watch me burn

I'll burn up like a thousand stars, and never touch the sun

[lcadelacruz]

rafaelyilmcz​:

      Rafael started nervously drumming his fingers against his thighs as he waited for Lia to catch on to what he was trying to tell her. It was some song that had been stuck in his head for days since he last touched his guitar – but music wasn’t important right now, Demet was. “Yeah, tell me about it. It makes absolutely no fucking sense, which is why I need to figure out who did it and why.” He lifted one of his hands to run it through his hair, then nodded slightly as she guessed what had happened. “Yeah, the witch. He… gave me a mouse? I mean, he can talk to animals or something, said the mouse could lead me to who did it because it saw what happened. So I used the mouse, followed it through town, and I ended up at this art gallery. But it was the middle of the night, there was no one there, so I still don’t know who it was.” Rafael had intended to go back as soon as possible, but he was trying to keep this a secret from Demet for now, and considering that she was staying at his place currently, it was hard to find enough time to go back during the day when he’d hopefully catch someone at the gallery. And maybe kill them, depending on his mood when he saw whoever had put his sister in such a state. It was weird, to realize that he had people who cared now and were willing to help. He’d been on his own for half a century, fighting his own battles. But now he was no longer alone. And that feeling was nice. It was that feeling that made him so glad that Lia and Leighton had each other, even if it was complicated, and even if they seemingly had no idea the other felt the same way. Rafael could tell, but it wasn’t his secret to share. “Leighton is pretty good at picking up on things and being sensitive. Don’t underestimate him.” That was all he would say on the matter, as it was something the two had to figure out on their own, preferably by talking to each other. “So what’s the plan? Lock him up? Find some witch to put a protection spell on him or some shit like that? There’s not many options.”

“An art gallery?” Her immediate thought of the woman she was friendly with dug into the back of her throat. Lia unable to just, cast it out without knowing more. “Which gallery?” It didn’t seem helpful to go back and... a mouse??  Even after a century of living surrounded by the concept of powers and magic, there were still somethings that left her a little more bewildered than some. That a mouse had led Rafael to an art gallery sounded certifiably insane, and part of Lia - one that was slick with skepticism, almost entirely doubted the whole ordeal. Might have even thought to claim he was led on a wild chase. “Do you trust this witch? I’m not.. any kind of expert on any of this and will never claim to be, but all of that seemed a little.. out there?” Maybe it was simply difficult for her to comprehend because she didn’t trust anyone and understood too well that people were motivated by their own desires regardless of their self appointed altruism. All she wanted to be sure of was that Raf’s gut instinct wasn’t being led astray by someone else. “Yeah,” she sighed a little, “Maybe he is.” A complication in and of itself, as Lia resounded herself to constantly pulling away from those she cared for, it was made a great deal more difficult if Leighton understood and knew far more than she’d voiced - though, somehow, that didn’t feel like another twisted knot this time. “I have no plan. I’m not sure what I can do about any of it.” She admitted, though she was sure that was already obvious, mostly, she was just spewing thoughts out into the space between them. “He mentioned something to me the other day about... apparently someone can change vampires back into humans. I’ve never heard of anything like that before but I think he’s considering it.” And any choice he made would be one that she supported, wholeheartedly, but that certainly didn’t mean the idea of Leighton as a human didn’t terrify her for whatever kind of existence that offered in a place like this.

[lcadelacruz]

leightonhaywood​:

“I suppose jumping would appeal to someone who sees themselves as dangling.” It was a conscious choice, a solid one, not the result of slipping. “But if you dangle for so long, I figure eventually you’d start to wonder what falling felt like.” She painted a horrifying mental image, but one he picture vividly. It’s not as morbid or dramatic as it sounds, just literal. Slender fingers clutching at the cliff’s edge as she looks to the water below. “Everyone always says not to look down, that once you look down, you’re done. But if you’re stuck in limbo, it makes sense to eventually wonder if down isn’t so bad.” He’s not quite sure what he’s talking about anymore, if he’s trying to relate to her or if he’s considering his own situation. It was a fitting hyperbole for anything he’d gone through since being in Corinth at this point. Maybe he’s trying to drive home that despite the scare she’d given him all those months ago, that he did understand why she did it, that he couldn’t fault her. 

