Prisoner to have an excuse to unleash herself. He wasn't sure what would happen if he loaded himself up enough to give Lelou the time without having a Leash Keeper... One of the few times he missed Daisy...

And then a familiar face that Leon never imagined he'd see again. Lelou quickly scanned through his memories of the old days, and found the tall, dark and handsome man as one of Leon's earliest male partners... He felt compulsion to speak his name into reality, standing in a spot that he could begin to step forward toward that face burned into ancient memories.
"Mon Dieu, Bé!? Bé!?"
Leon stepped forward, arms almost opening up into a hug before being rudely interrupted by the sludgy shadow monster bursting through the door. He'd smelled something strange, heard some loud popping, but attributed all these things to the neighborhood they were in. Now it was clear that there was a fight. His ears perked up, and as people began to rush around in an attempt to help the transformed Clancy, Leon switched gears to defense mode. He'd not be shot by another canister, and quickly took Bé by the shoulders to purposefully move him away from the danger, and out of his direct path before he made for the door.

Ken was instantly locked in alongside him, though made for closer company like Drake and Jack. Without hesitation, he drew one of the swords from his hip and flipped it into a reverse hold. Positioning himself between the crowd and the thing that had burst in, he was quick to assume the worst.
"Have Greenwood betrayed us!?"
The only thing running through Edict's mind as he slipped off the barstool and pulled the pistol from his waist belt holster was about how he could've swore that he'd shot that thing the other day at Kari's house... So, why was it back?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@Estylwen Oh I'm rapt with anticipation as to where this is going. We'll hit the collab board again to talk about it more once the meeting's done!

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

& &

Mood Music

Edict & Leon & Kenshiro

---

Mentions: Britney Williams, Lila Blackwood | Direct Dialogue: Layla Hyacinthus/@Estylwen, Anya Baksh/@FernStone, Sully Mcpherson & Sloane Farris/@Atrophy, Jack Hawthorne/@Blizz, The Gathered Coven | Location: The House on the Hill

---

Leon remained fixed on Layla, their participation in the meeting cursory with the attention it was being given. He listened to Layla's plan, and as it unfurled, he only felt more nervous about it. There was no way Lynette was just going to let her go about her business about the Temple without making herself a useful host.

“I can still be useful…”

Layla

"Well... Then you must be planning on taking another Charge, right? Another Apparition in place of them before Him? Because... Part of your training is...-" Leon gripped the bridge of his nose in frustration. "-The whole point, really was you having rowdy uncontrolled spirits! You're learning, we're trying to improve your control, right!? So that when... When you do, and please don't say his name around these people-" he whispered. "-but when you do, you'll be ready! Right? So, you... You need to consider that! You should consider that." he finished, not wanting to sound like some sort of taskmaster or pusher forcing this on her.

He had enough regrets about getting his friends involved with his family. Frankly, he had been hoping that Layla said yes, and that she would be done with all this magic. She needed therapy, real human therapy; not a Leech replacing the Vampires. And then Sully squirted her in the mouth. As much as he wanted to be the grouchy wolf, it was... It was Sully! He'd been disappointed in the guy a few times, but never so mad that he could have anything for him but genuine love and affection. A bit of the healing liquid spilled across his hair as well, making it grow just a little uneven.
"Oh, Sully! Bro, is one of those filled with JD? Jesus, watch where you're squirtin' your loads Brother, we're tryn'a have a private thing for a second." he chided playfully.

Edict was a bit distracted by the interaction, mostly by Sully. The always and ever hopeless gorilla. It was only endearing to a certain point, quickly becoming overbearing after a few minutes. But Sloane was with him, and he couldn't help but stir the pot a little bit.
"Oh, my fellow thief! Glad to see that dour expression is still stuck to your face after getting bug-zapped outside a Dairy Queen." he grinned, long since having gotten a drink for himself.

”If anyone has a chance of translating those notes, would it not be you? Your closeness to Kari puts you in an advantageous position, does it not? We can recover the notes and translate them ourselves.”

Jack

As Edict joked around, Ken scoffed at Jack's assumption that he had any clue about what was going on in that text. Even if there was Gamanese in it, he wasn't going to have the wearwithall to associate his own vague knowledge of the language with the beginning of a cypher.
"I'm a Soldier and a Farmer, Jack. I'm not some code-man or a Shiro user like Kari is. I wouldn't be able to help at all."

Edict took in the different suggestions, listening to what everyone had to say before a grin finally washed over his face.
"Alright, hear me out. I'm game for suggestions from anyone else, but... I think we should do what we do best! I think, maybe in this situation, being a group of disorganized dissenters can help us! The proposition is Absolute Chaos: If 8th told Schmidt that we're looking for the notes and didn't find 'em... Then we should make it look like it broke us! That this is the last meeting, and that everyone's just gonna separate and do their own things. So they think we're disorganized and that we don't have our shit together. All we need to do as a group is buckle down and agree on a plan to break their ankles!" he said, mimicking a basketball fakeout with the glass in his hand.

"We go underground as we can, and start pulling strings like how Adora said: Doin' shit like trying to get the good brains out of 8th and onto our side. If they see a little group, maybe headed by Luca or something, maybe they'd be more willing to go for it. Or, at worst, we can have different cells working different angles. And then rather than doing in-person meetings, we do them while we're sleeping. Anya coordinates." he rose his eyebrows.

"And I hate to say it, but we ask people like Brit or Lila to... Act as bait a little bit. Not now, but when we know we've got helping hands. In the mean time, we'll have other people working the Schmidt side, trying to get what we want before 8th Street thinks we're organized enough to pull this off."

Ken pointed a finger into the air, waggling it around.
"I refuse to be a part of plans involving the cooperation of 8th Street members. They all smell of Emily; even if their ideologies no longer align, they did at one point! Someone must be responsible!"

Iron and Honey: A Love Story [FernStone & AtomicEmperor]

---

Act One-Six

---

Evening rolled into night, and eventually the lights dimmed for sleep. Knowing how full the coming day would be, both Casey and Trisha resolved to head to sleep early. Of course, Casey was ready to catch a nap whenever he could, but going to bed was a bit different. It always felt like a gamble, trying to figure out which nightmare would come next.
Not much of a gamble if every option is a loss, but Trisha had proven to be a wonderful sleeping aid. He thought about it over that Saturday, and came to the obviously logical conclusion that her mere presence was enough to keep him feeling safe.

After all, you always had a Battle Buddy. Solo agents didn’t exist in the structure of the Military; only the Reserve… A joke, frankly. A BB was more than a friend. Mutual bodyguards, brothers and sisters in arms, there for the highs and the lows, and always at your back. He felt like he could trust Trisha, even if she seemed to get flighty. That fact didn’t scream any red flags at him, only implying that she’d need some extra motivation to stay strong.
For now, she was the second body in the hole. Casey held her like an oversized teddy bear, both arms tucked around her stomach and holding her tightly to him. It was another dark, dreamless night. Three o’clock in the morning. Three oh-one… Two…

The buzzer telling them that someone was downstairs waiting to be let in began it’s honking symphony, filling their house with the sounds of Europe all over again. Air raid sirens. The bases.
Without thinking, Casey’s arms automatically tightened around Trisha, squeezing the air out of her as his bellowing voice hollered in her ear.

”FUCK, FUCK, FUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

Conscious only of the weight in his arms, he scooped Trisha and the bedding at the same time, stood, and absolutely crashed through the thin wood bannisters surrounding their bed.

His back hit the wall, and he slid ass first down the stairs up to their room before diving across the hall into their den. At this point, he’d cradled Trisha so tightly in the blankets that she was probably safe, but also finding it difficult to breathe. It was only when the buzzing stopped and they were left in silence that Casey’s panicked body let Trisha loose enough that she’d be able to squirm away.
”Je-J-Jesus… Jesus fucking Christ!” he practically wept, the darkness of the house only now settling in around him as the adrenaline pumped through his heart and brain.

Trisha was panicking. She was woken abruptly by the buzzer, and not given a chance to ignore it when she was simultaneously suffocated and assaulted by yelling right in her ear. She didn’t know what was going on. More sounds, something breaking, but she couldn’t see anything through the blankets. She could hardly breath, anything she might’ve said muffled by the duvet and her need to use every moment to try suck in a breath. It was dark, she was moving, and she felt trapped.

Danger? Danger- fight, flight? Fight. As Trisha managed to squirm out of Casey’s arms, rolling onto her hands and knees on the couch, eyes wide with her own panic. The blankets were thrown away and from them came an overwhelming, harsh banana smell that filled the room. Trisha absolutely bombarded the area with her alarm pheromones. It wasn’t on purpose, it was her own instant fear response, just like a bee that had been attacked and then trapped. But she recognised Casey as safe, even struggling to think, chest heaving up and down with each breath. It wasn’t the flight pheromones that came out this time, instead this type would make anyone who could smell them in the radius much more aggressive. Attack, defend, it didn’t matter - just a surge of adrenaline and need to fight, a dampening of fear. They were strong enough to get through emotional fields (if a bit dampened), even if any paranormal would know they were being hit by them.

But they were in a small space. Trisha couldn’t spread them out fully, and they rebound on her. She shifted to a crouch, arms wrapping around herself, backing away until she was in the corner of the couch. Eyes, still filled with panic, darting about, as if ready to attack anyone that came near. There were no thoughts of comforting Casey, no thoughts on what had happened, only panic and assumptions they were under attack and had to fight something.

In the time it took Trisha to scramble out and get toward the back of the couch, the furious buzzer started up again, drowning any errant thoughts out. Casey felt the whole washing sensation of Trisha’s fight response pheromones as it rattled straight through his emotional field and drove him into a frenzy.
At least he could hear exactly where the buzzing was coming from, and his hand slid under the couch. In the darkness, Trisha would really only be able to see Casey’s massive silhouette as he stepped into the hallway.

And he left her there. A few seconds later, there was a trio of bangs and crashes, followed by the sound of shearing metal and Casey giving another great shout of panic.
”Casey!? Casey, what the fuck!?”
Clarissa’s voice echoed through the house.
”A-auntie!? What!? What’s the fucking problem, why, who… Was that you fucking buzzing us!?”

”No shit! I was try’na not intrude, but then you’re up here shootin’ guns!? What the fuck is going on!?”
Casey seethed, and since Clarissa didn’t know the strong smell was directly correlating to her escalating anger and annoyance, the two of them would only get more heated as they were allowed to argue.
”I’ll tell you what’s going on, you people are fucking nuts! Absolutely demented! What, did Furio put you up to this!? You guys think its funny to install a fucking doorbell that sounds like a raid horn and then give it to the guy who used to have to dodge bomb blasts!? You think it’s fucking funny!?”

It wasn’t difficult to hear the shouting, the aggressive words slamming into her head even though they weren’t directed at her. The intruder was someone they knew, calm down- but she kept bombarding herself with her own pheromones, an everlasting cycle that she couldn’t break free of even as she desperately tried to calm down.

