everyonelives | the ground could open, he could still say please

( "If what Sly says is true," Shipp points out.

"What does it mean, the heirs," Jackson asks. "Who are the heirs." )

In most covens, there are heirs apparent. Heirs to the source of their coven's power. Davina Claire being the Regent, she is an heir. The three other previously alive Harvest girls, back when such atrocities were committed in the name of the ancestors were heirs. When the elders pass, magic passes with them.

Knightsbridge were druids. Don't write anything down. They share all of their power through word of mouth and traditions. The fact that they were attacked at all was already a terrible loss in terms of magic, but if an heir doesn't ascend and they lose access to the ancient well of magic that they draw from, they can lose even more.

[Which would be a really terrible shame, honestly.]

Never mind the fact that a Gauntlet means a lot of collateral damage.

( "Not just them. Their coven. The delicate balance witches feel every day. Witches like Hallewell upset that balance, which is likely why he was taken off the board," Alice says, figuring. )

It's not easy. ( Jackson and Alice look to Shipp, then who's made himself comfortable in her hanging chair. ) Taking power from any witch. Unless they're a siphoner, it's not easy. Dead witch dies, their magic either goes to the next in line if they are spiritually wrapped in the false safehoods of their coven or it just goes. Nowhere. Everywhere. Spiritualists would argue where but point is, it's gone.

( Jackson listens, always tired of Shipp's airy commentary, but this time it comes with truth. With facts.

"So, not every single witch is on the line."

Shipp vapes and shrugs, inhaling, exhaling. )

Not saying that either. Big ritual affecting a whole coven, a group, something like that, still in danger. Kidnapped witch it will take time to drain. In danger. Average witch not adjacent who has lost their magic or sold their soul for it? Probably not in danger.

( "And what about the witch who sold their soul vying for that power," Jackson asks, looking back to Alice.

"Then that would indeed be a free-for-all Mr. Whittemore."

Widespread, unpredictable collateral damage of all kinds. )

I also wouldn't write off innocent humans getting caught in the crossfire. The real dangerous thing about the Gauntlet is that anyone can compete. Naming heirs isn't necessarily determined by blood.

[So people will be gathering their strength, and some people do that with human sacrifices.]

We need to get ahead of this, and see where the power centers are standing in the major cities.

( "Alexander is right," Alice agrees, crossing her arms. )

It's - also not just humans. Everything supernatural can be used as a conduit. Technicality? Everyone could be up for grabs. ( He holds a hand up. ) Literally.

All the more reason to get on our A-game and determine who we have where.

[Which means waking up his father. Probably better if he does it and not someone else.]

I'll go grab my dad - can you guys get everyone on hand up and get the coffee going?

Let's round up the troops.

( He's up and at 'em with a sigh as Jackson just shakes his head. Everyone lets themselves out as they gather everyone into the main room of the warehouse.

Alice makes everyone coffee and tea and lets them have their pick as she and the others wait for the eldest Abernathy to join them. )

[After a quiet conversation out of the rest of the group's earshot, Alexander and David eventually descend from the rafters. David takes a cup of coffee from Alice with a smile and a nod for a thank you.

"Good morning." He moves to the center of the room, because as much as Alexander runs the little things, he is the guy in charge. He holds up a hand to indicate that folks should raise their hands. "How many are up to speed on the oncoming situation?"

Alexander raises his hand obediently, but that much was likely obvious.]

( That narration is saving the how and why our Underground team has come together individually for later.

By nature, the Underground was built to help, and for various reasons our heroes, antiheroes, and opportunists have all linked up and/or worked with them and/or are working with them, but suffice it to say, there's a grouping. Some were called from outside, others live on site.

For "my" side of things:

Alice (name pending), Angel, Chris, Gabriel, Jackson, Taylor, and Shipp are all accounted for.

Alice does not raise her hand. She stands beside Alexander, indicating her position. She is the oldest of their group, and one of the founders. They were Wonderland - something Alice quite liked, but as things tend to evolve over the course of history, with its' roots still in Wonderland, the Underground emerged, especially being so active in the past five years.