“A friend of mine, an old friend of mine, recently reverted back to what he was before all this.” All this meaning vampirism as a whole. It was almost impossible to wrap his head around still and it’d been weeks since he’d found out. He was over four centuries old, he hadn’t had a heartbeat for more than three hundred of those years, he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like for Markus who was far older than he, to have it stir in his chest again. That wasn’t all he’d learned about Markus, but he was still…He’d work up to that, he was still dealing with the idea that he could very well deal with him himself. Or maybe he wasn’t, maybe being human again could be his punishment. “Someone in the bay turned him back into a human. And I thought maybe coming up here would clear my head enough to think on such an idea.” 

There’s a heavy sense of relief in that, Leighton seems to be able to pull the thoughts directly from her head without really thinking too much into it. That, despite the fact that she couldn’t openly articulate what she’d felt that day, and for years before hand, he seemed to just, get it.  She had spent many a night wondering, if falling would truly be as terrible as it seemed. It was difficult to understand the difference between that and whatever it was her body did whenever emotions swung too far to one side and left her bones shattering in the process of an unjust shift. Could one truly be any worse than the other? Quicker, perhaps. But now, even such a dark thought tasted bitter on her tongue, left her entirely incapable of forming a brighter thought for at least a full minute or two after such a deepend cloud settled. “Did you ever feel anything like that, when you were first turned?” They’d not spoken much about it, mostly just... everything in between. 

Reverted.... It sticks in her mind a little longer than she feels is necessary. At first, Lia is completely unsure of what it is he’s talking about and she’s left almost dumfounded as she waits for some kind of context to fill the void with. It’s only when his voice lifts again, that she’s left with the disbelief that crosses her features, hues once trailing along the ground in thought, snapping up to find him again. “Back into a human? You mean..--” It leaves her with more questions than she has a mind to process, fingertips lift to curl into the back of her neck as she moves aimlessly a little closer to the once defying cliffs edge and back again. “What are you thinking? Is.. is that something you’d want?” The concept was altogether foreign - the reversal of any such curse was ultimately unheard of. “Mortality.. a human life.” She’s speaking quietly, mostly to herself at this point. “What’s stopping you?”

[lcadelacruz]

erikxmiller​:

It was a short walk back to the house, a winter chill cut through the morning air. Another full moon come and gone, and as far as he could tell, one without casualty. The ache in his old bones would linger, but it was nothing that Erik hadn’t long adjusted to. The transformations would always be painful, it never lessened, just somehow became tolerable. In response to Alarick’s whereabouts, all Erik could really do was shrug, “’fraid not. I’m sure he’ll come running when he smells the pancakes though.” The wolf said wryly as he shot Lia an easy look. There was no rate of recovery for the experience that she had gone through under the hotel, he knew as well as any how deep trauma could mar somebody. The home was cold, so Erik quickly went to start the fire. “Tell me, Lia, how much did Katerina tell you of the veil?”

Of that, she didn’t doubt. Lia was more than aware that the majority of thoughts that plagued Alarick’s mind were tied to what his next meal would be. The man was ultimately, a garbage disposal and considering she spent the better amount of her time surrounded by other wolves, it was almost impressive. “That’s true.” Warm blood that ran through her veins enough to keep her from shivering in the winter air yet still, she pulled the fabric of the shirt she wore a little tighter around her form even as they crossed the threshold into Erik’s home. Her quick search for a blanket brought her back to her usual spot before the fire as he worked away at it. Katerina. It seized something in her chest and though her eyes filled with an alarming look at the mention of their former alpha, it faded quickly with the weight of her own self preservation. “The veil?” She swallowed thickly and pulled her knees up to her chest, “Just that the Delphi have sworn to repair and protect it.. as are we.” The Argos, sworn to protect the coven were thus guarded with much the same oath. “Why? What do you know about it?

