[Wrist Witch gives a whimper of pain as the hit connects (10), but he manages to hold on to his concentration to continue the chant and Josie gives another small whimper of pain as he tries to wrench the magic out of her (16).
Shoulder Witch also falters (12), and is forced to release one of the hands from Josie to try and get a hand under the feather boa. Eventually he has to release her completely and tries to use his weight to wrench Ivan over his shoulder to release the pressure on his neck (5), but he probably doesn't do well.
Josie tries to break away again (11 vs. 11) but Wrist Witch holds her firmly in place as neon green begins to bleed from her hands into his. Josie is doing her best to fight back, but a part of her is rising in response to the threat, and her eyes flicker black briefly before she pushes it back (15).]
Please. You need to let me go.
["I don't need to do anything until I take back what you stole."]
I didn't mean to steal it! I was trying to help a friend.
( Pressure on his Shoulder Witch's neck doesn't lesson at all, Ivan able to keep a hold of it. (17) )
I'd listen to the lady, accidents happen. You want it so much? Take it.
( Because Shoulder Witch is holding on so tightly, Ivan lets go, wanting the witch to fall backward with the boa, and then shoots both hands out, palms facing Wrist Witch (10) )Redde eam!( Translating to 'Give it back,' he tries to reverse the course of the spell. )
[Shoulder Witch does just that (6), falling backwards onto his butt as he does, but Wrist Witch holds his own (19), keeping the power flowing towards him. Shoulder Witch pushes himself up to his feet again, before swinging a fist out to try and catch Ivan in the face (15).
Josie lets out another cry of pain, feeling herself starting to get woozy, but then Josie herself starts to shift. The green veins start to turn black, and extend up over her face, and that is enough to get Wrist Witch to startle some, doing his best to maintain the spell but Josie manages to finally get the upper hand (18 vs. nat 20).
Josie smiles, her head tipping slightly to the side. Her hair seems darker, her makeup starker, and a menace lights her gaze that wasn't there before.]
You should have listened.
[She lifts one hand to fling Wrist Witch towards the nearby trees (18 vs. 19), and he just manages to deflect the spell as Hope and Colm arrive on the scene.
Colm stares, his attention focused on Josie. "That doesn't feel like Josie."
Which is a statement that might make no sense to Hope right now, but they don't have time to dig into that too much, and Colm is just going to run to back up his best friend.]
Edited (I play colm not ivan) 2025-08-05 14:00 (UTC)
(Ivan takes a fist straight to the face, blood splattering after it connects. His nose is probably broken. (2). He's in shock from the injury, sacrificing his turn, (5 to recover and bounce back), before he turns and sees his best friend through the stars in his eyes. He's feeling a little woozy here, and kind of like he needs to sneeze. Probably broken.
"Josie has some surprising sides to her," she admits, worried for her girlfriend.
Hope assesses the scene. "Ivan!" First, she sends a spell in his direction: "Lenire!" and it "soothes" his pain enough for him to be able to see and think straight before she sends a hand out and then down, trying to drop Wrist Witch whose hands are on Josie to the ground: "Deorsum!" (non-nat 21).
Ivan turns to Colm. "How did you -" except, okay, he knows, nodding. A silent thank you. )
[Wrist Witch tries to keep his hold but ultimately fails (17) and goes flying backwards to the ground. He glances back up and decides to turn on Hope because he doesn't know what to do with Josie just yet, and sends the same spell back at Hope from his position on the ground (1), but Josie intervenes by slamming her boot right into the bridge of his nose (17 vs. 15), and his nose starts to bleed.
"You could have asked you know," she comments dryly. "We could have handled this nicely."
Witch 2 is going to take another swing at Ivan (11), but as he does, Colm picks up a large branch from one of the nearby trees and takes a swing at his face (13 vs. 5), and the witch is forced to stumble back, woozy.]
Let's see you say your fancy witch words with a broken jaw.
("You really want a witch, you should probably go for the most powerful one you can find, right?" Hope taunts.
