there's something magic about you; something so tragic about you

LUCA COLLINSWORTH the eldest halfling there's a little magic in all of us if you only care to look

[hclfblccd]

valiiants‌:

     at the sight of his cheeks reddening, elena knew she had been accurate about his care for that princess. she didn’t know who aerin was, only had heard about her, but if his need for protecting her didn’t only come from the guilt he carried then she knew she had to do her best to help him with it. giving his hand a gentle squeeze, she nodded. “ you do that. ” she agreed, letting out a soft sigh. “ of course, luca. what you did was just being… human. ” a weak smile, she then tilted her head to the side. “ you know if you need anything, you’ve got me. ”

       how did his sister have such a good heart ?? how could she continue to forgive every mistake he made ?? he returns the squeeze of his hand, not quite wanting to let go. she was a grounding influence, one that he’d had for so long but never realized quite how important it was. “how do you do that ??” he half laughs, shaking his head. “make me feel like i’m not the worst person in the world.”

[hclfblccd]

princxssadelina‌:

     there is something about the institute as they walk through its halls. while she has never been an expert on how they run, something seems off. but still she follows the halfling, keeping her wits about her even so. she is a downworlder in the institute, never the safest place for one of her kind. her gaze follows his, “what is going on?” she can small blood, she sees the glow of seraph blades, she can see those with pointed ears like her own standing beside shadowhunters and it confuses her. she doesn’t stop however, but “what the hell is happening?” even she knows this isn’t right.

    without answering her, he draws closer to her, arm wrapping around her. his free hand falls to rest on the handle of his seraph blade. “i don’t know.” he admits at a whisper. “nothing good.” he can’t be sure of what is occurring in the institute but it feels as though there is a shift. none of the guards who are usually on post stand at the entrance ways. none of the familiar faces linger in the halls. just strangers, and downworlders, and too much blood. “this way.” he nudges her towards the outer doors, still feeling the pull of aerin from the bracelet in his grasp. 

[hclfblccd]

valiiants‌:

     “ you care about her. ” elena sighed. maybe it was just because luca felt guilty – she wouldn’t know, but from the look on his face, she knew luca himself would hurt if the princess did. “ then the safest way is to hide her without making her feel like she’s in hiding. ” elena stated, thinking for a moment. “ i say you could make her believe not everyone can be trusted now, thus she should keep her distance from others for a bit. after all, it isn’t too far from the truth. ” she said before giving him a small smile, grabbing his hand. “ hey. it’s not too late to fix things. and with whatever you need, i am here. okay ? ” 

       his cheeks redden though whether through embarrassment or shame he couldn’t say. you care about her. it was true; he had grown to care deeply for aerin. it was a fact he’d denied to himself repeatedly but now...now he knew he had to act. even if it meant keeping her at arms length, he had to do what he could to keep her safe. “lia - i’ll talk to lia about it. maybe she’ll have somewhere she can go.” luca nods, grateful that elena isn’t disparaging of him immediately. “thank you.” he nods slowly. “for understanding.”

[avengerdaisy]

[seelierin]

captainkaramel‌:

#they love each other’s touch

@hclfblccd​

[nataliayes]

hclfblccd‌:

    rybka. she was so gentle, so kind. always had been. he didn’t deserve a mother like her. he deserved the one he’d been born with - a deceitful snake that only hurt people. like mother like son. “it’s aerin-” he says, his voice low, as her hands clasp his. “the clave ordered me to watch her. they’re going to use her, lia. they’re going to find a way to use her to hurt the queen. and she doesn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of this but i don’t know how i can get her out. how am i supposed to protect her when it’s my fault she’s in this mess ??” it was his life, trapped behind bars, or hers - and he’d made a choice. one that now he wished he could take back. “please, mom. help me keep her safe.”

the name of the youngest seelie princess made natalia raise a brow, but she kept quiet, knowing all too well to give him his space to talk without hurring him or judging, squeezing his hand in a comforting manner. as he kept going there was no hiding the hint of shock from her eyes, she could have come up with thousand possibilities on what was happening but that? that would have never been one of those. but it wasn’t hard to notice the desperation behind luca’s words and it broke her heart to see him like that. “that’s…a lot. but-” she let out a small sigh, eyes searching for his. “it’s no one’s fault but the clave’s. i know you wouldn’t have done it in any other situation.” a sad smile gracing her features as if he had to ask. “we are going to keep her safe. i promise you. she can stay with me, hide at my place since i’m not really on the clave’s radar and my place.”