Angel, while familiar with certain Old World concepts, takes these assignments as teams as they come. He was never the best boss. He was ousted once and worked for the enemy once. He's better and more useful in this capacity. He's shed years of guilt and his soul is now a quilted pattern of shaded disappointments and triumphs and misunderstandings and everything else in gray. His soul is no longer in the precarious position it once was, not when his life is permanently more complicated. He has a son. And no 'true moment of happiness' can eclipse his very complicated relationship with his son.

Though in touch with his daughter, in Kansas they research later today, so he is not overtly familiar. If 'David' is talking about hunters, then yes, but he is up to speed on the play for the Knightsbridge's seed of power. Jaw steely, he unhooks a crossed arm and raises his hand.

Gabriel, the boy Friday, is out for himself, but has soft spots for the lost, being lost himself. He would never admit that part. Something splintered off from where he's from because as far as he can tell, the language with magic is so foreign to him. Gone are the fairborn, the blood witches, the years long vendetta. Thankfully, gone is Mercury, his Fagan, the woman he lived in debt for, for centuries. All he has on him is his book with his list of important names, one name he doesn't remember.

Nathan.

Being out for himself has not done him well here, and he finds he doesn't hate the tasks of the Underground or having a roof over his head. He misses the convenience of his kind of portals and the brutality of his kind of magic. Interestingly, his magic, his alchemy, it all works in this world, so he keeps his amnesia powder on him at all times. Old habits. He doesn't dare try and summon Mercury, or anyone for that matter.

And because he feels like he is playing for time here, he too is in the dark. But, he is a good listener when he wants to be.

Jackson is in the middle of it. Ever since he saved the supernatural orphans, met Alexander and linked back up with McCall. But, stuff it, he likes it, too. He will convince Alexander to upgrade their digs and be more artistically conscious. Maybe shopping. But, that's his superficial side and this war isn't about superficiality. He too raises his hand.

Taylor is the overachiever. She's the polyglot who has emotionally matured, thank you. Her overzealous energy is now pointed in the right direction. It's like letting go of Ryan Atwood on that train one last time opened her up to everything. Everything being her next lover opening her up to magic (SPN). The spiritual side of it, she got, and she assumed he was just one with nature, but then he could do things she wanted to do. And that fell apart because she fell too hard and apparently, if you're not taught right and you don't have your innate ability, you've sold your soul. And it's Taylor's mother who clearly sold her soul, not her.

Her lover was a 'mission'.

She was approached separately, given files and evidence and the last thing Taylor likes is being played.

So, she played her part, she helped. And then she kept what she knew. And she couldn't just leave it behind, not after everything. So, with Summer's blessing (Taylor kept it vague about discovering a new path, she's convinced Summer thinks she's a lesbian, it's fine, she tried that once), she knew she could do more good with them than without. But, she continued to research and practice with the right people including witches she trusts.

Meeting Sweets was kismet. She knows, she knows, she's trying to play everything cool now, but if she hadn't met Laurent, her lover, then she wouldn't have fallen into Wonderland and she wouldn't have met her Mad Hatter. (He's not fond of that nickname. She is very fond of his piano playing.)

But, despite this all and despite being the star student, she is in the dark.

Shipp makes extra effort to seem out of touch, intoxicated, high, or just barely paying attention. It's both a coping mechanism and survival for him because Geminis like him? They don't survive. It's not safe for him. Being the sole survivor of a family massacre (or so he believes), he's learned to bleed into his surroundings, sometimes literally. He pinches magical objects he can siphon from until they lose their power. And then he does it again.

*Only one of Emily's Underground characters knows he can siphon, her choice who, because he keeps it that quiet, but sometimes, he needs it on the fly

Sighing, Shipp, too, raises his hand. It's equal across, some know, some don't, some think they know.

Gabriel scans their rag tag group of helpers. )

Half and half, it seems.

Edited 2022-12-01 17:42 (UTC)

[Gloria has just gotten back from her time in Europe, resuming what she had originally been a part of before Monroe had made things complicated. She had been looking forward to working on a nice normal case. Maybe an easy relocation. Nothing too messy.

