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Elodie Ashbourne

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Location: Sean's truck—-->Vex Apartment • Time: Night

Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean @Tpartywithzombi Vex • Mentions: @Tpartywithzombi Vex

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Elodie had just barely recovered from Sean calling her pretty when he threw on his Hollow mask and said, in so many words, that she might get to tear something apart tonight. Her eyes had widened. Not because she was afraid–well, okay, she was a little afraid–but mostly because it was starting to hit her that this was real. He wasn’t humoring her, wasn’t keeping her around like a weird little pet project. He trusted her. Enough to bring her along for something dangerous.

And somehow, that was more terrifying than the threat itself.

She swallowed hard, nodding quickly as she grabbed her sweater and followed him out of the truck, mind spinning. Her footsteps were quiet but quick, her eyes flitting between the buildings and shadows. When he gave her the rundown on Vex, she nodded again, her expression tightening with focus. "No fae, second floor, clutter, bleeding equals bail," she whispered under her breath like a mantra.

And then they were moving. Elodie trailed just behind him up the stairs, her limbs taut with anxious energy, the bottle of scotch left behind in the truck–not because she forgot it, but because it suddenly felt wildly out of place.

The hallway was dim. The door came closer. Sean's presence shifted beside her, something coiled and precise, and the moment he burst through the apartment door, she flinched.

Everything happened fast. Too fast.

The gun. The sweep. The broken furniture. Elodie hovered near the doorframe, hands clenched at her sides, trying to look everywhere at once. And then she saw her.

Vex.

The she-wolf was pale, sweating, and somehow still looked like she could snap someone in half if she had to. Elodie was halfway to awe before the pang hit again, low and sharp in her chest.

Sean's hands were careful. His voice, clipped but calm. Concern lived between every syllable. Not romantic, not obvious, but there. Enough to sting a little.

She turned her focus elsewhere.

“Elodie. Go to her freezer and get me something that’ll work as an icepack... Don’t trip over anything.”

"On it!" she squeaked, already moving.

The apartment was a mess of debris and glass and memories she wasn’t privy to. She tiptoed across the chaos like a deer avoiding traps, murmuring little apologies to upturned furniture as she nudged things aside. When she finally wrenched open the freezer, almost breaking the door in the process, she flinched before her eyes scanned the contents with laser focus.

Frozen peas? Not a bad choice. They could easily conform to whatever they needed to. She then went on a hunt for a hand towel to wrap them in. It was never good to put something straight out of the freezer on bare skin. She found a hand towel, but gasped and dropped it as she saw some wet mystery stain on it. She glanced around for a moment longer before her eyes landed on her own sweater. That would do.

She returned just in time to hear Sean finish his gentle-yet-firm scolding of Vex. There was something about pizza and forks and crop tops that Elodie deliberately chose not to ask about.

When he turned to her again, she blinked.

“This is the amazing Vex. Vex, this is Elodie, my cinnamon cherry muffin."

Elodie stared at him.

Not the gun, not the messed-up apartment, not even Vex, though that was certainly a lot to take in too. No, her brain had locked onto one very specific thing.

My… cinnamon cherry muffin?

There was a small, audible noise from her throat. Something between a cough and a shocked wheeze. She blinked at him, slack-jawed, her undead brain stuttering like a cursed jukebox.

That wasn’t just some offhand crack, it was him bringing up her name options she’d mentioned in the truck. Cinnamon. Cherry. Muffin..

A part of her wanted to crawl under the couch. Another part–traitorous, starry-eyed, probably still feeling the effects of scotch and adrenaline–wanted to bottle that moment and keep it in her back pocket forever.

Because as much as it sounded ridiculous, it also… didn’t.

Coming from him, it sounded like a weird, teasing little nickname. A pet name wrapped in sarcasm, sure, but still a pet name. Like maybe, just maybe, he didn’t mind her taking up space next to him.

Her jaw clicked shut as she glanced toward Vex–injured, feverish, gorgeous even while half-dead. Great. Just great. Because now her brain decided to spiral again, latching onto all the worst, most insecure possible thoughts.

He trusts her. He called her his favorite pup. He’s seen her bleed and bite and survive.

Meanwhile, Elodie could barely survive an awkward hallway conversation without wanting to spontaneously combust.

She swallowed hard, the weight of everything finally catching up in her chest. The chaos, the danger, the fact that Sean just asked her to watch over his rifle and a werewolf.

“Right,” she said, mostly to herself. “Watch the lycan and the murder stick. Easy. No pressure.”

With a deep breath, she moved carefully toward the coffee table and crouched beside it, watching Vex with guarded curiosity. There was pain in the woman’s face–sweat at her brow, a ghostly pallor–but even weakened, there was something fierce about her. Something sharp and self-contained. “I’ll take good care of you, Vex, until he can get back with that antidote.” She said softly as she gently placed the peas on her forehead.

She seemed to be the kind of person Elodie wasn’t, but maybe wished she could be. And yet… Sean had trusted her to watch over her. Even if he didn’t say it outright, that meant something.

She stole one last glance at the door Sean had vanished through, her voice barely a whisper. “Don’t worry. I’ve got her.” And for once, despite the hundred flustered, insecure thoughts bouncing around her skull like marbles in a tin can…

She meant it.



