Florencia Velazquez

25. twin. sister. witch. a hot mess. moltres. the bitch with a temper. I am the fire. I am burning brighter. Roaring like a storm, And I am the one I've been waiting for. Screaming like a siren.Alive and burning brighter. I am the fire

[ivmwc]

flxrenciavelazquez​:

“….Do you really think mom’s not going to notice that?” She asked, “You’re going to crash when the 24 hours are up. So it’s really more of a when she’ll learn about that. But who knows, maybe she’ll let it slide.. You did work on a anti-aftermath serum all night.” 

Her eyes rolled before she set her chin back on her girlfriend’s shoulder, “Yes, you’re the only girlfriend I’ve ever had but no one said you can’t still be my favourite. And speaking of your company, I swear some of them are trying to gain my favour or something - Do they think I have some sort of power to promote them?”

Kieran hummed and said, “See, I thought about that already, and the plan is to make sure I’m already in bed by the time the clock turns me back into a pumpkin. Doesn’t guarantee that she won’t figure it out anyhow, but it gives me a fighting chance.”

She made a skeptical face and just said, “I think by the very definition of ‘favorite’, that’s not quite correct, but I suppose I’ll take it…” At the question of why her employees treated her a certain way, her eyes widened a little before she hopped off Ren’s lap and said, “You know what? I think that nap sounds like a good idea. I’ll see in a couple hours, love you kbye.” And she was off and out of the office.

░▒▓█ 𝔼ℕ𝔻 █▓▒░

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran grimaced and said, “I took a revitalizing potion from work. When Ripley called the meeting and laid out what we would be tackling, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t be at the Bridgeport until well into today, so…anyway, I won’t be able to actually sleep again until I hit the 24 hour mark from when I took it…but I’ll still feel it. Magic is awesome,” she deadpanned. “Your mom is going to kill me if she learns about that bit.”

Kieran let out a chuckle at the woman’s words and said, “You’re just biased. I’m the only girlfriend you’ve ever had….that I’m aware of…” She playfully narrowed her eyes at the younger witch, not that it would matter if Ren contradicted her. Sting a little? Maybe. But what once was, was definitely not going to mar what could be. “I’m going to make a post about it on the company’s official insta.”

“....Do you really think mom’s not going to notice that?” She asked, “You’re going to crash when the 24 hours are up. So it’s really more of a when she’ll learn about that. But who knows, maybe she’ll let it slide.. You did work on a anti-aftermath serum all night.” 

Her eyes rolled before she set her chin back on her girlfriend’s shoulder, “Yes, you’re the only girlfriend I've ever had but no one said you can’t still be my favourite. And speaking of your company, I swear some of them are trying to gain my favour or something - Do they think I have some sort of power to promote them?”

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran let out a somewhat defeated sigh. “That’s what mom keeps telling me…which that phrase I just uttered is still so foreign and weird in itself…” She trailed off as she rubbed at her tired face. “I think the lack of sleep is starting to get to me. I’m definitely talking more than I should now.” Kieran just chuckled at the reminder of Mama V eyeing each of them like a hawk. “If ever we were going to find a way to lead a healthy lifestyle, living with your nurse mom is definitely it.”

“Well, Luke still hasn’t woken up yet, so it’s still touch-and-go. Apparently her name was down in the ledger multiple times, and she had a nasty skull fracture to boot so…I’m hoping the serum will be able to help out once we’ve got it fully sorted. I may not be as close of friends with them, but we all still grew up here…it’s sad.” At the response she received, Kieran just leaned down -as best as she could- and placed a quick kiss to Ren’s temple. “We’ll just tell them our tutoring sessions finally paid off. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t provide an alibi?”

“You should sleep.” She sighed, “Or at least a nap. I don’t even know how you’re still awake right now.” She gave a wry smile, “Which is going to be another thing mom’s going to be on you for if she sees those dark circles around your eyes. Honestly, the conversation could go in so many directions that I can’t even tell you what she’d be nagging you on in regards tot that.” 

Florencia agreed that the whole situation was sad and unfortunate. To think that one of their own would cause such harm towards the town, surely that wasn’t something anyone would have seen coming. Ren was ever more thankful for the people around her. “You are the best girlfriend ever even if it weren’t for this.” The younger witch suddenly felt shy at the admittance and just gave Kieran another squeeze around her waist. “Don’t tell people that I’m sappy either. Di would never let it go.”

