the ground could open, he could still say please

[slavophile]

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[slavophile]

( They make their escape as the sun starts to go down.

William has been in the middle of parents before. When he was younger and she was alive, Oliver and Felicity fought over his father being the Green Arrow. He remembers his father going to prison. He's been in the middle of Oliver and his stepmother's fights, usually because of something he did or in the most recent case, Mia disappearing. He searched for her on his own because of it. He's willing to take Cooper's lead even though he knows he pushed for them to leave with his sister, but Cooper ends up leaving with them. It's his decision.

William doesn't know everyone else's plans, but he'd like for once to get a little fucked up. His life has been up in the air for so long, and finally when it feels like he can finally breathe, Cooper's family drowns him and his boyfriend in their drama - at his house! While he's planning on being by Cooper's side to look after him, he hopes they can both let loose. He'll talk about if when Cooper wants to talk about it. He just guesses now isn't the time.

Mickey thanks Mia on their way out, doesn't give a second glance back at the table and high tails it out there.

He offers to drive but Mia reminds them they have a driver on the payroll for a reason. Namely, they're all leaving to drink. Oh, and to meet up with Faith.

Faith is on the dance floor when they arrive. She has that effortless 'I don't care' air that she throws the guys and girls she dances with, her drink abandoned on the ledge behind her.

William waits at the entrance to take Cooper's lead.

Mickey sees if there's anything that can interest him (16), planning on giving his best friend and his boyfriend time to themselves. It's no problem if they follow him, but he's not expecting them to. What happened back there is a lot to unpack. He has his own family bullshit he hasn't once confronted since joining up with Monroe's ranks. Between his slip-up outside of Central City and getting used to becoming everything he was taught to hate, he has a lot to work through himself. He doesn't need to put that on Cooper tonight - or by proxy, William. )

[mojitos]

[Wesley may enjoy bartending a little more than he should.

For one, he's a bit of a show off. He wasn't hired because he could mix a good mojito - anyone can mix a mojito - he was hired because he does it with flair. There's a lot of bottle flipping, ice tossing, and other assorted hijinks that come with him being asked to mix a drink, and while he can tone it down for the busy parts of a shift, his vampire reflexes get put to good use.

And fortunately for him, Tommy Merlyn is also a bit of a show-off.

But the other part that he enjoys is the anonymity. His ability to blend into the background and become just another face for someone to tell their story to. He likes hearing people's stories, and if him pouring a drink makes it easier for them to tell him, then he'll do it.

He knows Rhett and Scarlett aren't thrilled with his chosen occupation, but it's his life. He intends to enjoy it.

Tucking his phone back into his pocket after receiving a text from Melanie that they had run into the Salvatore brothers - isn't that a blast from the past - he makes his way over to the next customer at the bar and flashes him a smile.]

What can I get you?

[blackstarred]

[Mia also wants no part of the family drama, so she immediately leaves William and Coop to their own devices and heads out to the dance floor in search of Faith. She knows her friend well enough to know that's where she'll be.

Eventually she cuts through the crowd enough that she can see the familiar brunette and slides up next to her with a smile.]

You have no idea how perfect your timing was.

[positiveinfluence]

[Coop has never really been a club person. Bars, yes. Usually bad ones. That tends to be his type of casual haunt. But this is ... a lot and sometimes his mouth runs before his brain can decide whether or not it's a good idea.]

This is ... loud.

[a beat. no that's wrong.] William's uncle owns the bar.

It's nice though.

[barely]

( Once the list is taken down, Alaric and Jo drive just long enough to ditch the second car in their name to catch a flight to Oregon. Elena checks on Jeremy more than Alaric does, but Alaric has two grown daughters, the school, and a short-lived coma... Their lives are blown up and Alaric's protective guardian instincts kick in after too long. His daughters are grown and would each feel a type of way if he followed them so soon. Lizzie in New York has the Mikaelson family nearby (he won't mention the boy) and Josie has Hope and Hope's mother, a bayou of werewolves and city of witches and werewolves that see her as family. And it's Josie's third time in New Orleans (the first when she restored everyone's memories and the second when she worked with the Mikaelson family to trigger Hope's humanity). It hurt to stay, but it hurt to not do anything and Josie chose to leave and to do something.

Hope wasn't a lost cause. Isn't that what they were taught?