Race: Yuan-ti
Class: Rogue Arcane Assassin
Location: The enchanting bathroom
Interactions:
Mentions: @princess Phia @Oso Bastion @samreaper Menzai @Potter Arya @FunnyGuy Minerva
Equipment:

Attire:
Gold Balance: 93
Injuries: None currently, but has numerous faded scars on her body



Meiyu stepped through the remnants of the ruined bathroom, the echo of the crystal still humming faintly behind her ribs. Her boots moved silently across the cracked tile and soot-streaked hallway, the chaos of battle trailing behind her like smoke clinging to silk.

She did not follow Bastion. She did not call after him, or ask after the girl he carried. She had done what she could. The rest would unravel as it would. Instead, Meiyu moved through the ship with purpose born not of concern, but calculation.

The deck would give her vantage. Perspective. A better view of what damage had truly been done. If they were going to crash, if worse came to worst, she wanted to know her exits.

Her steps were graceful but deliberate, sharp golden eyes scanning every detail as she emerged back into the corridor. A few battered passengers littered the space like discarded pieces on a game board. The scent of blood was thick in the air, mingling with smoke and sweat and adrenaline.

She didn’t speak as she walked past a collapsed figure or two, noting wounds, gauging severity. Some would live. Others? She was less sure. She had no real attachment to any of them. Not yet. But knowledge was power. And she never let power slip through her fingers.

When she reached the deck, her gaze swept the sky first, then the horizon, then the airship itself. She clocked structural damage, listening with half an ear to the murmuring voices nearby. Menzai’s breath was ragged somewhere behind her. Arya’s voice drifted over the hum of failing engines. Someone else–an unfamiliar woman with a bubbly lilt–chattered nearby.

Meiyu stood not far from them, but separate. Always a step removed.

She leaned against the railing, one arm folded across her midsection, the other resting lightly against the metal. A breeze caught the edges of her robe, but she adjusted it with a subtle flick, drawing the silk closed once more over her chest. The ever so faint blue-green glow of the crystal vanished beneath layers of fabric and precision.

No one else needed to see it. Not unless they had to.

Knowledge was power. And the less anyone knew about her, the less power they could ever wield.

Bastion had seen it, yes. But Bastion had also felt it. He'd been present as it happened. The moment the artifact shattered, they had all been struck–Meiyu, Phia, and Bastion himself. There had been no hiding that truth from him. In that sliver of time, they had shared something strange, ancient, and irrevocable.

She had let him see where it struck her. That was not trust. That was practicality. Because he'd seen too much already. And because he had one, too.

But for the rest of them?

Let them wonder.

Her golden eyes scanned the clouds ahead as though searching for answers the others hadn’t even thought to ask yet.

She didn’t speak.

But she waited.

If someone wanted to speak to her, they would.

And if not?

She would know exactly what to do when this ship began to fall.


Time: Evening
Location: Banquet Hall
Interactions: @Rodiak Matthias, @CitrusArms Stratya, @Oso Killian
Attire: Look Leo! Green! Also hair…




Torvi arched a brow at Sir Matthias, lips twitching with amusement at his sheepish explanation.

“Do not worry,” she said with a soft chuckle, voice laced with warmth, “I merely jest. I am a big girl and can get my own desserts. And do not worry, I think Lady Lesdeman would forgive the theft.”

Her words had barely settled before the atmosphere shifted.

The chain’s echo sliced through the room like a guillotine, and the air snapped taut with tension. Fenrys, sprawled at her feet like a great slumbering shadow, raised his head at once–ears perked, golden eyes sharpening. A low, almost imperceptible growl resonated in his chest. Not threat. Recognition.

He is here.

The thought brushed against Torvi’s mind–quiet, steady. She didn’t respond, only rested a hand on his head, calming.

Her playful expression melted into something far sharper. Older. She turned, golden gaze locking onto the man in the doorway the moment he appeared–white hair like frost caught in motion, eyes like judgment itself.

Kilian.

It wasn’t that she was surprised to see him–not truly. The Vanguard moved where the pulse of control demanded, where order had begun to rot. But she hadn’t known he would be here tonight. Not like this. Not dragging chains like old ghosts behind him.

She straightened, fingers threading once through Fenrys’ fur.

He shifted again, sniffing the air, and then exhaled in a soft huff–like greeting an old comrade, though his ears remained slightly back. Protective. Curious. There was a bond between wolf and storm, but Fenrys had always been territorial when it came to Torvi. Especially when that storm came wrapped in danger.

Matthias murmured beside her, but Torvi didn’t look away from the man dragging judgment into the hall like an old friend.

“Oh…” she murmured, voice smooth and velvety, “I think you are wrong. It is not ending. It is only just beginning.”

She lifted her glass, though she didn’t drink. She didn’t need wine. Not with heat already crawling down her spine like a hand she used to know.

The woman behind Kilian was a ghost–ragged, bound, barefoot. Torvi’s expression flickered, but just slightly. The display was brutal. Theatrical. And entirely effective.

And very much him.

When Stratya returned, Torvi shifted slightly to allow her room, smirk ghosting at the edge of her lips.

“Welcome back, captain,” she said low, just for Stratya, “I was beginning to wonder if I had scared you off.”

But then came that voice.

Deep. Measured. A blade drawn slow.

”Þruma.”

The nickname curled around her like the smoke of a battlefield long burned. She turned fully now, elbow on the table, chin tilted, a slow smile blooming like something that remembered the past.