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

“I don’t think it’s all that impressive, especially when said title was basically given to me,” she grumbled. It was the reason she’d taken her original job upon returning to town. Kieran enjoyed the knowledge of having earned the merits she gained. It was also why she tried to spend so much more time in the labs, working at ground level with the other employees. To feel she was earning her place in the company. At the question of becoming more cranky, Kieran just scoffed and said, “Nah, I’ll just increase my coffee intake.”

Kieran chuckled lightly and said, “Apparently her first two days were already exciting from what Ray tells me. But, I’ve known Keagan since practically ever. If anyone can even remotely handle a fraction of what’s happened it’s her.”  Kieran wrapped her own arms overtop of Ren’s hold as it tightened. “I wouldn’t quite say lucky. I would’ve never been able to get the information I needed to make the serum if they hadn’t cracked into Luke’s skull to begin with…” The thought that this could’ve been Ren’s fate was too much to dwell on in her current state. She turned to face the fire witch as best she could, “The contents of the ledger are not public knowledge, so whether the learn about this is going to be entirely up you.”

“I don’t think they’d leave it to you if they didn’t think you were able to handle it. Like, I wouldn’t be able to take that job. I’d probably make the company go under.” She snorted. “Well, as long as mom doesn’t see you drink more cups of coffee than she approves of. There is nothing I can do against mom when she locks onto something.”

She pursed her lips at the thought of having your mind go through the ringer, and to require surgery to the point that no one was even confident that it was going to go well until near the end. “Still, that’s pretty rough, having to wait to know if your friend was going to make it or not. I .. do not want to be her.” The younger witch looked up to meet those eyes she adored so much. “I.. don’t want to worry them too much, so maybe we should keep it from them. It’s not like anything happened.. except for my powers not being a fire starter out of the blue.”

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

“Well, that is the hope. Now that we have the formula down, we’ll see how the currently affect people at Wentworth react and then hopefully it’s something we can keep in our back pocket,” she agreed before let her head drop back as she groaned dramatically. “I just hate that it means more bureaucratic work. I want to be in the labs, not drowning in legal paperwork, not to mention dealing with the government….I’m beginning to see why dad was always cranky.”

Kieran righted her head and then shook it slowly. “A seal breaking doesn’t do what was described…whoever managed to get a hold of him, really had some pent up rage against the dude…which narrows the list to about three-quarters of the town alone.” She stopped as she caught herself and sheepishly grinned. “But, that is not my job anymore. Best wishes to Andy who will be stepping in for Keagan for a while.”

She was more than happy with letting herself be coaxed into a new seating arrangement. The witch let out a laugh as she said, “I bet you would have, but I don’t think there’d be much left if my replacement at the department had any say in it. Ripley says woman was beyond livid all night, and I can’t say that I blame her. Just thinking that something like that could’ve happened to you if Grey’s whims had just swung a different way….” She physically shuddered at the thought.

She hummed at the sounds of paperwork, “I am so glad.. that I’m not the boss of a big ass company, as impressive as that title is.” Ren smiled, “Oh no, are you becoming more cranky then? I don’t know if anyone can handle it if we’re both cranky.” 

Honestly, she was just thankful that Kieran didn’t have more work than she already have. Although she worked in the same establishment as Andy, the witch didn’t really know her nor the new Chief Deputy so.. less sympathy there. 

“This replacement of yours must be having quite the time, taking over your position.” How long had it been and already, they had to deal with so much. “Can’t imagine what it would feel like to have a migraine that could knock you out into a coma.” Her arms tightened around the other. “Lucky them, they got you to figure out the serum.” She gave a small pause before continuing, “.....Is mom and Di going to find out about this?” 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

“There’s a lot of information that came out of that ledger. We’re going to have to make sure that the anti-aftermath is in full production alongside the orders for other medications that we were already in line to churn out…this is going to be a busy next few weeks…thanks Old Man.” The last bit was practically spat out in pure sarcasm.

Kieran shrugged her shoulders and said, “He’s used to binding people’s powers when they’re young and the powers haven’t fully manifested or even manifested at all. Considering it turns out his knowledge was less than what would be required, he probably just assumed he could use the same potion on a grown witch whose powers were already present.”

She felt the familiar warmth spread up from neck to her cheeks at the gentle gesture, and knew she needn’t say anything in response as her flushed pallor would say it all. She did make a face at the last comment and said, “Well, from the few details I learned at the meeting, I think he still managed to get some sort of comeuppance before he died. Body looked rough.”

