everyonelives | why is it you always get to sit in the shade

[Freya wakes up smoothly, as though coming out of a good night's rest. She raises an eyebrow at the witch pinned to the door, and Davina holding a hotel potted plant as though it's something valuable.]

Seems like we missed quite the adventure.

["Our friend H here thought he could try and steal my magic. He was wrong."

Freya smirks.]

Ahh, so it was that kind of fun.

( Julian wakes up like he's slept for thirty hours. It's the kind of sleep that doesn't feel restful. His legs feel heavy and his attempt at doing anything but blink at his sister's and Kol Mikaelson's hands on his body fails. He's atrophied enough that he can't keep himself from breaking wind, letting out the gas that's accumulated (natural 1).

Kol removes his hand, finds his sister - she's in one piece, checks on Kieran to make sure she's okay, - and then takes in the scene.

"The classic triple-cross," Kol says, eyes landing on H.

Scott moves H from the wall and to the chair, sitting him down, holding H down by his shoulders. (19, 2). H has no magic, and getting it sucked out of him like that, plus the parts of the spell he was connected to, has taken major energy out of him. You might even say he looks like he should check into a hospital at this point. )

( Ryan is too close, and has gripped onto Witch 2 that her flaming hand slams into his chest hard. He's burned and it hurts but it gives him the best chance and taking her arm and breaking it outright. Burned, and in pain, he tries his best (8).

Bonnie thinks... and pulls out her phone, putting it on speaker. This is middle of the night so Freya is hopefully on her way to Baltimore if we're following the timeline right.

This is her action this turn. )

Tomorrow. We do it off grounds. We sit Jaq and Max down.

( And they start whatever needs starting. And they go from there. )

I wasn't -- I'd never discount what you went through, and I'd never ask you to do that again or to become -- him. It's not what I meant, but, I shouldn't have put it out there.

( A fight for another time if he discovers the actual research Ezra has done into the subject for years. )

I love you. And I like you you. But I also like you alive. Preferably married to me, but always happy. And not mixed up in medieval death games.

[Kieran wakes next to her brother and immediately gags, her gift at being close to him when he lets that one rip. Gross, dude. She inches away, pushing up against a nearby wall to readjust to the real world.

Then she looks over at H and squints: "What's wrong with him?"

Davina could just let him suffer, but that's not the kind of witch she is. And she wants him to live with his mistakes.]

Seems like his poor past choices are catching up to him. Have you been feeding on other people's magic for a long time?

[Freya answers, a smile entering her voice. "Bonnie Bennett. What can I do for you?"

Caroline is still freaking out, but manages to regain enough of herself to stop drop and roll, doing her best to put out the flames (17), when she finishes smoking out, her eyes fix angrily on the witch that set her on fire.

Isaac turns his attention to the witch behind the barrier, and brings out his claws to try and get past it. If she can touch him maybe he can touch her (13 vs. 19). Claws spark against the barrier but he can see the flicker of fear on his face that he tried.

Witch 1 tries to come at Care again to finish her off (4 vs. 12), but Caroline is faster and angrier, and she sinks her teeth into the witch's neck to try and help herself heal.

Witch 2 manages to yank her arm back before he can break it (15), before lifting said arm to try and snap his neck (10).

Construct tries to strike Isaac again (3 vs. 12), but the werewolf deftly dodges out of the way. Then the owner reaches out to try again (7 vs. 17), but Isaac is not about to be turned into her werewolf puppet.]

Nice try. But no.

I love you too. And I know.

[He knows he's just grasping at options for the situation that David put him in. If it were any other witch, yes. That might be an option. But it's too much of a trigger button for David for the answer to be anything but no.]

I do intend to do my best to keep myself alive, for the record. I don't want to die anymore than I want you to die.

[He leans in to kiss him.]

Let me just make a phone call and we can start planning officially tomorrow, okay?

Make your phone call.

( Ezra gets to his feet and starts to undress, the hypocrisy of the evening getting to him. He doesn't need to be in clothes this nice for any longer. Do your thing, hus. )

( Sorry, Freya, this call probably sounds like she's in a wind tunnel, but, that's a backfired spell for you. She yells anyway. )

I need to bring down a barrier. Preferably in a way that might nullify any magic connected to said barrier.