Ivan ducks the swing, too (18), Hope noticing Colm is taking to this a little too well. Fancy witch words? Now she has questions, but now's not the time. )
Vides!
( Ivan tries roping Witch 2 in vines (6) while Hope zooms up to Wrist Witch bringing a foot to their chest.
"You -- okay?" she asks her girlfriend, clearly worried about the girl that's taken her place. She'll deal with her, too. )
["I didn't want any witch. I wanted the power that bitch stole from us!" It doesn't seem like he's talking about Josie, in this instance.
Witch 2 dodges the vines (12), but focusing on that doesn't make it easier to dodge Colm when he swings at him (nat. 20 vs. 15) and yep ... that crack definitely lands a broken jaw, and the witch can't help but let out a scream of pain. He drops to the ground, hands coming up in a gesture of surrender. This wasn't what they came for.
Josie watches the witch on the ground, and the plea does move the part of her that actually cares, the black starting to bleed out again as she returns to normal, and she grits her teeth.]
Fine. And again, as I said. You could have just asked. I don't know why I still have it, but maybe I was supposed to give it back. You can't just jump me when I'm out with my friend and expect me not to fight back.
("Well, I'd tell you to look around and ask if you see any bitches here, but I didn't bring a mirror," Hope burns. Them. They're bitches.
Hope exhales, the darker side of Josie giving away, and doesn't move her boot from the witch underneath.
"Nor her girlfriend and her surprisingly informed frenemy," Hope says with a smile. She tests out lessening the force from her foot, ready to step back if this is a full surrender. "Now, who are you and what do you want with the power Josie never asked for."
Ivan takes off his feathery jacket and presses it to his nose, which, no longer hurts but he understands is probably still broken. But, he explains to Colm. )
They're both witches. Well, Josie's a witch, Hope's --
("A lot more complicated," she says, whipping her hair back. She gives Colm a smile. Welcome to this side of their life. )
Your last name is Mikaelson. From what Cami's told me, complicated doesn't even begin to cover it.
[That being said, he's going to just let their hostages talk for now.
Wrist Witch takes a breath. "My name is Steven Jones. My dad ran afoul of a witch who stole his magic then killed him. I know it's not you who stole it, but I don't know how you wound up with his magic. Why wouldn't I assume that you were on her side?"]
("I knew I had a reputation, but how do you know my stepmother?" Lot of skeleton secrets in his deep dark, brooding closet, apparently. )
You could've tried asking. After the sold-out once a year double feature.
("Did you ever think about why all of a sudden you could sense his magic again? It was stolen by someone but it didn't go to someone, not until Josie ran afoul - nice SAT word - of a dark object called a damnum essentia. We helped restore our aunt's magic and Josie, accidentally, acquired daddy Stills'." Another second and she adds. A little dismissively, but she does mean it. "Sorry for your loss."
("You were?" she asks, a little taken out of the moment. She doesn't remember him. But, it was her dad's wedding. She did have enough to do. And was dealing with the Hollow inside her.
Hope rolls her eyes and pulls the leaf-covered witch to his feet, and as an aside to his friend.
"Sorry about him," she says. They did a number on him.
Ivon leans against his roommate, boa still pressed against his -- )
I think Colm and I are going to go to student health, you know, on account of the broken nose.
("I can heal that, actually," Hope says, letting Steve go. Colm can vouch since Colm knows everything about me. Just don't plan on dying in the next 24 hours, especially if you like your connection to the ancestors." )
[He knows external things. Facts that don't always add up to who Hope is as a person. He's not digging around for her deep dark secrets. But that's not the point.]
Vampire blood heals you, but if you die within 24 hours of having it you go into transition. I don't think we're not planning to do anything after this beyond Hope asking me a lot of questions about how I know what I know so you'll probably be safe, but it's a risk.
( He takes the information in, evaluating, still bleeding everything. )
Hope's a vampire?
("Hope's a little of everything, and standing right here. Do you want the quick fix or weeks of recovery and plastic surgery?")
Okay. Yes. I want it. Your -- vampire blood.