[lcadelacruz]

fangedalejandro​:

@corinthbaystarters​

Not being able to follow a career as something that he loved, was sad for the man, but considering how many bad things happened in his life, it was honestly the least painful one. So if he could deal with everything else that happened, he could deal with it, however, he didn’t plan to give up so easily, he would continue to try, even if he ended up just singing on a coffee shop or as an event singer, he would be happy. Fame drew too much attention to him, and as a vampire, that would be bad, so maybe would be better if he actually didn’t become a famous singer. But despite not working as a musician, he could still sing in his free time, so there he was, sitting on a branch of a tree, with his guitar, singing one of his original songs.

The strum of a guitar that sounded so near set her teeth on edge. In her attempt to find a moment to herself while she took a break from the hospital, Lia might have almost believed she’d found it until such a sound. An unnerving sigh settled in her chest and she looked up. “Do you mind?” Her voice held a far sharper edge than necessary, nothing unusual for the werewolf but still. “You might sound a hell of a lot better than the woman who’s convinced she’s a soprano back from the dead but, seriously? Don’t you have like... a dodgy basement or dive bar to occupy?”

[lcadelacruz]

marcelineodell​:

Though she was by no means short and she was currently wearing heals, Marceline still found herself having to reach for the last tea box on the shelf. “Almost got it,” she mutters, finger fiddling against the box’s side before she finally manage to get a grip. With a triumphant huff, she pulled the box forward, bringing with it about ten others. “Shit!” She steps back, immediately feeling guilty at the sight of tea boxes scattered on the floor. Offering the person beside her an apologetic smile, she kneels down to pick them up. “Sorry! I’ll have them up in a moment and I’ll be out of your way.”

@corinthbaystarters​

She should have seen it coming, surely. The onslaught of boxes that fell as the woman pulled at one of them was almost comically predictable. The cliche of someone grabbing something from a higher shelf, finally getting a grip and causing an avalanche of objects was more than enough to keep the laughter that blossomed quiet as she caught one of the tea boxes. “Relax,” she noted, reaching down for another by her feet, setting them on the countertop between them. “Something tells me you should probably invest in a step ladder.”

[lcadelacruz]

erikxmiller​:

@lcadelacruz​

Erik had lived in Corinth for somewhere around the last sixty years, he had a farm, a place among the Argos, a simple life. His days of bloodshed were meant to be behind him, Katerina had offered him a fresh start, a new life where he could enjoy the peaceful existence the old wolf had come to crave. But the ghosts of his past had resurfaced once more, Persephone’s followers were adamant that whatever existence he would have, would know nothing of peaceful. They murdered Katerina, they tortured Lia, and such an affront had stirred something long buried in the old baker. His teeth ached, and under the full moon the Argos had run together, hunting any vrykolakas that the wolves happened across. 

He awoke the next morning, the familiar taste of blood on his tongue. They were in a field, not far from his farm on the far reaches of the city - Erik knew of Lia’s curse, the control she lacked over her transformations. It was a sad fate indeed. The wolf wandered to his clothesline and pulled on something to wear before he returned to the spot where Lia still slept and through clothes over her - “Wakey wakey sleepy wolf,” Erik mused, “come on, I’ll make us breakfast, Alarick must be around here somewhere.” 

A slow ebb, at first. In the moments between sleep and awake that Lia could almost deal with. An ache that spread through her temple and later settled in against every bone that had shifted the night previous to allow her wolf form to roam free. What should have been a natural feeling - as freeing as any other, was otherwise close to torturous. Bones that had repaired throughout her shift back still felt shattered and even as she grabbed for the shirt and sweats that Erik had tossed down to her, she knew the feeling would remain for days. A groan settled in her throat as she flipped him off, and pulled the shirt over her head, picking leaves and twigs out of her hair. “Bite me you old bastard.” Always the epitome of gentle in the moments after she’d awoken, Lia offered little more than a softened smile. “Did you see where he got to?” She certainly hadn’t, but then again, her senses were always far too extreme when shifting to notice anything but herself. “I’m only staying if you’re making blueberry pancakes...”