( Ryan snaps his head back, but just barely (12), and he tries an elbow to the ribs next: (17).

Bonnie, meanwhile, is waiting on Frey's input for her own turn.(

Edited 2022-11-07 03:29 (UTC)

( "Everyone feeds on everyone else's magic. Every thing. It's how magic works. You think that magic is yours? You're a Harvest Girl. You're only using magic meant for your ancestral line - and where did it come from? Magic is gained. Whether it's from the Earth or from a witch."

His speech is given in labored breaths. The group hasn't seen this before, but the Colony crew has. It looks as if the magic he was using was keeping him young. He hasn't been around as long as Barnet, but, he's been around long enough to show it. Is he 80 years old now?

Scott does feel bad about putting so much pressure on him considering he sounds like he could keel over at any second. He looks at Jackson who shrugs. Like, who cares about this guy.

Kol also gets to his feet, moving to the window to open it up. Werewolf and vampires are also catching what Kieran was caught by. So. Thanks, nat 1. )

[David nods, and calls Bonnie, but given she's likely busy, either fighting for her life in an awful B&B or underground in Winchester land at this point, he leaves a voicemail.]

Hey, it's me. We have to talk about the kid. In person. Send me a door and I'll meet you wherever.

[And with that, he will get changed, curl up with his husband and try to get some sleep. Everything else will be tomorrow's problem.]

[Freya's quiet for a moment. "Can you cast through it?" Freya will ask the question, if Bonnie doesn't think of it herself. "If you can, try to break the concentration of the caster. If not, you can overwhelm it with your own magic."

Caroline sinks her teeth further into Witch 1 (13 vs. 17), but the witch manages to break away. She's woozy from the blood loss, but she's on her feet.

Isaac tries to go after the head witch again (10 vs. 10), and the barrier flickers under his claws, and the owner takes a full step back to try and get away.

Witch 1 is using most of her energy to stay up (9), and she tries to shove past Caroline to try and escape past Bonnie up the stairs. "Fuck it, I'm out of here." Caroline lets her go (5 vs. 3), moving to better help Ryan.

Witch 2 just writhes away from the elbow to the ribs (20), and attempts to snap his neck again (1), but the spell fizzles in her hands.

The owner yells at the construct. "Get him you idiot.". The construct swings down again (11 vs. 10) and it manages to knock Isaac off his guard.

The owner tries one last time (2 vs. 17), but Isaac is still not having it. Good for Isaac. She swears in frustration, and waves a hand to try and strengthen her barrier.]

I didn't choose to be a Harvest Girl, I was made. And I've never taken anything I haven't made an effort to replenish. I have a feeling you weren't so kind.

[Just a hunch.]

Will you survive if we leave you here? Or should we drop you off at the hospital?

( Ryan tries with all his might to just roll Witch 2 over to just throw them into the construct (19).

Bonnie tries casting, trying to immobilize Witch 2 wbut it misses. But, good news. )

I can cast through it. But - my magic hasn't been the same since the Damnum Essentia was dropped.

( He coughs for a second, bringing an arm up, producing blood as he brings it down. Likely some kind of disease that would've gotten him eventually. He seems unperturbed.

"You can't run. You can't hide. The war is coming. Power is in play in a major way for the first time in centuries and everyone wants it. Survival of the fittest." He won't feel bad about this. Besides, he was going to leave her alive, not like this. "Leave me or help me, Davina Claire, Freya Mikaelson, the power you hold is too great to pass up."

And again, he reiterates.

"It won't be yours for long."

He sputters a few breaths, eyes going glassy as he slumps down. If he's not dead, he's definitely unconscious. (All werewolves and vampires can still hear a faint pulse.) )

Edited 2022-11-07 03:58 (UTC)

[Davina doesn't seem bothered by the threat. War's come for them before. It isn't a surprise that it will come for them again. But they'll figure it out, one way or another. She does place her hand on the plant and let it wither, not wanting all that accumulated magic to fall into someone else's hands either.

Freya rises from her seat and goes to examine him closely. Not dead, not yet, but in her opinion, the parasites should be dealt with by those who were fed from. She looks to Julian.]

