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

( "I think if he's a part of the problem, he and everyone else underestimated us. I can handle things here. Nail him to the wall."

Shipp feels more like a scratch, a (4), something he can't pinpoint. )

Cora, everyone - and my FBI shrink. We're not alone. Two women tried to babysit me - after trapping us.

( With a (15), Stiles looks back and spots the slow crawl of mountain ash. )

It's them, they're doing something.

Edited 2024-02-06 04:34 (UTC)

Have fun, babe.

[But with that, she will make her way over to where she's supposed to meet Luke. She slides into her seat at the table across from him, and flashes one of those uncomfortable smiles of hers.]

Luke.

( With his best feel-sorry-for-himself expression (16), Luke looks up from his phone. )

Jaq. I - can't even tell you how much this means to me.

Of course.

[She crosses one leg over the other as she considers him. She can just smell the lie (17), but she's not sure why yet.]

Why don't we get a drink? From the sound of your day, it seems like you could use it.

Yeah, sure. I - should get back to the city soon, though. But, there's no harm in one drink.

( And of course, a transaction. )

I don't have much with me, but I'll double your supply the next time you need it, if you need it.

[She shakes her head.]

Don't worry about it. It's on me.

[She raises a hand to flag down the waiter, before glancing over at him curiously.]

So what are you doing in DC?

( he sticks to why he was down in Maryland, continuing the lie (11) )

Weekend away with the new boyfriend. It didn't go well with my sister who had to go back to Baltimore, and then he stranded me. She's always lending me money and she's just going to say 'I told you so.'

[Yeah, she still doesn't buy it (19). But she can play along, planning on keeping him talking until Sierra says they need him.]

Speaking as that sibling, we generally only say it out of love.

Well I don't need to hear it out of love. She never agrees with my decisions and she doesn't even know I do this.

( Didn't. That's completely true. )

What brought you down to DC?

Business.

[Don't need to get more specific than that.]

Shouldn't take too long to wrap up.

( Next to David, Ezra's phone comes to life while he's changing into something warmer. to him and Jaqueline

Stiles slipped through my fingertips. He has help.

Jaq's phone buzzes, too. )

Do you need to get that?

[Jaqueline glances down at her phone, reading the notification and knows she needs to keep playing as though the goal's the same until then. She leans forward and places her hand over Luke's (17), letting the pulse of a truth spell pass over the table.]

Luke, what are you really doing here?

[David, on the other hand, just sees Sierra's name and doesn't look closer. "Sierra's texting you." He doesn't really think much of it yet.]

( His (7) is no match for her (17). )

I'm here to buy time, so my brother and sister can help in a hostage situation.

( Another (7) doesn't catch that he's been affected by a truth spell, or he might make a move of his own.

Ezra ducks a head out of the bathroom, stretching the sweater down over his torso. He tries for casual, a (5) as he overcompensates in his facial expressions, and one leg sort of gelatinously follows the other as he steps into the room.

"Hm, what did she say?" )

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[Liv turns, and when she spots what Stiles sees, she lifts her hands and starts to channel a wall of magical force, intending to knock the "them" in question off their game (15).]

Not this time.

[And yes, it's true that Liv can't see her but Liv Parker isn't a slouch of a witch either.]

( The mountain ash dissipates in a flash of fire against Sierra's (10).

"Thank you Shipp or Liv," Stiles says, the fire traveling along the circle of mountain ash on all sides. Liv is just that powerful.

Before anything else can be done, Sierra comes surging down from the ceiling, phasing from the apartment across from them. The burst of magic as she drops to her feet sends Cora and Stiles to the ground.

She straightens up, standing tall. She sends a spell, attempting to drop EVERYONE to the floor (14)

et cincinno

Edited 2024-02-07 03:56 (UTC)

[Cora just stays down (8). It's better that way. Sweets ducks behind the couch (18), to try and stay out of view now that the magic is flying. Liv catches the spell before it can connect with her, sending it back towards Sierra intending to knock her towards the door (20).]

That's a pretty fancy trick, dropping through the ceiling like that.

( Running away from your destiny as the heir can't compare to Gemini power (6) sends Sierra back into the door, hard.

Stiles tries to pull himself up but gets slammed back down.

Shipp taps into his sister's magic and deflects (16).

"Is there another way out," Shipp asks.

"Fire escape," Stiles answers, through gritted teeth.

"Dimittis," Shipp says, releasing Cora and Stiles. )

[Cora scrambles up, pulling Stiles with her and gesturing for Sweets to follow as well. They head towards the back window while Liv stands where she is between Sierra and the escaping hostages.

She crouches down to meet Sierra's eyes, tipping her head to the side curiously.]

So I gotta ask, what did you expect to get out of this?

( In a shady, last ditch effort to separate allies, her fingers slip from around Liv's wrist (4 vs 9) and she phases back out, sinking into the ground.

Shipp stays up on the landing, blinking.

"Really cool trick." )

[Liv tries to grab hold of her again, but Sierra literally slips through her fingers. But that doesn't mean this is done, and she glances back to Shep.]

Go, make sure she doesn't cut them off on the way to the car. I'm right behind you.

( Stiles drops down and at the VERY last second misses an attempt (8 vs 9) as he falls against the dumpster with a thud.

"Everybody watch where you step!" he yells.

"She's trying to take someone," Shipp says, preferring to skip every fourth step. Her next attempt (12 v 18) Shipp sees Sierra's outline. He slides under the railing missing her completely. )

[Cora glances down from where she's coming down from above and she attempts to time her drop so that she can get her claws into the other woman when she's mostly solid (3), but timing solidity is harder than it looks, and she pulls back with a snarl.]

( She tries once more with Stiles (13 v 16) unsuccessfully.

And then, nothing. Maybe.

Stiles hesitates, looking at his allies.

"Why do I feel like we're playing the floor is lava?" )

[Cora stares at the wall, willing to lie in wait before taking a step back towards the rest of the group. To Sweets:]

You said you had a car?

["Yeah, it's across the way."]

We should try and get in it.

Everyone to Dr. Sweets' car. Now.

( This is not a game anyone should be playing.

But, everyone gets to the car unscathed, everyone taking a seat, doors slamming behind them. The back is packed, four squished up against each other, but it's safer than being dragged away by a temporal witch. )