N I G H T L I L Y .

"instead, I sleep with the demons I travel through mirrors, through nightI fly with the screech owl and the bat and carry the bodies of babies in my ragged fingers." lily dubois. twenty-seven years old. proud owner of the lily bloom, the sweetest little flower shop in town. nyx reborn.

[nychtaleirion]

hooded danger | lily + clara

[persephonesver-blog]

With the National Guard in town now, Persephone practically hummed in excitement. Which she wasn’t one to revel in chaos - she enjoyed it nonetheless. Perhaps that was due to her years with Hades, in the Underworld and watching Souls tear each other apart. Or perhaps it was the fact she had been dormant for so long, with nothing to entertain her and all this destruction satisfied her boredom. Clara couldn’t be sure exactly what is what, but they didn’t mind letting Persephone control their emotions for a while. After all, they were one in the same. It didn’t feel foreign to let the reigns go a little bit. 

So, as they walked along the streets (they no longer cared if the angry townsfolk saw them and decided to try and tear them to shreds) their eyes were sharp on the lookout. It wasn’t long before someone had managed to sneak up behind them and wrap a chord around their neck. And just like that Persephone snapped into action, seamlessly taking over Clara. No one would harm her mortal. Not when she could do something about it. So, with an ease that came with thousands of years under her belt, she wrapped her fingers around the chord and yanked the stupid man over her shoulder. 

“That was extremely unwise of you,” she murmured down to him with a wicked grin on her face. “Messing with a Goddess will only end in misery for you.” 

Before the man could do anything, Persephone had vines spilling out from the cracks of the sidewalk and slither their way up his body like snakes. With a few simple flicks of her fingers, the vines wrapped around the mortals neck and torso. Persephone then lifted the mortal up into the air, watching him struggle for air - his legs kicking wildly and his fingers tugging fruitlessly at the vines around his neck. “Struggling will only make your end come much sooner,” Persephone purred. 

As the man finally succumbed to the darkness of death, Persephone threw his body away, watching it hit a brick wall and slump down onto the ground like a rag doll. Now that she was done dealing with her mortal, Persephone heard a commotion near her. Curious, she wondered towards the noise and as she turned a corner she came upon a peculiar scene. “Now, now, killing the Guard seems kind of pointless don’t you think? There’s plenty of crazy mortals right here in town,” she said with amusement.

[nychtaleirion]

Nyx looked up, startled at the tone of amusement in the other's voice. It was the other florist, the one from a few blocks away. Under normal circumstances, perhaps Lily could have found a snarky thing to say. Here, though, Nyx knew she was among family. She grinned beneath the mask, waving her hand to dissolve the energy she'd used to make it. A waste, but she needed it no longer. Besides, there was plenty of energy ripe for the taking. She stood up, turning to face Clara.

"I didn't kill her," she said, a twinkle in her eyes and blood on her fingers. "One of my neighbours threw a stone, and I, ah, helped it along." Nyx shook her head. "Pity it had to happen. Would have preferred to stick my fingers into one of those racist fuckers, but they're probably hidin' somewhere."

"Awful thing 'bout this body of mine is the exchange that needs to be made. My daughters' idea of equality, maybe." Nyx shrugged, clenching her fists. It was wretched that she had to have blood in order to mold energy. Nyx had never needed temples, but here she was, playing both goddess and priestess, taking the sacrifice at the altar.

"If you aren't possessed by their kind of demon, you're one of us, yeah?" Nyx cocked her head, looking Clara up and down. "Who are you? Ares?"

She wasn't sure who else would be happy in the middle of great chaos. Maybe a primordial one driven by something above morality, more instinctive. Desire for destruction was written in the stars, a fate each person turned to. It pleased Nyx to see it happen even when they no longer watched over mortals. This was, perhaps, the only time Nyx and Lily disagreed. Nyx had spent the eleven years she'd had with Lily to show her that creation and destruction came hand in hand, most evident in the power they shared. The literal trade of blood for power had slowly helped Lily understand, but Lily saw it as a means to an end, rather than a celebration of itself.

"Or, perhaps, one of the peacelovers?" Nyx said, snapping Lily and Nyx out of their internal discussion. She smirked. "Not so easy when it's your own life on the line, eh?"

[nychtaleirion]

surprised innocence || lily + gina

[addyxum-deactivated20160222]

Gina perhaps prided herself a little too often on her uncanniness of observing people. For eons during her college years, she had poured herself into the efforts of forgetting that part of her. Of making sure that such a thing was no longer instigated. But she discovered that meandering into the waters of life without it was quite preposterous - and irritating to both she as a conduit and Demeter as a goddess. So now, she indulged in it quite often. With brief flickering gazes, she could take in an entire landscape - and process, compartmentalise. Of course, she was still a little bit out of practise with quicker situations, but slow ones, deliberate ones, she handled.

Teenagers. Throwing stones. Wariness on part of the shopkeeper, who looked younger than Gina’s own age. ( Though appearances could be quite D E C E I V I N G, as she was seeing even more now that things were intensifying about the town. ) Polite conversation, instigated on part because Gina had said something to begin with - but it wasn’t much wanted. Then again, who would want seemingly an amount of trouble right on their doorstep? Not that either of them had control over what teenagers did. And hadn’t she once run with a group of them, when she was a teenager, who went around throwing rocks at windows for no apparent reason? She almost wanted to make a case, but the odd tension made her go silent in that regard instead.

And despite being out in the middle of the heat, she felt unbelievably exposed. Demeter didn’t much like being put in situations where she felt uncomfortable - where she felt as though she was quickly spiralling out of control. Gina stilled her own paranoia and ignored the bubbling nausea in her stomach that had become a permanent resident ever since being targeted had started out for her. It was unnerving. It made her spine crawl, like it was infested with bugs.

“Yeah, I’ll say.” 