A gentle thud against the window had her head snapping towards it - then another, loads of tiny bodies trying to get in where there was no opening. The bees she called at the same
time, unable to get in the house. Thankfully. But she could sense them, their panic clashing with her own, her aggression turning back to fear and the need to flee to them. The heavy smell in the air reduced just slightly. Trisha jumped up, running across the couch and landing lightly on the floor. The bees, she wasn’t safe without the bees, they need to know she was safe-

Trisha didn’t say anything to either Casey or Clarissa, absolutely single minded in her panic, fleeing out of their den and making straight for the door. It opened and closed just as quickly.
And with the walls separating them, the pheromones reduced, lightly lingering before there weren’t enough to get through emotional fields anymore.

Now phones were ringing, and through the glass outside, Trisha would be able to see Casey and Clarissa pointing and yelling until Clarissa’s hand swept upward and delivered a hard backhand well over her head into Casey’s cheek. They were silent now, and stared at one another for a long moment before Clarissa finally relented.
Her arms and body surged forward, wrapping into him as she buried her face in his chest. Of course, now that they weren’t being blasted by aggression, the whole conflict collapsed into apologies and regret. Things Casey didn’t have time for, especially since Trisha had…

There was a person-shaped mass of bees outside. Casey shook his head, patting Clarissa and seeming to direct her; to which she responded by opening a portal and climbing through. It was now that Trisha would be able to see the pistol in Casey’s hand, and he set it down on the side table closest to him before stepping up to the window and knocking. He wasn’t sure if the bees would sting him if he went outside, so better to play it safe.
”Trisha!? Are you okay Babe!?” he shouted, the glass muffling his voice slightly.
”Do you want me to come out? Or can you come in?”

His phone was ringing again, except it was upstairs. Trisha’s was too…

Trisha had crouched next to the main room window, absolutely covered in bees. There wasn’t enough room for them all to be on her so they doubled up, constantly moving and swapping so each could check that she was alright. She was calming down, waking up, taking deep breaths of the cold, fresh night air. The constricting of her chest finally started to lessen.
“I’m fine,” she said softly, barely audible through the glass. But it was difficult for her to talk with the bees and the panic. But the pheromones she’d let out subconsciously were lessening as she purposefully used them on the bees. Telling them she was safe, and it was fine, combatting the fight ones with calming ones on all of them. Eventually the bees got the message, loud and angry buzzing that nearly drowned out what little she said getting quieter. The process was slow, taking minutes for them to calm down enough to not want to attack anything that came near her.

She stood back up, shaking slightly, and shook one arm. As if that was all it took, the outer layers of bees flew off her. They didn’t go back in the hive but instead up to the canopy outside - close enough to easily be called, but not following her into the house when she came back in. There were still enough bees crawling all over her to cover half of her body. As if that wasn’t the case, she shot right for Casey, practically crashing into him and wrapping her arms around him. The bees moved to her back and messy hair, some starting to crawl onto Casey.

None of them stung him.
“Sorry,” Trisha whispered, hiding her face against him. “I didn’t mean to- I didn’t know what it was.”

Casey didn’t immediately hug Trisha, but he did move very close to her before getting on his knees in front of her. His arms wrapped around her legs, and he pulled her close.
”I’m so fucking sorry… I’m so sorry, Trisha, I… The… The buzzer! Ask Cass or Sal, they’ll tell you those fucking sirens… They make you react, like you’re always fucking worthless when they go off. You know you can’t stop the bombs, and they just fucking…”

He felt the bees crawling around his bare shoulders and back. He looked up at her.
”Are you okay…? I didn’t hurt you, did I, your arms and head and everything, I didn’t… Hit you off anything?!”

“I’m fine,” Trisha shook her head, even though now that she was calming down she could feel a slight, aching pain in her left knee and elbow - clearly less protected by the blankets. She hadn’t even realised they’d hit anything, and why bother him with it? It wasn’t so bad.
“I just… I thought we were under attack… I couldn’t tell what was happening, so reactively, I… well you felt it.”

She bit her lip, curling forward over him.
“You didn’t hurt me, I- if you had it would’ve been different. You would’ve wanted to run. I’m okay, I’m really okay, it’s all okay.”

Standing, he accepted that she was alright enough to not turn and leave. But it didn’t look like the reality made him feel any better about the situation.
”As far as I was concerned, we fucking were under attack. When I sleep with you, its all dark. So I thought at first I was dreaming, and it was one of the bad dreams, but then I broke the fucking bannisters getting out of our room and it fucking…”

Shifting, he showed Trisha a thick piece of treated wood lodged in his arm.
”It really fucking hurts, and now I feel like a fucking idiot and a jerk because I need to-”
Phones were ringing again.
”God fucking dammit!”

He stormed off, heading back up the stairs to answer his phone, which Trisha would be able to hear from above.
”Yeah? What?- No, Gin! Call it off, please, we’re fine.- No, someone just rang the fucking doorbell and it scared the shit out of me is all.- Yeah… She’s okay too. The bees are all just idling right now, waiting for action that’s not coming.”
A couple moments passed, and he came back down before starting toward the bathroom.
”So, apparently when my Mom said early, she meant this kind of early… I won’t apologize again, but you get the message…” he casually commented to Trisha before grabbing ahold of the wood chunk and absolutely ripping it out of his arm.
He moaned in pain, whimpering as he made for a bottle of isopropyl and gauze rolls.

Trisha’s question about him leaving didn’t make it past her lips, lost as she could only watch him pull the wood out of his arm. Her eyes widened, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. The bees, confused, continued to crawl all over her. She’d seen all sorts of horrible wounds before, ten years ago - had many herself. Everyone did. But certain kinds still made her feel sick to the stomach.

But it was in his arm. How was he supposed to wrap it properly himself?
“L- Let me help.” She managed to move, slipping past him to grab the gauze rolls before he could, gesturing to the isopropyl. She put on a brave face, hands trembling slightly. It wasn’t that bad right? She’d seen worse.
“I can’t do that, don’t know how much to use, but- but I can wrap it. We didn’t have enough healers against the Snake so… we had to do this, sometimes for ourselves, or others. I know how to. I think. It’s been a while. Better than you doing it one handed.”

”Of course, let a bunch of people learn whatever magic they want, they’ll make a stink bomb before they learn how to stitch flesh.”
He soaked a bunch of the gauze wrap in the alcohol, practically stuffing it into the wound and grimacing every step of the way. After a moment of doing so, he held his arm up with the other hand still holding the wound with the alcohol soaked cloth.
”Okay… Go ahead. Just connect it to the stuff thats already in there and wrap it up tight. Doesn’t matter how much you use.” he said with a grunt, moving his hand to let her get an angle without the packing falling out.

As she did, he would give back tiny winces and sighs.
”I fucking… I knew that doorbell was gonna be trouble. I shot the speakers, so now I’ve gotta fuckin’ replace ‘em.” he sadly admitted.

“Oh,” was all Trisha said as she concentrated on wrapping his wound. Once she’d connected it to the stuff already in it, having to force herself to look, it wasn’t so hard. She wrapped it as tightly as she felt was safe to, lips pursed together. It was difficult to stop herself from trying to do it perfectly - there wasn’t the time or need. She used a fair amount of the wrap once she was done, his wound tightly and neatly - if overly - wrapped up.
“There- and that means you can replace it with a more normal sounding one.” Now that she was done, she jumped back to actually responding to what he’d said.

She dropped her hand to lower down his arm, gently rubbing it.
“You… probably wouldn’t have shot it if I didn’t pheromone blast you… Will replacing it be a hassle?”

”Nah.” Casey replied very simply. He inspected the wrap in the mirror, pushed against the wound one last time, wincing and groaning, then kissed Trisha on the top of her head.
”Great job, Babydoll. You’d have made a good field medic.”

His bare arm wrapped around her in a comforting hug, being sure to miss the buzzing feeling of the bees still clinging to her.
”Now, I mean it’ll probably be hard, but like go ahead and get back to sleep if you can. I’ll go shower and get dressed downstairs like I did the other day, and you can just chill and try to relax until later when they come to get you.” he said, now looking down into her eyes.

Trisha looked back at him, frowning for a while, before she nodded. She knew there was very little chance of her getting back to sleep, especially if he was leaving. Generally, if she didn’t wake up properly it was quite easy for her to keep snoozing through minor disturbances. But when she was properly awake? Much harder to get to sleep a second time, especially after something like this.
“Mhm, I’ll try, if the bees let me,” she replied softly, bees now just sitting on her rather than constantly moving about. Most had congregated on her shoulders and chest, and in her hair. She turned and leaned up to lightly kiss him.

“I won’t keep you… Good luck, uh, with the ceremony. I’ll see you after.” She was clearly very reluctant to let him go, but forced through it, stepping away from him and out of the bathroom. She didn’t go much further, however - planning to watch him all the way to the door before she went back up to their bed.

Once Casey was out of the house and out of sight, Trisha traipsed back upstairs via the den to grab the blankets and take them with her. There was a slight hope of falling back asleep that was gone within half an hour of lying with her eyes closed, blankets pulled tight around her with her face buried into the pillow that smelt the most like Casey. It wasn’t really a good enough replacement.

But still, time ticked forward slowly. She spent a few hours in bed, trying to sleep and then just watching mindless videos on her phone. She wasn’t quite fully relaxed but she wasn’t in panic mode anymore, the bees waiting outside and some of the ones with her returning to their hive for the rest of the night. Eventually, her own alarm went off at 7:30am, and she actually rolled back out of bed.

Four hours should give her enough time to get ready. Their outfits from yesterday told her how important and possibly extravagant this ceremony was, and that meant she had to put all of her efforts into it. A proper shower was had, her hair meticulously blow dried into neat waves. She grabbed a hair band to push it out of her face before starting on makeup.

Normally she opted for more simple styles, unless going to a club where she wanted to impress or a fancy gala where she had to fit in. This matched the latter more. Still only a light coating of foundation, some contour, light blush. But where she really put the effort in was her eye makeup. Bright, metallic gold eyeshadow was painted across her inner eyelid, and the inner corner of her eye. It lightly blended into a dark brown then black, extending out past her eyelids in a smoky look she rarely went for. Light flicks of eyeliner, barely visible in the black eyeshadow, were added. Then gold flecks were dashed across her cheeks and nose - interspersed with her own natural freckles, like matching golden ones. Last were her lips, with a darker brown lipstick than normal, smoothly moving into a brighter, more reddish tone towards the centre.

After makeup, it was just her hair to sort. It was pulled back into a french braid that started at the top of her head and ended at her nape, tied off into a ponytail allowing the rest of her hair to fall down her back in long, gentle waves. By the time she was done it was nearing eleven. She pulled on some actual clothes to go down to the office to get her dress, nodding and smiling to Norm when he offered his greetings and congratulations, before quickly escaping back upstairs.

Getting the dress on while trying not to ruin everything else that had been so perfectly done was a struggle, but a struggle she succeeded in. She still couldn’t quite get the zip all the way up the back herself, but it fit much better. A simple, gold chain necklace with a circular charm with an engraved ‘T’ was slipped underneath it - the honeycomb shaped earrings Cass had gotten her put in her front lobe piercing, the other two swapped to simple gold studs. A couple of relatively simple, gold rings were slipped onto her fingers along with the one she’d been gifting - the silver and multi coloured gem standing out amongst the rest. She opted for no bracelets.