When he was a teacher there, Jeremy focused more on self defense and weapons basics, but he brought with him friendships with werewolves, vampires, and a briefly rekindled relationship with their aunt Bonnie. He would understand not giving up on family. Not giving up on friends.

Elena and him are family. Blood or not, they are brother and sister. Though his life takes him far away from Mystic Falls, he stays in touch more. Once Elena learns about his extra-curricular hunting (and words are exchanged), they come to a deeper understanding of what they need. He returns to Mystic Falls when she wakes up. He's there when she tries again with Damon but can't recapture what they had. He's there when she gets into med school. He leaves after his tenure at the Salvatore School.

Like a Mystic Falls denizen does, he falls in with a girl very familiar with the supernatural. He even bonds over being a Hunter with a capital H and her sister being a slayer. No, it's not the same and one is totally more patriarchal, Dawn says, but it's funny how life works.

Speaking of, a hit list went out and his sister was on it. In traffic on the way to the airport, he texts Jo for when their plane lands: )

Hit traffic on the way.

( Swiping out of messages, he brings up recent calls and taps his sister's contact. )

[braveandstupid]

[A thumbs up emoji will arrive at some point during the phone call, but Jo and Ric are busy navigating an unfamiliar airport, so they'll find ways to keep themselves occupied.

In the meantime, Elena answers on the second ring, moving to a portion of the bunker where she can have a little more privacy.]

Hey, Jer. I'm okay.

[Because she knows what this call is about.]

[moralitypolice]

( Bonnie sends David a picture Double doors of one of the academic buildings at the University of Kansas. It's public enough that she trusts he won't do anything unlawful, and she's close enough to get out if something goes sideways. She gives Isaac the option of going with her, but keeping his distance. She has done this alone many times, sometimes to her own detriment. She's learned better.

This way she's not alone with David Gainor. He's proven useful, proven trustworthy, and saved her life, but she's learned enough about the Colony that she can't be too careful. She does still have him on the hook for the Gemini curse. Lizzie and Josie may have escaped their fate, but Josie may still have kids some day and there's no telling that Lizzie being a heretic really will make a difference when they turn 22.

She also knows they need to put their heads together. If what the owner said is true, than she, her friends and countless other witches are in danger. She needs to know why. She has no choice but to meet him.

It's exhausting, escaping a network of hunters only to be confronted with another enemy, but it gives her a familiar feeling of high school and college where every six months it felt like something else happened. Something bigger and badder.

Bonnie waits patiently on the steps for him to arrive. )

[maleficum]

[David does clock Isaac as he strides over towards the meeting place she selected. He doesn't seem bothered by the werewolf's presence - or if he is, it doesn't show - and he offers her a small smile.]

You know how I said we needed to stop meeting like this? Unfortunately this isn't a turn for the better.

[Might as well get the bad news out of the way first.]

[maxxx]

( Max has always been his father's son. (So he thinks, anyway.) To his sister's volatile black sheep, he's always been the golden child. He follows the party line to the letter. Knowing what he's always been birthed for makes it an easy decision for him. He doesn't want his sister to die because he loves her. He was only born seconds after, but in his father's eyes, he is the heir. He is the male heir. It's his Gauntlet to take up. Their bond is unlike everyone else's in their family. It always has been. They always had each other. Their parents, sure. But, it was them against their boarding school, or their college, or other witches.

But, he will hear out the Aiden-Gainors. Out of... politeness. He owes them that much. He doesn't actually hold a grudge against David for spurning his sister. He knows there is no love lost. Duty isn't about love.

He resents David for it, for finding it, and getting it. For keeping it. His one night stands began at school. They extended to the help. His guard for a few months. A fellow witch on assignment with him. It never mattered. Man, woman. It was easy to fall for him and he liked the attention. If he were smarter, had he married David (not that he ever liked David, tch), then they wouldn't be in this position.

In a way, David brought this on all of them.

Yeah, grudge reactivated.

Max suggests a Greek restaurant his parents would take he and Jaq when they were kids, Ikaros. They went once a month thinking it was going to be a family outing, but someone from the inner circle was always there, sometimes their entire family. It was always more a summit than a family outing, which makes it just as good for now.

It's empty in the afternoon, which is what Max prefers for their ends. The siblings are asked to wait at the bar until their party arrives - to which Max gives a look around the empty restaurant - but - accepts. Fine. Whatever. It doesn't matter.