[hclfblccd]

        if he had felt gratitude to Natalia before, it is multiplied by thousands now. to hear the truth of what he had done and spare him from judgment, moreover to promise him help...she was once again saving him when he was lost. "thank you-" he says hurriedly, pulling her into a tight hug. "I...i'll track her down now and bring her to you as soon as I can." drawing away, he brushes a light kiss against her cheeks and backs away across the beach.

[scraphblcdes]

DAWN // LUCA‌:

          taking residence in quill and elena’s house is not exactly ideal. they’re hospitable hosts, generous and luca will always be grateful for that. but they’re also newlyweds - war or not, they’ll want their own space. the last thing they need is half the institute tripping over each others feet. still, it’s the best of a bad situation and at least it means he can keep an eye on all his siblings.

         hearing the sound of a dummy being pummelled, the shadowhunter turns the corner to the training room. he leans against the doorway, watching his sister make easy work of the moves they’ve been learning since they were kids. “you know, it’s not polite to mock your victims.” luca snorts, shaking his head at her.

Her sour expression softens at the sight of her brother leaning against the doorway, watching her work out her latest frustrations on the helpless dummy in front of her. It seems there’s many things frustrating her lately; from feeling completely helpless in the war against Leo Wallace, to learning her mother was actually a mundane and the woman she believed was her mother all of her life was the one that killed her. It’s hard to say whose face she’s picturing instead of the dummy’s when she hurled the battle axe through the air — her duplicitous father for never telling her the truth, the blood thirsty seelie who killed the mother she’ll never get to know, the traitorous nephilim who cast a spell over her brother, turning him against his friends and family or their damn weapon instructor who constantly chided her choice of weapon.

❝ I’m not feeling terribly polite today. ❞ Dawn huffed, pulling the axe free from the dummy’s chest and twirling it around in an idle manner as she moseyed on back to her original mark on the training mat. Dawn tested the weight of the axe in the palm of her hand again, hazel coloured hues narrowing on the dummy as she swung and slashed her axe through the air, moving swiftly across the mats as she demonstrated her skills with the weapon before finally burying it deep into the dummy’s chest once more.

[hclfblccd]

           he wishes he could have protected her from the things she's experienced the last few months. his sister's life has been turned upside down by revelations about their family, her parentage. the truth truly did hurt. and there was nothing he could do to keep her from it. at a time when she was most lost, his will had been taken from him - transforming him into a person he hates. and his sister had been left to pick up the pieces of their father's betrayal on her own.

        "you say that like you're polite most days." he teases, moving further into the room. her aim is good, she knows her weapon in detail - knows how to move with its weight. in another life, his sister might have been a high ranking shadowhunter. but instead, his father's decisions tarred them both. "come on-" he murmurs, placing a hand on her shoulder to still her. "enough anger management. let's get a drink." he nods his head back towards the way he's just come, to the kitchen where a wealthy wallace keeps things well stocked.

[amararavenscar]

hclfblccd‌:

     he had never lost touch with lia, despite stretches of months apart he would always reunite with her. so the distance that had fallen between amara and lia had surprised him. but then, their relationship had always been different to his - he needed lia. amara had just been happy to be around her. it only made sense that she’d grow up and forget about her almost imaginary friend. but now, things had changed - he saw it on her face every time the mermaid was mentioned. “here-” he fishes out a tiny shell from his pocket. he has countless ones, always loose in his jackets, around his room. “throw it in the water. she’ll come.”

     when amara had been younger, she remembered a younger version of natalia, while she may have been like a mother figure to luca, she had been like a little best friend to amara, she knew that mermaids could glamour themselves and she had glamoured herself to be younger looking, around amara’s age when she had been around the angel blooded shadowhunter. and so as the years had went on, maybe that was why she had lost contact with her. but she had never stopped wear the shell around her neck, infused with mermaid magic. she chuckles, little shells, so reminiscent of the ones she used to find on the beach, hidden under her bed. she took it from him and brought it to her eyes to admire it. “full proof huh?”

[hclfblccd]

         he grins as she takes the shell, glad to be able to provide a solution. if bringing amara and lia together again was a way to make them both happy then it was just win-win in luca's mind. "always worked for me." he shrugs. "so no excuses, ravenscar. dinner's happening."

