everyonelives | perpetual anticipation is good for the soul but it's bad for the heart

( So does Alaric, so do their kids. It's the world they move through. )

Has anyone mentioned the G-word?

Gemini?

[It's not a dirty word. They can say it. Technically they still are the Gemini Coven.]

Gauntlet.

( Aren't they on the verge of something? )

Ah.

[Oh that G word.]

No. Ideally we'll be staying off that radar. I don't think we make a particularly appetizing target.

As long as the G word isn't being thrown around. Means we can bring in the good intentions in peace.

( He holds her close, nodding to passing relatives. )

How long do we have to make our appearances? Jeremy and Dawn invited us into town.

The ritual shouldn't take long, but I want to go through some of Josiah's records. There might be something that could help with the curse.

[Because even if her children aren't in the immediate path of the Merge, she's still determined to end it once and for all.]

He has a lot of the old family records here.

Sounds like you've assigned us your own side quest.

( He learned that from Lizzie. )

Oh, this was always a main quest situation. The blessings are just a nice cover for it.

[There's a reason they ran all the way out to Seattle instead of somewhere closer and safer - as much as they love Jeremy and Dawn.]

Then, we should slip away sooner. Before the 'bathing in the moonlight' portion of the evening.

( It's really not his thing. Alaric has always been modest and private like that. )

[She snorts.]

What kind of witches do you think we are?

Granola, at least.

( He likes to poke fun either way. )

Lead the way to the research.

( And likely, Josiah's life-size portrait in the library. Intimidating.

Jeremy and Dawn return from their walk around the grounds.

"Everyone in this coven is very blessed be," Jeremy says, waving to another set of very friendly witches. "Does it scream Stepford to you?"

Maybe it's just his experience with witches in general. Everyone seems happy. Devoted. Not conflicted. Or, violent. )

Not this coven.

[Dawn had done her research about the local covens on behalf of Willow, if she wanted to make some more witchy allies, and the Gemini Coven come up on her research list.]

Everything I learned about them prior to meeting Jo had been messy and bloody. I think the blessed be is a bit of overcompensation for a shady past.

The twins' curse.

( And other things, he assumes may have happened. Very old rites. Sacrifice. Shady probably only scratches the surface. )

[She nods in agreement.]

If they want to get their white witch on to try and clear out some of that bad juju, I can't really say I blame them.

As opposed to... dark witchery.

( He considers this, eyeing a nearby group engaged in discourse. )

But the two aren't... that far apart.

No, they're not. It's all about intent and your own energy.

[Or at least that's what she's learned from the outside.]

And even the whitest witches can make a big mess if they don't think everything through.

Yeah, uh, my ex -- brought me back from the dead once, but then died herself. She uh - actually had a lot of close calls.

( Life never gave her a break. )

Coming back from the dead is always messy too. I remember when Willow tried to bring my sister back she had to literally climb out of her own grave, and had a lot of trouble readjusting.

[She can imagine Jeremy went through something similar.]

Coming back and then immediately losing her must have been really rough.

She asked me to fake messages to her friends, to my sister, too. That was harder. Not to mention my school believing I had dropped out because of a drug problem and hadn't died. -- It wasn't an easy transition back.

( Damon took care of that for him. )

That's ... wow.

[For all her teenage girl drama with dead people coming back to life, things hand never gotten that bad.]

I think saying it wasn't easy is probably an understatement.

It wasn't the last time everyone had thought she'd died. And she came back to life around mid-semester. She became a kind of anchor between this world and another one called the Other Side. It kind of housed a lot of the spirits of the dead that hadn't crossed over. And they literally crossed through her. She had it hard. Always.

( She put it on herself some of the time, but not others. Not then. )

[Dawn nods, because she gets that.]

Seems like things are better for her now, though. She has her own life?

Yeah. She travels a lot. I think losing Enzo really pushed her. She's only recently returned to the states. Full disclosure, I also dated her for a time. But, it's long gone.

( Way over. )

I get it. Exes are complicated.

[Dawn's had her fair share.]

But I'm glad you've been able to remain friends. Also glad that you guys are done, or that would have been awkward.

Or, poly, and I've learned I don't do great with -- I'm a one girl guy.

( But Dawn knows this! Give him a second because he went on a tangent. )

Your sister had to climb out of her own grave?

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