What do you think? Mercy or suffering?

[Ryan can't quite get her into the construct. But he does roll her into the lines of the ritual (14). And that doesn't go well for Witch 2. As she collides with the live magic, she screams and then withers, almost as though whatever ritual they're concocting, it's absorbing everything that touches it.

Witch 2 becomes a charcoal briquette, leaving them with just the construct and the owner to contend with.

Freya is quiet for a moment, before asking: "Do you happen to have the necklace I gave you?" She can't do much for her over the phone, but with that necklace, Bonnie might be able to channel her, which hopefully will steady her magic some.

Caroline turns her attention on the owner as well, zipping very carefully around the edge of the ritual and trying to sink her teeth into the woman's throat (4 vs. 15), but she glances off of the shield.

Isaac also focuses on the real threat (3 vs. 20), and the stronger shield is enough to blow him backwards into the construct.

The construct takes the opportunity to slam down onto Isaac (6 vs. 17), but Isaac darts away.

The owner grins, now that Caroline is closer, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder (2 vs. 10), but Caroline is too angry for her to claim. Her fancy mind powers are proving to be a real bummer with all these strong-willed people.]

Edited 2022-11-07 04:13 (UTC)

( By now, Julian has in fact made to his feet, the magic of the spell wearing off. Leaning against the dresser, he knows his answer. )

Put him out of his misery.

( He would say mercy. He would say that he was only doing what men have done for ages. But, he took advantage, him and Barnet, and it didn't help his sister at all. )

( Ryan does his best do get a running bullrush at the construct to send it into the ritual, to char it, too (18).

Bonnie touches the necklace through her shirt. )

I do.

( Eyes closed, she tries to overwhelm the owner, not siphoning the magic but feeding her too much to maintain, that she'll have to drop one. Something is definitely blocking her adeptness, sob. (8 w advantage) )

[The construct is heavy, but Ryan does manage to get it pushed a few feet closer to the ritual (15). And while the owner is contending with both a vampire and a werewolf, she's not expecting the assault of magic from behind the barrier.

She'd forgotten about Bonnie. And therefore she's not prepared (4).

Both barriers flicker, both her shield and the barrier spell holding Bonnie in place. Isaac and Caroline look at each other and grin.

Caroline moves fast, getting her hand around her throat (6 vs. 6), but the owner holds her ground. Isaac turns to help Ryan with the construct, moving add his own strength to the push (18 vs. 20), but this time the construct is prepared and holds his ground.

The construct swings it's arms at Ryan first (7), hoping to have a new target it can actually hit.

The owner looks over at Bonnie, fingers clawing at Caroline's around her throat (6 vs. 20), but Caroline tightens her grip in response. "I was going to recruit you. From what's coming, your pet monsters aren't going to be able to protect you. I can."]

What are you talking about?

[Freya nods, before reaching over and placing a hand on H's shoulder.]

Mercy it is.

[Because of course the Mikaelson version of mercy is a quick death over a life of suffering. Still, she casts the spell, and those with super hearing will hear the heart beat slow even more until it stops.]

Thank you, Freya!

( Ryan (13) ducks under the construct's arms, "Isaac, jump" he says as he tries to, like before, sweep a leg under the construct send it falling backward (3).

Bonnie finally joins the fray, trying one last time ) Immobilis! ( But she gets a nat 1) Does she immobilize Caroline accidentally? Or herself? Or Ryan? FREAKING NAT 1. )

( Julian watches as his life leaves his eyes, finally he regards the whole room. )

You uh - brought a whole posse with you, Kier.

( And like only one of the Underground so - that's confusing. Let him guess, the Underground thinks he's a lost cause? )

We were heading the same direction, and they offered to help. And I'm very grateful. Thank you.

[And she glances at Jackson.]

And he's here because the Underground wouldn't let me do it without at least one of them, and let me pick.

[So they got Jackson.]

I'm pretty sure he'd rather go back to work now that the job is done.

I'm grateful, too, Really. Living through my worst day over and over again lost its appeal. ( Wait ) ... You picked Jackson?

( Jackson did not like him. )

why is it you always get to sit in the shade

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