[princxssadelina]

hclfblccd‌:

         he had spent so much of his life ignoring, burying, the seelie characteristics he carries in his blood. yet now, they would finally be of use to him. now he needed them. it was that part of him that found its link with the bracelet in his hand; not the shadowhunter. something in his bones that found kinship with the magic in the metal. “this way-” he nods, feeling it drag him towards the front steps.

     she had known in the past when it came to half-breeds of seelie nature, that sometimes her people tried to scoop them, especially ones that held shadowhunter blood inside of them. but luca had been the exception and maybe they didn’t do that as often. she can sense that the magic in her bracelet speaks to him, that it awaken the seelie side of him that is more than just the slightly perked ears of his. “is she far?” she asks, following him still.

[hclfblccd]

        there is an uneasiness that wraps around his bones as they follow the path the bracelet leads them. something is wrong. "the front of the institute - she should be out there-" he quickens his pace as they enter the atrium near the front doors. weapons are drawn colored with the blood of fresh kills, shadowhunters fill the halls but are joined by countless downworlders he doesn't recognise. "your highness we need to move." he says urgently, keeping his head low. "we need to get you out of here."

[valiiants]

hclfblccd‌:

     he hadn’t actually done anything. so why did it feel worse ?? as if deceit was more awful than action. “they gave me orders.” luca says slowly, teeth gritted. “and i…i said yes because they gave me my life back.” ocean eyes meet elena’s, guilt twisting his stomach in knots. “but i can’t do it anymore. i can’t keep pretending it’s okay when it’s not.” he lets out an exhausted sigh. “they’ve had me watching aerin, the seelie queen’s daughter. making her trust me so that they can…so that if the queen steps out of line they can…” he can’t bring himself to finish his sentence. the sentiment is enough. aerin has faith in him and that faith could get her imprisoned. or worse.

     listening to luca, elena’s brows slowly furrowed, a worried look starting to appear on her face. luca had just been shaken clean of all the things he had to endure ( even though elena was almost sure luca still wasn’t completely over them ) and now this… elena’s chest ached with concern, fingers wrapped around his arm tightening the hold slightly. “ by the angel, ” she whispered, biting her lip as she shook her head. “ they wanted to keep the bait. ” she acknowledged, giving a nod of her head, trying to think quick. “ look, luca - they didn’t give you your life back, it already belonged to you and you weren’t in the fault to lose it. ” she said stubbornly, shaking her head. “ but… i don’t think they think the same. there must be a way to keep both you and her safe… i don’t know the princess – how do you think she’d react if you just… told her honestly now ? ”

[hclfblccd]

       almost immediately he shakes his head. tell her the truth ?? he knew that aerin was forgiving - and frankly, naïve at times - but he couldn't put his faith in her trusting him if he was honest. and he needed her to trust him if he was ever going to be able to keep her safe. "if I tell her and then she stops listening...if she won't hear me out or does something reckless...she could get hurt." luca says firmly. "I can't take that risk. I just need a way of keeping her from the clave during this war."

[scraphblcdes]

When she arrived in Elena and Quill’s weapons room she pulled her shoulder length brunette hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, reaching for one of the battle axes that hung on the wall with a variety of other weapons. Dawn’s weapon of choice always leaned towards projectiles, but their weapons instructor had told her she needed to be more versatile and get comfortable with the other weapons in their arsenal. The axe felt foreign in her hand, it was thicker, heavier and more deadly than any other weapon she was used to carrying. Dawn tended to go for the hurt instead of the kill against her opponents, unless it was a writhing, ugly black mass of a demon. Then the young Shadowhunter had no problem swinging an axe into the demon’s head, even though she was pretty sure she’d need muscles like  to be able to wield the axe with out dropping it on somebody else’s foot.

❝ Maybe next time, ❞ Dawn whispered to the battle axe, hanging it back up on the wall. What did they know anyway, she could be just as deadly with a shuriken as she could a battle axe. As if they were standing in the weapons room with her, watching her with a disapproving look in their eye, she picked a shuriken up from the weapons chest, letting it fly home. The shuriken buried itself into the shoulder of the training dummy, and Dawn couldn’t help the grin that spread across her lips. Try swinging your dumb, old heavy axe now, she thought, doing what any other respectable Shadowhunter would have done and stuck her tongue out at the training dummy.

[hclfblccd]

          taking residence in quill and elena's house is not exactly ideal. they're hospitable hosts, generous and luca will always be grateful for that. but they're also newlyweds - war or not, they'll want their own space. the last thing they need is half the institute tripping over each others feet. still, it's the best of a bad situation and at least it means he can keep an eye on all his siblings.

         hearing the sound of a dummy being pummelled, the shadowhunter turns the corner to the training room. he leans against the doorway, watching his sister make easy work of the moves they've been learning since they were kids. "you know, it's not polite to mock your victims." luca snorts, shaking his head at her.