“On the other hand, this anti-aftermath sounds like it’d be helpful for future problems.” She shrugged, “Glass half-full?” Florencia was never an optimistic person but that was literally the only thing she found useful so far. “If only it didn’t have to take the Old Man making such a mess for it to be created.” 

Her eyes rolled at how stupid that man was. She still could not believe how often he boasted around town, making himself sound like he was an excellent witch when he couldn’t even figure out his own spells when his target was not a child.  “I guess.. But his body was then used to open a seal - still contributed to chaos.” She rolled her eyes. 

Tugging the hands, she pulled her girlfriend to sit in her lap so that she didn’t have to be crouching for any longer and rest her cheek against the woman’s back, “I would’ve wanted a go at him.” She complained childishly. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran went from kneeling to sitting with her legs crossed, so close to the younger witch that Ren’s feet slotted perfectly in the crook where her own feet overlapped. “I don’t think it would do you any favors to absolve you of all responsibility in this, but I do think it’s important to remember that you were still the victim of an unscrupulous man who was willing to go to any lengths he deemed necessary to either get what he wanted or protect himself from a perceived threat,” she said, hands resting on Ren’s knees as her thumbs rubbed gentle circles. “True, jumping to the decision to magically erase your entire life was definitely not the best,” she conceded, “But, nothing excuses taking advantage of another person or doing things to them without their knowledge or consent.”

When it came to Ren apologizing to her, all Kieran could do was offer her a sad smile and say, “Apology more than accepted. It does still hurt to think about, but I also understand the place that you were in, and I know that you’ve worked exceedingly hard to move on from that. It would unfair, if not cruel, for me to hold a past mistake against you.”

“With all the shady shit he’s done, it does explain why he’s so paranoid.” Her family had removed themselves from the council years ago - and Diego didn’t even mention about rejoining it until years later. Regardless, it wasn’t really the Velazquez’ priority either to be the representative of all witches for a while now. That old man was just fucked. 

“And it’s not like he made the situation any better??” She scoffed, now that she thought about it. “He didn’t even properly bind my powers! Unintentionally - or intentionally - making me into some ticking time bomb is not a good idea!?” She ranted, “He really didn’t think shit through.” 

Her eyes softened, taking the hands on her knees and then bending over to give them a soft kiss. “Thanks... And too bad he’s dead now.. Not much we can do about him..” 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

It was the lackluster response that came from the fire witch herself that had Kieran’s brain come screeching to halt. She took a moment to assess the situation, before nodding and reaching out to take Ren’s hands in hers. She guided the younger woman back over to the chair before her desk and kneeled down so she was looking up at her.

“Okay, I uh…I think in my brain’s own bid to focus on the change in your powers over the fact that you’d tried to erase your memory, it may have overcompensated back there….by quite a bit,” she admitted, an apologetic look in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I can’t imagine what it must be like to find out a part of you was restrained without your consent and having that affect your actions and decisions…” The truth was she actually could and very well, as parents had done something similar to her, but this wasn’t about her. “I was out of line. I’m sorry.”

Florencia allowed herself to be led to the chair and took a seat. Listening to Kieran apologize, she looked up in surprise, “Don’t apologize.. It’s not your fault. You weren’t the one to go to him with the stupid idea to get involved with Old Man Grey. This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t go.” A wry smile, “I just.. I’m sorry.” The younger witch was the one who needed to apologize anyways. "It wasn’t a smart idea.. but I still went. And didn’t tell anyone about it, not even Di. This really is my fault to begin with. Like most things.” Ren really had no one to blame but herself for this and unfortunately, thinking things through wasn’t her strong suit. 

“Kieran, I’m really sorry..” She looked at the other, feeling very remorseful that she would try to get rid of all her memories. At the time, she really thought the answer was to wipe it all, to start afresh.. Like a reset button. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran had just nodded when asked about the method of putting out the -rapidly shrinking- match. This would be the real test to ensure that everything was now as it should. Setting things alight was never an issue, but being able to control the flame enough to put it out? That one was a different story.

Green eyes practically shone as they reflected the light of the flame, and as the flame begin to fade and vanish completely those same eyes shone with a light of their own as she not only beamed at the results, but let out proper, ‘Fuck yeah!’ before dropping the now useless match.