[lcadelacruz]

demetyilmcz​:

-

Demet is on the couch in the living room, cuddled up with Leo when she hears the sound of the door opening. There’s a small flash of panic, but it settles the moment she hears Lia’s voice carry across the house. Leo, not a fan of the idea of intruders, jumps off and promptly runs away up the stairs. True to form, Demet is indeed wrapped up in a blanket currently, which she picks up and carries around her shoulders into the kitchen. “Oh, Lia. You didn’t have to,” she says, but she cannot deny the fact that she is touched by the gesture. She opens her arms to wrap around the other werewolf’s shoulders, pulling her into an embrace. “Thank you,” she says quietly, before pulling back. “We could watch Love Actually?” Demet suggests, in a bit of a holiday mood.

The embrace is much like any other, it stills something cold in the stretch of her spine for a menial beat of her heart, until it softens and Lia finds herself returning the hug far more tightly than she’d have first anticipated. “Um, yes. Yes I definitely had to. I know for a fact that you probably haven’t had a decent cup of coffee all day. We’re too used to drinking that sludge out of the machine at work.” The vivid imagery of someone targeting her within the crowd of the festival enough to make her teeth grind together before she hears Demet speak again as the wolves separate. A bubble of laughter rises to her lips and Lia is unabashedly rolling her eyes, “You’re really...-- okay, alright, love actually it is, but if this turns into some big old sap fest I’m out - I get the next pick.”

[lcadelacruz]

alarickzaim​:

A short chuckle left his mouth as she nudged him after calling him a little bitch. It was true, he felt like there had been a lot on his plate lately. He wished it wouldn’t be like that, but nothing was ever easy in Corinth Bay. Every time Alarick felt like he was moving forward, something happened to push him about ten steps back. “You know, you really should be nicer.” Even saying that out loud as a joke sounded wrong. Niceties just really weren’t in their nature if they weren’t around people they deeply cared for. “Just Raf. I haven’t spoken to Demet yet. He asked if I could offer him protection. I couldn’t lie to him and tell him I could protect him from the fucking gods that are constantly crawling around the streets of Corinth, but he’s my family. I’ll do anything I can just like I will with you.” At the mention of Anastasia, he shook his head. “I don’t know where the fuck she is.”

“I should be nicer? I’m delightful.” She quipped sharply, unable to stop the laugh that spilled forth so easily at the very notion that either of them could be openly nice to one another. “It’s not like you’re going to do anything about it anyway.” And he wouldn’t - just as she wouldn’t. The endless back and forth was something that simply existed naturally, things simply wouldn’t be the same if they changed now. “I don’t think we need to convince Raf or Demet about joining us.” It’s a bold statement, but from what she knows - from what Raf has told her, it feels as if perhaps it is only a matter of time now. “Did he tell you what happened at the festival?” It’s a query, and one she doesn’t wish to put too much weight into until she discovers whether Alarick knows about the attack on Demet or not, unsure if Raf has shared as much. “It’s all we can offer them, they’re all we have - pack or not.” An unsound promise that she would just as surely do anything necessary. “Maybe it’s time we go and find her ourselves.”

[lcadelacruz]

ajaxgriffin​:

“He wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t – I wouldn’t let him.” Ajax wasn’t entirely sure what he could do against Vasilis unless he just outright killed him. And that was completely off the table as well. The Reaper had strong feelings that he was still trying to work through with the genasi. “Yes, yeah. I would want you to. I’ll ask him when I see him next. See what he can do about your curse.”

It clenched tightly at her heart, that Ajax would so easily think to believe that he could stop a genasi. Though, perhaps whatever it was, went hand in hand with the fact that she sensed him differently now, with no real understanding of why. “I know you wouldn’t.” She spoke, curling her palm into the crook of his elbow as she lent into his side a little bit before releasing him. Somewhat of a hug, maybe. “Okay..-- Okay..” she inhaled deeply, unsure of whether the prospect breathed new life into her, or simply more cause for concern. Trusting a genasi was not on her bingo card but she’d been wrong before. “I trust you, Jax.. You better not be wrong about this guy.” 

[anacdearmassource]

In her first meetings with agents, de Armas “was just nodding like, ‘I don’t know what you’re saying.’” She said. “Now I speak English.”

