#contemporarybardess

[contemporarybardess]

Okay, so my first few days in this town have been off to a rough start. Anybody know of any places that are hiring?

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @contemporarybardess, @realmackross TIMING: Sometime in the spring SUMMARY: Elora & Mack have a Twilight themed date night where some secrets are revealed... WARNINGS: Just a soft thread with a sire and a zombie! ♥

It had been a while since Mackenzie had gotten to do anything just fun and cute with Elora. In fact, it had felt like it had been months. And she knew it probably had to do something with the fact that the two still didn’t live together, but Mack just wasn’t ready. The one year anniversary of Brody’s death had literally just passed, and she still couldn’t bring herself to fully commit every part of her life to Elora; though she clearly wasn’t going to tell Elora that. She loved the woman with most of her heart, but moving on still felt wrong.

However, tonight, she was going to make it a point to spend time with her girlfriend, and she knew just the place to go…

“I really hope you like sparkly vampires. It’s the only thing showing, and I thought that if we got bored of seeing Robert Pattison’s sparkling peeled potato skin, we could just make out.” Mackenzie looked over at Elora with a hopeful grin as she shut off the engine on her Mini Cooper. The first movie hadn’t quite started yet, so there was still time for concessions, bathroom breaks, and finding a spot in the grass up front with the blankets she brought, if Elora didn’t want to stay in the car the whole time.

—

Finally, just a cozy date night watching a cheesy vampire movie with her girlfriend. No violence. No cosmic bullshit cutting in. Just Elora and Mackenzie…and the other people watching the Twilight marathon, of course. While she always got butterflies whenever she saw her still, quality alone time that wasn’t interrupted was rare. They both had very…busy and eventful lives after all. 

“Well I used to have a crush on that sparkly potato skin when I was younger. But I’d never turn down a makeout session, you know that.” It was a bit embarrassing to admit she was a recovering Twihard, but she also knew pretty much every girl went through that phase at one point or another. 

“Y’know, I was expecting a better turnout” she said, looking out at the crowd of people. The turnout seemed decent, but definitely didn’t seem to match the fervor the online petition had implied would be present. “I guess not everyone can tough it out through all the movies, eh? Can’t blame them, I’m not so sure we’ll make it either.” She was hoping that they’d get too tired to give Mack an excuse to spend the night at Elora’s place. Or for Elora to spend the night at Mack’s. Either way, they hadn’t had much time co-habitating and she definitely wanted to make it happen. It just felt more cozy and couple-y.

—

When Mack had heard that Elora had a crush on Edward Cullen, a wide grin spread across her cheeks, “Wait…what? Were you a Twihard, Elora Spiros?” Mackenzie had never really gotten the appeal of the movies, at least not when they had first released, considering she was only ten years old. But by the time she had turned thirteen, it was all she could talk about. She had caught the tail end of the obsession, but it didn’t matter. The pasty sparkly vampires and werewolf who wore jorts had their hooks in her heart, and she wanted more. It would take another year or so for her to actually grow out of it, but rumor has it, there’s still some of Mackenzie Ross’s (TwihardGirlie98) fanfic still floating around the internet today.

“I…Okay, I’ll admit it. I was a Twihard, too. But like at the tailend of the hype, because I was ten when the first movie came out, and my parents wouldn’t let me read the books until I was a little older…” If she could blush, she would, “Who was your favorite character?” This date was already so telling, but she loved it. It made her feel so much closer to Elora. Something she needed out of fear that they might have been drifting apart.

“You know, I’m surprised too, but it’s probably because everyone and their mother and brother own all the movies and don’t want to be bothered by sitting in a car for three years just to see Edward Cullen sparkle and brood on the big screen.” Mack laughed softly. “Besides, I would rather us not make it…if you catch my drift…” She grinned coyly at Elora.

—

With mock embarrassment, Elora put her hands up and said “Guilty as charged! Me and pretty much everyone else I went to middle school with.” She then caught herself, as she technically didn’t go to school with any of them. “Well, the girls who were the same age as me, I should say. It was like some hive mind virus that targeted tween girls specifically. It was sort of some weird fever dream we all woke up out of years later.” All of her Twilight merch was long gone now, burned up with pretty much everything else, but she hung on to a lot of her New Moon T-shirts until well after her teenage years. Those times were fun to look back on, even if they did make her cringe more than anything. 

“I knew it! You totally seem like the type! No offense, of course. Nobody’s immune from the Twilight phenomenon, not even the infallible Ms. Mackenzie Ross.” She thought about Mack’s question for a little while. There were so many characters, but not many that were particularly good or likable. “I like the dad. What was his name? Charlie? He had a good head on his shoulders and only wanted what was best for Bella. Took the whole existence of vampires and werewolves surprisingly well. I mean, mildly freaked out of course, but didn’t get hung up on it too much! The real question is…Team Jacob or Team Edward?”

“I wouldn’t mind cutting out early either” Elora said, knowing fully well what her girlfriend had in mind. It had been a while since they had a chill night just to themselves, and while watching bad vampire romance was a good date night it wasn’t quite what Elora had wanted. “Let’s at least make it to the baseball scene from the first movie. After that everything goes downhill anyway”.