By the time she was completely ready and back down in the main living space, it was eleven thirty on the dot… So hopefully she wouldn’t have to wait around long.

It was a few more minutes before a woman arrived, dressed in one of the most elaborate religious garbs that someone could walk around in without falling over. Her hair was pulled up into a cone-like structure, which was fully covered by a long shawl and a gold lace that fell down the front of her face.
It was way taller than the space between one’s head and the roof of a car… One could only beg the question: How’d she get there?

Elise peered into the glass of the house from outside, knocking on the window to get Trisha’s attention. The cloth draped in heaps atop her shoulders made it hard to tell that she was shrugging, and the sleeves on her hands kept them from being seen as they were thrown up in frustration.
She poked her hidden finger, like she was smashing a doorbell, then threw her hands up again as Trisha made her way outside.
”Doorbell broken?” she asked, her voice sounding calm and collected despite her previous physical actions.

Trisha had jumped slightly, almost imperceptibly, when Elise knocked on the window - even though she was expecting someone. She bent down to pick up her handbag - simple and plain black to not draw attention to it - and slipped her phone inside where there was already a small tablet and notebook. She'd considered bringing her laptop to try and get some work done but… she didn't want to deal with the hassle of carrying it around the rest of the evening, or risk leaving it somewhere a Temple member could tamper with it.

“Yeah, it broke this morning - must've been from overuse," Trisha said with a polite smile as she locked the door behind her, key slipped in her bag. With how information went around the Temple, Elise probably already knew what had happened in the early hours of the morning - but she wasn't going to be the one to throw her boyfriend under the bus. After all, it hadn't been their fault.

It was chilly outside, and Trisha shivered slightly as the cold, November air hit her bare arms. She hadn't bothered with a coat - figuring she'd be inside that it wouldn't be much of a problem. The bees she had with her moved from their various positions to her arms, forming pulsating, bee arm warmers. She'd decided to bring about a hundred with her, with plenty of places for them to hide in her hair, skirts and just blending in with the dress design.

“I take it… is it going well?" Trisha asked, as she began to make her way towards the door off the roof. Even wearing heels as she was (which she'd still opted for in the end), boosting her up a good few inches, she was nowhere near Elise's height. The difference only seemed more extreme with the cone of hair making Elise seem even taller. Trisha supposed it was something she'd have to get used to.
“How much longer does the ceremony go on for?" she grasped for some kind of conversation, finding the idea of silence with someone she barely knew uncomfortable, but also having nothing to really talk about. She tilted her head up towards Elise, still smiling politely. Concealer combined with the bright gold eyeshadow was enough to combat and cover the dark bags underneath her eyes, thankfully, and she had enough practice that the tiredness her gaze had held was slowly being pushed away now that she wasn't alone.
“Since it started at 3am…"

Elise took stock of Trisha's questions as they headed toward the bottom of the building and out the side door into the parking lot. There was a car and a driver, a situation Trisha may have been used to at some point. With the rear of the vehicle ending up fairly intimate, and the partition toward the driver’s side completely sealed, Elise felt free to discuss matters as casually as possible.

”Most of our ceremonies are totally narrative. I mean, like, super pointless pageantry shit that we could skip. Stuff from the old days when our little Cult was a noble union of Knights and Soldiers of the Realm.”
Elise, getting into the car, was able to show off that her hair cone compressed. Pushing up against the car's roof, it pressed up into itself and left a mostly flat mound of hair sitting in a tight circle.

She happened to look something like a small battery slotting into the back of a remote, the spring compressed in the compartment as it held the mechanics firmly in place.
”But this one that Casey's doing really takes the fucking cake. Like, it's a historical one, so they're jumping from battlefield to battlefield of old sucking up some kind of knowledge.

She did look a bit sad at that last part as the vehicle began to move in earnest.
”It's in bad taste for him, I feel like… Obviously, some of these fields are the exact same fields he was serving in a year ago. When I was permitted to take my leave in order to prepare for the home ceremony, he looked… Not good. But that doesn't mean the rituals aren't going well. I'm pretty sure he's absorbed a couple of the books already.”

She leaned her head back, taking a deep breath while the frown sat on her face.
”It's funny that he went to war where he did… A lot of the ritual kind of assumes, you know, that you as an individual have been to war? And, it assumes you're European, because that's where our traditions come from, so it literally tells you to fucking just ‘Go to where the Noble Warrior first shed blood, go to where the Noble Warrior first lost men.’ Et cetera. But, yeah, pretty emotional for him considering how raw those feelings are. But, that parts over, just about. Uhhh… I guess if you wanted, it would be really nice if you could receive him? It's not pervy or anything: It's meant to be his heroic return, where his waiting maiden receives him from war and brings him back into his Noble House.”

Elise's slim frown peeled into a grin.
”No pressure, obviously, but if you don't do it, it ends up being Lena's job by default. Again, totally no pressure. At all. Definitely not asking you to so that we can tell her to fuck off together…”

Trisha frowned too when she heard exactly what Casey was having to go through. It sounded horrible… especially after this morning, when he'd already been set off by the doorbell. They'd both been set off. If she was ever forced to jump from supernatural battlefield to supernatural battlefield… Well, she didn't want to think about it. Didn't have to to understand how awful it would all be for him. And to have to see Lena at the end of all of it… of course her feelings towards that weren't entirely selfless. Just the mention of Lena made her feel tense.
“I assume I don't have to take any vows if you're suggesting I do it?" Trisha asked, fiddling with the ring she'd received and trying not to bite her lips like she normally would.

“It wouldn't be fair if he has to go through all of that just to deal with Lena at the end. That'll be like going from one trauma to another," she said very matter of factly, moving to tapping her fingers on her knees. Pretending the whole thing was something she could comfortably do… it was, again, for him. How bad could it be? It would be worse if Lena did it. She'd only feel worse, waiting and knowing that was happening. She turned her head towards Elise rather than facing forward, smiling.
“I’ll do it… For Casey, after he's had to relive all that, it'll be nice for it to be me. And maybe a little bit because it'll be really nice to tell Lena to fuck off."

She laughed at that, able to picture how pissed off Lena would be about it. As if she could ever be anything to Casey… but Trisha didn't want to risk her even having a part in a ceremony like this. There were all those what ifs- when something like this was so important to him, if Tansy had been right about her just being the first woman he'd found after the war… and the trauma of reliving it pushed him to someone else. She wanted to be the one there, even if it meant participating in a ceremony for a cult she wanted minimal part in.
“What do I actually have to do?"

Elise enthusiastically clapped her hands together and pumped a fist into the air. It smashed off the car's roof, and she immediately regretted her outward enthusiasm as she gripped her hand in pain.
”Fffff-ouch… Damn long fucking arms…”

It took her a few moments to pass over the pain, having to subtly reset the knuckle she dislocated on impact. She grunted again slightly, whimpered, and took a deep breath.
”Fuck… Sorry! No oaths, no nothing. Back in the day, women weren't allowed to join the Order, so a ritual like this was meant to include people who didn't know the secrets. The Knight's immediate family, you know, the wife, kids, mother, mistress, indentured servants. He's wearing armor, so you'll basically present him with his clothes, say a couple of words from a script, kiss him, and then send him back to finish the ceremony inside our Sanctum. That's pretty easy, right? Not a lot of dedication required.”

“... so if I don’t do it, Lena would kiss him?” Of course that was what Trisha’s mind ended up fixating on - rather than the past sexism, or how they kept up an antiquated part of the ceremony after allowing women to join… and be in charge. She didn’t really care about all of that. What she cared about was making sure Lena didn’t get anywhere near her boyfriend in any way - especially with her lips. If she wasn’t sure about doing it before she certainly was now.
“If that’s really all there is to it, it does sound easy. I can do all of that. I’ll definitely do it.”

She raised one hand to her mouth, discreetly nibbling on her knuckles as she thought a bit more about it. Why would it go to Lena by default? She didn’t fit into immediate family in the slightest… how did that work? Because his mom wanted her to be? If Elise hadn’t asked, would she have only found out about it after it happened.
“Why would it be Lena’s job by default, rather than one of Casey’s actual family members? She doesn’t fit into any of those categories…” Not that Trisha did either, but girlfriend was slightly closer. Definitely.

Elise laughed aloud at the idea of Casey kissing Lena.
”She'd act as a Page. Much different relationship, way more like a squire, no kissing involved. Truthfully, she and Casey aren't so different; they got along well when they were younger. But I think she never really liked him because he wasn't magical. When he came back with magic the first time, Mom tried to encourage her to get with him. It just… I think it ruined things between them. Like putting two strange animals in a cage and telling them to get along, right?”

Her face returned to solemnity, a hint of regret eating away at her.
”But that's Momma's style. Most things, she just tries to use a hammer to fix it. Sometimes, she'll get the finer tools out, but only after she breaks something… Obviously, she says it's God's Will. But you don't grow up in our household without seeing what's behind the veil occasionally.” she shrugged.

Trisha pressed her lips together as they pulled into a thin line, gaze moving down to her feet. It didn’t surprise her that Lynette tried to ‘fix’ things in that way. She’d already seen a little of it with Casey… but she was surprised that Lena and Casey had gotten along before. Casey hadn’t mentioned that. Did that mean without his mother’s intervention, they might’ve… No, that wasn’t the case. Wouldn’t be, at least. Casey had her now.
“It’s a pretty transparent veil to an outsider,” Trisha shrugged one shoulder, looking back up from her feet.
“But I think it’s just how mothers are. I can count the number of my siblings with moms that ‘delicately’ fixed things on one hand. Yours just has magic and religion to back her up.”

Her hands twisted together in her lap, pushing back the thoughts of her own mom. Had she even tried to fix anything? At first, perhaps. It had always been a hard push. Don’t think about it.
“Either way, what’s ruined is ruined, and Casey’s got someone better now. I’m not fickle enough to only care about his magic.” Faux confidence about being better, always the way for her to go when accidentally going into topics she didn’t want to discuss. Did it make her a bad person that she was glad things were ruined between Casey and Lena? Probaby, but she couldn’t bring herself to care too much.

Elise lingered on the first part of Trisha’s statement… About the thinness of the veil. She wished that was true, as she’d have a lot less people to talk to and interview during her working hours.
”Enemies see no veil, only their blinding hate. Skeptics see no veil, only their burning denial. Typically magical people stop being skeptical, so… I guess you just never lost that feeling, huh? Since, I mean, I know you’re not an enemy…”

“My scepticism of magic? I’m not sceptical of magic… only of those who think it makes them any better than those without it. Magic is just another… talent, or inheritance. Like some of us are born rich, some are born to magical lineage, some acquire it. It doesn’t make anyone-” Trisha cut herself off before she got further, not wanting to start talking negatively about a religion she honestly knew very little about - and was dating into.
“You can place it under being a sceptic if you want to. I’m realistic. Magical people are still people. I didn’t change when a ghost attached herself to me.”

