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Estylwen
Halloween FestivalINTERACTIONSAuri’s paintings.“Alex?” Faith asked as she leaned back in her folding chair.
Alex heard her but chose not to respond. They was tasked with an important task, a task that came down from the three horsemen of the artpocalypse. Their gaze remained fixed, never moving nor wavering. They never shut, and they did not move. To fail this task was to fail the 317, and to fail the 317 was to fail everything. At least at this moment.
“Alllllex..” Faith asked again as they leaned forward.
This mission was too important to give up in some meaningless conversation. Their target was in conversation with a strangely dressed woman. There was no chance Alex was going to let them win. Alex was unable to really pull much useful information from their conversation but they knew it must be important.
“Alex,” Faith shouted as she stood up. She walked to the side of Alex and waved her hand in front of Alex, trying to grab their attention. “What are you doing?”
“Staring contest,” Alex whispered as they swatted at Faith’s hand.
“With who?”
“Them,” Alex pointed towards Auri who was looking at their strangely dressed friend and not towards Alex.
“They’re not even looking at you,” Faith groaned as she buried her head in her head. Why were her artists all so weird?
“They were,” Alex paused as they finally looked away from Auri and towards Faith. “For a second. I think I may have misread a signal here.”
“Yeah,” Faith rolled her eyes as she returned to her seat. The stall was one of two that the 317 had for this festival, and this was primarily filled to the brim with paintings, information about the artists, as well as a catalogue of unsold art still at the 317. The second stall was further away, and was a more hands on one that featured educational displays by members of the 317, face paintings, and class signups and registration. “What are you still doing here, by the way? I released the other creatures to a night of fun, I can manage the stall by myself.”
“I was..” Alex paused as they blinked.
“Having a staring contest with someone who wasn’t involved in the staring contest?”
“Yes.” Alex returned their gaze to Auri but noticed they were running off into the distance, and their friend was following close behind. Alex stood up and followed them down the road with their eyes. They spotted a mass of crows in the direction they ran.
“You should get out and explore the festival some, have some fun. I told you that you don’t have to do anything to help here. We’re good, I can man the fort myself,” Faith said as she sat back down and grabbed a cup of tea.
Alex frowned. These types of crowds were not their usual idea of fun. There were people, noisy people, who had no concept of personal space. The food smelled, and none of it was anything that they would eat. The drinks were weak and overpriced. What about this was fun? They knew that prolonged exposure to this space would mean their anxiety and stress levels would be annoying. An idea streaked across their mind as they shifted their eyes across to the now closed stall. Alex saw the paintings. They wondered what the world on the other side looked like.
Alex waited for their moment to strike and it came when a rather large dude began to peruse the stall. They shot up, their Bob Ross wig bouncing as they did, and began to make their way across the street. Faith saw this. “Alex?” They tried to follow but could only do so with their eyes as the man who was browsing the stall began to ask questions about the art.
Alex quickly found themself at the edge of the stall and Auri’s pathetic attempt to stop them with a ‘closed’ sign. They quickly made their way behind the stand and found themselves in front of their paintings. Auri was good. Alex placed their hands on the first two paintings, channeled her power, before they went to the next. They continued until every last painting was linked. Every painting would now have a new road painted in that ran towards the horizon. They were all linked to their power now, and Alex would visit them before long. They did not want anyone slipping through on this end so Alex closed the open portals here, leaving the path open from the other end.
A caw sound grabbed their attention, and they left the stall to explore what was causing a massive murder to get so upset.
“He seemed nice,” Summer chuckled as a child sat down for their turn at getting their face painted. Summer was dressed as Audrey Ramirez from the Atlantis movie.
“He was a grown as..a grown man,” Jason said as his eyes scanned the crowd. Seeing a few parents staring at him Jason averted his gaze, pretending to check inventory. He was dressed as the cabbage guy from Avatar, complete with a pair of cabbages in his hand.
“It’s the Halloween festival,” Jordan responded as he sat down. He was dressed as a Jedi knight. “He just wanted to look a little more festive.”
“Exactly,” Summer said as she turned her attention to the kid in her chair. “What animal do you want!” She asked with a nearly infectious enthusiasm.
“A deer,” the kid spoke through missing teeth.