Finally, she managed to rustle up something in response. Her steps slowed to half their previous speed. There was enough pause where she could continue, if need be. But she also wasn’t prone to sprinting away when she was unnerved. 

“Only supposed to get hotter, too; you’d think it’d have cooled off after that big storm the other week. But Georgia seems determined to sweat everyone out.”

[nychtaleirion]

Lily was at a loss. She wanted to never have talked to the stranger. It would have been better if she'd averted her eyes, pretended not to see the scene unfold before her. Now it was impossible to ignore Gina, but also dangerous to converse with her. What to say?

"Hey, I think I know you." Lily pretended to squint at her, a gesture of recognition. "Don't you own that flowershop a coupl'a blocks away?" She ran her fingers through her hair and took another sip from the glass of lemonade. Here was a topic she knew well: rivalry. While Lily preferred to simply crush her enemies under her six-inch heels, but a veneer of mild dislike would be a good reaction to her fellow florist. It would keep her away.

"I'm not sure I like you snoopin' around my flower arrangements," she said, weaving suspicion deftly into her words. In the corner of her eye, she saw the teenagers come out of the house, watching their conversation. She shrugged, perhaps a little more exaggeratedly than normal, just so the boys could see.

Her eyes widened as she watched them move from beyond the steps, one walking faster than the others. He was the smallest boy, the pale one with blond hair and thick spectacles. He would not have survived growing up as Lily had, but here, he was a little king. Probably old money, then. Looked like a Blythe boy; his father often bought flowers for a mistress he kept in the other city.

"I hear you can do things to people," he said loudly, the group walking quietly behind him. They thought they made a terrifying sight, but Lily kept from laughing. Children. Mortals.

"Me?" she said, blinking once, her head tilted. The sun hat she wore threatened to fall off her head, but she carried it with grace like a true southern belle.

"No, Miss Dubois, not you, never you." He leered at her; she gifted him with a smile. "We heard that a florist went and melted a gun. Crazy person, freak.” He spat the words out, like a seed that had proven bitter. “But it couldn't be you, ma'am. You're too...nice for that."

"I see," Lily said. She let the silence hang in the air for a brief moment before continuing. "And what do you have to say to that, honey?"

[nychtaleirion]

hooded danger | lily + aidan

[hadesrexinferni]

There were other gods, others just like him, and they were destroying the town. Destroying the people, destroying the souls that lived there. If he could, he would make sure those souls would not see him until they were ready.

But they weren’t ready, and they were dying.

Hades and Aidan, they were one, they always had been, ever since the Lord of the Underworld had revealed himself within the boy, ever since he had gotten his abilities. And this death, it bothered him, it bothered both of them. He couldn’t take care of the souls, he couldn’t make sure they were safe in the Underworld. That was his job – well, that had been his job. Now, all he could was the next best thing.

That, and witness everyone else going completely mad.

Aidan was disappointed really, in both the humans (but honestly, what did he expect from them?) and his kin. Of course, his kin had always been a destructive bunch. He was sure they inherited their nature from the titans and the power that consumed them, but he knew he wasn’t exempt from this. He had his fair share of death.

Now, he was witnessing another life being taken, but there wasn’t anything he could do. He wasn’t going to turn on his kind, on his family – the humans needed to learn their place.

Aidan wrapped a cloak of darkness around himself, as if it were some sort of safety blanket and wandered closer to the woman (what he could see from the person’s figure), to the women lying on the ground. Interesting how these people turned out to be the gods of old.

How they turned out to be his family.

He closed the distance between himself and the two, the woman and the corpse. Sighing to himself, he took in the woman’s mask, unsure of how to approach considering the other had just manipulated dark matter and used it to kill a mortal.

“You all just keep popping up around town, don’t you?” He asked, brows lifting and eyes casually drifting over to the corpse.

[nychtaleirion]

She watched the man approach out of the corner of her eye. Even in this time of chaos, it would be foolish to let anyone see what she was doing. Lily had not gotten here by being careless, and though Nyx was gleeful at the opportunity to play with energy, she was careful enough not to compromise the life she'd built. Lily watched as Aidan took from the shadows to cloak himself: he was one of them. A god. Divine.

"Brother," she breathed out, her hands still upon the woman's heart. He would understand, she knew, though she was not sure whether he was one to condone it. "Control of the darkness: are you one of my children? Or are you of the underworld?" She flexed her fingers, feeling the power course through her.  

Regardless of who he was, he was a welcome sight. Having taken all the energy she needed from the corpse, she took her hands off the body, reaching over to close the eyes. With some energy, she shut the gaping wound in the corpse's chest, thanking the guard silently for the power she'd taken. She pulled down her hood and removed her mask, shaking her hair out slightly. "It's Lily. I can trust you, can't I?"

She looked him up and down before getting up,  "It's a pleasure to see you too," she said wryly. "Surely you don't disapprove of my touchin' this body? I did not throw the rock, Aidan, only pushed it to be what that person wanted it to be," she said, shaking her head.

"And what do you mean, 'y'all'? Are there more of us here?" She perked up at the thought. "Besides Haven, of course. Wretched fool." The thought of being in a city with the others filled her with a certain joy. Perhaps it would mean finding Hemera, her other half. How Nyx had missed her sister, different though they were. It was almost worth all the trouble this riot was causing, if it meant Hemera would be found.

[lucent-boy-blog]

light of my life { elijah & lily }

[lucent-boy-blog]

  Jaw clenching, smile disappearing—Elijah tensed up when he saw the woman’s hand reach out for Molly. How protective he was of her, and how easily he could be put on edge if any stranger were to interact with her. It was a fleeting gesture, but Elijah wasn’t prompt to dismiss it. Glancing at the woman, who sat uncomfortably close next to him—skin touching skin—his narrowed eyes and body language obviously hinted that her action wasn’t the right thing to do. Her smirk was met with a chilled gaze, and Elijah, while displeased and just beginning to bubble with anxiety, wasn’t the type just stay quiet if something truly bothered him.