He orders a dry gin martini to sip on as he and his sister wait. The bartender disappears into the back to finish his prep and Max speaks. )

What do you think they want?

[tearhiseyesout]

Hard to say.

[Mostly because she can't read David as well as she used to. Ever since he came back from the demon, with Ezra in tow, he's been better at playing his cards close to his chest. Some might call him a little softer, but she thinks it's a misread of the situation.

He cares more, sure. But he managed to find a way to think about more than just himself, more than just the Colony. It's not that she understands it, necessarily, but she does think she understands why. Love changes your priorities. Puts more than just yourself at the forefront. Likely why the Colony relied on arranged matches for so long.]

David's been a bit unpredictable as of late. But I doubt Ezra is pleased with the idea that his husband may die.

[cowman]

( Going toe-to-toe with two brother-in-law vampires is a worthy challenge and shockingly not a mistake. Klaus makes it clear he's been a friend to two of Rebekah's many suitors - and one after years of misunderstandings and diplomacy. But, Doc is Rebekah's husband and they have a child together, so Doc has skipped the formal vetting, the chiding, the general nuisance Klaus can be to a sibling's significant other. Henry is beautiful and Doc and his sister have carved out a nice life for one another. Contrary to what his siblings may thing, he always wanted his sister happy. And it looks like his sister is finally happy. That's all Klaus can ask for. They have a conversation about immortality and mortality. Elijah almost steps in but there is no goading, no mockery. It is a conversation of substance. Two men who love the same woman in very different ways come to an understanding. Elijah dares say he's proud.

Doc has only the lining of a hangover. It is nothing so debilitating that he would miss his morning call with his daughter. With Rebekah on a walk with Henry and aunt Bela and Elijah taking his tea on the terrace with a newspaper, Doc dials his daughter's number for their pre-lunch call to catch up properly - and to finally inform her of the preceding events. That is if her mother already hasn't.

As the phone rings, he hopes he isn't stepping a foot into a rattlesnake nest. He should have asked beforehand. Is she going to be mad at him? They are estranged enough... )

[eredite]

[She and Lizzie have been doing some bonding. Mostly in the venue of pop culture but also with some cool pampering options that she's never really had with a friend before. Granted, she's never really had a true friend that's a girl before, but if this is how friends who are girls hang she could get used to it.

That is, until her phone rings and Doc's face flashes on her caller ID that she winces and holds up the phone in Lizzie's direction.]

Gimme a minute?

[And once Lizzie acquiesces, she gets up to step out of the room, hanging out in the hallway. She takes a breath before accepting, trying to sound chipper but not fake chipper (14).]

Hi, Dad.

[illtempered]

( After Jackson helps with the body, he leaves the group to their designs. His part in this is over. He has someone significant and a group he's fallen in with to return to.

He tells Scott to keep him in the loop. If witches are involved... Scott understands. Jackson would never outright say what he means, but Scott is nothing if not an empathetic, aware true alpha to his pack. He promises to. Jackson nods. He nods to Kieran, too, who he understands more now, but who he'd like to avoid working with in the immediate future. Her short fuse doesn't do them best in these cases. He doesn't blame her for it, but there's a way to use it to her advantage and he hopes she learns to.

Okay, maybe he likes her just a little more.

He returns to their headquarters, the series of warehouses they've commandeered for their own. One such warehouse has been converted into their living quarters. It's industrial as it gets but there are different levels, there's privacy, and there are shared spaces. Before going to the entire group, he washes the gym stink off in the shared showers, puts on comfortable clothes, and slips into Alexander's room, closing the door behind him. )

[swillpot]

[Witches, while having phenomenal cosmic power, do not have superhearing. Alexander, when left to his own devices, can have his own moments of being inattentive, especially when he has a puzzle he's trying to crack. As such, he doesn't even realize Jackson is there until he's two steps in front of him, and when he finally does look up, he jumps three feet in the air.]

Jesus.

[He shakes off the surprise, then greets him with a smile.]

Sure you're not part cat somewhere in there?

[witchaffinity]

( Like everyone else involved in this, it's just another day when one enemy reveals that there are countless others in the wings. If it isn't their mother, it's their aunt Dahlia, if it isn't her, it's the Hollow. It does feel like playing whack-a-mole at a certain point, but is that not immortality.