[lukastho]

hclfblccd‌:

          part of him wants to recoil; to lash out. a week ?? he’s known a whole damn week. but…did that really change anything ?? everything that leo had done besides taking over the damn institute had already been done. could lukas have really stopped that ?? “so what now ??” luca says flatly, teeth gnawing on the inside of his cheek.

there were a lot of different reactions lukas was expecting, especially seeing how things went with some of his other friends, how things went with jason. but he wasn’t expecting that. “i don’t know. i didn’t know before and i have no idea now.” he shook his head. “i just don’t want more people to get hurt.”

[hclfblccd]

         there would be a time to be mad later but at this point it was wasted energy. and frankly, lukas would be a way of venting, he wasn't the true source. "he nearly ruined my life, luke." the shadowhunter says firmly. "we nearly lost elena. i could've been executed for his crimes." he plants a hand on his friend's shoulder. "whatever went on before; whatever he's done for you. he's done just as much to hurt you by hurting the people you care about."

[princxssadelina]

hclfblccd‌:

       he resists the urge to give her a scathing look ( as if robbing aerin’s sister would really benefit him in any way ) and nods down the hall. taking the lead, he lets the tether of the bracelet guide him, feeling the pull of its connection to the other seelie. “you’ll get your bracelet back. it’s not really my style.” he snorts, unable to help himself.

     adelina doesn’t care if the halfling likes her, as much as she knows that someone needs to watch over her sister while she’s out and about in this world, she knows fond it’s a dog of the clave. even if he was half of what she was. she follows him, will he actually find her sister or fail miserably? part of her hopes for latter. “it would likely burn your wrist if you tried to put it on anyways.”

[hclfblccd]

         he had spent so much of his life ignoring, burying, the seelie characteristics he carries in his blood. yet now, they would finally be of use to him. now he needed them. it was that part of him that found its link with the bracelet in his hand; not the shadowhunter. something in his bones that found kinship with the magic in the metal. "this way-" he nods, feeling it drag him towards the front steps.

[nataliayes]

hclfblccd‌:

         especially after what happened to ligeia. it’s an unspoken fact between them that Natalia has already lost one sibling; the mermaid royals will let hell reign before anything happens to another. her vehemence is so strong that she actually smiles and despite the odds he finds himself relieved. sometimes he forgets truly how long she has lived; only really knowing her in the tiny frame of his own life. still his relief disappears at her words, gaze dropping to the ground. if she knew what he’d agreed to, if she knew about his deal…would she still think he knows the right thing to do ?? “lia I did something-” his teeth graze his bottom lip and he finds himself unable to meet her eyes. “and I don’t know how to fix it.”

she noticed the change in his expression, worry clouding her own as her gaze studied his face, trying to figure out what was wrong or what could have been done to get such reaction out of him when she didn’t remember a time that he had to look elsewhere to speak to her as if he was ashamed of himself. “hey, rybka .” her voice was soft, almost a whisper as she reached for one of his hands, taking it between her own two and gently squeezing it. “what did you do? i’m sure it’s not that bad.” maybe it was her constant optimism or maybe it was just her not believing that the person in front of her could have been able to do something terrible. “but whatever it is, we can fix it. it’s eating you alive, i won’t let you deal with it alone.”

[hclfblccd]

    rybka. she was so gentle, so kind. always had been. he didn't deserve a mother like her. he deserved the one he'd been born with - a deceitful snake that only hurt people. like mother like son. "it's aerin-" he says, his voice low, as her hands clasp his. "the clave ordered me to watch her. they're going to use her, lia. they're going to find a way to use her to hurt the queen. and she doesn't deserve to get caught in the middle of this but i don't know how i can get her out. how am i supposed to protect her when it's my fault she's in this mess ??" it was his life, trapped behind bars, or hers - and he'd made a choice. one that now he wished he could take back. "please, mom. help me keep her safe."