  “Should probably ask to make sure it’s alright before touching a kid,” he remarked, crossing his arms over his chest. Molly understood what that meant, and gave the woman an exaggerated and apologetic look before hopping off to another patch of flowers.

  “Stay where I can see you!” he called out, to which, Molly replied with nonchalant affirmation, seeming to upset Elijah even more.

  The woman seemed sharp, like a knife. While he wanted to brush her off as some stranger, there was something underneath the surface that just needed to be felt. A weird, connection almost that Elijah couldn’t ignore even if he tried. The dubious sensations he tried to resist were that of Hemera’s, similar to the familiarity he felt whenever he was around Haven (yet Haven was the only other reincarnated God he truly knew, and he knew there were others). A sigh left his lips as he widened his legs just a few inches, reclaiming what little space he had on the bench with the woman sitting right up next to him.

  The question caught him off-guard, and led him to the inkling that whatever he was feeling, she was feeling too. “Not surprising,” he replied, rather coldly. He didn’t live around these parts, nor did he and Molly visit here too often.

  Yours?

  “Nope. She’s my sister,” he said in affirmation, indifferent to Molly hearing his reply.

[nychtaleirion]

She looked up at him, surprised at the change in his tone. It felt like she was being chastised; this was not the first time it had happened, but a strange feeling of shame came upon her. Lily Dubois hadn't felt shame since Ruth Caine had been dragged out of her original hovel of a home all those years ago, when the social worker's eyes seemed to accuse her of being an accomplice in her parents' neglect. Lily caught Molly's eye, and the two shared a look. Lily bit her tongue and kept from saying that Molly seemed fine with it. That would probably incense this man further.

Watching him widen the space he was taking up, Lily relented. It was a day of firsts, or firsts in far too long, and she felt bad for making this stranger uncomfortable. It was odd because something about him unsettled her, like she was standing uncomfortably close to an oven. "Come on, scoot on over," she said, moving to give him more space on the bench.

"What are you doin' here, then? Meant to tell you that this was my favourite spot, but was distracted by the kid. She seems like a darlin'," Lily said. It was clear he loved the child, which was nice to see. She couldn't shake the feeling Nyx knew him, and seeing him interact with the little girl made her remember something. Her thoughts and Nyx's had been one for so long that she could no longer tell whether it was from this human past or from divine memory.

"Sister, hmm. Large age difference, isn't it?" Lily paused before adding, "Not that you have to explain yourself. Didn't mean to pry." Her words were very clumsy today, and Lily listened in silent horror to the things flowing out of her own mouth. She was off her game today; what normally was her strongest suit had become her weakness. Part of her wanted to escape, to walk away and never talk to this man and his little sister ever again. But Lily Dubois, give up? Killing was too easy for her, but not a simple conversation? She would not be defeated.

Lily took a deep breath. "I don't know why, but I feel like we got off on the wrong foot." She stretched her hand out. "Lily Dubois," she said. "S'nice to meet you." She looked at him expectantly, hoping he'd take her hand.

[hadesrexinferni]

broken stitches | aidan & lily

[hadesrexinferni]

Movement was always something that caught the eye of most living things. Eyes were naturally drawn to movement, so it was expected that Aidan’s bright eyes did the same. They followed the woman’s finger up to her lips, fixated there as she spoke, taking in the way they moved together to form words. It was an interesting idea, a concept, on how differently people spoke. How they pronounced certain words, came about to have different accents and even how they formed their letters with their tongue and lips.

He watched, curiously, as she asked her question before answering. A beat, “Yes. There’s not many in this town who take pride in it, as I do, so if I were to go.. Well.” He’d get thrown in jail, no doubt. That wasn’t something he was intending to happen again, not again. He didn’t want to be subjected to people, not like that. However, he was stronger, wiser even, and had a tighter control of his abilities, so just maybe, if he were to be locked behind bars again he would survive.

The answer was no. This didn’t bother her then, so why the initial facade? Aidan had to wonder, but of course, as most encounters went, he kept it to himself, “People’s opinions don’t bother me much, not anymore. However, it’s about time I quit chit chatting and finally put it to rest.” Aidan then slipped his arms under the carcass and lifted it up, cradling it to his chest.

“I may have to take up your offer. The sun tends to drain me.. Thank you.”

[nychtaleirion]

"Take pride in what?" she said, curious. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost the train of thought, the heat making her mind fuzzy. It had been counter-intuitive for the goddess of the night to reside in such a hot place. It would make a better home for her twin, she thought, though only the fates knew where Hemera had ended up. Nyx hoped absent-mindedly her sister was doing well, before turning her attention to the conversation at hand.

"You've never had a problem fittin' in, I'm sure." Odd white men were called eccentric; strange black women were not as easy for people to accept. It might have been easier if Nyx had chosen to do her face over immediately, as she had the power to do. Still, it didn't feel right, changing the form she'd been born into in this life. It was strange for Nyx to become sentimental, but Lily truly had gone through a hell of a time. Nyx felt it would be wrong to take away what Lily had fought so hard for, and the logic of the night was not to be defied.

She watched him pick up the dog and hold it close. Lily raised her eyebrow at him, momentarily speechless. Odd, how he reminded her so much of someone she had known. 'Brother,' she thought, but that wasn't it. This man, with all his darkness, could not be her Hemera, all light and luminescence. "Do what you gotta do," she said, "then meet me in there." She inclined her head toward her shop. Lily was walking back to her shop when she remembered something.

"And wash your hands before you come in," she called out.

[victoriansaint]

the old one-two | silas + lily

[victoriansaint]

Dimmed out lightning of the room reminded Silas of landscape of the ocean and its surroundings in the after midnight hours. It was when he felt most energized, in craving of action – but not a lot of action could be done on a small family boat in the midst of cold, wild waters. Not a lot could be done with an unresponsive sparring partner either, but at least his muscles were flexing, at least he wasn’t trapped in the cage with the serenity that’s been his long best friend.