Elise laughed again, smiling at Trisha with a gentle grin.
”Hey, you just aren’t religious. I get it. Some people can see God standing in front of them and still slight it; we have the free will to do so. But, usually, when people get exposed to the fact that there’s another side to our reality, it gets pretty easy to convince people that God never left. That he’s here, with us, just like he was two thousand years ago. Except this time, God chose a Matron. Yadda yadda, we get fresh new blood. Ten percent of them dedicate themselves, then ninety percent live their lives more or less as normal, confident that they’re throwing their lot in with the Messiah. Make sense?”

Trisha bit down on her lip again to hold back what would be a pretty ugly laugh, just nodding at first. Of course it made sense. They took in people who discovered a new world and were confused about their place in it. Vulnerable people who were easily convinced.
“Of course it makes sense. But it requires people to believe in God in the first place, doesn’t it? Just discovering magic doesn’t tend to… make everyone have some religious awakening. For some it's the opposite.”
Certainly when discovering magic lead to things such as the Stygian Snake. She was sure her covenmates who awakened because of it wouldn’t view it in that light at all.

“But you’re right, I’m not religious, unlikely to ever be - no matter how much that all makes sense.” She shrugged.
“I can understand without believing… and I plan to.”

There was a long silence before Elise’s hand swept upward toward the partition. She pushed against it, making sure it was closed tightly. Her other hand gripped onto Mondo, and a White Lux spell washed over the car to check for bugs. Thankfully, they were alone.
”Would you… Lie?” she asked, her face curling into a devious expression. ”I mean, like, about… Taking oaths and other things? Wait, did… Did Leon talk to you?”

“He did,” Trisha narrowed her eyes, glancing around the car before looking back to Elise. She assumed that if Elise was talking like this, Lynette wasn’t listening in… At least she hoped that had some way to figure that out.
“He told me about the food, and some other things… But I would lie about that. To Lynette and the Temple, that is. I’m not sure I could lie to Casey if it would involve that. Maybe. It would be more difficult.”

She could hide things from him, and she possibly could lie to him, but it would make things difficult if it came out.
“But is it possible to lie about planning to take oaths without actually taking them? Wouldn’t I just be pushed to take them as quickly as possible?”

”Yes, but… Well, there’s a bit of a lapse. Thing is, we know Mom’s not actually God. Well, I mean, she fuckin’ could be, but she’s still a human. Like you said. She makes mistakes, she’s not always suited, and… We can’t trust her. Especially not with her current plans. But, now Casey’ll have Divine Authority. That means he can master your Ceremonies, and they can be done privately between the two of you as per her agreement to not… Y’know, spy on you. She’s taking it seriously, and… I think if she knew you were Pacted, you’d have a good chance of just wholesale replacing Lena as a Crone. Which means you’d be with Hari, Clarissa and I a lot more… And we’re all on board for changes.”

Elise’s hands were intertwining, and she was now very openly holding the teddy in her arms as it’s lifeless eyes and head slowly turned to observe Trisha. It looked more like a comfort tick than spellcasting.
”Like… Modernization. Realizing our paradise here on Earth, rather than ruining what’s been built… I don’t want to be some fucking doomsday cultist. And I don’t think God would want that either, if it really did give us the free will to make our own way. She… Takes that. Often. It’s only recently that we’ve been able to start taking control back from her in areas she’s no longer interested in.”

Trisha frowned. It was a lot to think about. A lot to agree on right there too. But she was surprised to hear all of this from Elise when she… hardly knew her. Leon made a bit of sense, they’d fought together years ago. So Trisha was sceptical of it too. Worried about going in deeper accidentally.
“So, assuming Casey agreed, I’d actually be able to ‘fake’ taking the oaths… But would there not be even more intervention and spying if I joined some kind of inner circle?”

She reached up to tap one of the bees on her shoulders, gently stroking it.
“I’m not necessarily against it. I don’t believe in God or paradise at all, but if there’s a way for you to attain that without… well, ruining what’s here, obviously that’s better. And I’ve been around for less than a week and… the spying thing, the lack of freedom you all have- Casey has- is obvious. I don’t like it, and I do want to help. But I’d have to think about it. It’s a lot, suddenly. And I’m not sure if I could agree without talking to Casey about it first…”

”Of course, that makes sense. As far as faking them… Some of the oaths, you can’t really ‘fake’. There are magical binders and things, rituals that involve multiple people. But we can easily fudge them by involving the right people. It’s all complex, but we haven’t brought it up to him yet. So, maybe tonight if he’s feeling okay. If not, soon. And when it comes, we’ll all be there for him. Because I think he’ll take it hard.”
She nodded her head as she spoke, and slowly but surely her hand crept out toward Trisha, a hopeful position for a handshake.
”I… I really respect you. Thank you for considering at the very least.”

Trisha looked at Elise’s hand for a moment, before reaching out to shake it lightly.
“Probably not tonight, I also need time to prepare… but just considering it isn’t much. I’ll, uh, need your support if I see it through.”

”You’ll have the support of all of us…”

---

Temple Main Grounds > Chapel > Inner Sanctum

---

The rest of the ride was spent mostly with Elise giving Trisha some much needed instruction. Going over the essentials that they may have missed yesterday, giving specifics, and a few more reassurances that this particular part of the ceremony was nothing but a very convenient usage of a loophole. General lack of updating policy, it was exactly the kind of thing Elise meant when she didn’t approve of her Mother’s working of the cult.
Of course, she wasn’t going to tell Trisha that they had the chance to ride the chaos together toward power over people and resources. Why show the hand so early?

But as they arrived, there was practically a fair going on in the Temple’s various quad grounds and gathering areas. There were quite a few magical constructs as well, perhaps Apparitions given physical forms by their various artisans. They played with the children, and there seemed to be some smaller rides set up carnival style along with banners and other decorations.
A full blown celebration for those who lived their daily lives as part of the tightly knit community that made up the core of the Temple’s followers. There wasn’t a single Blind person there, and even the air felt thicker with magic as Trisha and Elise were let out of the car in front of the Chapel that centered it all.

Trisha could look into the short distance and see some of the otherworldly animals that Casey had pointed out when they both made their first trip here together. The metal-boned elk, the giant shimmering moths, and plenty of other strange looking things which were being fed, patted and rode by children, looked on by adults who all dressed in black and gold, just like Trisha… Only, there were no real bee patterns. In that sense, she was certainly unique among them.

Elise stretched her long limbs as she stepped from the car, but couldn’t go more than a few moments without some sort of attention. Some ladies immediately approached her, but she openly redirected them thanks to her duties without a hint of shame or empathy. It was as close as one could get to saying “Get bent” without being rude.

”So busy, Girls! Main event stuff, y’know? You keep enjoying, I’ll be here all week so…-”
Some laughter, casual goodbyes, and the followers took the hint that someone important had important things to do. She got close to Trisha.
”Whadd’ya think, huh? I mean, I know everyone dressed the same is kinda weird, but like, it’s still got good vibes, doesn’t it?”

Trisha looked around with slightly wide eyes, though she tried to play off the awe and interest she felt towards what was going on. The open use of magic was part of it, but it was… kind of like a fair. At least, what she’d heard about things like that. It wasn’t something Trisha had experienced - the community or the fun as a child. Though, the almost identical outfits they all wore did a good job at reminding her this was a cult.
“It’s definitely not like anything I’ve ever seen,” Trisha replied quietly, half gesturing towards the various strange creatures.
“It’s like a petting zoo but for… paranormal animals. I didn’t expect them to be so docile. You’re right, aside from the clothes, it’s nice.”

Elise smiled warmly, shrugging her shoulders about them being docile.
”Most animals are pretty good when they’re well fed by people they see every day. None of them can exist here without our express help, so… Project Eden, you know? Most of these people work for the Project specifically. They’re adherents of the faith, and they’re invested in doing what they can to see it come true.”

She swept her hand upward toward the chapel.
”Come on! Before we’re swamped by annoying people.”

Heading up into the warmth of the chapel, the pews and rows were being set up by more members, led by a familiar face with her clipboard in hand. Alena Zöller, Lynette’s doppelganger sans twenty years of age. About her were two massive hands, and a pair of floating eyeballs above her.
The hands themselves tapped impatiently, like they were poised atop an oversized desk in judgement, their armored appearance and metallic clicking gave them a menacing look. One even slipped up slightly, hooking under one of the pews and tugging it just a little more in line with its row.

One eye focused on the motion, but the other focused on the newcomers. As Elise held onto Mondo, she squeezed a little bit in disgust. Her face turned to Trisha, and she cleared her throat.
”Geeze… I didn’t smell sauerkraut from outside, so why’s it stink so bad in here?” she grinned evilly.

Trisha laughed, holding a hand up to her mouth and nose both to cover any ugly expression that might come with it and go along with what Elise was saying.
“That’s a little mean, isn’t it? Some people just can’t cover up how they smell.”

She then turned to Lena, not even bothering with a smile.
“I won’t pretend it's nice to see you again Lena - have you been relegated to manual labour? That seems fitting.”

There was no real love lost. Lena let a wad of spit roll up in her mouth before spitting it at Trisha’s feet.
”Oh, woops. Let that one slip, didn’t I? Gosh, someone come clean this fucking mess up for me?”
One of the other acolytes in the room immediately rushed in, sliding to hands and knees and using their own robes to wipe the spit up off the holy floor. Lena grinned.

”Yeah, Trasha, serious manual labor going on right now. Definitely not trying to create a nice comfortable environment for His Grace to enjoy being showered in affection by his people.”
Her grinning face turned to utter disgust as it shifted to Elise.
”You’re pathetic, Elise. You spend how many years up North, or away from the main Convent, then come here and think you’re just going to nuzzle back into Cronehood? I’ll chop your hands off before I see you in my fucking seat.”

Elise laughed aloud and in Lena’s face.
”That’s absolutely rich coming from Hitler’s favorite niece. Y’know, Casey’s probably in a field right now talking about bashing some German soldier in the head with a stick grenade. Does that make you feel any kind of way?”

”I am an American, God DAMN you… God, I wish I could stuff your face in your own shit and make you understand how it feels to be treated like that.” she growled aggressively, the giant metal clicking hands slowly but surely balling into two spikey fists.

“Aw, does it hurt when people think you’re from somewhere else, what a hard life you have, people suggesting you’re German,” Trisha rolled her eyes, unbothered by the open aggression coming from the other side. Of course, she understood there had been a war - one that had touched the European mainland much more than them. But if Lena wasn’t a raging bitch it wouldn’t even be a problem for her.
“Maybe if you stopped acting like a Nazi, people wouldn’t treat you like one- oh, but then you wouldn’t be able to feel superior, right? Because you don’t have anything else going for you.”

Elise let her fist move out to Trisha for a bump.
”So true, you took her last chance.”
”Last chance? Last chance!? How about we talk about last chances? I mean, y’know it makes a bit more sense for you both to cling to a strong boat, since you’re equally pathetic in the arts of magic. But, I mean, all you can really do is cling to other peoples’ tits, huh? Like babies at the breast, sucking away at whatever you can get?”

Her face turned to Trisha again.
”I can’t even say that for you… You don’t give a shit about power. You’re only here to save your own miserable life, cowering in fear because your silly Coven can’t find one asshole with a knife. Fucking shame.”