—

Mack laughed at Elora. She knew exactly what the other woman was talking about though, because she had witnessed its phenomena, even growing up on movie sets. She could remember the adults on set talking about it and trying to ask them what they were talking about. Even some of her younger co-stars had been allowed to bask in the glory of its success, but Mack had been left on the sidelines, until she wasn’t anymore and her room was plastered from head-to-toe. But the real height of her obsession came, when she was allowed to attend the Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 premiere. She hadn’t recalled the memory until now, sitting next to her girlfriend while having this conversation, and she honestly wasn’t quite sure if she had wanted to admit it out of the fear of being teased for eternity by Elora, “Yeah, yeah…the dad was cool. Nice guy in real life too. And you’re right. He did keep a pretty level head. You know…he kind of reminds me of Kaden. Have you two met? He wouldn’t get the reference, but if you ever meet him, tell me he doesn’t remind you of Charlie.”

Mackenzie was trying to stall, but it was getting harder and harder, because even she wanted to laugh at herself and the situation, “Oh come on…why did you have to ask me that?” She paused thinking, before finally giving the redhead an answer, “So I was Team Edward all the way growing up, but there is some bias because I had worked on a movie with Robert before, but now that I’m an actual member of the undead, I’m gonna have to go Team Jacob. Who wouldn’t love a nice, warm fuzzy werewolf to snuggle up to on cold, winter nights. Any chance you might be able to grow some fur? Perpetually cold dead girl over here.” She let out a snort, before playfully nudging her girlfriend to let her know she was kidding.

“Totally fine with waiting for the baseball scene. It’s like the best part of the movie, but I have a tiny bit of embarrassing information to share, and I don’t know if it will make you want to cut out sooner or not leave at all…” Mackenzie forced down the nerves that had formed in her throat as she pulled out her phone and searched online for something. When she finally found it, she quickly handed off her phone to Elora and turned away from the window. It was a video of a little Mackenzie at the Breaking Dawn Part 1 premiere answering everybody’s favorite question – the one Elora had just asked. And as she heard her voice fill the car, she couldn’t help but put her head down in embarrassment.

—

She wasn’t sure why, but Elora’s eyes widened a bit when Mack mentioned Charlie being a nice guy in real life as well as on screen. Sure, she was a major celebrity who had met pretty much all of the huge A-listers already, but did she really mean to tell her she’d met the Charlie Swan?

“Man, I’ll never get over you just knowing people. It must be so cool to know what people are like off camera. Well…the ones who are nice at least” She had heard talk of a Kaden in town, but had never gotten the pleasure of actually meeting him. “Nah, I’ve never met him. Nice guy then, I’m assuming? It’s nice to see decent guys around here, they aren’t super common.” It was true. There a lot of shady folks hanging around here, so knowing who was friend or foe was very important information to have. 

“Well I’m glad you finally came around to the side of reason! Jacob was so much better for her, I can’t believe she went with the crusty vampire man instead.” She laughed a bit at the fur comment, knowing that feathers just wouldn’t fill the same purpose for her. “I mean, there technically is a way I can make myself warm, it would just be very painful for me and probably burn you to a crisp. So…sorry but your dreams of a furnace girlfriend are going to have to be put on the back burner.”

She couldn’t help but crack a smile as she saw a young Mack, fully human and full of life, giving her interview. She was so young then, she always found it interesting seeing people she met as adults when they were children. “That’s adorable! You were so excited for the sparkly man! Also…really puts into perspective how long you’ve been a star for. I guess being a fan girl is a little different when you know the people personally, huh?”

—

Mackenzie had learned early on that celebrities were just people. It had come after an embarrassing moment on one of the first sets she had worked on, when she had gotten so nervous to be around one of the leading stars that she started to cry. It had stopped production, but the person she was working with had been patient with her and had spoken to her in a way that reassured her that everything was okay, and to remember that even the biggest Hollywood stars were just people and this was just a job, and at the end of the day they were all just friends having fun together. Of course, that worked until Mack grew older and started to realize that not all actors felt the same way; some who thought they hung the moon. But at the end of the day, Mack had learned to be kind and humble, and whenever there was someone feeling nervous, she was going to treat them with the same respect she had learned as a child, “At the end of the day, they’re all just people. Even the ones who think they’re God’s greatest gift to man.” She smiled warmly at Elora, before changing the subject to Kaden, “But yeah, if you want me to introduce you to him sometime, just let me know.”

Elora’s comment about Edward and Jacob made Mack laugh, “Crusty vampire man. That’s so accurate it hurts though. That’s why there’s fanfiction. So all your literary and movie dreams come true, when the plot doesn’t go the way you want it to.” She couldn’t believe she had just admitted that either. This trip to Twilight was proving to be more embarrassing for Mack than anything else, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, “You know, that's a shame though that you’d burn me to a crisp. I guess I’ll just stick with my fifteen heated blankets.” She was being serious too. “You heard me.”

It was a relief when the video was over, and Mack could put her phone away. If Elora wanted more, she could google it for herself, “Yeah…mention that, and I’ll disown you, Elora Spiros.” She was joking of course. “I mean, I’ll be honest – despite what I told you earlier, I still bragged to the few friends that I had that I knew Edward Cullen. I couldn’t help myself though. I was young and dumb.”

Looking up, Mackenzie noticed the movie was about to start, “Did you want anything, before this thing starts?” She was honestly looking forward more to the makeout sesh and what might follow then watching a movie about sparkly vampires.

—

“Yeah, everyone’s just another person. It’s just that some people need to be reminded that they’re only people.” Elora knew all too well what some members of the rich and powerful thought of themselves. Some people thought themselves to be gods of some degree, and demanded they be treated as such. “I’d like that. The more friends the better in this town, that’s for sure.” 

