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

[maxxx]

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[beanchaointe]

[She smiles as he stays close, tipping her head to the side as she thinks.]

I'll see what I can do.

[She's mostly got varying kinds of interesting nonfiction, but she has been reading up some on the law so she can follow his work, so there's a couple of those and also a few more gossip rag-esque magazines, or he can browse her shelves for something that's not in the current rotation.

Once Harvey is settled, she retreats to her bedroom and flops back on her bed as she pulls out her phone.

Text number one, to Jackson:]

Do you think you could get to Boston in the next two days?

[Text number two, to Allison:]

We need to talk about your witch friend.

[With those sent, she scrolls down to Parrish's contact in her phone and hesitates. He's been out of things for so long, aside from the random one off in Beacon Hills. She hates bringing him into it now. But eventually she hits send and brings it to her ear, trying to figure out how exactly she's going to broach this.]

[illtempered]

For you? Yes. Miss me?

[beanchaointe]

Always. But also I might be in a bit of a bind.

[A bit of a bind is an understatement but she doesn't want him to worry too much before they can actually talk about it.]

[illtempered]

What kind of bind?

( And out loud to Alexander. )

Do we have any obligations in the next few days?

[beanchaointe]

["Not that I know of, why?"

Lydia takes a deep breath before she starts typing.]

Possibly taking a trip to Siberia to act as bait so that some of our tentative allies can kill a super powerful witch. Parrish might be coming with me, but I want to have some back up the witches aren't aware of, if possible.

[illtempered]

Siberia?

( He speaks aloud. He then holds the phone out to Alexander, because, read. )

[swillpot]

[Alexander leans in to look at his screen, then his eyes widen (13). There's only really one Colony witch that that makes sense for:]

Shit, I think they're going after Kirsanov.

[illtempered]

And for those of us that have a boyfriend ( Are they using that word? Too bad ) to translate witch gossip?

[swillpot]

Kirsanov is a member of the Colony's Inner Circle. He's smart for a first target - he fell out with the rest of the Inner Circle decades ago but they can't exactly kick him out. He's holed up in a tower in Siberia and as long as they leave him alone, he won't use his collection of supernatural horrors to retaliate.

[He scrolls up to the mention of Lydia being used as bait.]

That's why Lydia is bait. They're likely hoping that his last banshee has been lost for whatever reason and he's in the market for a new one.

[matriarchate]

I love how he's my witch friend now. Did he do something?

[beanchaointe]

You mean aside from crashing my perfectly fine date with his husband and some witch guy I've never seen before to ask me to play bait for one of the super powerful witches they're trying to kill?

Oh, also, they want to drag Parrish into this too.

[Allison is her best friend. Which means Allison gets the vent, and she hopes that Allison knows her well enough to know that she isn't angry at Allison. But she is kind of pissed at the witches for ambushing her.]

[matriarchate]

He what?

How does Parrish have anything to do with this?

Whatever happened to a phone call?

Are you okay?

[beanchaointe]

I'm annoyed, but I'm fine.

[At least for now.]

The witch they're targeting is a supernatural collector. Apparently a banshee and hellhound bound together are a pretty rare grab.

[matriarchate]

Why do you have to be involved at all? And why not tell me? Or, the Winchesters?

What are they getting at?

They went behind our backs.

[beanchaointe]

I don't know. You'll have to take that up with him. And while you're at it, find out who this weird third witch is that they brought with him.

He was giving Peter vibes. And not in a good way.

[matriarchate]

Weird male witch. I will.

( and breaking off, she sends one message to Sam before anyone else.

Has David Gainor asked anything shady of you and Dean, or Elena? )

[imnot_likeyou]

You mean aside from tracking down the original bodies of the Inner Circle?

[He thinks she was there for that conversation, but he can't say for sure.]

Damian and Katherine found the first one, and we found that David was a little light on the details as to what we might be able to expect in terms of traps.

[nicedemon]

( Even without a definition for what they are, Parrish finds extending his leave easy. He barely takes vacation, so Stilinski practically forces him to keep extending his leave. He deserves his rest, he's told, with everything underneath 'rest' left unsaid.

Someone he hasn't seen in person in a long time, Lydia Martin. He always had something with her, an unspoken connection that only crossed the line one time - and if asked, it felt more primal than anything and impossible not to act on. But, that connection waned naturally and now lingers like an invisible string between them.

He steps onto Malia's balcony, bringing the phone to his ear. )

Lydia Martin, to what do I owe this pleasure?

[beanchaointe]

You may not think this is such a pleasure by the time we're done.

[She feels like she should preface that this isn't a social call, unfortunately. As much as she wishes it was.]

Has Malia kept you up to speed on what's been going on lately?

[nicedemon]

( He glances behind him for a second, knowing werewolf hearing cannot be avoided. )

She's -- we're kind of taking some time off. But, yes, I heard about all the kidnapping. What do you need, Lydia?

[beanchaointe]

[Yes, Malia definitely picked up on her name (16) and she pushes up from the bed she's lounging on and shakes her head. "No! We're on vacation!"

Sorry, Malia. Lydia wouldn't be bothering you if she had another option.]

One of the witches that helped us is making a move against their coven. They are looking for our help. Their current target is a sort of ... supernatural collector. They approached me tonight asking me if I could get us to act as bait. Apparently a banshee and hellhound that are connected the way we are is a pretty rare combo.

[nicedemon]

We would be... bait.

( He's facing the apartment now, eyes wide, no he doesn't know how he gets roped into these things. )

Are you looking for my help or are you warning me?

[beanchaointe]

Honestly? I don't know yet. I told them I wasn't going to bring it to you until they outlined the plan for me and they haven't done that yet. So I guess for now it's a warning.

[But as far as what's going to happen after that plan arrives ...]

The witches they're going after ... they're bad people. I won't deny that. You've been lucky enough to stay out of this and I don't relish the idea of changing that. But I'm also worried that they have a trump card up their sleeve that they haven't shared.

[nicedemon]

A trump card that will force our hand?

( That sounds like what desperate witches would do.

He raises an arm, hand resting against the doorway above him. )

Thank you for the heads up? What are your instincts telling you?

[beanchaointe]

My instincts say ... even if I say no, it might mean someone else getting hurt when they go to find new bait. Someone who isn't as well connected as we are so they may not find the need to ask first.

[She doesn't want to say the worst of these people who are supposed to be their allies, but Rusty did not inspire confidence. She would feel better if she wasn't doing this alone but she doesn't want to force him.]

And right now I'm just making sure I have my own contingencies in place. I already reached out to Jackson and Allison and if you decide to help, I'm going to assume that means Malia's coming to.

[Malia's face is sour at that, but she doesn't contradict Lydia either. It's more about her vacation being interrupted to go to Siberia of all places than it is about helping Lydia.]