She used their tethered hands to pull Ren in as she wrapped her arms around her waist and hoisted her up, spinning her around a bit. “First off, I would like it known that I am so incredibly proud of you right now.” Setting Ren back down, she said, “Best I can piece together? Senior knew that with three elemental witches, the Velazquez clan was poised to be a threat to be him. When you walked into the apothecary, you basically gave him a golden opportunity on a silver platter, and he gave you a potion to try and bind your powers. Granted, that’s too strong of a magic to try and do with a potion, so instead it just limited your control.”

Instead of the excitement to match Kieran’s, Ren was just.. shocked, albeit momentarily distracted when she was suddenly lifted into the air and spun around. But when her feet touched the floor again, the younger witch was trying to process what just happened - and what had happened. 

She didn’t even know her clan was a threat. She didn’t know she was part of said threat at the very least. It seemed that it didn’t matter to Old Man Grey - so long as her name is Velaquez, she was a threat. But it was because of this that made her even more scared of using her powers. Just thinking about it had her angry but there wasn’t anything she could do at this point. The man was dead. 

“I guess...” She was still looking down at her hand, as if fire would just spontaneous appear or if the hand wasn’t even hers. For someone who was trying to bind her powers, he made her into a walking time bomb. How was that any better? The years of being scared of herself had her clenching her fist now that this was revealed. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

“Yes, that would be very nice, but we also need to make sure we’re giving our paladin the proper level of enrichment, ya know. Especially since she’s no longer bound to the seal and it’s forced assignment of charges, yet still decided to deal with us anyway. Might as well give her something to maybe do,” Kieran countered, before offering Ren a soft smile. “Then trust in my belief in you.” It was as close as she was going to get at the moment to Ren trusting herself. At the last muttered question, Kieran shrugged and said, “I don’t know, might be a latent kink or something but we’ll have time to figure that out later.”

It dawned on Kieran once the match was lit, that the idea of this not going well had never really registered to her. She couldn’t help the beaming smile that came over her features at the sight of the burning match, and just the match. “I might have an answer, but first: put it out. Uh, with your powers.” Thank god fireplace matches were very long…

Florencia was still staring at the flame with clear disbelief on her face. How did she manage to do that without setting something else on fire? On the first try as well. “I.. what?” She was so distracted by it, she almost didn’t hear what Kieran said. “With my powers?” She looked back at the match in her hand. 

With less resistance this time, the younger witch focused again on the flame.. and just as smooth as it was lighting it, the flame grew smaller until it was gone entirely. “..Kier.. How..?” She had never been great at control, so how was she able to manage it on the spot? The witch looked down at her hands as if there had to be something there. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran understood the hesitancy, and would likely have the same reaction herself if the roles were reversed, but the truth of the matter was that they really needed to get a definite answer to her theory now. If she was right, then there was nothing to worry about. If she was wrong, then they needed to begin work on figuring out what exactly the potion was meant to do ASAP.

Kieran hopped of the desk, lowering the match as she did so. She walked up to Ren and said, “The room is the least of my concerns, okay. It’s material things and I’m sure Diego could handle the fire. Jack can handle anything else,” ‘anything else’ being Kieran. She reached out and took Ren’s hand in her own, while at the same time raising the match back up. “I understand why you may not trust yourself right now, but do you trust me?”

“The point is to avoid a situation where we need Jack to handle anything else.” She scowled but allowed the other to take her hand, facing the match once more. “Of course I trust you.” That was not fair because Ren will always trust Kieran even if the task in question is ridiculous and dangerous. “What is with you and constantly putting yourself in danger...” She muttered as she looked at the match in the other hand. 

It also didn’t help that the target was tiny - and in Kieran’s hands. Taking a deep breath, she raised her free hand and focused on the match. Unlike the other times, there was something different about channeling her magic. It felt.. smoother. And soon after she realized it, the match lit up as it should with no repercussions whatsoever.

“...What just happened?” 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran used her free hand to wave it in the space between her and the match. “See, perfectly safe distance for me to be from a lit match.” She knew very well that’s not what Ren was referring too, but she refused to let the witch get caught up in her own head right now about the matter.

At the comment about her face, she simply gave her an unimpressed smirk and said, “Cute, but flattery will not deter me from this request or everything that’s led to it to begin with.” Kieran sat up straighter and shot back, “There’s a lot of things that you and I have done sooooo many times before, and if we’d given up just because they weren’t perfect then, we never would’ve managed to figure out how to do them right. Come on, just humor. I trust you.”

