( David's trail goes cold immediately. When a demon disappears, he disappears. Or, she. Or, it. Whomever is inside her best friend is gone. She tries, at first, to focus and keep her antennae up. She doesn't know where he'd go, but does know where a demon might take him. He doesn't end up at their Connecticut boarding school. Or, one of the big hotels in the city.
She lies low with one of the teachers. One of the only adults in her life she feels like she can trust. It's overstepping on both parts but she could read between the lines and offered her sanctuary.
She missed Jacqueline more than anything. She worries. One call a month later goes unanswered. A text three months later - well, maybe she's blocked. She doesn't know. By then, she's focusing on her craft. She's out of the country. She's holistic. She's breathing. Life isn't about things and power and consolidation. She's Sierra and she's only starting to understand what that means.
And what she can do.
She learns about wells of power by accident. She's not after power. Not yet.
It's a novel concept that power doesn't just flow through one family ancestral line, but it can be connected to a group, to a location, to an idea. She lived her life so rigidly. Under terms. And her fellow "heirs," more strictly.
Freedom is ... still stifling.
She doesn't realize how stifling until she receives a message out of the blue. She never deleted Jaq's number. And she wasn't going to be the one to block it. If she ever needed anything.
She would be there. She'd go back in a heartbeat.
She just thought she'd do it herself. When she was ready. Will she ever be ready? )
[Not if Max isn't. The one person who has never left her, for better or worse. She won't leave him. He needs to be ready to leave with her.
She stares at her response for a long moment, before she decides to keep it relatively light.]
Because you woke up early or stayed up too late?
[Jaqueline doesn't think she's ever seen a sunrise. She's always liked her sleep too much. She also doesn't think they can talk about nothing forever, but she thinks it's a much better option than otherwise.]
( Except for the occasional hedonistic letting go ceremony. Which is literally just going to a bar in the village. There isn't much balance between the two. It's a collective. Everyone is an equal. )
( She's been feeling restless, like nothing is enough. Knowledge, friendship, silence, piece. Nothing. It's like Jaq sensed it. Like she needs something to shake things up. She might not last long where she is. And she may incite chaos in the meantime, leaving it in her wake. )
["Good for you" feels too sarcastic and she doesn't want this to become that. She's possibly incapable of restraining her barbs on a good day.
She also doesn't want to barge in with what's actually bothering her either. Because she knows what Sierra will say, and it will only make things worse when she says no. So she'll transition to something more neutral.]
( That's calculated. She remembers Damian's dealings with their families. They are all different, according to whom calls upon him, her parents always being the least severe. But, David's parents. Would they ask for him alive? )
Do they want him dead or do they want him back?
The rumors are that they had him possessed and lost control. Amateur work, if you ask me.
They picked Jericho because they want him back alive.
[Damian Jericho does not do wetwork - not intentionally anyway. There's also the chance that the demon might have already gotten himself stabbed or worse. But for now, they're assuming that he is alive, and will remain that way.]
They still have no idea where he is. Seems the demon has warded himself against being re-summoned.
If I were a demon, it's the first thing I'd do. That, and get as far away from where I was. They should look into distant ties. Maybe from our childhood. You remember those twins from California, from boarding school. That's where they should be looking. Personal ties he can exploit.
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
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She lies low with one of the teachers. One of the only adults in her life she feels like she can trust. It's overstepping on both parts but she could read between the lines and offered her sanctuary.
She missed Jacqueline more than anything. She worries. One call a month later goes unanswered. A text three months later - well, maybe she's blocked. She doesn't know. By then, she's focusing on her craft. She's out of the country. She's holistic. She's breathing. Life isn't about things and power and consolidation. She's Sierra and she's only starting to understand what that means.
And what she can do.
She learns about wells of power by accident. She's not after power. Not yet.
It's a novel concept that power doesn't just flow through one family ancestral line, but it can be connected to a group, to a location, to an idea. She lived her life so rigidly. Under terms. And her fellow "heirs," more strictly.
Freedom is ... still stifling.
She doesn't realize how stifling until she receives a message out of the blue. She never deleted Jaq's number. And she wasn't going to be the one to block it. If she ever needed anything.
She would be there. She'd go back in a heartbeat.
She just thought she'd do it herself. When she was ready. Will she ever be ready? )
I watched the sunrise.
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She stares at her response for a long moment, before she decides to keep it relatively light.]
Because you woke up early or stayed up too late?
[Jaqueline doesn't think she's ever seen a sunrise. She's always liked her sleep too much. She also doesn't think they can talk about nothing forever, but she thinks it's a much better option than otherwise.]
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( Except for the occasional hedonistic letting go ceremony. Which is literally just going to a bar in the village. There isn't much balance between the two. It's a collective. Everyone is an equal. )
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[Which may translate to how cult-ish, but she really isn't one to talk when she's in the cult of all cults if you're looking at the BITE model.
Behavioral control? Check.
Informational control? Check.
Thought control? They're trying.
Emotion control? Trying that too.
She tries not to be a hypocrite if she can help it.]
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( She's been feeling restless, like nothing is enough. Knowledge, friendship, silence, piece. Nothing. It's like Jaq sensed it. Like she needs something to shake things up. She might not last long where she is. And she may incite chaos in the meantime, leaving it in her wake. )
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She also doesn't want to barge in with what's actually bothering her either. Because she knows what Sierra will say, and it will only make things worse when she says no. So she'll transition to something more neutral.]
They're hiring Damian Jericho to go after David.
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Do they want him dead or do they want him back?
The rumors are that they had him possessed and lost control. Amateur work, if you ask me.
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[Damian Jericho does not do wetwork - not intentionally anyway. There's also the chance that the demon might have already gotten himself stabbed or worse. But for now, they're assuming that he is alive, and will remain that way.]
They still have no idea where he is. Seems the demon has warded himself against being re-summoned.
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[They've maxed out the obvious choices and now are moving on to the less obvious ones.]
Wherever the demon wearing David is, he's far off the grid.
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How are your parents taking it? How's Maxie?
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[It's impossible for them to blame the disappearance of her fiancé on her, thankfully. Not when there's such concrete evidence of his family's mistake. But she can still feel the tension growing.
What will they do with Jaqueline without David to dispose of her onto?]
My mother says I should try and prepare for "new suitors."
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[Cotillion? Absolutely not.]
No, it's more a lot of "my dear old friend is coming to town and oh look, they have a son your age. Please dress nicely for dinner."
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And I think she still expects me to have children.
[To which Jaqueline's response is absolutely fucking not.]
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Maybe not. But I would rather rip out my insides with a rusty knife than birth a child, so that's the world we're going to use.
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[And they're far enough in that the emotions don't feel as much like a heavy weight around her neck.]
I miss you.
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I'm sorry I left like that. I should've included you. Been honest. I was terrified. To be honest, I'm still terrified.
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[Is it too much to hope that when she does, she'll come back?]
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Maybe I was the broken one all along
Do they miss me?
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[Aside from being mostly true, she doesn't want to be the one to carry their messages for them.]
Your dad's been in his lab a lot.
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I should miss them.
I miss you.
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