("Okay. This is going to seem gross. But, remember. The ends justify the means." Her fangs drop, eyes darkening as she takes a bite out of her wrist. She steps close to cradle his neck and presents her wrist. "Drink." He eyes Colm before doing just that. )
[Colm crosses his arms in front of his chest, waiting for the bit with the blood drinking to finish. Josie steps up, matching his stance as she eyes him.
"How do you know what you know?"]
Ma's a Watcher. So is my brother. He's also the new leader of the human faction in New Orleans. But Ma taught us from a young age how to protect ourselves.
( She talks to her mother and she stays apprised of local politics. When in town, anyway. She'd lost track when she was in school. Now, it matters. And. What a smaller and smaller world. )
Watcher, as in, slayer?
( She never asked Mia who her watcher was. Or, if they just ... watch. )
It's a job that was made up by stuff old British white men that essentially added up to monitoring a teenage girl until she died doing a job they were too chickenshit to do themselves. I don't think they deserve to get better branding.
[It's part of the reason why the job never appealed to him.]
They don't do that anymore, though. Now they're mostly just nerds who know a lot of supernatural shit.
[And with that, Colm's mouth snaps shut, looking over at his roommate as though to say hey, you don't see him spilling any secrets people don't already know. He does not want to talk about that, but Josie is like a dog with a bone, and she's not about to let it go.
( Ivan recovers. "Like he said, he's bred. Royally. He's a Ford. Means something to my grandmother and aunts," he contributes, trying to sidestep any mental abilities. )
You're a prince?
("You're basically a princess, aren't you? INO." In name only. )
Well, thanks, for the assist. And getting me.
( She eyes Colm, because she didn't hear any screaming. And she would've. )
[Colm huffs as he rubs a hand over his face, frustration building because it's not really a royalty thing, and he can tell from the look on Josie's face she's really not going to let this go, so he sighs.]
My family has these ... abilities. You get 'em when you turn twenty and everyone's are different, but that's it. No other magical talent really. Mine just popped up and I can hear people's surface thoughts. Everywhere. All the time. I'm still figuring out how to control it because I literally just turned twenty before Thanksgiving, but I can't like go digging for secrets or any of that shit. I just hear things people are thinking about. So sometimes - with permission - I'll find people with nice thought patterns to hang out in.
[He gestures to Ivan with a shrug.]
Ivan's one of them. He was freaking out, so I went to go try and find out was wrong.
( But, Ivan is still testing out his new nose, retrieves his boa from the ground and straightens himself back up in his heels. )
I know why you didn't tell us. But. Take it from me, living with something like that alone. It's isolating and it does more harm than good. So, I'm happy you have loose-lips over here.
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
no subject
Shoulder Witch also falters (12), and is forced to release one of the hands from Josie to try and get a hand under the feather boa. Eventually he has to release her completely and tries to use his weight to wrench Ivan over his shoulder to release the pressure on his neck (5), but he probably doesn't do well.
Josie tries to break away again (11 vs. 11) but Wrist Witch holds her firmly in place as neon green begins to bleed from her hands into his. Josie is doing her best to fight back, but a part of her is rising in response to the threat, and her eyes flicker black briefly before she pushes it back (15).]
Please. You need to let me go.
["I don't need to do anything until I take back what you stole."]
I didn't mean to steal it! I was trying to help a friend.
["I don't give a shit. You still have it."
Josie grits her teeth.]
If you don't stop, you're going to regret it.
no subject
I'd listen to the lady, accidents happen. You want it so much? Take it.
( Because Shoulder Witch is holding on so tightly, Ivan lets go, wanting the witch to fall backward with the boa, and then shoots both hands out, palms facing Wrist Witch (10) ) Redde eam! ( Translating to 'Give it back,' he tries to reverse the course of the spell. )
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Shoulder Witch pushes himself up to his feet again, before swinging a fist out to try and catch Ivan in the face (15).
Josie lets out another cry of pain, feeling herself starting to get woozy, but then Josie herself starts to shift. The green veins start to turn black, and extend up over her face, and that is enough to get Wrist Witch to startle some, doing his best to maintain the spell but Josie manages to finally get the upper hand (18 vs. nat 20).