The way Abernathy is running this meeting, she's guessing it's not going to be quiet.

She slides into place next to Benny, a much taller werewolf who's trying to wake up with a cup of coffee and whispers.]

Seems like I got back just in time.

[Benny snorts, but his hand wasn't raised. He doesn't know what's going on anymore than the rest.

Crash also doesn't raise their hand, kicking the feet up on the table in front of them. They're mostly taking note of those who aren't there - Dolls, Sweets, Melissa, anyone currently out running a mission. "Should we be conferencing the rest in if this is going to be a big problem?"

Abernathy shakes his head. "I'll speak with them later. I don't want them to lose focus." They have jobs they're doing, and they need doing. "Let's go for round two: who here has heard of the Colony?"

Cordy doesn't raise her hand, but because she can't help herself: "Whoever they are, sounds like they need a better brand team."

Annie however, swears loudly: "You've got to be kidding me."

Abernathy glances over at her with a smirk. "At least one of us knows our history."]

Tunnel vision might not be the best approach.

( Angel comments, mostly for Cordelia's ears, but he understands that there is a task at hand and people to save within that task. He also hasn't heard of the Colony.

Alice puts a hand up this time, in solidarity.

Gabriel, still new to this world keeps his down but keeps an eye on everyone else. It sounds like a big player in this world's witch society.

Jackson rolls his eyes and keeps his hand up.

Taylor's hand shoots up. "Oh, I know this one!" You can't study witchcraft and not uncover something about different covens. Were the question further than 'knows,' she wouldn't, as she read in passing. They are not a coven that has a lot out there about them. They are very low key.

Shipp brings a hand up again, while trying to mask how personally he takes them (6), thanks to his family's curse, but his expression definitely gives something away. )

Who are the Colony?

Assholes.

[Leave it to Annie to get right to the point. She's not trying to take over Abernathy's briefing, but this is something that she knows well. She also doesn't miss the look on Shipp's face (20). (Neither does Alexander (16) or Crash (17). Cordy (3), Benny (5), and Gloria (5) are trying to keep up.)]

Old World coven exiled here when they became too messy for their druidic overlords. They came here and have been pulling the strings of power with their magic ever since.

[Abernathy nods. "They're calling for something called the Gauntlet, which is basically a blood bath for the shady coven throne. Which means we need to be ready in case things start going south."]

And they will.

( He could be speaking from experience, or he could just be using context clues like 'Old World coven' and 'messy' and 'pulling the strings of power'.

Angel is familiar enough with the Old World. He worked under the Old World for a time, and he worked for ancient senior partners for one year too many. The Acathla whisperer himself speaks up.

"The Old World has no qualms with violent, sacrificial or wasteful killing. But, they kill with purpose, usually in deference to a deity." Angel says.

"Angel's right," Taylor confirms. "Old World and boundaries aren't two terms that usually go together. If at all. I'm not saying they're all complete psychopaths..." )

But, they're all complete psychopaths.

( They aren't. ...They can be.

"There's old and there's psychopathic," Jackson says next. "I knew an old psycho. He wasn't old world."

Gabriel could comment. He draws a parallel from their old world to his world's old ways. The practices are violent and sacrificial.

"Are they heart-eaters?" he finally asks.

"More like heartbreakers?" Taylor asks. Is she right? It's also impossible not to wince at heart-eaters. )

They do not eat hearts. They will tear them out and stomp on them though. Some of them are so heartless they'll possess their own kids to get themselves more power.

[The Inner Circle doesn't fuck around.

Abernathy nods at Annie's assessment before continuing. "The Gauntlet is also trouble because it's not just a handful of witches. They open the top spots up to anyone who's willing to do what it takes to get them. Which means there will be a lot of witches looking to seize an opportunity."]

( "I was going to say heartstompers," Taylor says to whomever is sitting next to her. The poetry of it landed better than breakers. A person can survive a broken heart, but a stomped heart - they are not as resilient.

"Their own kids?" she asks. )

The power is too enticing.