Kol opts to drive his sister, leaving Davina, Scott, and the Connors siblings in Davina's car. Kol wants to give her time with her brother and his own sister gave him enough pointed looks to know he was either in for a conversation or an interrogation... if not a lecture.

Kieran has a lot to work through, he's only happy to let her. He is there if she needs him and they have a plan to stop in an hour off the New Jersey turnpike. He does have his worries. Whatever is brewing involves old magic, his ex girlfriend turned almost wife, his current girlfriend, and his sister.

But, he won't be the first person to say something. Creedence Clearwater Revival is bursting from the speakers as they drive north. )

I can feel your eyes on me, sister.

[deathlessness]

I'm contemplating.

[Mostly the approach she intends to have to this conversation. She doesn't want to spook him, and she knows that she's not his favorite sister for understandable reasons. But she does have concerns about this current mortal entanglement he's found himself in, and wants to find a way to ask him without being disrespectful.

Unfortunately, sometimes the best way is the blunt way.]

How complicated is Kieran's situation?

group text

[engender]

[impetere]

[Suddenly, after an extended period of silence, a text under Cora's number appears:]

Sorry, Derek and I lost our phones in the swamp.

[That's it, no further explanation.]

[vampasm]

( Josh's favorite place has never been the bayou, but it means something deeper to his husband. It's his home. In the past month, it has been solace. They moved their numbers further into the bayou. It means more safety and for Josh, more bayou smells. But he focuses on the safety. They aren't alone. They have Josh's pack, they have the queen and her new friend who's easy on the eyes, and Cora whom he's grown to like. He's somewhere between convincing her to go for it and to wash that man right out of her hair. He's conflicted, okay? He's a romantic and he has self esteem.

Speaking of, it hasn't exactly been the honeymoon either of them expected, or wanted, but being there in the arms of his husband, or helping with the younger members of the pack, that's been more rewarding than any honeymoon could be.

Resurfacing takes two days. Before moving everybody closer again and back into their houses, Josh, Aiden, and some of the senior werewolves return to survey the destruction. Missing parents and siblings are no longer missing. They're dead. It's a day of restoration and burial. A day later, the pack returns. Funerals are given and there are werewolves sent off on the pyre.

In the next week, there are bigger discussions to be had, what to do with some of the younger kids who were left with no family. Aiden's brothers, some of the elders, and some of the older teens take care of them in the meantime.

This morning, Aiden will awaken to the sounds of great New Orleans jazz coming from their record player and the smell of a pretty delicious breakfast if Josh says so himself. The pastries are bought and arranged on a plate, but the eggs benedict are all him. The smell wafts up the stairs from the kitchen. Being a vampire, sleep is more a formality, and Josh has been thinking. Which led to breakfast. )

[packguy]

[Waking up to the smell of breakfast is always a good thing. Especially when you're a werewolf and your default state is bottomless pit. Sleeping off all the stress and hyper vigilance had been necessary, but now that things are starting to get back to normal it was good to relax, at home with his husband.

And if his husband is going to cook for him than all the better.

He pulls on enough clothing to be considered decent and makes his way towards the kitchen, eyeing the spread with a look of approval.]

Did we miss my birthday?

[undermyfeet]

[Danny learns very quickly that while Lizzie is off being busy playing the role of student, he needs to find something to do with his time. He's careful, asking around to the few people in the city that he knows and trusts, but eventually he finds a small witch community that he, as Danny "Bennett," can ingratiate himself into.

One of them owns a small "holistic medicine" shop out in the middle of Brooklyn, and she hires him to help her creature some tinctures, potions and protection spells, allowing him to put his witchy skills to use. As much as he loves spending time with Lizzie, it's nice to be around other witches again. He misses his coven, and while he doesn't feel like he can go home quite yet, he can still find his people when he needs them.

Today, the spellwork needed is a bit above his paygrade, so she puts him in the front of the store to deal with any spontaneous customers that may come in. It's been a bit of a slow morning, however, so he's currently flipping through a newspaper, only just barely looking up when he hears the jingle of the door.]

Morning. Can I help you with something?

[unsatisfiably]

( His first mistake was giving his full name.