Elise shook her head.
”Hey, Trisha, don’t we have, like, a really important ceremony to get to? Why are we chatting with this cockroach?” she said with a great deal of sarcasm in her tone.

Trisha bit down on her lip to stop herself from getting heated at Lena - from letting her words get to her. As if it was just to save her life. If she wanted to save her life, she would’ve found someone with strong magic months ago. She’d spent so long alone expecting the knife to get her next.
“Oh, right, it’s hard not to get distracted by something so annoying… just makes me want to squash it.” She shrugged, narrowing her eyes at Lena, managing a fake smile.
“I have to go receive my boyfriend as part of his very important ceremony. We should get going- you just keep arranging the chairs to make things comfortable for him afterwards.”

Lena bristled, one of the giant hands slapping down on an open piece of floor like it was frustrated.
”Why don’t you make like half of St. Portwell and go receive your Father’s cock.” She barked.
”Or are you too good for a little Necrophilia?”

Elise stopped, looked rather shocked even for the situation, and turned to Trisha as if to ask what should be done in retaliation.

There was a loud buzzing as the bees with Trisha crawled out from their hiding spots, coating her chest and shoulders. They didn’t move from her - but their little bodies vibrated, and their wings fluttered, ready to strike given the command. Trisha’s lips twisted down into a scowl, gaze turning cold and filled with something close to hatred.
“You fucking bitch,” was all Trisha was able to grit out, mind going blank with anger, any more intelligent insults out of reach. After that morning and the lack of sleep she was incredibly touchy. She twisted her head around towards Elise, lips awkwardly forming the words, ‘cover your nose.’

She didn’t know if the message got across - and she didn’t even stop to think about it before she blasted the nearby vicinity with fear pheromones so strong they’d get through emotional fields and make anyone close enough to her that smelt them (namely Lena) panic and get the overwhelming urge to flee.

Lena stood for an uncannily long time in the mire of fear. Her grin left, sure, along with her energy and snark. But she didn’t let her eyes, or the eyes of her guardian spirit, leave Trisha Vanburen until it became overwhelming. At which point, Lena threw her clipboard up into the air as her hands twisted into her hair. With a blood curdling scream, like the banshee had been defeated for now, she stormed off into one of the back rooms.

Elise had plugged up, and seeing the results, she laughed with her nose still plugged. With one hand still holding Mondo, Elise let her aura spell ripple through the room to follow the pheromone trail’s magical signature along the air. It was massive, like a plume of spores or a dust cloud rolling through the open space.
”Impressive, nice job Trisha. Let’s get out of here before she comes back.”

Down the stairs behind the pulpit, down a second flight, and they stood among a great stone reception room covered in banners and statues, other symbols of their faith. Elise was happy that there was a few more minutes before they’d be moving into the Sanctum. It was time enough to catch their breath and recover from lingering frustrations.
”Alright, you did really good. I mean, none of that was good: I’m gonna get in trouble later, but I’ll take it on the nose. But, you did great. Now, did you think about what you wanted to say to receive Casey?”

In the car they had discussed what was expected, and what the original script was. Elise’s only suggestion was to keep it formal, but she expressed that it could wait until a moment like this so long as Trisha was able to hold the memory of what she was supposed to say.

“I thought about it, but…” Trisha trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck with a grimace. She hated admitting something that could be viewed as a flaw. That she did, in a way. If she was smarter she could figure out how to word it perfectly.
“I don’t know how to say it… Well, you said it should be formal. I don’t know how to do it like that, I wasn’t raised in… this.” She gestured to their surroundings.

Elise nodded enthusiastically.
”I don’t think that’s a problem at all. If you don’t want to talk like a crazy person, you really don’t have to. But, if you want to give it a shot? You can tell me what you want to say. I’ll translate into nutjob for you.” she grinned, moving off to one side of the stone room and opening a cabinet to pull Casey’s bagged suit from.

Trisha couldn’t help but laugh at that, tension in her shoulder releasing just slightly.
“It sounds pretty boring in plain speech… Alright. Something like ‘Welcome back from… uh, war, I guess. Let me help you rest and recover…’” She threw up on hand in half frustration, before it came back down to clasp with the other one.
“Pretty crap, isn’t it? This really isn’t my speciality.” What was?

Elise giggled, nodding her head and smiling as Trisha got uncomfortable about letting things go. At this point, she’d been around Elise’s aura enough that the White Lux user’s main ability had time to gestate. She could see the small twitching muscles in the girl’s face, associating them with different levels of discomfort and frustration.
”I don’t think it’s crap… It sounds just like what the usual script would be, but we can tighten it up. How about ‘I welcome you to peace, and in me, seek solace.’?”

Trisha nodded, fingers tangled together and rubbing the back of her hands. It was so simple, but it sounded much nicer than how she’d put it.
“I like that. It’s short, so I can remember it easily and… it’s not too embarrassing, most importantly.” She laughed away her discomfort, smiling.
“Not quite the full blown crazy talk. I’ll use it- thanks for the help.”

It was worth noting that, consciously, Elise had not once tried to be anything other than what appeared to be genuine. Not even the practiced Richoux family smile had shone across her face like some shield against reality.
”It’s no problem, Trisha. I told you, I respect you. Everything you and the other Sycamore went through. From what Leon tells us, it was hellish. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a hero too. So, I’m happy to have you here doing this.”

Trisha’s smile wavered slightly, but she saved it before her discomfort became obvious - through non magical, purely visual means. She definitely didn’t see herself as anything close to a hero. She hadn’t even done that much against the Stygian Snake - the victory had been down to many other members.
“It was. Hellish, that is,” she shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly, as if it wasn’t a big deal - that there was no trauma there. And there really wasn’t. It had been ten years. She was over it.
“It was a… group effort. Start calling all of the Sycamore members heroes and it’ll go to their heads. Thankfully, I’m grounded, but- I’m glad to be here too. Definitely better than Lena doing it.”

”Ten thousand percent.”
There was a chime that echoed around them, and Elise quickly moved to a spot in front of the door closed tightly before them.
”Alright, come on! Remember your lines: They’ll que you when it’s your time to speak.”

She waved her hand to stand next to her.
”I’ll have to walk behind you, but you’ll feel some notches in the floor with your shoes indicating where you should stop.”

”All rise in the presence of Grace, Holy be the name and countenance of Princess of the Outer Wilds, the Ever-Visage, Second of Her Grace, Elise Nouvillette Erden Richoux. Silent Brothers and Sisters, presenting the Consort of The Blade. Recognize, Hero of the Stygian War, Sister of Sycamore, Patricia Malaya Mendoza-Vanburen, and kneel.”

As the long winded introduction sounded out from a formless voice which seemed to speak from right next to one despite filling the Inner Sanctum with dulcet tones. As the doors opened, the black and gold robes filling the small underground chamber were illuminated by flames, casting shadows that blocked their hooded faces from view completely. The further Trisha and Elise walked, the more the crowds on either side of the room rotated, until they were lost behind Trisha’s back.

Then the noise and clatter of two dozen people shuffling and kneeling gave way to eerie silence. A familiar face stood up at the podium, her expression serious and almost dour. Hari, her red hair peeking out from just under her hood, resisted the urge to flash a psychic apology to Trisha for having to introduce her like that.
Casey had already steamed and fumed about that being the introduction, because he felt it was everything Trisha wouldn’t want to be recognized for, but some things weren’t flexible.

”Your Grace-” Hari continued, speaking directly to Elise. ”You bear the garb of the Lord of Blades, with the intention of ushering the Return.”
Elise nodded, her tall figure standing heads over Trisha as she spoke loudly in return.
”Crone Matron, I intend to Recall our Noble Lord.”

”And with you, the Lord’s trusted confidant, who among us stands both outside and in?”
”Who is ready to accept and Receive the Grace of that Noble Lord, recalled to us from battle.”

Hari smashed both of her hands upon the podium.
”Then, by the Grace of Divinity, may God carry this heroic Lord from his tragedy and deliver him into the arms of comfort, that he may experience the greatest of our Holiest Lord’s concession: Love! Come home, Caseau Dumont L’del Hunter-Richoux! With God’s Grace and Guidance, to those who love you, come home!”

As she slammed her hands down on the podium a second time, the sound of ripping, tearing metal sounded as the telltale purple of Clarissa’s portal ripped a hole in reality open. Several figures stepped out of this hole, including Leon and Mia who were both draped in strangely patterned cloth, despite otherwise being bare naked. Then, Lynette herself, draped in gold with several dozen metal spheres orbiting her, and some sort of crazy halo contraption that seemed to infinitely fold in on itself danced just above her head.

She seemed to usher forth Furio, who was dressed entirely in black and gold plated armor that looked fresh from a tenth century battlefield. He was very clearly wounded at some point, his face pale and a massive gash having ripped open the metal armored shell. Clarissa herself immerged, her usually ball of golden hair tucked into tight cornrows that cascaded down her back and gave one an idea of just how dense her hair really was. She didn’t wear a hood, rather a similar halo-like crown piece wobbled over her head as if she were an angel.

Then, he finally came. His face was covered in bruises, one eye swollen shut almost entirely. His armor had been punctured and ripped open half a dozen times in different places, mostly around the gauntlets and shoulder area, though a massive hole had at one point been made in his gut. One arm was tucked against his chest, and he’d hooked it onto a piece of metal that was sticking out like a makeshift sling.
His free arm pulled his helmet from his head, and as he stepped to the fore of the group, magical light seemed to surround him as the dozens of metal spheres orbiting Lynette began to take their places around him instead. One unfurled itself, and it too became a halo of great size.

He tucked his helmet into the crook of his bad arm, and as he did so, his gaze slowly but surely turned to face Trisha. With only one eye working, he still thought she was the most beautiful thing in the room, and he smiled a broken smile at her, so happy that she was the first real thing he got to see.

Trisha had been having a hard time keeping her expression as neutral as possible - starting with the introduction that used not only her full first name, but included her middle one and mother’s surname that weren’t just easily available. Then there was the use of the word love, the near naked Richoux siblings- she should have seen it all coming in a ceremony like this. But it still shocked her, lips pressed firmly together to prevent any other reaction.

But when she saw Casey, she couldn’t hold it, lips parting and eyes widening. Her gaze was filled with primarily concern. He was so badly hurt. When Elise had said they were going through battlefields she’d assumed they were just… observing, rather than participating. It took a lot to not say anything, worrying it would ruin the Ceremony - and who knew what would happen then. She forced a smile in return to his - because how could she not, when he was managing to smile - though the worry was still clear in her eyes. One hand subtly raised in a half wave, and a bee crawled onto her cheek. It wiggled at him. If he was able to sense pheromones, he’d know it was checking if he was alright, like he was an injured member of the hives.
Of course, he couldn’t sense them. Trisha had to respond for him, glancing down at the bee as she did, then back up at him with a more bemused smile.

”Congregation, prostrate thine self before God, Almighty. She whose Grace radiates.”
Those kneeling many wholly spun their bodies toward the front, toward Lynette, and buried their faces into the floor. Noses and foreheads pressed against the cold stone.

”And before Her Grace go We.”