Elora knew about fanfiction all too well. She had written some herself, mostly when she was a teenager through her early 20s. It’s not a phase of her life she’s proud of, but if Mack was willing to show an embarrassing moment from her past then Elora figured she should be too. “Well, since we’re sharing. I know quite a bit about fanfiction and writing the ending I want. I actually used to post on AO3 a lot…I kind of had a problem actually. I just had a lot of my own ideas on what the canon should be so I wrote it into existence!” She knew there were a lot of fanfiction writers out there so saying she wrote wasn’t the most embarrassing thing in the world. However, she would fight tooth and nail to stop Mack from actually reading what she wrote. Her screenname wasn’t exactly easy to guess. 

“How could you NOT brag?! I don’t care how famous you are, every girl that age had the hots for Mr. Pattinson. And now he’s off being Batman, times really have changed.” She thought, thinking about how his acting skills really did have a huge glow up after the Twilight movies wrapped. He was a good actor when he wasn’t sparkling like a diamond. 

“We can just share some popcorn. I don’t want to eat too much, especially if we have…y’know…plans for after this.” The baseball scene couldn’t come fast enough. Although Elora had to admit she’d probably genuinely enjoy watching the movie up until that point.

—

“I’m not like that am I?” Mackenzie looked at Elora. She had come to this town hoping and praying she wouldn’t be recognized, but knew she probably would. Of course, the mansion out on World’s End Isle probably didn’t make her seem very humble or down-to-Earth, but Mackenzie tried to be. She really did. “I just…I don’t want to be perceived as an asshole.” Now, she was paranoid. Did Elora ever think of her that way?

Mack’s smile had dropped as she worried, until Elora had brought up AO3 and fanfiction, “Wait…what?! You wrote fanfiction? I want to read it! I showed you my embarrassing red carpet video, and look, I’ll even tell you my screenname, because I’m sure my stuff is still out there, if you tell me yours or at least share some of your fanfiction!” Her sad face turned to one of a puppy dog pout, she wanted to see this fanfiction dammit!

“I mean, I guess you have a point, and he really did glow up, didn’t he. Now, he’s got a kid. Good for him, you know? But if you think this is going to take my mind off of you admitting that you wrote fanfiction, you’re wrong.” It was hard talking about anything else now. “Look, I’ll go get the popcorn and soda…” She paused thinking on Elora’s words with a grin, “And nothing else…and while I’m gone, you can pull up AO3…accidentally leave your phone on the dash, and I can be all…whoops! What is this?!” Mackenzie put the puppy dog pout on and stared at her girlfriend.

—

 Elora felt her heart stop for a moment at Mack’s question. In truth, she was one of the realest and most down to earth people she had ever met. “Not at all!” She blurted out quickly. “Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve met some fairly well recognized bands and artists and there’s just so many pompous douches in the entertainment industry.” She then grabbed hold of Mack’s hand and looked into her eyes. “But not you. Never you.” 

Elora’s panic soon gave way to embarrassment as it seemed Mack wouldn’t let her off the hook about her fanfic days. She wouldn’t mind sharing if it was any good. But making a fic where the Cullen clan enter the World Series of Poker and titling it “High Stakes” isn’t exactly the peak of literature. Still, Mack did have a point. If she could see a mildly embarrassing red carpet video, they could cringe at some bad fics together

“Fiiine, you win. But be nice! I was a teenager. I think…maybe early 20s. Either way, I’m a much better writer now!” She begrudgingly opened up to her old screenname on AO3 and set her phone on the dash, resigning herself to her fate. If she can love me after reading these she’ll love me through anything, she thought to herself with a smirk. She was starting to get peckish and hoped she’d come back with their popcorn soon.

—

Mackenzie had immediately felt relief at Elora’s words in regards to her fame and the way she had treated people. There had easily been the exceptions, like Jade. But even with Jade, Mack had originally tried to be nice. But the loving grip Elora had on Mack’s hand solidified just how right she had gotten it when she had chosen to start falling in love with this woman. Someone who had chosen to see the real Mackenzie Ross for more than just a celebrity.

A giddiness had taken over the young actress though when Elora finally agreed to let Mack see the fanfic, and like a child excited on Christmas morning, Mackenzie hurried off to get the popcorn.

And just like that she was back in a flash and right back in her seat next to Elora, “Here’s your popcorn. Now gimme gimme gimme!” She was impatient like a child until she noticed the phone sitting on the dash, and quickly pulled it back. For the next hour, Mackenzie was going to sit and read the beautiful works of art that her girlfriend had gifted to the world, while the inspiration for such works played in the background.

—

As her girlfriend scrolled through some of the worst fanfiction she can remember reading in a very long time, Elora simply tried to focus on the movie. It actually wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, there were some genuine sweet and entertaining moments. Nevertheless, it was still Twilight. The cheesiness would always be there to stop it from being more than just a guilty pleasure watch. 

At long last the fated baseball scene ran its course, and the pair shot each other a knowing look as their deadline had finally arrived. 

“Well,” Elora began, “Shall we head back to my place for a little night cap? Maybe we can do something less embarrassing than reading my old fics.”

—

Mackenzie had squealed with delight, throwing Elora a glance of genuine enjoyment every now and then, sometimes just stopping to catch the redhead in a moment of intrigue. God, she’s beautiful. The way the light from the screen accented the silhouette of her face and more had easily made Mackenzie ready to leave, and when the time had finally come, and Elora spoke, the zombie was in full agreement with the idea, “Babe, I might take inspiration from your old fics.”