Serenity had hit him in the head only when another had brought disturbance in his life; should’ve guessed people were as unpredictable as nature, could decide to wake up one day and ruin your entire life. “Fuck.” He cussed out, even though he was never much of a person to cuss, and hit the bag with too much raw force for the punch to be efficient. With that hit, he wouldn’t have done much harm to a durable opponent but rather exhausted himself – and for now, that was okay. For now, a night of sleep would be enough.

Silas only paused when another figure joined him and did she come perfectly timed with perfect opportunity. Anchoring his hand to the bag, he stopped it from flying around and took a step aside once it was still, to acknowledge woman’s presence. “I could use some practice.” For a reason unknown, he assumed she had more experience than him and if she could teach him something useful, he wouldn’t argue. Glancing right at the ring, unsure whether she meant a fight in it or something else, he returned his attention to her and added “How do you want to do this? I’m afraid I don’t do this very often…so, go easy on me?”

[nychtaleirion]

She laughed. ‘Go easy on me,’ he’d said, as if already expecting a threat from her. Maybe it was the dark wraps she had around her palms, the way she’d eyed him as he’d hit the punching bag. Whatever it was, Lily was glad for it; it was nice to feel powerful again, especially when she’d had to hide for so long. 

Lily gestured to the ring, still grinning. “In there. We can throw a coupl’a punches at each other, but it’s been a while since I last boxed.” She kept talking as she pulled at the ropes and entered the ring. It was cruder than she was used to, though far better from the alleyways where she’d first learned to fight. “No need to worry, but I hope you keep that hook of yours away from my eye. We florists have to look dainty, after all.” 

Excitement filled Lily as she tugged at her wraps, making sure they were snug against her hands. She sized her opponent up again, wondering how the fight would end up going. Lily held out her hand, smiling again. “I’m Lily Dubois. It’s nice to know who you’re beatin’ the shit out of, don’t ya think?” 

[blueyedcai]

woman crush

[nychtaleirion]

hooded danger | lily + (open)

It has been far too long. Nyx felt each drop of blood within her sing. She had not been allowed to spill that of others; there was always the more diplomatic way. Now, however, all that would save the town from utter destruction was unleashed strength and divine power, both of which Nyx had an abundance of. Today was going to be fun. It would not be wise to use only her blood, but soon enough, there would be more on her hands. Nyx took her knife in her left hand. With clinical detachment, she pierced her lower arm, making three clean cuts from which blood would flow steadily. She wanted instantly to go out, to be Horseman Death in the cold night, but Lily created a mask, gloves and a cowl, putting them on for safety reasons. I may still have to work here, after all. Nyx exited The Lily Bloom by its back entrance, weaving through alleyways to remove any suspicion it had been Lily under the mask. Three blocks away, she found herself watching a face-off between the Guard and some rabid townspeople, calling for blood. Perfect. Someone was throwing large rocks at one of the guards without a riot shield, and Nyx saw her chance. When the rock was thrown, Nyx built dark energy force around it, and it pierced through the woman's chest like a diver in water. The man who'd thrown the rock saw what he'd done and ran away, perhaps because he'd gone too far. Nobody else noticed the guard down, and Nyx cloaked his body in darkness and squirreled him away. The life had already gone out of her eyes, but her body and blood were still warm, as she needed. She placed her hands on her chest; if someone were to pass by, they might think she was praying for the poor guard, or trying to help him breathe. In reality, she was pressing her fingers into the hole in the guard's chest, feeling the power flow from the dead guard's body to Nyx's hands. She stood up and readied to leave, but felt herself being watched. She looked around, alert but unafraid. What was another death on a night worse than Beltane?

[inigoarmistead]

a stormy proposition | inigo & lily

[inigoarmistead]

Inigo had been catching his breath and hadn’t expected to hear a voice - the lights were off and he’d assumed the shop owner had fled. But she stood before him, wielding a rather sharp looking knife, and he froze, but he was far from frightened for his life. Should she really prove a threat to his life, he could always use his power and compel her to fall in love with him and drop her weapon, but he’d learned early on that it was better not to resort to that.

“When I said I wanted killer customer service, I didn’t mean it literally,” he said with a hoarse laugh, but he dug his hands into his pockets and turned them inside out. A couple of crumpled dollars, a receipt, a lighter, and a carton of cigarettes, nearly empty. Inigo glanced back at the shop owner with a shrug. He was still poor as fuck the last time he checked.

Perhaps she thought him to be a looter? The thought was laughable to Inigo - if he was going to steal from anyone, it wouldn’t be through violent means. But he didn’t doubt this woman could handle herself, from the looks of it. She was smaller than him and looking fierce with guarded eyes and slight fingers tight around her blade. “Satisfied? I wasn’t looking for trouble - people know me to be a lover, not a fighter, and I don’t doubt you could easily take me down if you wanted, sweets.” He smiled in a way that was meant to be disarming

“I was only looking for somewhere to take shelter and someone to lick my wounds,” Inigo said, glancing around the shop before meeting the stranger’s again and grinning coyly. There were lots of mysterious and expensive looking knick knacks and concoctions. Surprisingly, it was all untouched from the storm.

[nychtaleirion]

Lily couldn't help it: she laughed. He was an amusing one, this trespasser, and cute, too. He looked a cat drowned in the storm, if she were going to be honest with herself, and the visual combined with his smooth talk was enough to drain some of the tension that had filled her bones at the sudden onset of the storm.

She looked him over once more, eyeing the things he'd thrown out of his pocket with barely concealed distaste. No weapons. It was likely he was telling the truth about needed shelter; the wind whistled through the dark energy she'd reinforced over the windows. Fuck, she hadn't been able to finish, and if she weren't careful, she'd end up with thousands in damages the next day.