Josie smiles, her head tipping slightly to the side. Her hair seems darker, her makeup starker, and a menace lights her gaze that wasn't there before.]
You should have listened.
[She lifts one hand to fling Wrist Witch towards the nearby trees (18 vs. 19), and he just manages to deflect the spell as Hope and Colm arrive on the scene.
Colm stares, his attention focused on Josie. "That doesn't feel like Josie."
Which is a statement that might make no sense to Hope right now, but they don't have time to dig into that too much, and Colm is just going to run to back up his best friend.]
no subject
"Josie has some surprising sides to her," she admits, worried for her girlfriend.
Hope assesses the scene. "Ivan!" First, she sends a spell in his direction: "Lenire!" and it "soothes" his pain enough for him to be able to see and think straight before she sends a hand out and then down, trying to drop Wrist Witch whose hands are on Josie to the ground: "Deorsum!" (non-nat 21).
Ivan turns to Colm. "How did you -" except, okay, he knows, nodding. A silent thank you. )
no subject
"You could have asked you know," she comments dryly. "We could have handled this nicely."
Witch 2 is going to take another swing at Ivan (11), but as he does, Colm picks up a large branch from one of the nearby trees and takes a swing at his face (13 vs. 5), and the witch is forced to stumble back, woozy.]
Let's see you say your fancy witch words with a broken jaw.
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Ivan ducks the swing, too (18), Hope noticing Colm is taking to this a little too well. Fancy witch words? Now she has questions, but now's not the time. )
Vides!
( Ivan tries roping Witch 2 in vines (6) while Hope zooms up to Wrist Witch bringing a foot to their chest.
"You -- okay?" she asks her girlfriend, clearly worried about the girl that's taken her place. She'll deal with her, too. )
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Witch 2 dodges the vines (12), but focusing on that doesn't make it easier to dodge Colm when he swings at him (nat. 20 vs. 15) and yep ... that crack definitely lands a broken jaw, and the witch can't help but let out a scream of pain. He drops to the ground, hands coming up in a gesture of surrender. This wasn't what they came for.
Josie watches the witch on the ground, and the plea does move the part of her that actually cares, the black starting to bleed out again as she returns to normal, and she grits her teeth.]
Fine. And again, as I said. You could have just asked. I don't know why I still have it, but maybe I was supposed to give it back. You can't just jump me when I'm out with my friend and expect me not to fight back.
no subject
Hope exhales, the darker side of Josie giving away, and doesn't move her boot from the witch underneath.
"Nor her girlfriend and her surprisingly informed frenemy," Hope says with a smile. She tests out lessening the force from her foot, ready to step back if this is a full surrender. "Now, who are you and what do you want with the power Josie never asked for."
Ivan takes off his feathery jacket and presses it to his nose, which, no longer hurts but he understands is probably still broken. But, he explains to Colm. )
They're both witches. Well, Josie's a witch, Hope's --
( "A lot more complicated," she says, whipping her hair back. She gives Colm a smile. Welcome to this side of their life. )
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[That being said, he's going to just let their hostages talk for now.
Wrist Witch takes a breath. "My name is Steven Jones. My dad ran afoul of a witch who stole his magic then killed him. I know it's not you who stole it, but I don't know how you wound up with his magic. Why wouldn't I assume that you were on her side?"]
no subject
You could've tried asking. After the sold-out once a year double feature.
( "Did you ever think about why all of a sudden you could sense his magic again? It was stolen by someone but it didn't go to someone, not until Josie ran afoul - nice SAT word - of a dark object called a damnum essentia. We helped restore our aunt's magic and Josie, accidentally, acquired daddy Stills'." Another second and she adds. A little dismissively, but she does mean it. "Sorry for your loss."
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[They didn't know each other then, and she had much bigger concerns at the time, but he was totally there. And sometimes he sleeps on their couch.
"I'm a siphon. I don't know why I still have it. But if you want it, you can have it back. But again, we could have talked about this."