“Well, well,” she purred, swirling the wine in her glass. “If it is not the storm I thought had passed.”

She leaned in slightly, studying him through her lashes. That smile–half challenge, half warmth–rose like the tide.

“Still brooding. Still dramatic… Gods, I have missed that voice.”

Fenrys chuffed again, shifting forward just slightly, his gaze on Kilian steady and sharp. Torvi’s fingers slipped through his thick ruff, grounding both of them.

“He has been eating well,” she said, voice lighter now. “Can not let him waste away. I still need him.”

She tilted her head, golden gaze softening in a way few ever got to see.

“It is good to see you, skuggi.” The word came with layered meaning–shadow, yes, but also something quieter. Familiar. “Truly.”

Then, her eyes flicked briefly to the chained woman behind him, and her tone shifted again, flirtatious with a dangerous smile tugging her lips.

“Though next time, do try bringing a dessert instead of a hostage. These nobles scare easily.”

Fenrys gave a low huff that could’ve almost been a laugh.

And Torvi? She just watched him.

Because for all the tension in the room, all the questions spinning in the minds of the gathered nobility, she knew what was coming.

The storm hadn’t passed.

It had only just arrived.


Elodie Ashbourne

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Location: Sean's truck • Time: Dusk

Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean • Mentions: @Tpartywithzombi Vex

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Elodie blinked as Sean pulled off his mask, and for one stupid, fluttering second, she forgot how to breathe…if vampires even did that properly. That grin of his wasn’t fair. It was carved from trouble and calm confidence, the kind that came with knowing exactly who you were and how fast you could drop someone if you needed to. And worse, it made her stomach do that ridiculous swoopy thing again.

“Don’t pull too hard on that. I won't complain about a free show…”

Her hand, still fussing with the hem of her skirt, froze like she’d been caught in a spotlight. Then, in one flustered motion, she dropped it and sat on it like a guilty toddler.

“Oh my god,” she muttered under her breath, turning her gaze to the window. “You’re right, I'd probably die again. Of embarrassment this time, though.”

Worse than that, her brain–her traitorous, newly undead brain–whispered something to her.

You’d let him rip it if he wanted to.

She had the gall to feel herself agree before she smacked that thought down with a mental baseball bat.

Nope. Nope. Bad brain. Bad undead hormones. Stop.

So she focused on his answer to her question. “Okay,” she muttered with a mock huff, “fair. Cinnamon is objectively terrible. But it was either that, Cherry, or Muffin. So really, you should be thanking me. It could have been far worse.”

Her mouth twitched into a smirk of her own, but her gaze didn’t quite leave him, studying his profile for a moment longer than was probably necessary. However, she looked down again when he mentioned the handshake. “Right. No handshakes. Got it. Death, taxes, and never touching sparkly strangers,” she murmured. “I should start a journal. ‘Things No One Told Me About Being Undead.’” A pause. “Volume one: accidental fae bargains and emotional werewolves.”

Despite the levity, she was listening. Really listening. And when his voice shifted, when the lightness gave way to steel, her expression softened.

Sean didn’t say “I’m worried.” He said things like “ready to tear problems to shreds.” And she was beginning to understand that was his version of care. There was a reverence in his voice, something carved from history and hard-earned respect. And maybe something else.

The pang hit her so fast, it startled her.

His “favorite pup.”

A part of her heart squeezed–just a little–and immediately, she swatted the feeling down with practiced self-deprecation. Okay, Elodie, calm down, she muttered mentally. You’re a vampire barista with a trauma baking habit, not a lone-wolf badass with a vengeance arc.

Still… she found herself admiring the woman. Not just for earning Sean’s trust, but for surviving in a world that seemed dead set on chewing up anyone who didn’t fit cleanly into its broken puzzle.

She glanced at him, then quickly away again. “She sounds… kind of amazing,” she said softly. “The kind of person you want in your corner when the world’s going to hell. And lucky. To have someone who'd drop everything and come running.”

A beat. Then, more to her lap than to him, “For the record… I’d come running too.”

The words slipped out faster than she meant them to, and she immediately wished she could shove them back in her mouth with both hands.

“Not like, in a weird ‘follow you into the night’ kind of way. Just… you’ve had my back, and I–look, I know I’m not exactly a powerhouse or anything, but I’d show up. With baked goods and bad yet disarming names and hopefully a little luck.”

Her shoulders dipped as she gave the faintest laugh, tucking herself slightly smaller into her seat.

“Ugh. Okay. Shutting up now. Please pretend I said something mysterious and cool instead.”

She turned her face back to the window. If she could still blush, she would have turned scarlet.


Volfango & Lys

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Location: The Eclipse • Time: Dusk

Interactions: INTERACTIONS HERE • Mentions: MENTIONS HERE

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The music pulsed like a heartbeat on the verge of frenzy–hot, filthy, and hypnotic. Lys had barely stuck the landing when she collided with him…sculpted, tall, and oozing the kind of decadent charisma that should come with a warning label. Or a hazard fee. Her fingers lingered on his chest just a beat longer than necessary, the press of her body a teasing invitation wrapped in leather and glitter.