He needed to go away, but even Lily wasn't heartless enough to send him out in the open. She made a quick decision, taking stock of where her valuables were: most of the money was in her dummy bank accounts, created for her by friends she'd made on the go, but she still had a sizeable amount hidden in the store. Upstairs, in her flat, there was nothing someone could make off with without it being noticeable.

It was hard to miss how his eyes had travelled around the room. That was it, Lily decided, making a decision. She took him by the arm and smiled. "Alright, honey, I believe you." She gave into the urge to ruffle his hair, feeling the wet strands slide through her fingers. "Come upstairs so you can go take a shower."

Lily moved to the back of the shop, where the staircase to her flat was behind a sliding door. She climbed the stairs with him moving in front of her. She took some of the larger clothes she had --- they were comfortable to sleep in and good for disguises --- and handed them to him along with a towel. 

"Don't go finishin' the hot water, or I may have to join you," she said, winking.

[nychtaleirion]

mercury jumpin’ to ninety-three || lily + haven

[havcnflames]

Haven quirked a brow at her sarcasm, finding it way too hard to believe considering he found her in the back of a building, looking hot and miserable. He chuckled, the weight of it shaking his shoulders slightly, “okay, no name – sense you have yet to tell me it, but you know a hell of a lot about me – probably.” 

Haven assumed word around town travelled pretty quickly. With supernatural freaks and all. He was lucky he could make it this far from home without getting lynched, or shot. It was crazy around Savannah now, all because of – well him, but how was he supposed to know there was people around when he was practicing? There never was. 

Haven let the motions happen, of her pushing a cigarette between slightly chapped lips, adjusting his own so the stick wouldn’t fall to the ground, looking at her oddly, but like he could trust her, and he could, for whatever reason. She could’ve put anything on that cigarette but somehow, he wasn’t recoiling in concern for himself. He was quite calm actually. He really, really didn’t understand when she took his and placed it on thick lips, but again, he didn’t question the stranger’s actions. He knew better than to question a grown woman in Savannah, he could get hit, and some more. He’d rather not today. 

Ironically, he could just take it. Not by force, or burglary, but he could literally draw the flames from hers and be on his way, but she intriguing, and he was bored. Besides, not like he could go strolling in Savannah until nightfall, and until he was sure there was a minimum of people that could spot him and he could make it home safely. 

With a deep sigh, mainly because his bones felt old, he crouched in front of the woman, and sat on the ground before her, taking her up on her offer and balancing harshly painted arms on the apples of his knees. “Talk? I’m not much of a talker to be honest, I just wanted an excuse to be in your presence longer, but for you? I think I could make it happen,” he said this without an ounce emotion, or even a smirk. One wouldn’t even be able to tell if what he was saying was even pleasant if they hadn't’t heard his words. “For one, what are you even doing out here? You’d think people would stay in doors, especially with all the lynchin’ and accusin’ going on.”

[nychtaleirion]

She had wondered where she knew him from. It was as if she'd seen his face before, but she couldn't place it. When he leaned his arms on his legs, his name came to her lips. Haven Carter, certified freak and cause of all the trouble. It was a good thing they were in the alleyway, or she would have kicked him in the nuts.

Instead, Lily contemplated killing him right then and there. It might be the move that would vindicate her in the eyes of the town, but it could also turn them against her. It was too dangerous a move to make, it seemed. Instead, she would play it cool. As long as they weren't seen, she would be fine.

Lily kept her lip from curling up in anger. She smiled, teeth showing, like a dog baring its fangs. "Not much of a talker, but a show-off? Those two things don't get along, in my book." She waved the lighter in his face. "Go ahead," she said, her voice low and quiet, frustration sewn firmly in every syllable. "Go ahead, Haven, and show me what you can do."

She lit the cigarette she'd taken from him and breathed in the smoke. She let it fill her lungs before harshly blowing it out. "Sittin' inside would kill me. It's too hot, and customers complain about the smell when they're not out killin' folk. Thanks to you," she said, punctuating the three syllables with a tap of her shoe against his.

A lynching. In the city she'd chosen specifically because it was so peaceful, a good place to settle down while Lily rested from her escapades around the country. All because this fucking child couldn't keep his powers to himself. Lily knew that he was likely one of them, one of the younger ones with the flashier powers. Controlling flame. Lily would have scoffed if it wouldn't have revealed her thoughts.

"I'll go back inside as soon as I've seen it, what's gotten the town raisin' hell."

[lucent-boy-blog]

light of my life { elijah & lily }

[lucent-boy-blog]

  Elijah’s gaze had wandered away from the flowers with time, but Molly was still transfixed on the colors—so much so, she climbed down from Elijah’s lap to scrutinize the petals. With button nose hovering centimeters away from the epicenters of color, Elijah remarked she watch herself, as he often did. It was perfectly reasonable to him that mishap was potential in everything, even breathing. For all the love Molly had for her big brother, his pedantic commands and strict rules didn’t make him an optimal authority figure that suited her tastes. She got tired of him if he droned on for too long, or if he was being too restrictive. Rebellion only got her so far, however, as disappointed reprimands from Eli were worse than death.

  The edge of his vision had always been hazy, thanks to a myopia that had been present in his eyes since birth. It had been a mystery to him as a child–why the background of his perceptions could never quite be discerned—only revealed to him to be a medical condition when he and Ruth were taken from their parents. He could recall, faintly, instances where he could have sworn his father wore glasses, but the blurry, smudged face of his father in memory remained without them. He couldn’t recall if Ruth or his mother ever wore glasses either, but the matter seemed unimportant next to the fact he couldn’t even remember their faces.