Leaning over to give Elora her phone back, Mackenzie snuck in a quick kiss, before starting the engine of her Mini Cooper. Giving Edward and his ragtag team of vampires one last look, she peeled out of the parking lot with her girlfriend ready to go home and make a little magic of their own and the fifty things of glitter Mackenzie kept stashed in her bathroom for special occasions.

[recoveringdreamer]

TIMING: recent LOCATION: the raven PARTIES: @contemporarybardess & @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: elora and felix... experience the raven together. CONTENT: none!

If there was one thing Elora loved more than a good night out, it was finding some fun urban legends around town to explore. In a town like Wicked’s Rest, most urban legends actually ended up being true, but there were some that, as far as Elora knew, were completely unconfirmed. One such rumor around town was that of a magic speakeasy hidden behind a mural of a raven. Elora was now very well acquainted with the various monsters, fae, shapeshifters, and magic users in the town, and the idea of a secret club where they all openly hang around each other intrigued and excited her. 

As she came upon the towering mural of the raven, she did precisely as instructed. “Good evening, Mr. Raven”, she began, gazing at the painted eyes that nevertheless seemed to shine with life. Suddenly, a door appeared where there was previously only brick and mortar. While she probably shouldn’t have been surprised at this point, she was still caught off guard as the entrance just seemed to appear out of nowhere. 

Almost hesitant to even go near the magical door, she slowly reached out and grasped the handle, turning it and opening the door before stepping inside. 

Surprising no one who knew them, Felix discovered the Raven purely by accident. They’d stumbled upon the mural and admired it for a moment, patting the painted raven on the head and offering it a quiet hello without any expectation that a door would appear in response to the greeting. Once there, Felix couldn’t help but enter. Certain sayings about curiosity and cats did tend to hold some truth, after all.

They weren’t really sure what they’d expected upon entering the building, but the bar hidden within wasn’t entirely anticipated. It was a nice atmosphere, though, a pleasant vibe. Felix wandered a little further in, taking a seat at the bar next to a woman.

“Have you been here before?” They turned towards her with a friendly smile. “I, um… I’m not really sure what to order?”

—

The atmosphere of the bar that Elora stepped into was dark and almost ethereal. Not usually her aesthetic by any means, but it definitely seemed to fit the mysterious nature of the bar itself. She moved through the dimly lit rows of tables as she tried to navigate to the bar area. While she was a bit hungry, she could also really go for a drink. The people at the assorted tables appeared to be normal, but already knew that they were likely anything but normal. 

As she finally grabbed a seat at the bar, she looked at the menu dumbfoundedly. None of the drinks being served were anything she had ever heard of before. What was worse was that there weren’t even any descriptions of the drinks on the menu anywhere. Asking the bartender was, of course, always an option. But Elora would rather accidentally order a glass of pure olive oil than have to bother the bartender with a perfectly reasonable question. 

As she scrutinized the menu, trying to find a drink that sounded like it resembled anything she was familiar with, she felt somebody sit down just beside her. 

“First time, actually. I have a menu in front of me and I’m not really sure what to order either. Have you ever heard of a ‘black lagoon beach comber’? Or an ‘arcane adonis’?” She inquired, not really sure if they were the type to know much alcohol. “Oh, did you mean food? I haven’t looked at the food items yet, but I am kinda hungry. I hope they’re a little less confusing.”

She then stopped talking, realizing she hadn’t even introduced herself yet. 

“Where are my manners,” she began, extending a hand to the stranger. “I’m Elora, by the way.”

There was some quiet relief in not being the only one who looked lost. Felix knew that they were slower than some people. They knew that they were easily fooled, knew that they tended to fall for just about anything they were told. They’d been called stupid more than once, and they weren’t sure it wasn’t a fair accusation. So in situations like this one, their first assumption was always that they were the thing that was wrong. That everyone else knew exactly what they were doing and what was happening while Felix was the odd man out. It wasn’t a very good feeling.

So the woman next to him sharing in his confusion was nice. It felt good, felt better than being alone. It was nice to have someone explain things to you, but Felix preferred to have someone just as lost as they were figure things out with them instead. It always seemed kinder, somehow.

Letting out a quiet laugh, they shook their head. “Never heard of it, sorry,” they said. “But, um… I bet it’s black, right? So maybe it’s made with some kind of activated charcoal? No idea on the other one, though.” Maybe they could use the themed names to puzzle some things out, but certainly not everything. “The food menu isn’t much more descriptive, though.”

They didn’t even realize they’d jumped into the conversations sans introduction until they were looking down at the stranger — at Elora’s hand. With a sheepish smile, they reached out and gave it a shake. “Felix. Are you, uh… from around here?”

—

It was comforting to Elora to know that she wasn’t completely alone in her confusion. While she had definitely picked up on a few of the town’s secrets, there always seemed to be people who were “in the know” about things she had no clue about. She worried that this place would mostly be comprised of regulars, people who had been here for years and knew every little secret inside and out. She was worried about sticking out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, however, she had met someone who also seemed to be confused by the cryptic menu listings. 

“Very nice to meet you Felix. Maybe we can figure out this menu together,” she said as she turned her attention to the food items. Maybe a drink wouldn’t be a good idea for her first time in this place anyway. “Also, in spite of my lack of accent, I’m actually from the south! Right along the border of South Carolina and Georgia. I only moved here this past summer. How about you?”