He laughed–rich, indulgent–and delivered his line with enough sensual weight to bend gravity. Her golden-green eyes lit up like fireworks. Static played between her fingertips and his shirt as a wicked grin curled her lips.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she purred, voice honey-dripped chaos with a wild Irish lilt, “if y’play this right, we’ll be startin’ with a felony and finishin’ with a scandal they’ll write songs about.”

Volfango did not contain his smile as his partner began to make her moves. Vampires, werewolves, and mortals all had their endearing quirks but there was just something inexplicably dangerous pairing with one of his fellow Fae. Dangerous in the best way. Volfango was a maestro of his craft and he would play his chosen instrument tonight until both the heavens and hell weeped.

She leaned in close, chest pressing against him. “All of 'em, Volfango. Every single bleedin’ bad decision. In fact–” her palm slid flat against his torso, fingers fanning out like she was memorizing the feel of him as her fingers trailed a line downwards, slowly–“why don’t we make a few that don’t even have names yet?”

His hand did not waste the opportunity to slide onto her hips as she pressed into him. The molding of her body against his was perfect but he chose to lower his head some to bridge the gap between their height. A pure hunger pooled in his stomach at her words and touch. It was exactly what Volfango craved. Not the promise of physical bliss but the explosive spontaneity of the woman before him. It drew him in harder than any glamour could.

Her nails scraped lightly as she pulled back from him, intending to leave him wanting.

“Unless, of course, you're just all talk and no bite,” she added with a slow, deliberate rake of her eyes down and back up, as though daring him to prove otherwise.

“Volfango prefers a little bite.” He rolled the words together as he closed the space between them once more, his golden eyes keeping track of every movement she made. His form blurred slightly as he made it through the swarm of people, noticing his little enchantress drew him into the very heart of the dance floor. There were many beautiful people drowning in sin tonight, but only one held his attention

The club throbbed around them–heat, smoke, strobing light–and in that moment, Lys Solwynd was the storm in the eye of it. Untouchable. Unruly. Already planning how best to ruin them both before dawn.

Volfango spun himself around a couple that got into his path and used the momentum to close the distance between them once more. He had a crystal rose between his teeth that glimmered strongly with the flashing lights and the hum of magic it held. The rose head looked as though it held a swirling nebula within. Twinkles like stars flashing in and out as the colors shifted within.

He boldly slid his hand around her lower back and twirled her in place, dipping her back at the end of the move. The free hand removed the cosmic rose from his lips and brought it up to her chest for her to grab. ”Volfango humbly accepts. Let us make fate regret ever drawing us together.” His eyes flashed down to the rose before meeting hers once more with a wicked grin as the rose began to pulse with light and magic.

Lys caught the dip with a purring laugh, her body arching against his like temptation incarnate. One fishnet-clad leg curled up around his hip without a single shred of shame, and her hand fisted in the front of his shirt–not for balance, but for leverage.

And Volfango drank from his cup of plenty. Their closeness allowed him to savor each and every sinful curve that called to his deepest desires all. Each glance along her figure was a drink from the finest Fae wine that had him begging for more and he loved it.

The rose glowed between them like a living star. She took it slow, fingers dragging over his as she plucked it from his grip, the magic sparking on contact like a match struck between sinners. The pulse of glamour licked down her arm and through her chest, fluttering beneath her skin like something caged that had just remembered how to roar.

Her grin could’ve ended bloodlines.

He pulled her up, but she didn’t move away. No. She pressed in harder, body molded against him like a challenge, a prayer, a fucking threat. Her nails scraped down his ribs, stopping just short of scandal.

Volfango’s hands had landed on her hips once they were pressed together, fingers hovering dangerously from sweet bliss. He held his head low, looking into enchanting eyes that shifted freely from a gold like his own to a venomous green. His lips presented with promise.

“Oh, lover,” she purred, voice velvet-drenched chaos. “If this is a declaration of war, I surrender my clothes and nothing else.

She tucked the glowing rose straight into her cleavage without breaking eye contact, then, with a wicked twist of her hips and a glint in her eye, she spun free, barely brushing past him, fingers trailing along his belt as she slipped away.

“Catch me if you dare,” she called back with a grin, vanishing into the crush of bodies–heat, glitter, and chaos in her wake.

”Oh, mia bellissima ninfa…you shall not escape Voflango.” He returned soaked with promise and temptation that rumbled in his perfect chest. Golden flames danced around his eyes as he smiled.

The ceiling of the club disappeared as a cloak of darkness pooled above the dance floor. A bright comet, no larger than a person’s head, soared out of the shadowy pool. The wisps of black evaporated revealing a reflection of the night sky above Halcyon, unobstructed as it would be without the light pollution or the veil. The Comet began to orbit the center of the dance floor. A rainbow of light beams shot from the orbiting comet as it finished one revolution around the room.

Each beat and note vibrated deep within the patrons of The Eclipse, making them feel lighter on their feet and drawn to join those under the light of the mysterious glamour comet. Truth be told, Volfango should have charged the owner for such a display and use of his power. However, it served the purpose of drawing the attention of those less aware of such powerful glamours.

Volfango felt the heightened sensations as he searched for Lys like a starving wolf teased with a juicy steak. His body pushed and slid with grace amidst the growing crowd of delirious patrons, feeling more than a few hands on his body in all kinds of places. None of them were a blip on his radar. He grinned, catching a flash of glitter and black hair flickering just within his peripheral vision.