  Yet something came into view—the imprint of a figure approaching the bench, which Elijah was prompt to momentarily give attention to. A woman, who gave Elijah a moment to tense upon seeing her. There was an intensity that shone at the surface, in her smile and her body-language, and—there were other things but Elijah just couldn’t make sense of it. It was like someone had grabbed his beating heart and squeezed out the cold blood—this wasn’t infatuation it was alarm.

  Elijah missed the few beats following her question, still staring at her. Swallowing hard, he forced a smile to crack over his lips. “Yeah—yeah they are,” he nodded, glancing back over at the flowers, and at Molly, who was in a squat, plucking off the angular petals of a dandelion. “Real nice flowers,” he continued with an air of nervousness, trying to make up for the silence he caused “I don’t know a lot about flowers but I like looking at ‘em.” Elijah laughed.

  “They’re lovely after the storm, yeah, weather seems to make them brighter.”

[nychtaleirion]

Lily eyed the girl, watching her pulling petals off a flower. Typical of children to be destructive; they knew what humanity was meant for. She grinned, reaching out to pat the girl on the head, like a pet. Rarely did she come in contact with children, the rare instances too sad for her to be flippant. Today would be filled with many surprises, it seemed, and this child was the least of them.

She turned her attention to the man beside her. She sat beside him, a touch too close. Lily had always been aware of personal space, and invading it was a show of her power. Lily herself was comfortable at any distance: life was too short for her to feel strange about someone else's skin touching her own. She had squeezed the air out of a man's throat, bathed her fingers in his blood. It was nothing to her to have a hand graze a stranger's shoulder. She sat, then, with her arm lightly touching his, as she looked him in the eye. a smirk poised at the corner of her lips. It would explain away the thorough survey of his features Lily was currently making.

He was not handsome, nor was there anything about his features that really stood out. Had she been anyone else, it was likely that she would have passed by him with nary a glance. But Lily had always paid attention to the details, and something about his face seemed familiar to her. An emotional connection, then, and one not just something in her brain. Now that they were touching, skin against skin, she felt the pull grow stronger, though it was still something she could not place. It felt as if Nyx were quiet, as if she could not bring herself to speak. How strange that was.

"I've never seen you before," Lily said, simply. She felt the strange urge to smooth his hair back, as she'd done to someone before. Who was it? A lover? Lily couldn't remember, and that frustrated her. She clasped her hands on her lap, keeping her from doing that to a stranger. What was wrong with her?

She turned her head to face the little girl again. This child was cared for, the love clear in the sheen of her hair and the ruddiness of her cheeks. Lily wondered what it would have been like to be taken care of as a child, back when she was still Ruth and her hands had not yet been soiled by murder and theft.

"Yours?" Her voice was soft so the child would not hear.

[nychtaleirion]

surprised innocence || lily + gina

[addyxum-deactivated20160222]

She had no choice but to walk the entire road into town. After all, her truck was now out of commission, due to the ample amounts of graffiti and slashed tires it had received within the past few evenings. The soles of her feet ached even against the comforting confines of her old boots. She couldn’t wait until she made it into town, did what she needed to do, and then made her way back home again. The place that she was turning into a fortress more than a farmhouse. When she had discovered some of her crops missing, and a cow or two slaughtered she knew that things were beginning to come closer. And now whispers of burn them. 

It was Demeter in the back of her head.

Burn them all. 

Perhaps she would, if there wasn’t much to lose, if there wasn’t the realisation that she was no longer alone. If she didn’t have to protect Clara from what was going on. It was one thing to target her; it was another thing to target those who were close to her. And she had more people to worry about than she wanted to admit. Because she C A R E D too much.

Just as she walked in front of a store, where a quite lovely young woman remained sitting on the porch, a small rock came out of nowhere and pelted her on the shoulder. She grunted. Of course this had to happen as she was minding her own business. 

Burn them ALL. 

Instead, she chose to comment aloud.

“Nice day, huh.”

[nychtaleirion]

People had passed by: some had waved at her, and a couple had even smiled. Lily refrained from sighing in relief, but this was good: her plan was working. It was a gambit that had its dangers, but Lily could protect herself from those. This was a high-stakes game, and she was all-in.

Lily was ready to offer her lemonade to a person who was approaching, but something in her stance gave Lily pause. Behind her, there was a group of teenagers sitting on a stoop. They’d been polite enough to Lily, taking the proffered drink gratefully. Now, however, they were eyeing the woman with clear suspicion. From out of nowhere, one of them took a small stone and threw it. He hit his target and the group of them scrambled into the house with barely a sound. 

It took Lily a moment to realise she was being spoken to. She contemplated ignoring the comment, This was someone people threw stones at. She was trouble, but Lily wondered exactly how much. 

From her place beneath the shade, she called out, “S’nice enough. A little hot, though, ain’t it?”

Lily thought for a moment, before deciding not to offer the woman lemonade. It was one thing to be polite, but friendly was dangerous. She took a deliberate sip from her lemonade, her little smile a sign that nothing was the matter. Nothing at all. 

[maxavril-blog]

among gods & men ║ max and lily

Gossip is not rare under the roof of God. Max often heard it from the older ladies on Sundays when they’d sip their coffee after mass. Word on the street was there were freaks infesting their lovely town. Max was aware of this— though only from his sister. Now it was filtering back around to church. It had gotten bad enough that not even the presence of the Lord could stop people from talking about it.

Thankfully, however, Max remained unseen. He had the touch of God. He was no abomination.

At this point, there were riots in the streets and created a general nuisance for Max. Sure, he had stayed most days to be there for those whom needed water, or had been pushed, or something like that. And while some questioned him about his sister, he’d only nod, or shake his head, and politely send them along.

Though his biggest problem was when they compared the two of them to God and Satan. ‘It’s such a shame she was born with the Devil in her.’ along with things of the sort. Max didn’t often get angry, but he was on the edge of rage hearing about it. He and his sister were equals. No different. She had no less God in her than he did himself. They were both clearly above everyone else. He’d look at everyone and think of the hurt he could cause them all. He could kill them in a week if he so desired. Slowly. Painfully. He could watch and tell them all that even God is cruel. 