Hari too prostrated herself before Lynette, before an orb took to the girl’s head and unfurled into a halo. She stood again, slowly and purposefully, and spoke once more.
”And with such Grace, we are all crowned in light and knowledge. Present thyself, Lord of Blades, to your people. Bare your scars as proof of thine trials.”

Casey stepped forward, and without hands, his armor began to peel away from his body. Section by section it came away to expose wounds of combat. For the first time, he spoke.
”Hell seeketh I, and through struggle, Salvation. I am risen. I am your Lord, whose Blade shall hang across our mantle as a symbol of peace, or hang across the neck of our enemies who know not of God’s ancient wrath. Let my wounds mark me, that all beneath my Blade recognize that I am that Ancient Wrath.”

”And before His Blade go We.”

And just like his siblings, he was bare. Stripped of all shame, as was part of their creed, he bore no covering. Lynette stepped forward, silently staring first at the crowd, then at her son’s face. She looked proud.

”Your people accept. You have exceeded the expectations of our Order, Lord of Blades. May you reign long and bask in glory.”
Then her face turned toward Trisha again.
”Before us, your life awaits. I ask, do you recognize the Witch before you, and regard her as your Consort?”

Casey, trying his best not to blush, looked down at Trisha.
”Dearest Trisha, I recognize you as my Consort.”
Lynette smiled, and a sphere slowly hovered down to Trisha before also unfurling into a levitating halo. Trisha would be able to feel the subtle vibration of the machine holding itself up by strange means against her head.

”Then, Chosen Consort: Receive thy Lord, that he may be healed from his trials and refreshed to continue his duties. Accept his uniform, and receive him before Me.” she directed, a hand rising up to prompt Elise into turning, holding out the bag with his clothes in it, and bowing directly before Trisha.
”What say you?”

Trisha cleared her throat, a bit thrown off by the distressed pheromones her bees were bombarding her with over the strange vibrations coming from some unknown object (to them). But she managed to ignore it, turning to take the bag from Elise into her arms, before turning back to Casey and looking up at him.
“Casey, I welcome you to peace, and in me, seek solace.” She spoke evenly and calmly, smiling at him, momentarily quenching the anxiety rising in her gut.

A tear fell from Casey’s good eye.
”I accept your reception, Dearest Trisha, in the Eyes of God.”
Lynette clapped her hands together once, and light flooded the chamber.

”Then by my Will, I deign your ascension as legitimate! Be of yourself, and reap the rewards of war!”

The collective group, still prostrated before the stage, began to hum a loud tune, and as they did, Mia and Leon both divested themselves of the cloths that covered them, draping each over Casey to stand bare among the attendants. Casey took a single stride off the stage, stride looking good despite the damage, and claimed the bag from Trisha.
He smiled with the love of ages behind it, and as he shifted the bag to one hand, he grunted. But, he couldn’t deny the urge to wrap the unwounded one into one of her hands, and finally she was being led away as the latin chanting got louder and louder.

A chamber at the side of the room opened up, and as Casey tugged Trisha into it, and it closed behind them. Silence, only Casey’s shuffling feet and Trisha’s shoes tapping off of the rock in the otherwise totally dark place. His breath was a little rattled, but soon there was a crack of light ahead, and Casey pushed the door open to reveal some kind of… Dressing room?
Or, what would’ve been some kind of dressing room, maybe a lounge, but a place that was comfortable and quiet none-the-less, with a table that had all sorts of food and fruit and letters and notes stacked up high. A banner hung across the ceiling that read “Congratulations Casey”, and there was a bathroom with a shower big enough for a giant to use.

But Casey nearly collapsed in the middle of the floor, grunting in pain.
”Do you have… Any idea how… Happy I am to see you…” he panted, having dropped the bag with his suit. The wounded arm that tried to hold it was spasming wildly, wounded muscle looking as if it were trying to wriggle from his skin.

Trisha’s breathing hitched and she reached out for Casey’s uninjured arm, as if she could somehow support someone of his size from properly collapsing. Her eyes quickly darted around the room, biting her lip.
“I’m- I’m happy to see you too, but are there any… healing potions in here? Or that healing cake? There was all that stuff about me healing you, but I haven’t suddenly developed healing magic…”

He shook his head, trying to keep her from panicking.
”Yeah, the cake, exactly. The fridge, check, it needs to stay chilled.” he said, pointing toward a little fridge in the corner of the room.

“Okay, you just stay here- not that you can go anywhere, one moment.” She let go of him, scurrying over to the fridge with surprising speed considering the heels she was wearing. But she was practised enough they weren’t that much more difficult to walk in than normal shoes, ignoring the pain that would eventually come with them. She shifted her long skirts to be able to squat down in front of the fridge, easily finding the cake she’d had when they first met. She pulled it out and hurried right back over to him.

“Here you go.” She held out the cake to him, brow furrowed in worry. She wasn’t going to be able to get rid of the anxiety she was feeling until he was healed. That was definitely the cause.
“When Elise told me what you were doing I didn’t realise you’d come out so hurt.”

”Oh, Babe, this shit was not scheduled.”
He shook his head, taking the little plate with the cake on it and absolutely stuffing it into his face with ravenous hunger. He tilted his head back as the magical custard fell down his throat.
Saliva enzymes were already breaking it down, and he could feel the broken and damaged teeth in his jaw already pushing out the old remnants for fresh new teeth. As it went further and further, there were audible twisting and snapping sounds beneath Casey’s painful moans. For a long while, he was practically limp on his knees, buckled in pain.

But as the swelling left his eye, and the feeling came back into his arm, he started to calm down and loosen up before finally collapsing entirely with a comforting sigh.
”Thank fuck… You’re the only reason I didn’t pass out…” he admitted, voice weak but stable again. ”Can you… Open the clothes and get me some underwear… Unless you don’t mind me being naked.”

“I’m enjoying the sights,” Trisha managed to joke, letting out a sigh of relief that he seemed healed… even if he was lying on the floor. There was still an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, but she ignored it for now. She made for the clothes bag, opening it and rummaging about carefully.
“I don’t mind, but it doesn’t seem fair for it to just be you, and I’m not stripping outside of the house.”

She came back over to him with the requested underwear, crouching down in front of him, and holding it out with a smile.
“You don’t need help getting dressed, do you? I can do it, but it’ll be less sexy than you’d expect.”

Casey laughed standing up slowly. He didn’t do much about the cloth falling from his body to expose him again.
”Y’know? After the day I’ve had, Trisha? I may just have the guts to ask you for some…” he slyly commented, looking at her without shame.

But still, he managed to slide on some covering, stretching his newly healed limbs. Trisha could watch his eyes and see the blood that had filled the swollen one still inching out of his sclera.
”That Uncle of mine, Babe… Seriously. That wasn’t expected at all, of all the times to challenge me to a duel. Of course I understand why, but I really wasn’t looking to fight today, and it would’ve been really fucking dumb if he killed me.” he complained, as if the vague hint of he and Furio having an all-out magical brawl was some sort of normal happenstance.

“So, if I ever want to move past kissing, I have to get Furio to challenge you to a duel?” Trisha smiled, trying to go along with the flow of the magical fight being… normal. It really wasn’t normal. Well, it had been when she’d been part of the coven, but that was more teenagers with too much power using it to beat each other up.
“It’s a good thing he didn’t kill you, it would’ve really ruined my day to become an attempted murderer- well, maybe I would’ve succeeded.”

Trisha stepped closer to him, carefully hugging him, tilting her head to look up at him. She’d honestly wanted to touch him since they’d come into this room. But there was that worry it would move further in a location she honestly wasn’t comfortable with doing much of anything in… Well, the risk wasn’t entirely negated. But she didn’t know how Lynette’s spying worked, so she didn’t entirely trust she wasn’t doing it. Anywhere in the Temple was a bit uncomfortable for her.
Still, she leaned up to lightly kiss him.
“Did you win the duel, then?”

He didn’t seem to be bothered by the same apprehension, pulling Trisha especially close to grab her in ways he didn’t usually.
”It was supposed to be to the death, Babe. Or, that’s how he made it sound when he issued the challenge. So, I wouldn’t be here if I lost.”
His hands tugged at her dress slightly, almost nervously.

”The entire time, I was thinking about why the fuck he wanted to do it now, when he could’ve done it any other time. Why now that I have you in my life? But, I think… Because he knew I had something waiting for me, Trisha. I won, but only because of you. So, thank you… For making my day bright, and for giving me something that I want to fight for… And no matter how fast or slow we take this relationship, just understand. You saved me.”

Casey leaned down for the kiss, no longer hesitating. He didn’t want to lose a second of the Paradise he’d found on Earth.

Trisha leaned up to meet Casey, parting her lips and pushing aside her apprehensions to lose herself in the feeling.

An hour or so later, they’d ended up on the couch in the room. It was a bit tight, nowhere near the nice size the one they had at home was - though Trisha didn’t particularly mind that she ended up having to lie on top of Casey. She rested her chin on her hands, which rested on his chest, and smiled sweetly at him. It wasn’t quite love in her gaze, but it was certainly strong like, happiness and contentment.
“How much longer do we have alone?” she asked softly, before moving one finger to vaguely gesture towards her hair. It was freely cascading down her back and onto him, completely pulled out of the style she’d had it in before.

“I wouldn’t have bothered putting so much effort into how I looked if I knew we’d have all of this time,” she grumbled good naturedly, still smiling.
“Not- not that I’m unhappy about it.”

Casey took a deep breath, satisfied with the way things had been playing out. The day was one of triumph, and as he held Trisha in his arms, he sighed outward in bliss. Too bad her question stunk. He didn’t want to think about having any less time with her. He just wanted to bask in victory… He could understand why this was the ritual for a warrior.
”Ooof, I mean… I lost track of time. Not sure how I could know with all of this going on, y’know?”

A noiseless giggle escaped from his chest, and he tilted his head up toward the clock on the wall.
”Twenty-five minutes. Not that you have to get dressed or anything right now. You’re all done until we go out later.” he smiled back at her.
”Andrade’s hosting us at the Port Saint around six, so we’ll have another hour or so after that. Did you uh… Want to go home, or something? I can arrange for you to get back, have someone stick around so we know you’re not getting hunted on me?” he asked her sincerely.

“So I can just laze around while you do… whatever you have to do?” Trisha asked, glad to hear there was no rush for her. She’d need to redo her hair and a lot of her makeup… thankfully she’d brought stuff with her, just in case. Good foresight… not that she’d expected anything like this. She was so happy that the extra effort she’d have to go through to look nice again didn’t even matter.
“Like… going home instead of Port Saint? I was planning to stick around. There’s not really much point in going back to an empty house, is there? I’m used to long days and dinner parties. I got through most of those alone, too… I’d rather stay with you, if that’s possible. Where it’s possible.”

Casey nodded.
”I mostly just meant until we were done here. Of course I want you by my side while we’re out, but I figured maybe you would just want to go home and like, game or something in the meanwhile. I’ll be here reading books essentially, interviewing with certain members, there’s another chanting session I think where we lick Mom’s feet. Not… Not literally.” he made a grimacing face, sticking out his tongue.