Ren had no idea where this was going, nor what it meant that Kieran could sense her magic clearer than she had for years now. It was definitely strange that her girlfriend would risk something like this. “Yeah, but I don’t trust me.”

When it came to the other things, she was more than willing to go through with it with Kieran every step of the way - even if it did take them a longer time than necessary. She stood there, eyes on the other as she mulled over her thoughts. The witch was debating hard with herself whether or not she should agree to this. They were also indoors. This really didn’t look like a good idea at all. “I really don’t want to set the room on fire by mistake.”

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

The seer was expecting push back, and after what happened with bezerkers, she wasn’t surprised. “Look, I know this probably seems like some very contrived way to get you to physically set me on fire,” she conceded, “But that’s not the case.” With everything they just discussed, adding physical pain to her list, was not an appealing choice.

Kieran squeezed her right eye shut -a tic that happened when she was thinking, hard- and went silent for a minute. She finally opened her eye again and said, “Alright, think of it this way: laser focus on what you do want to set on fire instead of what you don’t. All your energy and focus on this match head and ignore my face. As a matter of fact, you’re welcome to come and get super close so that all that’s in actual focus is the match and not my face.”

There was clear doubt on the younger witch’s face when Kieran claimed that she wasn’t trying to get herself set on fire because.. it really sounded like she was. They both knew the lack of control she had which was why this request was just absurd. 

“I don’t want to set the match on fire when it’s so close to you.” She stood up from the chair, feeling very uncomfortable with this. Hell, she didn’t want to set anything on fire simply because Kieran was just holding it. “And your face is distracting, I can’t just ignore it.” The twin snorted before rounding the chair to stand further away and keep her hands tight against her by folding her arms. “And you already know what’s going to happen, it’s not like we’ve never done this before.” 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

“Yup,” came the almost immediate reply. “I have a theory,” she began, as she proceeded to lean back over her desk to open a drawer, “It’s based on the fact I was able to sense your magic much clearer than I’ve been too since before I ever left…” she trailed off as she dug around in the drawer a bit, before coming back up with a slim box.

Considering her shift in focus, it was obvious her brain deemed this far more of a priority than her feelings, and she was okay with that. Popping the box open, she pulled out what looked like a long toothpick before setting the box down and holding what was now clearly a match right in front of her face. “Light the match.”

Ren didn’t quite follow what Kieran meant until she held up the match in front of her face. The fire witch gave a look that was somewhere disbelief and confusion. “... Kier..” She shook her slowly, letting out an uneasy chuckle. 

“What are you doing? You know that I don’t have that control in general, much less trying to focus on a match that you’re holding.” Her fire were linked to her emotions as well so they usually happen to light up the closest flammable material next to her whenever she was mad. Never once had she been precise with her ‘target’. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

It took several minutes for the older witch to perform the needed spell, and the silence that enveloped them both helped to allow her to regain her sense of composure and begin to think logically instead of emotionally. Once her thought process was again in familiar territory, it was easy to place things into perspective.

Her focus was derailed a bit from her internal thought process when she felt something different about the fire witch. She extended the spell for just a few more minutes, wanting to be as thorough as possible and once she was certain, she walked around and took a seat on her desk. She was facing Ren, just off to the woman’s right as she said, “Well, the good news is that I did not find any traces of dark magic within you, so you’ve avoided a needle.” Her brow furrowed as she cocked her head to one side and said, “The other news, is that the potion Senior gave you most likely wasn’t a dud. It was just meant to do something else instead of what you requested.”

She didn’t know what was going to happen but the witch stayed still as her girlfriend .. scanned her? Not wanting to distract the other, Ren kept quiet but the silence never felt so suffocating to her before, at least not with Kieran. 

When Ren visited Old Man Grey, she never would have guessed that instead of being given a dud, he would have given her something else entirely? Confusion flooded her face, “..The potion wasn’t a dud.. ? Then.. what was it?” She tried to recall the day she drank it. “I don’t.. I didn’t feel any different.” Which was why she felt so frustrated and angry at the man for thinking he completely ripped her off. “Wait, if he’s dead, then wouldn’t that mean this potion also wore off now?” 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran didn’t interrupt. She allowed for Ren to go ahead and give her as much information as she was willing to. But by the end, it just left Kieran wishing she hadn’t even bothered to bring it up, because she got a lot more than she bargained for.