“Let’s see… Roasted Squonk? I’m not sure what that would…oh wow I don’t even know if I can pronounce that one, it just looks like a random jumble of letters” she continued as her eyes kept scanning the menu in front of her in confusion. “Hmmm, maybe we should ask the bartender what they recommend?”

Part of her wanted to leave in order to avoid embarrassing herself, but her curiosity had the better of her still. Besides, she couldn’t get up and leave now that somebody was sitting down next to her, it would be incredibly rude after all. 

The idea of having someone to help them unravel the puzzling menu brought with it a sense of relief, because Felix wasn’t particularly good at making the smallest of decisions in the best of circumstances. For the most part, they went to the same restaurants and ate the same meals, and the routine was a comfort. This was pretty far from their comfort zone, and they offered Elora a grateful smile to communicate as much.

“Oh, hey, that’s cool! I’ve, uh… I’ve never been to the south.” They’d never really been much of anywhere, really, but that wasn’t something to discuss with a near-stranger. “I’m from here. From Wicked’s Rest. But, um, I moved away when I was a kid. And then moved back! Obviously. Since I’m here now.” They punctuated the awkward sentence with a quiet laugh, then looked back to the menu.

The idea of roasted squonk made them a little uneasy. They’d freed one from a bear trap once, kept it in their apartment until it was healed enough to release back into the woods. Eating one certainly wasn’t something they had any interest in, so they quickly struck that option from their mind. “Fried aravo? Do you… think it would taste like chicken?”

They continued studying the menu, commenting here and there. They turned towards Elora to comment on the presence of ‘spaghetti and bookwyrms,’ but when they looked back to point the menu item out… it was gone. “Um… I swear it was there. It was right where… that one is now…” Was this menu supposed to be incomprehensibly confusing?

—

While Elora had known some locals who had been in town for a while, it was still always interesting to get to know somebody with such a history here. 

“Oh wow, that’s pretty cool! Have any fun stories from living here? I feel like pretty much everyone else here does at this point.” Since the pair were literally at a magical speakeasy contemplating eating fantasy creatures for dinner, Elora assumed that Felix wouldn’t be very shy to talk about the supernatural. 

“Fried Aravo? Where do you see…” she trailed off as the words on the menu seemed to twist and reform in front of her eyes. She had heard of rotating menus, but was this really an hourly rotation? It was hard enough keeping up with their options as it was! “Whoa…this place is a little-” 

She was suddenly cut off by the gravely voice of the bartender. “Sorry folks, busy night. What can I get ya?” he drawled out. He was a pale man, tall and thin, dressed in an all black three piece velvet suit. 

“Uhhh, well I was actually hoping you could maybe offer some recommendations? My friend and I here are new and…well we have no idea what to order,” she said in response, hoping that the bartender could at least steer them in the right direction. Drinks aside, she was really starting to get hungry! 

Felix let out a nervous laugh, looking down at their hands. “Um, a couple. Depending on your idea of fun, I guess.” Most of their stories felt more… stressful than anything. From all the things that had nearly killed them to the Grit Pit’s vicious grip on their life, they weren’t sure they’d call most of their Wicked’s Rest activities fun. 

By the time they looked back at the menu, the fried aravo had vanished. What was more, the menu seemed to be ‘updating’ in real time. They might have had limited experience when it came to restaurants, but this didn’t exactly seem standard.

The guidance of the bartender was a welcome thing. Felix offered him a relieved smile, nodding along as Elora spoke. “Yeah, we, um… We’re not really sure what’s good? So we’d love to know what you get!”

The bartender studied them both for a moment before nodding his head. “Your food will be out shortly,” he said, then turned away. 

Felix looked back to Elora, blinking owlishly. “Um… what?”

Elora really didn’t know what to make of the bartender’s statement. Had he ordered for them? All she could do was sigh. Maybe this was just part of the experience? Full service dining, so full service that you don’t even have to order for yourself? She just hoped that whatever she was served would at least be edible. She gave up on the idea of finding a decent drink, even though she needed one more now than before she came in. 

“Guess we’re getting a surprise. I just hope it isn’t too…out there, you know?” 

She flashed a nervous smile to Felix. In spite of the very stressful ordering process, Elora still had optimistic excitement that the night would turn out great! If nothing else, it was already shaping up to be a very unique experience, and she loved unique experiences. 

“It’s okay, I’m sure he knows the menu like the back of his hand. Probably just going to get something first timers typically like eating. While we wait, maybe we can people watch a bit? There’s a lot of mysterious looking groups of people sitting at some of the tables, I love coming up with ideas of what their backgrounds could be. You know the best part? Since this place is magic, their background could literally be anything.”

“That guy right there,” she pointed at a man in a charcoal business suit sitting next to a man with longer hair and strange markings tattooed on his arms. “Bodyguard for a powerful spellcaster. The weird thing is… that’s actually probably what his story is! Already a cool background story, and he’s probably the lamest one here! Well, aside from us, that is. Unless you lead a particularly exciting life?” 

“Yeah…” Felix agreed, looking down at the menu again. It had already changed since the last time they’d taken a glance, now boasting boiled ballybogs as the special of the night. (How could something be the special of the night if the menu changed this often? Wouldn’t special of the moment be a more accurate claim?) 