Steven nods. "Thank you. And I'm sorry. Everything is just such a fucking mess right now."]
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Hope rolls her eyes and pulls the leaf-covered witch to his feet, and as an aside to his friend.
"Sorry about him," she says. They did a number on him.
Ivon leans against his roommate, boa still pressed against his -- )
I think Colm and I are going to go to student health, you know, on account of the broken nose.
( "I can heal that, actually," Hope says, letting Steve go. Colm can vouch since Colm knows everything about me. Just don't plan on dying in the next 24 hours, especially if you like your connection to the ancestors." )
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[He knows external things. Facts that don't always add up to who Hope is as a person. He's not digging around for her deep dark secrets. But that's not the point.]
Vampire blood heals you, but if you die within 24 hours of having it you go into transition. I don't think we're not planning to do anything after this beyond Hope asking me a lot of questions about how I know what I know so you'll probably be safe, but it's a risk.
no subject
Hope's a vampire?
( "Hope's a little of everything, and standing right here. Do you want the quick fix or weeks of recovery and plastic surgery?" )
Okay. Yes. I want it. Your -- vampire blood.
( "Okay. This is going to seem gross. But, remember. The ends justify the means." Her fangs drop, eyes darkening as she takes a bite out of her wrist. She steps close to cradle his neck and presents her wrist. "Drink." He eyes Colm before doing just that. )
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"How do you know what you know?"]
Ma's a Watcher. So is my brother. He's also the new leader of the human faction in New Orleans. But Ma taught us from a young age how to protect ourselves.
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( She talks to her mother and she stays apprised of local politics. When in town, anyway. She'd lost track when she was in school. Now, it matters. And. What a smaller and smaller world. )
Watcher, as in, slayer?
( She never asked Mia who her watcher was. Or, if they just ... watch. )
You should tell you mom they need new branding.
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[It's part of the reason why the job never appealed to him.]
They don't do that anymore, though. Now they're mostly just nerds who know a lot of supernatural shit.
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( Like, in general.
"More," Ivan says, flexing his newly restored nose, making faces. Weird it was destroyed moments ago. "He knows more." )
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"How'd you guys know we were in trouble?"
Colm, fortunately, has an answer for that.]
The screaming kind of gave you away.
[Now he just Hope doesn't sell him out.]
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You're a prince?
( "You're basically a princess, aren't you? INO." In name only. )
Well, thanks, for the assist. And getting me.
( She eyes Colm, because she didn't hear any screaming. And she would've. )
Your highness.
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[Colm huffs as he rubs a hand over his face, frustration building because it's not really a royalty thing, and he can tell from the look on Josie's face she's really not going to let this go, so he sighs.]
My family has these ... abilities. You get 'em when you turn twenty and everyone's are different, but that's it. No other magical talent really. Mine just popped up and I can hear people's surface thoughts. Everywhere. All the time. I'm still figuring out how to control it because I literally just turned twenty before Thanksgiving, but I can't like go digging for secrets or any of that shit. I just hear things people are thinking about. So sometimes - with permission - I'll find people with nice thought patterns to hang out in.
[He gestures to Ivan with a shrug.]
Ivan's one of them. He was freaking out, so I went to go try and find out was wrong.
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( That's not what she expected, and she feels bad he had to let it all out like that. )
That's gotta take its' toll.
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[To put it mildly. He does relax some now that he's not keeping it to himself anymore, but it's still a lot to tell people.]
It's not that I don't think you all can keep a secret it's just ... weird to talk about.
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( But, Ivan is still testing out his new nose, retrieves his boa from the ground and straightens himself back up in his heels. )
I know why you didn't tell us. But. Take it from me, living with something like that alone. It's isolating and it does more harm than good. So, I'm happy you have loose-lips over here.
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I'm not totally alone.
[A beat.]
Honestly, I'm almost incapable of being alone. I have seven brothers. But ... I appreciate the thought.
[And since he doesn't want to be talking about this anymore, he claps his hands together to distract.]
Do we want to get snacks and head back to the dorm to make sure this one is in the least amount of danger possible?
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