Talia is new to New York. Not upstate New York, but the city. She's a little closer to family than she'd like to be, but she has gone to great lengths to stay under their radar. She's never liked their help, never trusted them in the first place, and yes, she's aware she could do with some therapy. Over time the golden girl with the sweet disposition discovered she liked her taste of magic. Being an heir, she was kept on a regimented track. Her parents didn't do her dirty like some, nor did they neglect her as much as she wanted, but she never connected with them.

So, she turns to the city.

It's larger than the European cities she's been to, not as old, and much more faceless. It's what she wants. Blending into the crowd is best, especially when you have an end goal in mind.

While a grand exit has always been Talia's big show, she has knack for finding people like her.

The bell jingles as she steps foot inside, boots making tracks into the middle of the store. This is more like it.

She turns, trying for a genuine smile, but she's still getting used to her muscle memory. It's funny how a body reacts, especially with the unnatural. (7) brings her face to face with Danny like he's her photographer on the first day of school. )

Good morning.

( She can feel the muscles in her cheeks and it takes everything she has not to kick herself. )

[vampireboulevard]

[What was supposed to be an easy drive out into the middle of nowhere Kansas turned into a B-grade horror movie, and Caroline hated every second of it. By the time they arrive at the bunker, she's still looking a little pink from her encounter with fire earlier, though most of the external damage is fixed. She's also irritated after having to down most of her blood supply to help compensate.

But at last, the four of them arrive at the bunker Elena sent them directions to, and Caroline spots a familiar brunette opening the door to head back in. She doesn't linger on the appearance or think of the fact that her best friend has a literal twin. Instead, she just stumbles out of the car, so grateful to see a familiar face.]

Oh my god, you would not believe what we had to go through to get here.

[And she just promptly throws her arms around Elena.

Who is very much not Elena.]

[shreds]

( The cute one shed her heals for running shoes because she needed them. For a hunter used to driving cross-country, it's different to be on the run in hiding. Even better, she's stuck underground with her descendant, Elena's squeeze, Mary and Bobby who are too nice for their own good and the tall sexy one - who is with Allison Argent. All around, it's not her scene.

Returning from her run, she's suddenly overtaken by a blonde, arms enveloping her.

She doesn't pull away, per se, but she still snarks, her arms more limp than, huggy. )

I don't know. Traffic. Did Bonnie lose her magic again? I'd honestly expect a twister straight out of Wizard of Oz at this point when it involves Winchesters.

[sullivansr]

[It's strange how in such a big house, you still wind up in the same space as people you might be trying to avoid - is what he'd point out if he'd actually been trying to avoid his wife. He's not trying to avoid her. She might be trying to avoid him, which he deserves, but he misses his wife.

So when he comes across her in the gardens, he can't really bring himself to be disappointed.

He's sitting on a bench, just enjoying the fresh air and trying to get his head on straight. He's never done well with real walls - likely a consequence of always being on the road, on the move all his life. When he looks up and sees her, her offers her a small, tentative smile, before gesturing to the bench next to him.]

Were you looking to sit?

[disputable]

( No, she isn't trying to avoid him. She's fighting the urge to hit up her hunter contacts to find a job. It would be easier to cut and run, to leave a loving voicemail, or an even more personal, loving note. But, she knows better. Maybe it can't be fixed, but if there's a possibility, running won't do it. She may have bludgeoned her way in, but damn it, she's in now.

The grounds are massive. It's in her nature to case the place, to understand the entrances, the exits, where someone from off property can infiltrate. For a celebrity home there is a surprisingly low amount of activity.

It's how she likes it. The wide open space is her bread and butter. The luxury she could take or leave. She likes her finer things when the job calls for it, but she was never happier than when they shared an entirely too small two bedroom home for the four of them, before the boys group up and they grew into hunting.

Before the road was all they knew. But even sharing a motel with her husband and a beer at whatever local watering hole at the end of the day, that was the life.

What happened to that life?

She comes face to face in the gardens, industrial lace up boots coming to a stop along the path a few feet away. She wasn't looking to sit. She wasn't looking for anything. Maybe she was. She joins him when he gives her room on the bench. )

It's old habits. A house so big -- I need to know everything. Someone could come from the south, there's an old access road. The north is straight on, but there's hardly any light. Their security system is state of the art, but their junction box is outside. It's likely there's a generator inside but I haven't gotten that far.

( Old habits, Sullivan. )