But the restaurant was bustling, and the crowd raised Felix’s hopes that the food they were going to be served would be good. After all, surely this many people wouldn’t be here if the place was bad, would they? Popular menu items were popular for a reason. Felix knew that. And Elora had a point — they kind of had an expert doing the ordering for them.

Glancing in the direction the bartender had disappeared in, Felix nodded hesitantly. “You, um… You don’t have any food allergies, do you? I feel like he should have asked us if we had food allergies. Unless he already knows?” Stranger things had happened in this town, that was for sure. Still, Felix would be pleasantly surprised if they didn’t wind up being served something with enough dairy to make them sick.

People watching seemed like a good distraction, and they offered Elora a small smile and another nod. “That’s true,” they said, noting the way she seemed to accept magic as reality. Did she know about different species? Part of Felix wanted to shift enough to listen for her heartbeat or sniff her out, but it seemed risky… and a little nosy. They didn’t want to be nosy.

“Oh, no, my life, uh… definitely isn’t ‘spellcaster bodyguard’ levels of exciting.” They laughed nervously. “What about yours?” Did she have some hidden secret? If she did, she probably wouldn’t say it here. It wouldn’t be a secret if she did. Scanning the crowd, Felix nodded to an older woman sitting at a table alone. “What about her?”

Felix had raised a good point. The man hadn’t even asked either of them for allergies, just assuming any type of food would be safe. Elora didn’t have any allergies, thankfully, but she had hoped that Felix also didn’t have to worry. 

“Wow, I guess he didn’t. I hope he actually knows and isn’t just guessing. You don’t have any allergies, do you? I don’t have any myself.” 

Elora let out a light laugh at Felix’s comment. “We can’t all lead such exciting lives. Me, I work at a tea shop. Trying to get some sort of footing in the music industry and spinning my wheels for the most part. Nothing out of the ordinary, honestly there’s probably about a million people with my kind of story.” While it was mostly true, she left out her true identity, her powers, and just exactly who it was that she worked for. Not exactly something you spill when it’s your first time meeting someone, she thought.

Elora turned her gaze over to the old woman Felix had pointed out. She seemed very unassuming. Regular street clothes that a woman her age would normally wear, nothing unusual or otherworldly about her appearance at all. Honestly, if she were in any normal human bar she would fit right in. But since she was here, she seemed to stand out more than any of the flashy robes and jewelry of any of the other patrons. 

“This lady likes to keep a low profile,” Elora began, dropping her voice just a bit. “Keep tabs on any business dealings discussed at a nearby table. One party will think the people they’re negotiating with are the ones in charge, when really she’s the one pulling the strings. Of course, with her tucked away like that, nobody will realize it.” 

She was pretty proud of the story she was able to spin on the fly. She also sort of liked the little reality she had made up in her head, whether it was true or not. It was certainly a great way to make the mundane so much more exciting. 

Just then, the gravely voice of the bartender crooned behind them again. 

“Yer food’s here. Enjoy!” he said before laying both plates in front of the pair. In a flash he was gone and Elora and Felix were left to examine their plates of…well Elora wasn’t quite sure yet. She looked to Felix in order to gauge their reaction.

“Milk upsets my stomach,” Felix admitted, almost sheepishly. “But it’s okay! Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal. It doesn’t upset my stomach that badly or anything.” They’d eat whatever the waiter brought them and hope for the best; anything else would be impolite. 

A tea shop sounded nice. Felix couldn’t help but wish that they worked at a tea shop instead of the Grit Pit. They tried to imagine it — employment in a nice, calm store surrounded by pleasant scents and warm machinery instead of the dingy violence of the ring, but it was difficult to do. After all, Felix had been fourteen when they were whisked away from society. The Grit Pit was the first and only experience they had with employment at all. Everything they knew about alternative options was rooted in fiction and daydreams. “Do you like it? The tea shop, I mean. Is it nice?”

The woman they’d pointed out looked ordinary, though Felix wasn’t sure it was true. After all, ordinary in Wicked’s Rest tended to mean something wholly different than what it might represent to the rest of the world. This was a town full of nonhuman entities living human lives. What was ordinary, in that context? Was anything?

They liked Elora’s description. In a way, it reminded them of Natalia, who might fit the description fairly well herself. They scanned the crowd, searching for someone else they might be able to use for the game next. The man in the robe sitting by the window felt too obvious; the old lady muttering to herself at a table in the corner felt cruel. Before Felix could settle on anyone, the waiter returned, placing the plates down on the bar before vanishing again.

Felix studied the food on the plate with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure if there was dairy in it. In fact, Felix wasn’t sure there was anything edible at all on the plate that had been presented to them. It looked like… a tree branch, coated in breading and dropped in the fryer. Something seemed to be moving beneath the fried layer. Felix swallowed, picking up a fork and knife. “Uh, yeah,” they said uncertainly. “Looks… good. Really good. Um, what’d you get?”

Elora was a bit sad to hear Felix was lactose intolerant. She had known several others with the issue, but was thankfully immune from it herself. She could put away milk and cheese at a frankly disturbing rate. “Well,” she began “I sure hope they don’t bring out any dairy. Something tells me anything dairy here wouldn’t be coming from a cow anyway. Maybe you’ll get lucky?” she offered, hoping that Felix’s meal wouldn’t end in a night stuck in the bathroom. She’d had those nights herself, but for different reasons than food. 