“Fantastic choice,” Summer smiled as she began to paint the kids face. “Besides, it’s money for the restoration fund. And I don’t think there’s ever an age limit on getting your face painted.
“What do you think is going on over there,” Jason said as he pointed towards a small gathering and a localized rain storm.
Jordan looked over and squinted. It seemed, to him at least, like a fight was about to break out with a crocodile. He watched as it heated up as more people joined before everyone left on their own. As the crocodile left, so too did the storm. “Looks like coven crap,” Jordan signed, “just what this festival needs.”
“Jesus, it’s like they have a hard,” Jason paused as he swallowed the word he wanted to say, he spotted a patent in the cries who was shaking their head at him, “time not being terrible people.”
“And that,” Summer pointed towards a mass of crows. It looked like they were quite agitated.
“More of the same,” Jordan shook his head as he stood up, “you two got this? I want to check that out.”
“Yeah we’re good” the twins spoke in unison.
Jordan waved as he took off towards the murder. He arrived shortly after a very large and attractive woman did, and he spotted Alex trying to blend into the crowd while maintaining eye contact with the PRA agents dressed as maids. Jordan shook his head. He knew that the PRA did not show up for no reason, and with Jasper standing in the midst of it he could only guess that a fight had broken out. He saw how Jasper held the small man and raised an eyebrow. Jordan would want to get confirmation, on both accounts. He pulled open his phone and pulled up the notes app and started writing down what he saw and heard.
Lynn watched as Bianca downed the beer right in front of her, and Lynn’s smile grew wider. She grabbed the ten that Bianca dropped and she put it back in her hand. Lynn grabbed a second beer and pushed it across the table until it was right next to her new drinking buddy. “Your money's no good here,” Lynn winked as she laughed. Lynn looked back over to Cindy and Meifeng and laughed some more. “that’s one of many reasons I could never join up. I’d have a new HR case every other week. Don’t worry your secret's safe with me, I won’t tell them.” As she finished she gave Bianca a wink, downing her beer after she did.
Lynn’s demeanor changed when Bianca asked how she was. Her eyes lingered for a second, but they eventually needed to retreat. She was the same as always. Depressed, too sober, and constantly fighting off the creeping realization that she was going to die alone. She was always the same, but she added a realization that she was a colossal bitch sometimes. And Lynn knew Bianca heard what she said to Linqian. Lynn did not know if the Fed was close to Linqian’s brother, but she had to assume that they were at least friendly. Lynn knew that everyone from the old coven must hate
“Well I would be doing better if,” she paused as her eyes narrowed a bit, locking onto Bianca’s with an intensity, “you know, I didn’t get tear gassed a week ago.” She let the statement sit for an uncomfortable second as her eyes never left Bianca’s. “But it’s been more good that bad recently,” Lynn’s demeanor shifted, softening as she pulled herself back to her normal, “More good than bad. It’s been really awesome being back in town, seeing everyone again,” she paused as she looked at Luca getting close to Jasper, “has been amazing. If you weren’t a fed I’d say it’s really good seeing you again.”. She smiled genuinely. “I lied,” Lynn paused as she offered up her beer bottle with Bianca to give her a cheers, “it is good seeing you again. What’s new with you?”
Lynn watched as Britney arrived on the scene. This prompted her to look to Lila. “Do me a favor, watch my drink,” Lynn paused as she slipped into the possible future, her eyes glazing over. She spent several minutes in the future but only a few seconds in the present. “Oh we might need more drinks for Lila after this exchange.”. Lynn turned her attention towards Lila. She took another big drink as she leaned back in her seat, and tossed Bianca another smile.
Jaspers face was more red than it had ever been before. It felt like it was radiating heat at this point. Luca…was…wrapping his hand around his waist. The hand holding was one thing, that Jasper knew that Luca’s arm around his waist was a completely different thing all together. Luca was holding him, and Jasper felt good because of it. He felt happy, safe, and above all else he felt like he could sit in his embrace for the rest of the festival. And then Luca leaned into the embrace and he felt that his face grew a shade redder still. He did not realize how cute Luca was until he was this close.