As he grimaced, his body shifted, and he managed to rotate Trisha onto her back on the couch. His hair draped over her now, and he planted one last kiss on her lips before standing fully. Still in his underwear, he knew he had to get dressed. A shower would’ve been nice, but getting the uniform to regulation was a twenty minute procedure.
”But, otherwise, you’re free to roam about the Temple grounds as you see fit. Did you see all the stuff they did outside? I mean, I assume so, I told Mum to have them do it in my honor since that’s the kind of thing I’d want to be known for. I uh, want people to feel comfortable around me, y’know? That they can trust I’ll keep ‘em safe. So, what’s better than fun?”

As they spoke, he began the process of suiting up starting with unbuttoned, unbelted pants. Perfect for tucking clothing into.

“Oh yeah, I saw on my way in - it was like a magical fair, with all of the creatures letting people pet them and ride them… very cool. It’s fun like you are.” She propped herself up into a half sitting position with her elbows, looking around before she found where she’d dumped her bag.
“I brought my tablet with me with a few books downloaded, since I expected to just be… sitting around the whole time. I don’t really see the point in going home to just do the same thing but… well, I’m happy to do it anywhere, so long as I don’t have to risk bumping into certain Temple members again.”

She moved again, turning around to properly sit with her back against the couch, legs crossed. She held a hand up to her mouth to cover a yawn.
“But I kind of mentally prepared to spend most of the day out… Well, it’s already been pretty different from what I expected. In a good way.”

”Oh yeah?” Casey asked in reply, slowly buttoning up his shirt after having laced up his shimmering black shoes. His socks had honeycomb patterns on them; a little flourish of Mia’s design that matched with his tie he had hanging around his neck.
”Elise was good to you? She didn’t give you any shit?” he asked sincerely.

“She was. She gave me the opposite of shit, really, she was very helpful. What I said during that ceremony would've sounded a lot worse without her help. We just talked about some stuff and… yeah, she was good to me." As she spoke, Trisha stood up, stretching her arms up above her head. She wasn't particularly bothered about her own state of undress - before her dress had even come off she'd asked about the possibility of Lynette spying, and been told that she was expressly forbidden from looking into this room. So it really was just them. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her body, really, but there were the scars she preferred to not show. In a way she was lucky - while there were smaller, pale ones dotted about in visible places, they could only be seen if someone was close enough. The obvious ones were in places she could easily hide - the raised one just below her chest, another less harsh but obvious cut wound at the very base of her spine. A nasty bite wound scar on her left hip, and scars from scratches on her upper thighs. All things she could've gotten removed magically or with expensive surgery but had… chosen not to for reasons she couldn't quite explain.

She padded over to her bag, picking it up and taking it back to the couch with her, going back to the same cross legged sitting position. She rummaged through it and pulled out a small comb. Her gaze went back to Casey as she started to languidly brush out her hair. It was nice to see all the little details of his outfit she'd missed when he first got into it - all the places it matched hers.
“We didn't get Temple married or anything during the Ceremony, did we?" she asked very casually, as if it was just a small thing she'd thought of rather than finally voicing the anxiety that had come back to scratch at her chest now that she was given a moment to think. It was that fear of getting trapped in something she couldn't escape… but also the fear of getting into something too deep, getting too much hope, only to have it pulled out from under her.
“Just that's what Consort normally means… I assume it's because it's an old ceremony?"

Casey couldn't help admiring the aesthetically pleasing sight before him. Though, he was brought away from it as the concept of her concern creeped into it. He wasn't actually sure about the answer to her question, but rather than feel embarrassed, he decided to redouble his efforts in keeping her safe and as insulated as possible.
”Honestly, if that's how you want to take it we can be… But, I'm certain that's the last thing you want. It'd pretty well go against us taking things slow, right?”

Slow… It seemed like a joke to him now that they lived together. Now that this happened. It wasn't a joke like haha, so much as it was the kind of joke two people didn't laugh at. The one that was so old and so well trodden that its usage had become ironic and sarcastic. But, if there was something he knew she was really committed to taking things slow with, it was The Temple.

”But, honestly, I don't care if it did or not. There wasn't any magic, no binding contract, no matching brands or anything. I'm pretty sure the consort word is used pretty loosely these days.”

Trisha let out a slight sigh of relief, anxiety lessening. As much as there was a certain security from something like that, the fears were more overwhelming. How could marriage, of any form, be anything but scary when she’d only seen ones that failed?
“Mhm, it’d be very much not taking things slow… I like where things are. We’ll get there when we want to. I’m just not ready for that jump from girlfriend to wife.”

Her tone turned lightly joking at the end. She knew it was ridiculous to worry about slowness when she’d moved in with him in only a few days. But there were certain things she could do quickly, certain ones she couldn’t. Moving in? Fine, there was an escape. Marriage and strong feelings? It would only hurt more if she lost them.
“But it’s fine if there’s none of that stuff- which isn’t like a normal marriage, by the way. Magic and branding normally… isn’t involved.”

She waved a hand in front of her, deciding to move on from that, because she didn’t particularly want to linger on the topic.
“Oh, if you’re reading books and interviewing members here, does that mean I’ll have to leave? Because I haven’t… taken any vows.” She put down her hair brush and started to braid her hair, from the top of her head, pulling in more strands all the way down to the back. “Will people be coming in right away? Because then I do need to get dressed.”

Casey vaguely pointed back out into the Inner Sanctum behind the door.
”Out there, my love. In the same hallway, there's another door with a more intimate space that Mother, Furio and I will be inside. Supposedly my Dad's magical essence is really strong in there, so it's supposed to be like he's there too.” he said, a slight frown crossing his face.

Not that he registered what he said, or what he called her. It came out of his head and his mouth so naturally that he was more caught by the thought of his missing father than he was by the L word leaving his mouth.

Still totally unconscious of it, he adjusted his coat and rubbed his service award patch to straighten all the commendations out. The actual medals clinked together gently. As he donned the hat finally, it was clear that his outfit was complete. Even the inner part of the hat's rim matched Trisha's honeycombs.

”I was thinking about changing the office animal from the Heron to the Bee. Do you feel like that would put too much more of a highlight on you? Or, would you be flattered?”

Trisha didn’t respond at first. She’d frozen midway through braiding, arms up and hands behind her head as she just stared at him. My love. The two words echoed in her head over and over again, the rest of what he was saying registered but not processed. It… it didn’t mean he loved her already. Right, right, it was just a term of affection that happened to contain the word love. It was just a cute little name.

Would it be so bad if he did? Yes, because if it had happened so fast, he could stop loving her just as quickly. It couldn’t be real.
“Oh, uh, sorry- I was distracted by how handsome you look,” Trisha forcefully snapped out of it, blushing - though more from what he’d called her than what she’d said. He did look very attractive, of course but… that wasn’t where her mind had been. She decided not to bring it up. Put it to the back of her mind, don’t react, concentrate on the good things…

“I think… I’d be flattered?” Trisha said, finishing off her hair by tying the braid at the nape of her neck. She pulled the ponytail over her shoulder, playing with the loose waves. It was another thing she was conflicted on. She would be flattered by it, but it would also bring more attention to her, like Casey had said. Temple attention. She wasn’t sure she wanted it… but if she ended up going through with Elise’s plan, she’d get it anyway. She didn’t know quite what it entailed, but anytime Casey thought about it, he’d think about her, too.
“I’d be flattered. It’s not like changing the animal will suddenly have people coming to me, right? And the bees deserve it.”

She held up a hand, one of the bees that had been relaxing in various places of the room flying over to land on her palm. She smiled.
"I’m glad that you think about them so much." The bee moved away and she stretched out her hands, gesturing for him to come over to her now that he was done getting dressed.

Casey couldn’t help but laugh and smile as he slowly bent his torso. His hands came around her beautiful face, gently holding her and kissing her lips before he sat next to her. The hands automatically listed toward hers, taking them and looking into her eyes.
”They’re a part of you, right? Of course I want to include them in my thoughts.”

He reached for one still listing on top of her head and slid a finger under its little legs to get it up onto his hand. As he brought it down, the little thing flitted about before nestling into his palm. He could feel it’s little stinger, but didn’t feel nervous about it.

”Almost time… I think I heard the door slide open down the hall.”

Trisha smiled as Casey held the bee, feeling its happy little pheromones wash over her. She wasn’t sure why they liked him, beyond the fact she was constantly bathing him in her own pheromones… but they’d been more wary of Reyna, and it had been the same thing. Sometimes she just couldn’t entirely understand them.
“I don’t really want you to go, but I guess I’ll survive,” Trisha sighed, shifting onto her knees so she had enough height to easily lean in for another kiss. She then gestured to the bee in his palm.
“You can take her with you, if you want. She’ll be good, I promise, and she doesn’t understand the human language.”

Casey held her close, a finger rubbing her fuzzy little body as he stared like a kid. He didn’t respond at first.
”Uh… I… Definitely can’t. I want to, but as stupid as it sounds, she’s a bee without oath. She’s just plain not allowed.”
He kept rubbing the little bee until it willingly fell on its side. Just like any animal, he supposed. But their time at that point really was over. The door that they’d entered the room through slid open, and rather than fully come into the room, a voice spoke from outside.

”Boss? It’s time.”

Furio’s voice. Casey tensed slightly, causing the bee to jolt up and take flight. A stray thought about that bee’s personal trust passed through his head as he stood.
”Don’t miss me too much. Go check out the carnival thing, I… Maybe Gin or someone’ll be there, you won’t be so alone. If you want… If not, I’ll come get you when we’re done.” he smiled tenderly, his finger brushing under her chin.

“No promises,” Trisha smiled softly up at him, legs pulled up against her chest reactively from the door opening… even though no one had come in. She wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do but checking out the festival was probably the better option… maybe. He was right, she wouldn't be so alone. If she didn’t enjoy it she could just find somewhere to hide away.
“If I do go out, do I just go back down the corridor? Because it’s all… magic…”

”You got it; there’ll be a couple of Sentries posted outside the room we’re in. Friendly faces, so if you need any help just ask and they’ll get you back upstairs; it’s uh, Norm and Theo. So, yeah.” he stuck his thumb up, smiled, then waved.
”Miss you already.”

”And don’t be afraid to come back down either, Trisha, you’re allowed to. Just try and be quiet when you get back into the Sanctum, ‘cuz people are still meditating while they wait for an audience. You did great by the way, sweetie, that was real nice what you said. Reminded me of Clarissa.” Furio commented kindly from outside in hopes that she’d feel a bit more at ease with his input.

“Ah, well, thank you. It wasn’t really much… Just what I’d say to Casey if he came back from anything tough, made fancier.” Trisha replied somewhat awkwardly - after all, it had been Elise who’d worded it for her. She couldn’t really take the credit. But… It was nice to hear that it reminded him of Clarissa, in that those two were still together. Of course what was said in this ceremony probably had very little weight in that, but it was another thing to hold onto.
“And don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to draw any attention to myself when I go out… or come back in. The bees will be quiet too.”

Then she glanced back at Casey.
“I’ll see you later, make sure you don’t learn so much you stop thinking about me, alright?”