Was the tea shop nice? Sure, the front of it was. Now wasn’t really the time to talk about what happened at the back however. “Oh yes, it’s very relaxing actually! It smells amazing in there, you should pop in some time.” Just don’t talk to the owner about making any deals, she thought to herself. 

She then watched as first Felix and then her own plate was set down in front of her. Her meal looked to be…a glowing rock? However, when Elora poked at it, the texture felt more like that of Jell-o. It glowed with a bright purple energy that couldn’t have been the work of food dye. She hesitated a bit before her attention was drawn to Felix’s question. 

“Oh, I got uh…something that hopefully won’t leave me with any sort of curse. Yours looks…” she started, settling in on Felix’s dish which looked to be barely edible. “Firm. Very firm. And somewhat alive, even.” At this point Elora wasn’t sure whether or not that could even be considered a bad thing. Were there worse things to get here? Were these really the “beginner friendly” meals? Or was the bartender pulling some sort of prank on them?

“You know, this definitely makes for a unique experience” she said to Felix, now trying to embrace the novelty of the bar. “It’s not a place you go to regularly every weekend, at least it’s not for me. But despite the…eccentric nature of everyone here, I’m still having a good time. And all the patrons here with their interesting stories and my hopefully edible gem jello will make a memory that I can hopefully keep with me for a while.” 

She then dug her spoon into the strange rock jell-o in front of her and took a bite. It was…surprisingly delicious. It was sweet and flavorful. In fact, she had tasted some flavors that she had never even experienced before. If umami was the fifth flavor, this dish had some sort of sixth and seventh flavor that she’d never known about before. 

“Wow…try yours! Mine’s amazing!”

“That’s probably true!” Given the items they’d seen on the menu, something as mundane as cow’s milk might be entirely impossible to find here. Felix wasn’t sure if they were allergic to things like aravo or snicker-snacker, but they’d probably be fine, right? The jaguar ate all kinds of weird stuff when he was in charge, and Felix never seemed to suffer too much indigestion in the aftermath. (Usually, it was more guilt and horror. They might have preferred the indigestion.) 

They smiled as Elora went on, pleased to hear that she enjoyed her work. “Hey, maybe I will! I like tea.” They liked pretty much any hot drink that wasn’t coffee. That much caffeine tended to make them a little jittery, and they’d prefer not to be that. Plus, the idea of visiting their new friend at work was a nice one.

Nicer, perhaps, than whatever was on their plate. Felix liked to try not to judge books by their cover or plates by their appearance, but this looked… weird. Elora’s didn’t look any less strange. Felix wasn’t sure they’d ever seen food glow like that before. Was it even edible? Would Elora glow when she ate it? There were so many unanswered questions here.

“Yeah, I think… it’ll be, um, interesting!” That was the nicest true assumption he could make before tasting it, wasn’t it? Even if it was bad, it would still be an experience. And… there was something to be said for that. Not everything had to be good. Sometimes, it was enough for a thing to be interesting. 

Elora dug her spoon into the contents of her plate and, inspired by her bravery, Felix used their fork and knife to saw off a bit of his own. He held it up briefly before shoving it into his mouth. It hit their tongue all at once, and they paused. They chewed once. Twice. Three times. It was…  good? Really good, actually. It wasn’t a taste Felix knew how to describe, but they thought it was one of the best things they’d ever tasted.

Nodding as Elora spoke, Felix got a larger bite with their fork. “This is actually awesome,” they agreed. “I, uh… I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would be, but it’s good. Do you want to try a bite of mine?”

“You definitely should!” Elora began, hoping to get more regulars at the tea shop. While there was a very strong staple group of customers who came in regularly, it was nice to see new faces every now and then too. “And what do you do for work? If it’s a shop or something maybe I can pop in for a visit too!”

She shoveled another spoonful of her meal into her mouth while she watched them take the first bite of their own meal. The expression on their face told her everything she needed to know. 

“Good, right? Maybe I was a little quick to write this place off. The chefs back there know what they’re doing!”

She listened as Felix offered her a bite of their food, and Elora swallowed hard reminding herself not to be put off by the way it looked. She pushed her plate over to Felix so they could also try a bite of her food as well. Simultaneously, the pair took a bite of each other’s food, and once again they gave the same amazed expression. 

“This is…I have no idea what this is. And to be honest, I think I’m better off not knowing. But I may have to come around here more often if everything on the menu is this good!” She then went back to finishing up her own meal, already down to a few bites left. In spite of this, Elora felt very full, like after a Thanksgiving dinner.  “I’d love to try a drink, but it’s already getting kinda late. I should probably head back home after this, and I don’t want to order anything that’s going to make me feel a lot more than tipsy,” she said with a giggle. “How about you? Any exciting plans for the rest of the night?” 

It was natural, of course, for the question to be turned around on Felix. That was what small talk was, wasn’t it? One person shared some small detail about their life, then they asked the other person to do the same. But work wasn’t something Felix liked to talk about so long as they could help it, and they shifted with discomfort at the question. “I, um, work at a gym.” It was a familiar lie, one they tended to give anyone who asked. As was its followup: “But it’s not really the kind of place people can visit.” 

They didn’t like people to know what they did, much less people like Elora, who they found cool and interesting. And people like Elora, who they found cool and interesting, weren’t the sort who’d enjoy a night at the Grit Pit, anyway. It catered to a pretty specific audience.