Luca asked him to help him stand up, and Jasper knew that in this moment Luca could ask him to do anything and he’d say yes. Maybe. This was all so confusing. ” Of course, I got you Luca. After we finish up here how about I carry you back to get that food? And then hang out with everyone? I’ll carry you the whole night if you need me to” Jasper said as he smiled down to Luca. His face was very red, was it because of the rot? That must be why it was so red. The rot must have taken its toll and now his poor, cute face was flushed. No other reason. Jasper helped Luca stand up more, noting that his really good friend was very light.
The moment Stormy offered everyone a drink Jasper’s smile lost it’s intensity. Jasper felt like he could go for a drink in a safe way but, after everything that happened tonight, he knew that it could spiral quickly from there. All drugs could spiral quickly, and he was not going to chance it tonight. Not while Luca needed him, not while he had Luca in his hand in a friendly way. ”Water for me too,” he joked with Luca.
Jasper noticed a sudden, and jarring change in Luca’s disposition. Did he do something wrong? Did he upset his friend by the way he was holding him? Jasper followed his eyes and spotted Britney. She was asking Lila if everything was okay. Not Luca, Lila. Sure, Jasper understood that Lila recently got help sealing the creature inside of her and that something went wrong. Sure, Jasper knew that this development was sudden, and scary. But Luca was also hurt. Luca was in pain. And Britney did not check in with him. He followed Luca’s direction as he turned his head towards Lila. ”Yeah, Lila you doing okay?”
Lila further buried her eyes in the dirt as she spotted the other PRA agent dressed in a maid uniform. Oh how Lila hated Halloween at this very moment. Lila would normally protest breaking bread with the Feds. By all accounts they’ve done nothing to earn the goodwill, and the coven in general needs to distance themselves from association with the PRA. Words escaped her lips, and she would wait to voice her displeasure until the coven. But she had to say something. “Stormy, I don’t think we-” her voice cut as she spotted the cause of her torment coming towards her. And she dared ask her what happened.
What happened? What happened!? Lila was no expert in sealing but she knew that Britney had failed with it. What happened? Emily had fucked with her in a way that brought the maiden back to her, and she let her the fuck back in. And it turned her into a fucking furry. What happened? Lila could not question it further, she did not know what happened and questioning it further would only make her angry.
Luca pulled her attention, he was making sure that the rot did not hurt her. Lila flashed a smile that was, once again, not her own. “No, no, no you did not hurt me.”” Lila looked to Luca, and saw how close he was leaning on Jasper and how red the two of their faces had gotten. Her genuine smile returned. It did not last long as her eyes slowly slid over towards Britney.
“Britney,” her voice lost its edge once again. What happened, what truly happened? Lila thought back to the sealing, to that night. They were so drunk by the time they got around to the sealing, but Britney said that everything went okay. The maiden was gone, and things were good. But why was the maiden back now?
“I can spoil the secret,” the maiden whispered.
No. No it was not possible. Lila looked to Luca, and Jasper still held him in his arms without rot. Stormy’s aura should still be active, and she should be free of the maiden at least while the aura was still active.
“I have nowhere to run,” the maiden whispered. She felt the maiden chuckle, and the chuckle turned into a full laugh. “he makes me weak but he can’t keep me away”“You should be mad right now,” as the maiden spoke she felt the anger rise inside herself. She should be angry. And as the anger grew, she felt herself being pulled back away from the present. It was much slower, much more difficult, and Stormys spell was very much limiting the pull. Yet it did not stop her eyes from turning black for a brief second as her head tilted to the side.
“Britney, what did you do?”, Lila whispered as she forced her way back to the front of her mind, causing her eyes to return to normal. It was easier now than it was before. The maiden was like a flickering light in an old dark room right now. Every now and again its light shined through, but for the most part the maiden was kept in the dark by Stormy. And the longer she stayed in his aura the weaker the maiden got. Something told her that it would never truly push the maiden away. Lila focused on her breathing. She needed to remain calm. She could not let her emotions get out of hand again. And most importantly, she needed a drink, a good night with friends, and a safe place to be protected from 8th street. She could accomplish none of that if she truly told Britney how she felt.
“I’m okay, I’m okay. We need to talk, in private, soon,” she whispered to Britney, throwing a weak smile across her face.