She remained quiet for a moment after Ren had finished. Not only was she processing the information, but she didn’t trust her immediate reaction would be the best -she could already feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and her throat wasn’t exactly cooperating either- but she felt as response was owed, and one just as honest as Ren had been willing to be.

Blinking rapidly, and clearing her throat, Kieran finally looked back up and spoke. “It would be absolutely unfair of me to be angry with you for hurting and for resorting to whatever it s you felt you needed at the time to cope, especially when I myself have not been a bastion of great choices,” she began, with wry grin. “But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that learning that you were willing to not just go to this man, but that you did so with the intention of erasing me from your memory so that you could go on as if I never existed? When you could have just called me back? … that one hurts.”

The older witch took a deep breath in, and stood up to make her way behind Ren, as she could feel a tear or two escape. “Sit still, please. Even though the potion may have been a dud, it may still have contained dark components and we need to rule it out.” She quickly wiped at her face before placing her hands over the woman.

She clenched her jaw, knowing that revealing what she attempted to do would hurt the other. But they had come this far to speak honestly and Ren didn’t think she should hide anything - not just because other people found out. The fire witch was so ashamed that she couldn’t even lift her head to look at the other one. 

Her own tears brimming as she listened to Kieran talked. Ren could hear the hurt in her voice and she wanted nothing more to comfort the other. “...It wasn’t just you.” She confessed. “..I wanted to to erase everything.. everyone.” All Ren wanted to do back then was to feel less broken than she did so she went to Evan Sr for a reset button but the man didn’t give it to her. The anger she felt that day. Well, she barely remembered since she just drowned in her drinks. 

 Listening to the instructions, she stayed still. Now that she told Kieran everything, she wasn’t even worried about if there was dark magic in her - she just wanted to know what was going to happen to them now. Not knowing what came after this was terrifying. 

[flxrenciavelazquez]

ivmwc​:

Kieran could only nod in response to her question. It was good that she wasn’t reverting back to trying to hide things or not owning up to them, but the fact Kieran had to find out this way…it was still a nagging splinter under her fingernail. She lent back in her desk chair and steepled her fingers before her as she just replied offhandedly, “Oh I have no idea what he specifically wrote down about your transaction. There had already been too many people that had been made privy to what is private and sensitive information for most victims just out of the sheer necessity to get the ledger transcribed….I didn’t feel right reading through it myself.”

And then they were back to vague half answers, and Kieran was just not up for this dance. She could say she was exhausted, but it wouldn’t be because of the long night. It would be because just when it seemed that she and Ren were on upward trajectory with the mutual progress they were making, the fire witch would revert back and knock them back. “Well, regardless of whether you believe it to have been a dude or not worked, it still means that you may have been exposed to dark magic components, and we need to verify there’s no aftermath within you and act swiftly.”

Was Kieran’s curiosity dying to know specifically what service Ren would go these lengths to receive? Yes, of course. She wanted nothing more than to understand Ren’s motivations and make sense of it so they could try to just work past it. Was she going to ask? No. Kieran was tired of the pulling of information, and she genuinely believed they were past the point where Kieran had to basically back Ren into a corner to get her to realize what the right thing was. She was just…so tired.

Kieran might not have read it, but others did - so it wasn’t something she could, or should hide. “Since it didn’t work, I forgot about it until now.” Florencia started off quietly. “I know what everyone’s opinion is about him, but at the time.. I didn’t care.” The witch started off, her fingers already playing with the arm rest of the chair she’s in. 

Already off to such a great start. Ren didn’t dare to look back at Kieran, feeling shameful for seeking out Old Man Grey when no one in her family liked the man, and neither did Kieran. “I went to him because I thought that maybe he had something that could help erase memories or even.. eliminate having emotions.” She sighed, “He wanted to shoo me away since he claimed it was a waste of time, but in the end, he gave me a potion of some sort.” 

She shrugged, “And like I said, it didn’t work so I just thought he ripped me off and I never bothered following up on it - talking to him once was enough.” He was creepier to talk to in person. Regardless, since it didn’t work, Ren opted to continue with her usual way of coping - drinking into oblivion. 

The younger witch brought her knees up as she took a small pause, before resuming in a much quieter voice, “I didn’t cope well, you know that, Kieran. At the time, I just.. wanted to stop .. hurting.”