( Everyone is collateral damage, even family. Shipp sits int he painful familiarity of this entire conversation. )

["All this is to say that you'll need to keep your eyes out for trouble while you're in the field. And everyone is on call in case we get a call for help. No one goes out alone."

Going out alone is a recipe for trouble.

"And don't go borrowing trouble. Just keep your heads down and do your jobs." He steps back, and waves the rest of them off. "If you have any additional concerns, you know where to find me. Until then, get some rest."

He heads back to his office, and the group begins to disperse. Annie makes a beeline across the room for Shipp, and places a hand on his arm.]

Drink?

( The group disperses. Taylor finishes her notes, Angel and Cordelia return to their quarters, and Alice stays by Alexander's side.

Ship sits, preoccupied with the Colony resurfacing. Memories he chooses to relive alone play at the back of his mind as the meeting sinks in. Annie brings him to.

Playing it cool becomes effortless after awhile when that's all you do. But, there are cracks in his armor today, cracks he has to take care of so they don't become fissures. )

... Always.

[Alexander watches them for a moment, before taking Alice and Jackson and heading back to whence they came, probably off to the war room to see what jobs were on deck. Annie and Ship have always understood each other, so Alexander is going to let her do her thing, and check in with her later.

Annie nods, before tipping her head back towards the room where she usually bunked. She and Serena tended to be on opposite missions, so their special talents didn't counteract each other, but they lived out the same room. A pair of twin beds frames a nightstand in the center of the room, and Annie goes into it to pull out two glasses and a bottle of Scotch.]

( Shipp watches as Alexander, Alice, and Jackson head back to the war room. He could help, but that would be blowing a careful cover he has kept in place for years now.

Slipping into Annie's bunk, he closes the door behind himself, grateful for the offer of alcohol. He sees if her shared bunk is as minimally decorated as his is before he accepts a glass of scotch. )

[Her half is. Serena's comes with a closet full of colorful clothes, and assorted knick knacks from their souvenir shop back in Chicago. The one that had burned down with Serena's father and Annie's brother in it just before they joined the underground.

They both have their reasons to shoulder their burdens. It's why Annie doesn't tend to push at old wounds. But she will at least ask this much:]

You good?

( His entire coven, technically, has been running from the Colony for generations, cursed into their power. Shipp has gone to great lengths to distance himself from who he was, from where he was from. Hardly anyone knows his whole story. Most people in the Underground just think he's a witch. They aren't wrong. )

Can't help if it stirs shit up.

( The scotch helps. Some. )

Nothing alcohol won't numb. Tomorrow morning I'll be good old Shipp.

( in ship-shape with wisecracks at the ready. )

[Mmm. She refills his glass once it's empty before knocking back her own.]

Back to being cryptic and driving the kids up a wall. As things should be.

[She goes to pour herself a second glass.]

But if you want to talk about it, you know it won't get further than me.

Talking about it doesn't... it's never done me any good. Gemini, we're -- we're in the middle of everything. I talk about it, even with you, and it's real. It's always real. But, Shipp's also real. I am that smart, savvy fuck-up. I'd rather be in a cloud of weed then...

( Who he really is. )

I told someone else once. Before you, before finding the Underground.

What happened?

[She assumes it's bad if he's so worried about telling it to someone else, but she wants the answer to that before she reassures him that he can be both.]

Gemini disappear. We aren't on anybody's radar and that's how we like it. Because of that, there's a lot on the streets about us. Most of it's bs.

( But that bs fuels some people, like someone who used to be his friend. )

Some of it's true.

( Really, he just denies it all. )

The coven I fell in with wanted to fortify. LA's -- it's easy to find friends. When I told Patrick, the leader, about who I was, about what I was -- thinking I'd be able to trust him, thinking I was safe - he - drugged me. Dosed me with vampire blood and --

( He cuts himself off, remembering siphoning just enough magic to end his life before he could end Shipp's. )

I've been on the run ever since.

( Twofold. )

His coven thinks I killed him in cold blood, not in self defense, like I wanted his power. I didn't. I just wanted a safe place to land.

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