[lcadelacruz]

thaliaxathanasios​:

      “You still look like it. I’m sure that’s a great way to get rid of annoying guys.” Thalia had found her own ways to get rid of annoying people in general – a resting bitch face was one of them, though she had to leave it to Lia to look ten times more threatening than her. The succubus wasn’t scared herself though, she had managed to sweet talk her way out of everything so far. “Hm,” she made as she let the other’s words sink in. Thalia had to admit she probably fell into that category as well. Then she shrugged her shoulders. “You know, oftentimes that’s a natural reaction. After such a catastrophe, people either entirely lose it, or they go on and pretend like nothing happened. The latter often seems easier, of course.” Thalia had seen enough wars, enough battles lost, to be aware of this kind of coping mechanism. “But you’re right, of course. Everyone should be pissed. I know I haven’t been in town for long, but… I have a feeling maybe the people here are a bit desensitized to the chaos. A lot of awful things have happened here lately, right?” She sounded casual, as if she was talking about the weather, and a grin grew on her lips at the prospect of drinking. “Of course I knew. And I also knew it would be a great way to cheer you up.

“That’s just my face.” The deadpan of her voice screams of how aware Lia is of the ways in which her features might otherwise betray her usually gentle demeanor. “And for the record, annoying guys take it as a further invitation to piss me off. You know, no means yes and silence means fuck yes.” Her take on some of the regulars she ran into at the bars she frequented were well beyond pressing Lia to snap. “I’m not saying it’s not easier that way... If I could forget so easily, I’d probably do it too.” But, forgetting the feeling of bleeding out - or watching Katerina be murdered in front of her and everything that came with it, were pieces of scarred memory that she knew would never fade. The laugh that blossoms on her lips is defiant, solid and she can’t help but look to Thalia with widened, incredulity. “Desensitized is certainly one fucking way to put it. Anyone would think this place was a god damn war zone.” Which, technically, she supposed it was. Casualties were riddled with scars not left behind by bullets, but untold horrors that could only exist in a world like theirs. “And here I am, bringing the mood down with my shit.” She sighed heavily, tracing the ring left behind by the condensation of her glass. “Stop letting me do that.”

[lcadelacruz]

@demetyilmcz​

It already felt like far too long since she’d spoken to Rafael. The prospect of building the pack long forgotten in the shadow of learning what had happened to Demet during the last festival. It burnt anger through her, one that she held tight to and refused to allow to the surface just yet. That wasn’t what any of them needed. The coffee and donuts precariously balanced in her hand as she let herself into the house, “It’s just me.” She called out, uncertain of whether the other had picked up on who had just entered her space of safety. “I brought provisions,” Her keys sounded loudly as they hit the kitchen counter and she kicked off her shoes, “All you have to do is pick the trashy rom-com and let me share whatever blanket you’re wrapped up in.”

[lcadelacruz]

leightonhaywood​:

“I’d like to think of it as a very ominous beginning.” A polite way of saying he wondered often if that’d been the start of all of this. It hadn’t been too long after that day that the first storm had rolled in. It’d been a pivotal moment, a stop in time and then everything had sped forward all at once. It felt like it could be yesterday or years ago, there was no in-between. But maybe that was a harsh way of thinking about it, positive things had come from it as well. This…Whatever it was between them had ultimately come out of it. “It was a good one too though, I suppose.” Leighton takes a step closer to her, hands still in his pockets as he flashes her an almost knowing smile. Because it’d made him feel something for the first time, it’d been jarring how the realization had shook him. “I still remember how I felt that day, you know. Don’t know if I’ll ever forget it.” He’s looking from the sun sinking to her, briefly to the water on the horizon. He wondered if it had looked inviting to her that day, if it still did.