A firm hand caught Lys by her hip and Volfango had been sure it had been her. He was instead greeted with a startling surprise as Lys poofed away leaving behind a cloud of glitter that eagerly attached itself to his clothing. ”Volfango loves when they play hard to catch.” His excitement and smile matching his eyes.

A wicked giggle that danced through the crowd. And then heat.

Lys was behind him. No warning. No mercy.

She pressed flush to his back, every curve of her body melting into his like they were made for ruin. Her hands slid up the firm plane of his chest, shameless and slow, dragging her nails along the ridges like she was reading his sins by braille.

Volfango’s chest rumbled in a low chuckle as his prey found him first, loving the way she expressed her mutual affection for his wonderful body. Sexy as it was, Volfango found it a bit humorous. Her petite frame would make an excellent backpack for Volfango, one he would prefer wearing on the front.

”Miss me, darling?” she purred, voice sin-slick and full of promises she had no intention of keeping. Her fingers dipped lower–over his abs, past his waistband–teasing along the sharp V of his hips. One flick. One tug. And his belt slid free in a smooth, unholy draw, her fingers curling around it like a trophy.

”How could he not? The things Volfango wishes to do with and to you…he can’t begin to describe.” Volfango returned, his words accompanying the slow descent of her hands. When they achieved their objective, He grinned and turned around a second too late.

“Catch me,” she whispered, ”and I’ll let you decide whether we ruin the club, or each other, first.” Then she vanished again.

By the time he turned, she was replaced by illusions. Three of them.

One version of Lys danced on a table, hips rolling, dress riding up indecently high with every beat. Another leaned over the bar, lips wrapped around a straw with a look that could undo vows. The third lounged like a queen draped in vice, licking sugar from her thumb with deliberate, obscene slowness.

But the real Lys?

She was in a dark velvet booth, sprawled like chaos made flesh. One leg draped over the backrest, the other crossed high to flash black lace and thigh. His belt dangled from her fingers as she took a slow sip from a glowing drink, eyes locked on him like a hunter watching prey come willingly to the snare.

”C’mon, gorgeous,” she murmured under her breath, lips curling. ”Let's see if you fuck as well as you flirt.”

”Caro mia, what a buffet you present to Volfango. Allow him the pleasure of indulging.” In a manner similar to Lys, three illusionary Volfangos split from the main body to pursue their assigned Lys.

The first retained his pants, though they seemed somehow tighter, yet had lost his shirt bringing the artfully chiseled chest of Volfango into view. This Volfango crawled up to join that Lys on the table, grabbing hold of her hips as the two blended together in a show of sweat and temptation.

A second Volfango was dressed similar to the main one, except for the brilliantly bedazzled red coat that was worn open. He tilted that Lys’s chin while bringing her drink to his own lips with the other. This Volfango didn’t swallow. Instead, he pressed his lips against hers and shared in the burn.

The third came to the last illusionary Lys and knelt like a prince to his princess. He reached out and gently took the hand she was licking. Finger by finger he would follow kisses with a reverent suckling.

Volfango’s gaze shifted from one debaucherous scene to the next, tasting each delicious possibility they presented. His eyes found the real Lys as they left the final show, a smile that was only matched by the confidence in his step as he approached the secluded booth. His pants holding up by the sheer shape of his sculpted hips and taut muscles, the red velvet of his boxers peeking above the waistline.

”After such juicy appetizers, Volfango is ready for the main course. Now for a small tasting.” His hands planted to the sides of her chest as he lowered himself, lips connecting with hers in visible spark of golden glitter.

Lys didn’t rise to meet him–she lounged like a queen, like temptation personified, letting him come to her. The moment his body bracketed hers, her legs parted to welcome him in, curling one lazily around his waist like a cat claiming her favorite perch. She let his belt drop, hitting the ground with a soft thud.

Her lips met his in a kiss that didn’t ask, it dared. Static crackled between them, not just magic but raw want, sharp and shimmering and soaked in heat. Her fingers tangled in the waistband of those barely-hanging-on pants, nails scraping just above the velvet teasing his hips.

”Mm,” she purred against his mouth, voice like smoke and sin, ”glad you’re hungry, love. But careful... this main course bites back.”

She bit his lower lip as punctuation, eyes flashing wicked bright before she rolled her hips up into his with a wicked little smirk. Then she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him down, teeth grazing the shell of his ear.

”Volfango prefers it so.” He managed to chime in, feeling the building inferno of their passion in his chest. Each of her touches made him feel more than alive. Taken to an elevated plane of being. Nothing was off the table. Everything was permitted. It was time to turn threats into actions.

”Let’s give the stars somethin’ to weep over and those brave enough to watch something worth tearing up their bedsheets over later. Now be a good boy and make ‘em jealous, won’t ya?”

And then she kissed him again–deeper, rougher, as the Eclipse pulsed around them like a heart in heat, the crowd blissfully unaware they’d become witnesses to a slow, exquisite undoing.

His hands explored curves he had held himself from enjoying. Their bodies danced just as fiercely as their tongues in that booth. Second by second losing both their minds and their clothes.

And in that velvet booth, fully on display, Lys and Volfango gave the club a show it would never, ever forget.

Elodie Ashbourne

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Location: The Velvet Bite —> Sean's truck • Time: Dusk

Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean • Mentions:

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Elodie blinked as Sean stood abruptly, his clipped curse cutting through the low hum of the lounge. One moment, they’d been basking in post-chaos banter, the next–he was out of the booth and back in work mode.