But that’s not what God wanted of him.

So he stood at the entryway, behind the window watching as people passed, chanting their little chants. He sipped his hot coffee every few seconds. What a disappointment. They were all letting Him down. He couldn’t watch anymore, his internal cringe grew too extreme. He turned around, only to find a person right behind him. He jumped, yelping like a dog who’s tail had been stepped on. His coffee fell from his hands, the hot liquid spilling on the floor. “Shit,” He whispered, not even paying attention to the other person as he bent down at the spilled coffee.

[nychtaleirion]

Lily took a last glance at her phone, avoiding the grandeur of the church before her. Even from the back entrance, it was ostentatiously huge, almost gaudy, and she kept herself from shuddering. Church was what allowed the Norwoods to treat her as less than human. At night, Nyx used to look at the bruises on her skin, wondering how they would look on a canvas. That made everything easier, dealing with her body as if it were something to be examined, rather than an instrument for them to hurt her with. 

She had never had much faith in anything, except herself and her twin, and he had been taken away from her so long ago. (Lily would net yet allow herself to believe that Eli was her Elijah. That would be too much for her to hope for.)  No, she was the only one whom she believed in. Things were simpler that way: if she wanted something done, she needed to take care of it, no hoping in some faceless person in the sky. The Fates had always been cruel, after all.

Besides, if she, Nyx, were on earth, the others should have been, too. None of them were more powerful than the others. This new god --- humans had come up with him in the time between Greece and the present, or so they thought --- was not someone she trusted, should he be real. He had revenged himself on those who came before him by putting them in the city where tensions ran high against freaks. Humans could never accept those superior, it was clear. Even their god, they killed.

She was here to prove her innocence to the town. They’d been suspicious of her, had even thrown stones at the shop she’d called home for the past two years. Needing to bow to their god was demeaning, but necessary. Pride was important to Lily, but so was staying alive. She’d rather not have to kill the whole town to keep her own life. It was why she’d snuck out of her shop and through the town, making her way to the more hidden entrance to the church where the mob would not pass.

Her steps into the church were quiet, the carpet softening her footfalls. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes; of course they’d have a carpet, and a costly one at that. Lily approached the minister, formulating what she would say to him. Perhaps they could go take a walk in the garden on a more peaceful day, to make people believe that she was good. Outside, she could hear the cries of the crowd as they passed by. Hopefully, they would see her and have faith. 

Then the minister dropped his coffee.

She stifled a laugh at the sound of him swearing. Even men of god could not help themselves, it seemed. Some of the coffee landed on her skin and burned, but Nyx had felt worse. What was this to a cigarette deliberately pressed against the skin at her wrist, for being caught smoking it?

She took a handkerchief out of her hands and bent down, searching for any place it might have landed on him. She would be the woman, wiping his feet with costly oils, if that’s what it took. 

“I’m mighty sorry, Pastor. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

[victoriansaint]

the old one-two | silas + lily

Getting gym membership wasn’t something Silas would go for on his own accord; really, it had been Lydia who got one for herself on a whimsy, during one of her ‘no one in this family understands me’ phases, because she’d read that for 10$ she could sleep over there (open 24/7 and stuff). That lasted for about a day, once she realized she was wrong and called Silas to pick her up - and he remembered the exact moment of entering the place for the first time. Seeing the man in secluded room through the glass, punching this bag thing, assaulting it with his whole body and looking like he was effectively channeling all of his anger out that way. And he wasn’t hurting anyone - which was the most important thing about it. Which was why Silas kept coming back. Sometimes he was alone, other times he was aware of having people surrounding him and only because he was out of the zone when he arrived and saw them there - but once the punching started, everything around him became clouded with haze of red. Each swing of an arm delivered by him was like a swing of another delivered into his lungs - each battle for breath was like pressure against his survival instincts, kickinging the adrenaline in and making him feel as in frenzy. The outlet he’d seen and craved, he was finally getting it.

[nychtaleirion]

Lily had thought herself safe in Savannah. What could have been dangerous to her in a slow place like this, where the loudest sounds at 11 in the evening were the crickets and katydids? But the town had begun to show its underbelly, the paranoia turning it worse than the most corrupt metropolitan cities. 

She needed to protect herself.

It had been a while since she’d needed it, but a review of hand-to-hand combat could make the difference. Solving problems wasn’t as easy as pulling energy out of lungs, anymore; that could be witnessed, and she would be the next one lynched. She could kill the whole city, if she needed to, purge the earth of mankind, but where would that leave her? Bored, certainly, with little to do. No, she needed a subtle domination of the world, and it would do to prepare a means of battle that was accepted by panicky humans. 

Entering the gym, she looked to the punching bag, only to see that it was already in use. The man’s form wasn’t perfect, but the power behind his punches was something to behold. He would be a perfect opponent, should he be willing.

Lily put her hair up and approached the man. She eyed him, waiting for the point when it would be appropriate to speak.

“Hey, Rocky, you willin’ to practice with a friend?”

[johnbaldesorry-deactivated20141]

Late night trip to the florist

[lucent-boy-blog]

light of my life { elijah & lily }

  Ms. Holt’s little girl, Molly, looked nothing like Elijah.

  That didn’t stop people in casual passing from making comments and presuming the giggling girl wrapped up in Elijah’s arms was his child, and every time they did, he took the time to stop and correct them while his blood ran cold.

   She wasn’t his child, no, but it was hard to think that meant he loved her any less.

  Ms. Holt had always gone on and on about having a child of her own, much to Elijah’s contempt. What was the point of giving him a loving home if he was just going to be replaced? As the years passed, however, the threat of a new child grew of less and less concern to him. He was already fully independent when Ms. Holt had Molly, giving him the chance to keep himself out of the picture as far as that child was concerned.