Lia couldn’t help but laugh quietly at that. Ominous was certainly one way to put it - the precipice that she’d stood on that day, perhaps, just as uncertain as everything that followed. “Ominous,” she drew the word out to pause, “I guess that’s kind of fair.” As if she’d struck some push point within the universe when she’d caught the edge of the cliff and set chaos in motion herself. Lia didn’t pretend to know how, or what she’d done that day had done to Leighton, beyond his initial reaction of concern. “Oh?” A good one...-- she didn’t disagree. Teeth instead, worried across her lesser lip as she nodded. Undoubtedly, she remembered it too. Vividly. The dull ache that felt almost too natural within her chest as she’d surpassed the edge - not bothered by whether her feet found the ledge or not, and still knowing that they would. Where she’d once been entirely uncaring of what such an act might have done to Leighton, it was supposedly the moment even that changed. “I don’t think I will either.” And it’s just enough to draw her hues away from him as he steps towards her. It feels heavy, and gentle all at once, the comfort of him beside her in the night when the terrors grew infinitely worse. 

But she won’t forget it. A singular memory of the look on his face as he peered over the edge in search of her, the relief barely noted beneath what she knew to be anger and feat, mottled together, had forced something within the beating organ of her chest to leap right back into the place it had once existed in. Giving it a rhythmic stammer that she’d not understood until weeks later. “It’s kind of always felt like that, like everyone was just watching me, dangle from a cliff, wondering when I’d lose my grip,” she’s speaking metaphorically, of course, regardless of the fact that it was very much true that day. The pack - her family, those who’d come to understand how getting close to her could be dangerous, they existed purely as bystanders in her trainwreck life. “You’re one of the only people who’s ever been so quick to pull me back up.” There’s heat, somewhere in her chest, rising in her throat, because she hates that it sounds so god awful dramatic, but there’s words tucked somewhere between each rib that seem to refuse not to be heard. “I don’t even think I realized where I was or what I was even doing,” a place so willing to face any consequence of her reckless actions, uncaring, unchecked. Maybe he gets it, though, even as she looks up, doe eyes slipping across the path behind him, along the line of trees to finally rest on a particular spot at his shoulder, Lia knows she’d spend as long as she needed to trying to explain it - all of it. “At least I didn’t, until that day.”

[lcadelacruz]

leightonhaywood​:

It feels oddly nostalgic to be back on the trails. It’s not like they don’t still take hikes, they just take considerably less of them now. They had downtime with each other, nights at her home, time he’d come walk her home from work. His place had been off limits solely because he was adamant Hippolyta was going to ask questions. It wasn’t like he was hiding her by any means, but he liked how…Whatever this was, was progressing. And maybe that wasn’t quite fair, that he’d made a point to protect it so it could grow uninterrupted by outside forces. 

“I don’t think I’m ever going to forget that cliff.” They’d really come full circle, he nodded towards the end of the trail. The cliff face she’d nearly hauled herself over all those months ago, when things seemed far simpler. @lcadelacruz​

The ease at which Lia seemed to breathe, out here with little more than the tapering trail ahead of them, a world of chaos and responsibility seemingly left behind, was one that she’d sorely missed. The opportune moment to steer them from the safety of her home, or the streets closer to the shrouded doors of privacy meant that she could linger a little longer in the warmth that plastered itself against the inside of her chest, even between the moments of heated sunlight between trees. “Oh?” She piqued up from beside him, casting hues out across the drop off, unwilling to stifle the smile that sought to etch itself across her features. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” As if to prove a point, she walked ahead, turning her back on the drop off as she did, “We might have been so lucky as to claim that was the wildest thing that could have happened all year, and then where would we be?” Not here, and not..-- not stilling in her steps to watch the light fall across his face so gently, “You could have jumped with me.”

[lcadelacruz]

rafaelyilmcz​:

      Rafael held it in high regards that Lia was so honest with him. She could have told him fairytales, make promises she couldn’t keep, but instead she opted to tell the truth. And that meant a lot more to him than any empty words meant to lure him in. “I’m not planning to make a rash decision out of this at all.” He had been thinking about it for months, talked it through with Demet. He was still torn on the matter, especially because his father had instilled the belief in him that a pack was no good thanks to his own paranoia after losing his pack long before his children were born – but with every new thing that happened, Rafael couldn’t help but think that maybe it would be better. “I’m considering our options right now, and I’m afraid we already have a target on our back with or without you. Someone attacked Demet at the festival. And ever since I can’t help but think that maybe we would be stronger together, no matter the risks we take with it. And don’t think I’m doing this just to get something out of it – I want to help you guys too, especially you and Alarick. I’ll do that with or without the pack, but both Demet and I think it might be time to take this step. It’s not set in stone, but it’s something we consider. And I do appreciate your honesty, Lia.” It felt like in return, he owed her some honesty too. Rafael couldn’t help but smile a little at her words. “Leighton is different. He’s not like any other vampire I’ve met. Sometimes I forget he even is one, and sometimes it seems as if he forgets it too.” It was a light joke, meant to cheer her up a little, but also the truth. “Vampires in this city have a big target on their back right now as well I believe. He needs to be careful.”