”No chance.”
Casey was still looking at her as he backed toward the door and turned. The two men exchanged some pleasantries, and they ended up hugging before walking down the hall and ultimately disappearing from Trisha’s hearable range. It’d be several more hours before Casey was free again.

With Casey gone, Trisha was left alone again. It wasn’t so bad this time. He was just down the corridor, he would be back, they’d spent a really nice hour and a half together. She should at least check out the festival since he’d suggested it and organised it. It wouldn’t be so fun without him, but it could be. Maybe.

Trisha just about managed to drag herself off the sofa to pull back on her underwear, but the dress was another challenge. And with a bit of the stress lifted, in a place that at least wasn't watched, she suddenly felt very tired. Well, there wasn’t any rush. She could take her time getting ready again.

With that in mind, Trisha sat back down on the couch. Then lay down on her side, bees meandering over to her and landing all over her. It didn’t take long for the exhaustion from barely sleeping to take her, her bees contented pheromones washing over her as she fell asleep.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

& &

Mood Music

Edict & Leon & Kenshiro

---

Mentions: Pink and Violet, Lynette Hunter-Richoux | Direct Dialogue: Layla Hyacinthus/@Estylwen, Anya Baksh/@FernStone, The Gathered Coven | Location: The House on the Hill

---

The crowd bayed for proof. Edict could only grin at Luna, getting just a bit closer to toss his arm over her shoulder in a comforting way.
"Yeah, I mean it's great that you all want proof that she's not lying and stuff, but... Won't it suck when you have to let me in to get it?" his eyes narrowed, teeth bared in the most smug look he could give. He waited long enough to feel the aggressive reactions bubbling before he gave way. "Fuckin' joking! Jokinggggg, God. Stiff motherfuckers: Alright! Everyone interested in proof, raise your hand. I'll beam what I saw, it'll hit your Emotional Field, you'll see shit like a picture show. The informants in question seem to be... Agent assets. Currently working with 8th Street, but I... Have reason to believe they're involved with a lot more than just them. I also have reason to believe that one of these two people who were probed are responsible for the hallucinatory haze we were all caught in at Kari's house."

He waited a moment for those who consented to gather before speaking again.
"While rummaging through their heads, I felt the same sort of lingering sensation as I felt with the mist. Hence, reason to believe, rather than solid proof. Now-" he commented, slipping on his sunglasses. "-it's show and tell time."
Those who had openly consented to the non-intrusive display were bombarded by the same images that he'd ripped directly from the girls' memories. Lots of meetings with 8th Street, Blake Schmidt being handed over the notes. The shock and awe of Kari's anti-magical translatory coding, which even Edict had to admit was a masterpiece of clever tricks that he'd probably need another dozen years to decode himself without a key.

Leon hadn't raised his hand. He didn't much care about what was going on, in so much as he cared about the Temple business that needed immediate tending to. So, he didn't put his hand up, and hoped that Edict wouldn't just blast him anyway as he was trying to talk to someone.

“I uh, I refused Britney once... So I wanted this sealing done by Sycamore, and not the Temple... if that's alright?”

Layla

He had no clue, obviously. Every part of him said no, that it wasn't alright... But at the same time, he thought about the mounting strangeness; the tension, the fact that Lena was the Aberrant who was supposed to be in charge of Layla's tending and training, the situation with Casey and Trisha. He thought about what his job was, and then about Alizee. Finally he frowned.

"You're... Gonna end it then? No more magic for Layla? I mean... You're not so far into your oaths that you can't back out, as far as I'm concerned. If it's become too much for you, and you think you can't go on, then... I'm sure it's best for everyone then. So Void Heart stays sealed too, and we can all move on." Leon's hand still held Layla's dainty fingers, frowning. "But, this will be a sad thing for Her Grace to hear. I believe she would expect me to try changing your mind: But, I don't think it's right to keep you... Not when you're so hurt, Layla. So, I'll take it for you. Her sadness, her anguish. Don't worry, okay? I only ask that I be with you when you're sealed, so I can know for certain that you're kept safe."

The vision ended, and Edict pulled his glasses from his head so that nobody would get nervous about him going any further. He'd given them inextricable proof of Luna's words, and the only thing he could do now was gear up to defend his own powers from the scrutiny of others. It was assumed that at least someone would call bullshit, or that he simply doctored up the images as he pleased. But this was a power he didn't have when they were teens, neither the vision sharing or the ability to twist and transform memories within his mind. So, it was the hope that there'd be nobody who would bother making the connection...
The Bad Guy with good intent - The sad clown.
"So, with that, I say we start applying pressure where we can. Maybe we can get some legitimate assets involved with this Schmidt character? I'd say someone like Anya is the perfect choice; get into the guy's head, convince him you're the one who can solve his problem? Keeps us out of 8th Street's radar too; maybe they'll just forget like angry T-rexes." he laughed.

Ken had put his hand up, and had absolutely recognized the validity of the claims in the images featuring Kari's many notebooks. It was easy to see, as she'd even added little bits of the language of the Ambphibioids of Gama to her vast sprawling cyphers. His mind reeled in a mixture of confusion and rage.
"Why, so someone else can get their hands on her notes to sell for profit? I know the ways of your bōryokudan; you'll not convince me of your good intentions without assurances on your life that those notes will remain confidential and out of your reach!"

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

&

Mood Music

Edict & Leon

---

Mentions: Britney Williams, Linqian Han | Direct Dialogue: Layla Hyacinthus, Adora Phoenix-Prescott, The Gathered Coven | Location: Edict's Car > The House on the Hill

---

Edict never loved waiting around at the Temple. So, he was glad when Leon had him come out to their apartment building by the Port, pulling up outside and rattling off a quick text to Britney; a silly meme about a show they'd started watching together in the little spare time they had together. It was mostly to see if she'd ping him back with a response in a decent amount of time. He could trust they were safe if she kept responding, and he didn't exactly care how annoying it was. Leon was another story. Edict had set up the meeting on Sunday after quietly attending a particular ceremony for the Temple as a courtesy, and as he waited around longer and longer in his running car, he watched the precious time they had to talk business dying away as the Sycamore meeting at the abandoned club got closer and closer.
He felt it was important for both of them to show up, even if showing up together looked bad. Last time, of course, it ended bad too. The church raid. There was no way they were going through that again, even though he didn't really have any solid plan to prevent it. It was more of a prayer, or some kind of manifestation energy, than any reality he could create by himself.

Leon, having already woken up late, immerged from the apartment building with just about enough driving time to make it to the club on time if red lights proved kind. Edict could see the telltale signs of Leon's abstraction working overtime to heal his ass, not least of which was the half shredded clothing he was wearing. The giant man dropped a duffle bag on the street, pointing at Edict to acknowledge that he was waiting before he finished the work of destroying his clothes by ripping the scraps off. In record time, he was refreshed in a massive pair of blue jeans, black boots, a white shirt and his leather bomber jacket.
Edict made a mental note that Leon looked like someone pulled him out of some greaser movie from the old days. He just needed his hair slicked with a bit of product, but having it tied in a tight pony tail pulled every single hair on that wooly man's head back to the tie. He didn't casually bring the bag back into the building, so much as he unpleasantly hurled it back into the lobby before making for the car.

Leon opened the door and looked down into the cab of the sports car with a sarcastic look on his face.
"You're joking, right Devola?"
Edict knew what he meant immediately, and he lifted himself over the console to grab the bar beneath the passenger seat. He tried sliding the seat back further, only to hear it slam against the back of the cab.
"Oh, come on. You're joking with ME Leon. Bunch those fucking tree trunks up, bend your giraffe-like neck, and get in the car. Before I make myself regret asking what you decided to fuck that ruined your morning."
"You mean fuck with, right?" Leon asked in reply, compressing himself as best he could to get into the car in front of him. As he finally adjusted and managed to close the door, he looked directly at Edict. "R-right?"

The spare moments were spent discussing what'd come to pass since the last meeting, including the small amount of work he did with Luna. The topic managed to shift to their shared experiences having sex with Linqian, which made Edict feel strangely cagey and... Certainly not jealous. He definitely wouldn't ask her about it later... But the red lights were merciful, and after twenty minutes of city driving, Edict pulled into the designated meetup to see a bunch of other cars already there. He knew Britney was there at least. The two men quietly made for the entrance, and came in right around the time Adora was SHOUTING.

Leon's bulky frame blocked the little bit of light that otherwise would've come through the door as they entered. Quickly, Edict put two and two together, and came up with Luna jumping the gun like usual. She probably didn't wait for him to spill the beans, and now Adora was asking for concrete info to confirm the circumstance. He spoke up loudly, trying to interject into the mayhem before the chance escaped.

”... Do we have any concrete information? Anything to confirm what you're saying other than 'trust me, bro'...?”

Adora

"Woah, woah! Fiiiirst off, my client pleads the fifth, whatever the hell we missed. But, if it's what I think it is, I have proof, taken directly from a head privy to the information firsthand. And I'm happy to disclose anything, so long as you guys are gonna give me a fair shot at explaining."

Meanwhile, Leon had harbored a secret objective: One given to him by his younger brother, who was now privy to the Temple's vast surveillance network in real time. He almost instantly locked in on Layla, moving to where she'd been sat before crouching in front of her.
"Jesus Christ, Layla cher... Look at you... Again? What'd you and Lena talk about before? That you're supposed to head to the chapel, or to the Aberrant Dorm where people can help you!"
Leon didn't raise his voice, on the contrary toning it down as much as possible so that Layla wouldn't think it was some kind of admonishment.
"Her Grace is worried sick about you, Love..." he cooed at her, reaching a large and calloused hand out to her in an offer of comfort. "How'd you even get here?"

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Mood Music

Kenshiro

---

Mentions: Jack Hawthorne, Kari Wilson | Direct Dialogue: Luna Inoue/@Estylwen, The Meeting Attendants | Location: The House on the Hill

---

A door opened and closed somewhere in the dark behind Jack. It was messy clattering, and then Kenshiro immerged from the hole just in time to hear people talking about Kari's notes. Mostly he was trying to keep up with Jack, who just plain moved faster than him. However, things were already spiraling into the blame game again. Him piping up wasn't going to do anyone any good, so rather than make a big stink, Ken chose to hone in on the situation at hand. He knew Inoue by her unique look, hard to forget the girl who dressed like a gangster with the face of a geisha.

"And if they don't? We take Blake by storm, you and your alliances, and we beat him until he tells us the exact location of those notes."

Luna

"Inoue-San... Why don't we skip the light work, huh?" he asked in Japanese, barely understandable to a modern tongue before swapping back to English for the wider group. "There's absolutely no way we should be conceding ground at this point. Give no quarter: If they've got Kari's things, that means they're open enemies. If they're open enemies, I think we should lop their metaphorical heads off now, and reclaim what we want before they have any more time to mount a counter. Its bad enough that 8th Street has a chance of giving away that we know her notes are gone, we don't need them also knowing that we found out who has them."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@AtomicEmperor Slight property damage on Temple grounds... Layla will help pay for it.

@Estylwen

Hahaha Lynette left the property damage. She thinks it looks nice with plants crawling through the holes. They keep buckets in the chapel LMAO