She opened her mouth to respond, but he was already halfway to the exit.

“Right. Okay. Sure. Grabbing the scotch,” she muttered to herself as she snagged the bottle by the neck and scrambled after him.

Trailing just behind, her voice lifted enough for him to hear, warm and teasing despite the sudden shift in tone. “You weren’t obvious, by the way,” she called after him. “I’m just good at picking up on people. Comes with years of caffeinating the sleep-deprived and heartbreak-ridden.”

But truthfully, it wasn’t just the barista instincts. It was him.

She’d been watching Sean more closely than she wanted to admit–reading his silences, the tilt of his head, the pause before a lie, the weight behind his truths. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to know something about the way he spoke of the murder had set his jaw just a little tighter.

She slipped out of the lounge after him, the night air cool against her cheeks. The magic-heavy haze of the Bite faded behind them, replaced by the quiet hum of city streets and the low thud of her own pulse.

Sliding into the passenger seat of the truck, Elodie buckled herself in and set the bottle of scotch carefully between them like a truce offering.

There was something oddly comforting about being in this space with him, even if she couldn’t see his face. She turned her head slightly, gaze drifting to the matte black of his mask, trying to imagine what expression might be behind it.

After a beat, her voice came softer, a little sheepish. “Hey… be honest.” She tugged slightly at the hem of her skirt. “Was Cinnamon a dumb name?”

She gave a small, wry smile, eyes fixed on the windshield now. “It was the first thing that popped into my head. I panicked. I bake, I smell like cookies, I…yeah.”

Her voice lowered again, more thoughtful now. “And is everything okay? Where are we going?” There was concern laced between the words, the kind she tried not to show too much, but it lingered all the same.

Because Sean didn’t rattle easy.

And something about the way he moved now told her this wasn’t just another job.


Elodie Ashbourne

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Location: The Velvet Bite• Time: Dusk

Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean • Mentions: @Infinite Cosmos Lucian

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Elodie leaned back into the booth with a small giggle and a sigh, letting the scotch warm her from the inside out. She gave her glass a lazy swirl, eyes following the slow ripple like it might offer her a hint on how to act in places like this.

“Well,” she said with mock solemnity, “I survived a shady supernatural lounge, called myself a pantry item, got Pirates-quoted by a broody werewolf with daddy-issues energy, and earned free scotch for my trouble.” She raised the glass toward him in a tiny toast, “That’s gotta count for, like, one punch on a loyalty card, right?”

Then, without much ceremony, she tipped back her glass and downed the rest in one smooth motion. It wasn’t elegant, but it was decisive…and it earned a faint hiss as the burn hit. She set the glass down with a soft clink, expression flickering between amusement and something harder to place.

She turned toward him with a lopsided smile, the kind that tugged more on one cheek than the other. “You really think I did alright back there?” she asked, a touch quieter now, as if the question had been sitting just behind her teeth for a while. Then, smirking just enough to soften the question, “Because I’m pretty sure Lucian’s going to have recurring nightmares about cinnamon and cardigans.”

Her gaze drifted toward the lounge beyond their booth, where shadows danced with glamoured light and secrets clung to every low laugh. Then she looked back at Sean…or Hollow, technically. But here in this booth, with the pressure momentarily lifted, it was easier to just see him.

Her smile faded into something gentler. More sincere.

“So what do you think really happened to the man that was murdered?” she asked quietly, tilting her head, voice low. Her tone stayed light, but there was no hiding the flicker of unease behind her eyes. She wasn’t just asking for the sake of conversation.

She was asking because if something like that could happen to someone so powerful… what chance did people like her stand?


Time: Evening
Location: Banquet Hall
Interactions/Mentions: @Apex Sunburn Iyen & Sjan-dehk @Oso Killian
Aesthetic: Outfit



Her breath hitched softly at the way he said it.

“You’re important to me.”

And then the backpedal. The stumble. The red that crept into his cheeks as he tried to soften the meaning of his words.

Kalliope could have let him off the hook. Could have smiled and let it pass, could have teased him again, let the tension break like sea foam on the hull.

But instead… she just looked at him.

Something in her gaze changed–not sharp, not mocking. But quiet. Unreadable. It was the look of a woman who was used to chasing meaning through half-truths and broken loyalties. Who knew exactly how dangerous the word important could be.

And still… she let herself soften.

Her lips parted, then curved–subtle, slow, and far more vulnerable than she meant them to be. The warmth in her chest hadn’t left since he first touched her shoulder. Gods, how it lingered now that he’d said the one thing she hadn’t dared admit she wanted to hear.

Not wanted. Needed.

When he leaned forward again, hand returning to her shoulder with that same steady calm, her breath stirred. Not sharp, but shallow. Her pulse quickened as he spoke, and that thumb–gods, that thumb–moved in slow, unthinking circles.

It was stupid.

How one simple touch could shake loose so many things she’d spent years locking down.

Her armor didn’t crack so much as shift, like a blade turned edge-down instead of out. It didn’t matter that the world had teeth or that her ghosts were stirring. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to lean her whole weight into his palm and let herself forget, just briefly, that she had anything to fear.

He said he’d fight for her. Without blinking. Without bravado.

And for the second time that night, her throat tightened.