[valiiants]

hclfblccd‌:

       brother. that was still an adjustment to hear - but one of the good kind. a soft smile stretches across his lips at her hand on his arm, grateful for the attempt at reassurance. they were both lost, both trying to figure out the right thing, but they had each other. “it’s not just cassie’s brother.” he murmurs, gaze ducking from hers. “it doesn’t matter how innocent a person is if they’re close enough to power to be useful.“ 

     “ i mean… there must be more, i guess. ” she commented after him, not paying enough attention for the moment. studying his face and listening to his words, though, she could almost see something beyond them, so her eyebrows got furrowed a bit as she tilted her head to the side. “ you seem like you know about more than cassie’s brother… ”

[hclfblccd]

     he hadn't actually done anything. so why did it feel worse ?? as if deceit was more awful than action. "they gave me orders." luca says slowly, teeth gritted. "and i...i said yes because they gave me my life back." ocean eyes meet elena's, guilt twisting his stomach in knots. "but i can't do it anymore. i can't keep pretending it's okay when it's not." he lets out an exhausted sigh. "they've had me watching aerin, the seelie queen's daughter. making her trust me so that they can...so that if the queen steps out of line they can..." he can't bring himself to finish his sentence. the sentiment is enough. aerin has faith in him and that faith could get her imprisoned. or worse.

[princxssadelina]

hclfblccd‌:

          he meets her commentary with a forced smile, polite if clearly uncomfortable and accepts the offered bracelet. it’s familiar, just like the one he’s seen looped around aerin’s wrist. and at the touch, he can feel the magic in it - perhaps some buried inkling of his seelie blood that recognises its own. holding it in a closed fist, he pulls his stele from his pocket and draws the tracking rune. it takes a moment, the connection faint at first. and then he feels a warmth around him, there’s a smell of wildflowers, and he knows which direction to go. “you coming ??” luca nods to the princess.

     adelina watched him as he takes the bracelet from her nimble fingers. there is obvious magic in the bracelet, but only those who were of seelie heritage or used to such seelie magic would really be able to feel it or tap into it. it makes her wonder, how much of his seelie heritage is truly prevalent past the shadowhunter part of him. she wondered if the tracking rune would work against the bracelet, but as she sees him draw the rune and then it seems something alert strikes in him. “of course, lest you steal my bracelet. and to find my sister.”

[hclfblccd]

       he resists the urge to give her a scathing look ( as if robbing aerin's sister would really benefit him in any way ) and nods down the hall. taking the lead, he lets the tether of the bracelet guide him, feeling the pull of its connection to the other seelie. "you'll get your bracelet back. it's not really my style." he snorts, unable to help himself.

[lukastho]

hclfblccd‌:

      he’s about to respond, to make a half-hearted joke about the current situation. but any humour dies on his lips. “you knew ??” he shouldn’t be surprised. lukas is leo’s son, why wouldn’t he know ?? but…there was too much that had happened, too much that surely lukas wouldn’t have stood for. the attacks, the storm, even…what had happened to him. to elena. “for how long ??”

the blond simply gave a nod at his first question, he wasn’t one to deny the truth especially not when it seemed like everyone already decided to drawn their own conclusions. “since last week.” he commented, almost feeling like a broken record but he knew he deserved to know. “before then i didn’t know, i wasn’t sure.”

[hclfblccd]

          part of him wants to recoil; to lash out. a week ?? he's known a whole damn week. but...did that really change anything ?? everything that leo had done besides taking over the damn institute had already been done. could lukas have really stopped that ?? "so what now ??" luca says flatly, teeth gnawing on the inside of his cheek.

[valiiants]

hclfblccd‌:

       he can’t blame her for being worried about her husband - especially not given the suspicion that will have fallen upon him. but quill is no mundane, he is capable of taking care of himself. “hey-” he squeezes her shoulder gently, ocean eyes holding hers. “I’m with you, whatever you need. we’re in this together. the clave…look i don’t trust them. i don’t know that i ever will again. but maybe they’re the lesser of two evils right now.”

     letting out a sigh, elena gave him a small smile, giving a nod of her head. “ yeah… together. i’m so glad i got you, brother. ” she said with sincerity, own hand placed on the other’s arm. “ and you shouldn’t. after all this… i don’t think i could trust them completely, either. i mean… cassie’s brother… they killed someone innocent so easily. and i doubt it’s the first or the last time that’ll happen… i just – i don’t know what is going on anymore. ”

[hclfblccd]

       brother. that was still an adjustment to hear - but one of the good kind. a soft smile stretches across his lips at her hand on his arm, grateful for the attempt at reassurance. they were both lost, both trying to figure out the right thing, but they had each other. "it's not just cassie's brother." he murmurs, gaze ducking from hers. "it doesn't matter how innocent a person is if they're close enough to power to be useful."