  But Elijah knew better than to abandon a child like that.

  Whether he wanted to or not, he had taken care of her since she was a baby. Now, just three weeks shy of her fifth birthday, the two had become incredibly fond of one another. Molly, in her boundless affection and exuberance, had charmed Elijah and put him under a spell that compelled him to spoil her rotten. Though she, or Ms. Holt, for that matter, knew not of the severity of emotions that surged in Elijah in the reality of having another sister.

  The worst of it was when he’d look at Molly, and swear it was Ruth looking back at him–without magic, without divine intervention. He couldn’t help but think of Ruth whenever Molly’s disembodied laughter echoed throughout Ms. Holt’s home.

  “Eliii,” a whine pierced through his thoughts while small fingers pinched his nose “I said I want to look at the flowers!”

  Eli was silent, glancing over to the girl he held in his arms with raised eyebrows.

  “… Please.”

  The flowers looked ethereal to Elijah, maybe a product of the storm as it was refreshing to see all of the vibrant colors open up to the drab and dreary street still recovering from broken windows and damaged roofs. They seemed to entrance Molly as well, as they were both silent while their eyes navigated roses, tulips, and daisies even. For all the times Molly was scolded for raising her voice and shouting indoors, she seemed to take cues from Elijah to remain quiet when he was, even if it was distressing, and filled with antsy squirming.  

[nychtaleirion]

The storm had wreaked havoc on the store, but in a way, Lily was thankful for it. It gave her an excuse to be out and about, after all the repairs had been taken care of. People were too busy fixing their houses to buy flowers or cigarettes or gossip, and it allowed Lily to take a break from the persona she'd crafted to fit into the artificial idyll of the place.

Gone ---- for the day --- were the sundresses she'd worn to blend in. They chafed at her skin, when worn the whole day, too bright and long and simperingly sweet. That was what the light was, a barrage of stimuli. She didn't hate it, could not, as it was her antithesis. Instead, she embraced it, even as it burned. But even she deserved a break, she thought, her dark cut-offs a match to the shades perched upon her nose. She wore a sunhat, both to seem less threatening and to shield against the sun. Lily saw how she turned heads, as if the conservatives in this town had never seen legs in their lives. She had smiled sweetly at them, and they'd been on their way, dismissing it as typical Lily behaviour.

Lily knew that days out like this were permissible, so long as she conformed to their standards a majority of the time. Days like these kept her sane, and she would not have them interrupted for the world. She took nothing with her but the pocketknife she kept always, always ready to draw energy. She knew exactly where she would go: the little park three blocks away. She hoped the great tree would still be there to provide the shade and comfort she'd come to expect from the only spot in America where she could be at peace.

'Curse the fates,' she thought. As soon as she'd arrived, she noticed two people a man and a little girl, seated in her favourite seat. They were looking at the flowers, awe obvious on their faces. All Lily felt was the rising anger at having her plans shaken. Control, she thought, control. She approached them with every mind to sweetly kick them out, but something in the man's face stopped her. She couldn't place what it was, but she felt she'd seen them before. It was as if a part of her hummed because he was near, though even Nyx could not tell what it was.

She strolled up to them with a smile; after a beat, she said, "Aren't they lovely?" And they truly were, with wild colours even this park had not revealed before. Destruction had brought beauty with it, and Lily's smile widened at how true she knew that was. She realised belatedly that she’d murmured it aloud. No matter; the flowers were beautiful and deserved the truth.

[nychtaleirion]

the gnashing of teeth || lily + [open]

The Norwoods had often made Ruth read the Bible aloud, watching her with their beady blue eyes like she would start burning at any minute. The thought of hell was laughable to her, even when she’d discovered that she was a god and that it was, in its way, real. If there was to be hell found on Earth, she would not be in it, not after everything.

Savannah had become her hell.

She was not afraid of these mortals. She could crush them between her fingers, use their blood to mark her face and make her strong. If they were to approach her with intent to kill, she would laugh in their face and wreak havoc, bring them endless night.

Nyx was not afraid. She had needed no temple in the ages before, taken her fill from the others. They would let her, for who could resist her power and glory? It was irony itself that Nyx now needed to draw blood to wield energy, but it took nothing from the fear she wielded, warm and sleek in her hands.

The people of Savannah had rushed her store, but had not dared to come inside. The windows had been broken, but the shards left behind suggested they'd only thrown rocks, rather than shot bullets. Little intent to kill, then, which was a small mercy. She took her pocket knife and nicked her arm slightly, forming wood on the ground. Boarding the windows briefly took her mind off the utter chaos the town was in, but it was not enough.

They had lynched an innocent. Nyx did not care that a life was taken; she'd done it herself, watched the life fade out of their eyes as they gasped for breath. Unpleasant, yes, but oddly fascinating. No, that was not what troubled her. The panic in the town had reached fever pitch and that made them dangerous. If not immediately to her, then to the life she had painstakingly built. She did not appreciate people destroying what she had put effort in. They would not take it away.

In the distance, she heard the mob, their loud boots clattering on the pavement. Primal, they had turned to tradition, allowing the faint humming in their ears to turn them into beings of solid rage. She had seen it before and would doubtless see it again. Fear brought humans together, the communal conscious a safety measure against they danger they thought themselves in.

Before she finished boarding the windows, she saw a lone figure outside, looking around. If the mob were to find them, there was no telling what would happen, but in the morning, when they woke up with blood on their hands, they would regret. It was an emotion unknown to her, regret, and it would not matter if they kept themselves up at night for years afterward. (Perhaps it would even be good for business.) But they would remember standing in front of her shop, perhaps catch sight of her figure bustling in her apartment. There would be questions and prying, and she could be their next target.

In that moment, she made a decision. "Hey," she hissed, pulling the door open. "Come inside before you get yourself killed, you fuckin' fool!"