She reached up slowly, fingers brushing against his wrist–not gripping, not pulling away. Just resting there. Feeling the warmth. Anchoring herself in it. Her voice came quieter now, the strength behind it raw but deliberate.

“You’re important to me too.”

There. Simple. Honest.

Her thumb brushed along the edge of his wrist. Barely a gesture.

“You definitely didn’t do anything wrong, Sjan-dehk.” Her gaze dipped briefly before finding his again. “I did. I didn’t tell you the truth when I should’ve. I was afraid. Of what I saw. Of what it meant. But not of you.”

Her next words came out on a breath.

“Never of you.”

She meant to say more. Maybe even tell him everything. But then…

The door groaned.

The hall shifted.

And everything began to change.

Kalliope’s fingers went still on Sjan-dehk’s wrist.

Her breath caught–not the soft, fluttering kind from before, but something sharper. Held. Like prey suddenly aware of a predator in the brush.

The air turned colder, or maybe it just felt that way. The way the wind swept in, unnatural and deliberate, licking at the candles and stirring her hair, made her stomach twist.

Something was wrong.

Not politically wrong. Not scandal-wrong.

Wrong.

Her eyes left Sjan-dehk’s face, drawn past the circle of warmth between them and out to the growing silence beyond.

And then she saw him.

Tall. Pale. Precision-made.

The man who entered didn’t just command the room, he changed it. As though the hall had shifted its very shape around him. As though the air now moved to his rhythm.

Kalliope’s jaw tightened, her spine instinctively pulling straighter as her eyes dropped to the chain. She didn’t recognize the man, but she recognized the weight he carried.

Chains. Dragging.

Not symbolic ones.

Not metaphoric.

Real.

The sound hit her like a blade to the spine. That scrape–metal on stone–was something she hadn’t heard in years, but it reverberated through her like it had never stopped. It was a sound that didn’t just echo in the hall.

It echoed in her.

Her hand, still resting on Sjan-dehk, jerked before she even registered the movement. Her fingers found his sleeve and gripped–tight, trembling for just a breath. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and for a single, vivid second she was no longer here.

She was somewhere darker.

Somewhere where chains dragged blood across the floor. Where men screamed and no one came. Where she was not Kalliope, but a number. A shadow. A whisper behind a locked door.

Her body didn’t flinch. Her face didn’t show it. But her grip did. She clung to Sjan-dehk’s sleeve like it was the last tether to the present.

Then she blinked. Once. Twice. And the world returned.

The chain dragged again. A woman followed. Bound. Familiar.

The silence deepened. The temperature dropped further. Kalliope’s hand slipped from Sjan-dehk’s sleeve, curling into her own palm beneath the table, but not before she gave him one last squeeze. Subtle. Enough to tell him something had rattled her.

She scanned the nobles. The gasps. The stunned faces. The queen’s calm. The king’s shadow.

This wasn’t a scandal.

This was a statement.

He didn’t even look at the king.

He looked at the queen.

And Kalliope, who made a living off understanding when danger smiled in silk, knew in that instant that this man wasn’t here to make a scene.

He was here to make a point.

The words barely registered–something about introductions, about decorum–but her instincts were already screaming.

This… this was the problem she’d been waiting for.

The threat she’d sensed but couldn’t see.

The monster at the door, but it didn’t look like Hafiz.

It was something else entirely.

She glanced sideways, first to Iyen and then to Sjan-dehk. Her voice didn’t rise above the silence, but her lips moved enough for him to read.

“Stay close.”

Her eyes never left Killian. Not now.

Not until she knew if he was going to raise that chain again…or who he’d drag next.



Time: Evening
Location: Outside the Banquet Hall
Interactions: @TpartywithZombi] Ariella, @JJ Doe Hala, @Helo Callum/Clarence
Mentions: @Helo Leo, @Lava Alckon Drake
Outfit: Dress, Hair, and Makeup




Thea’s muscles tensed the moment she heard the heels. Something about the rhythm–too intentional, too poised. Her wine-dulled haze sharpened at the voice that followed. As Hala approached, draped in theatrical silk and smirking like they owned the stars, Thea’s instinct screamed. Not just caution.

Danger.

Her brows knit ever so slightly, her eyes narrowing, posture subtly shifting as Hala reached out and plucked the bottle from her hand like they were entitled to it. Thea didn’t move to stop them, she didn’t need to. Her stillness was the calm before the strike.

Their words were clever, sure. Flowery. Poison dipped in perfume. But it wasn’t the performance that bothered her.

It was the way Hala spoke like they knew her. Like she was another pretty pawn to poke fun at. Like her shame, her brokenness, her constant war with herself was some kind of character flaw to lean into and flaunt.

She let them finish. She didn’t interrupt. She let them bask in their own spotlight.

And then, slowly, Thea tilted her head.

“How riveting,” she drawled, voice honeyed with mock interest. “A stranger arriving to offer their unsolicited therapy... while wearing the sky like a cape. How terribly noble of you.” She stepped forward just a hair, her voice quieting, but the sharpness was unmistakable.

“You speak so confidently about rebellion and disaster and not seeking approval. How convenient it must be to waltz into someone else’s storm and play prophet when you’ve never lived a day in their skin.” Her smile thinned. Her eyes did not.