Truly, it would never matter what Raf and Demet chose to do. Regardless, she had little doubt that she and Alarick would undoubtedly risk anything for them. The pack wasn’t what created a their over protective natures. Perhaps it was simply engrained in who they were, or in their wolf but it existed and that alone meant that the Yilmaz family would find protection at the very least, through them. The mention of Demet sought to crease her brow as she lent forward, pinned her elbows on the table and took the first moment she could to interrupt, “Wait..-- wait, go back. Demet was attacked?” It burnt white hot within her veins, the other wolf had always been something of a friend to Lia, even when so many thought to not even try. “What do you mean, attacked?” Her hand waved, flippantly, “I know selfish, Raf.. You are not the kind of person I would have ever thought would join for your own benefit and your own benefit alone. As self absorbed as I am, I have been paying attention.” Mostly, at least. Enough to know that there was nothing that could be done comfortably that might push Raf and his sister in the direction they’d wanted. It struck her, almost intimately, that even listening to the other talk about Leighton could bring about a tightening within her chest and an unabashed rise of a smile to her lips. “I think he definitely forgets,” and in turn, she did too. Difficult to believe that a man that held such softness within him could weild the strength and bloodlust of the creature he’d been turned into years before hand. “I know he does, Leighton has always been careful though.” Though, that didn’t make her worry any less. “I wish I knew how to keep him safe too.” The very idea that anything could happen to him sent her stomach into a downward spiral and sprouted a wet heat into the palms of her hands. “I think...--” She lent back, fingers twisting together now, “Well, I just...-- I think I might, you know...” love him? It was all she could really manage though, opting to pull hues from the tangled mess of her hands to Raf, across the table.

[lcadelacruz]

alarickzaim​:

To be honest, Alarick wanted to forget the festival as soon as he possibly could. Of course he would end up turning in front of Markus. He had no idea what had happened after that, but the before was what he was truly focused on. Being forced to shift against his own will was never fun. Maybe now he truly knew what Lia went through all the time. He had always been sympathetic about what she was cursed with though. Never did he think he would have to go through it himself. “I don’t know. I think you should be slightly concerned. I do eat a lot, but I am stressed.”

“Lets just chalk it up to you being a hormonal little bitch and leave it at that.” She noted, an air of amusement to her voice as she nudged him a little harder than might have been necessary as she picked herself up off the small patch of grass and brushed herself clear of anything stuck to her. “Have you spoken to Raf or Demet?” It was a little more serious than she wanted to be right then and there, but perhaps with a drink and Alarick almost happily surrounded by more food than he could keep track of, they could think about rebuilding in a way that didn’t cause undue stress. Turning, she held both of her hands out in an offer to help pull him from the ground too, “Or Anastasia?”

[lcadelacruz]

ajaxgriffin​:

Ajax waited a few moments, taking in Lia’s features once more. He had to think on it, but he always followed his gut feeling before he allowed anxiety to take over and make him overthink everything. “Yes. Yes, I trust him.” He glanced at the werewolf, letting out a sigh, “I know he’s…well, most genasi, are a wild card. But I trust him.”

Was it enough? Enough that Ajax trusted this genasi? She wasn’t entirely sure, trust was never her strong suit. However painfully cliche the notion might have been, it was just something she couldn’t get past just yet. “I’d rather go into this knowing whoever I’m trusting with this has a ninety five percent chance of letting me die, just to do whatever the hell it is they might want with me when I’m dead than thinking the opposite and being sacrificed for some bullshit ritual anyway.” Still, the bitterness in her tone didn’t shift. “I want to meet him.. this genasi of yours.”