“You know my mother, clearly. Or at least you studied her. But you don’t know me. Which is shocking, really, given all the rumors about me. If you'd listened to those you would have realized that everything you're suggesting has been my life for the last year.”

A flicker of something pained crossed her expression before it steeled again. “So forgive me if I don't find your suggestion to ‘go full disaster’ terribly insightful. I’ve already been there. It’s not as glamorous as you make it sound.”

She took the bottle back without asking, not even looking at Hala now. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Thea turned her back to them deliberately, exhaling hard through her nose as she pivoted toward the newest arrival.

Callum was a welcome shift in the atmosphere, like a jolt of mischief wrapped in charm. She gave him a half-laugh, hand instinctively going to her hair to make sure her clip from Charlotte hadn’t been jostled.

“Thank you, Prince Callum,” she said warmly, her tone gentler now. “I can’t wait for the party. Truly. And knowing you’ll be there only makes it more exciting. I have a feeling it’ll be the highlight of my season. Besides, your sister always comes up with the most exquisite and exciting parties.”

She glanced to Ariella then, catching the softening in her face, the unmistakable light in her eyes when she looked at him.

And Thea smiled.

Not for herself, but for Ari.

Despite everything tonight, despite the humiliation and ache still thudding in her chest, she felt something small and good bloom there.

Hope.

Ariella deserved joy. And by the look on her face, she might’ve just found a piece of it.

Thea’s gaze lingered on Ariella a moment longer, her smile softening, touched with sincerity this time. She stepped closer and, without overthinking it, pulled the other woman into a quick but heartfelt hug. It was more warmth than words, more gratitude than she could manage to say aloud.

“Thank you, Ari,” she murmured, her voice low but earnest as she pulled back. “Really. For coming out here. For checking on me when you didn’t have to. For making me feel like I wasn’t... completely drowning.”

She hesitated, glancing toward the tall double doors that led back to the banquet, her fingers tightening briefly around the neck of the wine bottle.

“I should probably go back in. Leo’s likely convinced I’ve thrown myself into the sea by now, and Drake…” her voice faltered a little, “well, I don’t want him thinking I regret everything. Because I don’t.”

She started to turn, then paused, concern flickering across her features as she looked back at Ariella, but not before briefly glancing at the stranger.

“Will you both be alright out here?” she asked gently, tilting her head as she glanced between her and Callum. “Or do you want to go back in together?”

Because if Ari or even Callum needed her to stay–even a little–Thea wasn’t going anywhere.



Race: Yuan-ti
Class: Rogue Arcane Assassin
Location: The enchanting bathroom
Interactions: @princess Phia @Oso Talis
Mentions:
Equipment:

Attire:
Gold Balance: 93
Injuries: None currently, but has numerous faded scars on her body


The moment her fingers touched the crystal, Meiyu felt the world stutter.

The pulse of light wasn't just seen–it was felt, like a scream in her blood, like silk being torn through her bones. For a heartbeat, she was no longer kneeling in a broken, blood-drenched bathroom. She was everywhere. A million stars blinked behind her eyes and a great weightless silence stretched on for what felt like a breath and a lifetime.

Then came the shatter.

The sound was not a sound at all, but the memory of thunder. Of something ancient and echoing, vibrating through marrow. The fragments spiraled, luminous, seeking. Choosing.

She did not brace. She did not flinch.

One found her.

It moved like it had always known her shape, always known where to go.

The shard struck her just beneath the line of her sternum, embedding itself just where breath met power–center mass, where a blade might strike for death, or divinity. Her body bowed with the impact, lips parting soundlessly as ancient light spilled into her veins like liquid judgment.

It did not burn.

It thrummed. It was a resonance like a serpent's call, a war drum played underwater, and something... older. Her limbs trembled, spine arching faintly as the crystal melted through muscle and bone, then pulsed once beneath the skin like a heartbeat she hadn’t known she was missing.

When it ended, she exhaled a slow hiss through her teeth.

Meiyu's hands moved to her waist, unfastening the front of her robe with slow, practiced grace. She peeled the silk aside until pale skin was exposed to the air, and there, nestled in the dip beneath her ribs, the crystal shimmered: jagged, half-sunken, glowing with a quiet blue-green light. A shard of something ancient, pulsing where breath and purpose met.

She studied it in the fractured reflection of a broken mirror, tilting her head.

Then she smiled faintly.

”Cheeky little thing.”

Footsteps echoed behind her.

Meiyu didn’t look away as Bastion stepped into the wreckage. She could hear his footsteps hesitate, feel the way his presence filled the broken air. She didn’t move when he approached Phia. Only when he bent to take the girl into his arms did she finally speak.

“That girl's heart nearly shattered with her ribs,” she said, cool and even. “Mind how you carry what's left.”

A breath passed.

Her eyes flicked toward the place where Talis had fallen, her voice softening just slightly. “The girl was clever. She hid this crystal before the assassin could take it… said it should choose for itself. And apparently it did.”

She rose then, slow and composed, as she glanced to Bastion and gestured to her crystal and then his.

“There was nothing more we could’ve done. We tried. That girl fought like a storm. And the redhead… she was braver than I expected.” Her voice dropped just slightly, but never lost its precision. “They both paid dearly for it.”

Then her gaze lifted again to Bastion, her eyes sharp as ever despite the crystal now burning softly at her core.

“Now we figure out what the hell she died for.”


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