The food was a welcome distraction from the conversation, which was a little funny. Felix had been expecting the opposite — for easy conversation to make bad food go down a little easier. But life was unpredictable, they supposed; sometimes, food that looked inedible was actually one of the best things you’d ever tasted. 

“Really good,” they agreed with a grin, taking a bit of her food as it was offered to them. Like the food on his own plate, Elora’s was far better than it looked on the outside, even if the taste wasn’t one Felix quite knew how to describe. It was like nothing they’d ever eaten before, and they had very little to compare it to. 

Swallowing the bite in their mouth, they nodded along. “I guess the downside is that I’d have no idea how to order it again if I came back,” they admitted with a laugh. The waiter had given no indication as to what either dish was called and, even if he had, Felix was sure the menu wouldn’t include it the next time they looked at it. The menu items didn’t seem to stay in place for very long at all. “Yeah, I might have to come back another day to try the drinks.” There was really no telling how alcoholic the drinks might be; Felix wasn’t sure tonight was the night to find out. “Oh, I have work later. I, um, work nights a lot. So I definitely can’t have a drink.” The higher ups at the Pit didn’t tend to care whether the fighters were sober or not, but Felix would rather not try to fight drunk. “Maybe we could come back sometime, though?”

“Oh! A gym?” Elora said nodding her head thoughtfully. She supposed they seemed like the type. She had never really been a fan of gym bros, but this one at least seemed pretty down to earth. “Why can’t people visit? Some sort of underground members only type of place like this little speakeasy here?” 

Elora looked down at Felix’s plate, pleased to see they seemed to be devouring it all down similarly to how she had inhaled her own food. 

“That’s really good! I’m glad you liked your food too. This place seemed like it could be hit or miss, but I guess they never miss, huh?” she said, now taking a peek at the food the other patrons had. It was largely unidentifiable, but they all seemed to be enjoying their food regardless. 

She took a moment to process what Felix had said about not being able to reorder the food. She supposed they were right, although she figured she could order the “glowing rock jello” again and the staff would probably know what she was talking about. Then again, for all she knew, there could 7 different kinds of glowing rock jello rotating on the menu. 

“Oh you work nights at the gym? Makes sense, must be one of those 24 hour ones. Do a lot of people actually come work out at, like, 2 am? Seems like an ungodly hour, but people run all sorts of schedules here.” A 2am workout circuit didn’t seem too far-fetched to her, she just hadn’t had a full conversation with someone who worked night shifts before. She thought they were all pale and sleep deprived, but this one looked downright human. 

“I’d love to come back some time, for sure! This place is definitely on my radar. It was also great meeting you tonight Felix. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up finding your super secret gym some day and drop in on you at work.” 

“Yeah,” Felix confirmed, feeling a little guilty at the lie. It wasn’t like they didn’t want to be honest with people, but… their contract prevented them from saying too much, and people got a little frustrated when you couldn’t answer many questions. And, on another level… there was no small amount of shame there, too. They didn’t like what they did, and they didn’t like for people to know about it. People would think less of them if they did. How could they not? It was shameful. “It’s, um… Yeah. It’s pretty exclusive.” Another lie, though this one was better than the truth. No one should go to the Grit Pit, Felix thought. Especially not someone as nice as Elora.

She was right about the food, too. The menu seemed risky in a way, like the kind of thing that could easily go terribly wrong, but the food was good. And it seemed they weren’t the only ones who thought so – the rest of the patrons seemed to be enjoying their meals, too. Felix wondered how many of them had ordered themselves and how many, like Elora and Felix, had needed the waiter to pitch in with an assist. 

“Something like that, yeah,” Felix chuckled nervously, trying to figure out how to explain the situation without outright lying, but without telling the whole truth, either. It wasn’t a line they particularly enjoyed walking, though it was one they had to balance fairly often these days. “People in this town definitely have, uh… unique schedules.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie. Felix knew some of their coworkers preferred the late nights at the Grit Pit, given their more nocturnal nature.

They let out another nervous chuckle as she mentioned ‘finding’ their secret gym, unease settling low in their gut. Please don’t, they wanted to say, but it would be giving too much away. So they only shrugged instead, offered a smile that was a little forced. “I’d much rather hang out when I’m, um… off the clock. Do more things like this!”

Elora cocked her head to the side a bit as she listened to Felix’s explanation of where they worked. They were being a bit dodgy, and Elora could definitely sense that. Still, however, she knew it wasn’t her place to pry. Often, when people intended to keep secrets, they did so with very good reason. 

“Well, maybe one day I’ll be cool enough. Unless it’s like some strong man type of thing, then I’ll never get in,” she said, offering a weak flex of her bicep and pointing to it before putting her arm back down. 

“But yes, we should absolutely do more fun things like this! Here, I’ll put my number in your phone. Hit me up if you ever want to go out again! Would you mind if I ever brought my girlfriend along? She’s super sweet, and usually loves these kinds of things. No pressure of course, I know meeting new people can be a little bit much sometimes.” She certainly didn’t to make Felix uncomfortable by essentially making them a third wheel for things, but she was excited to make a new friend and wanted them to meet the important people in their life. Plus, it was generally better for her partner to know the people she was hanging out with at the very least. 

“And with that, I should probably head out. It was really nice meeting you, have a great night! Don’t work yourself too hard.”

There was a rush of relief as she seemed content to drop the subject, and Felix offered a weak smile in gratitude. “Nothing like that, no.” They didn’t add that they hoped she’d never be ‘cool enough’ to catch the Grit Pit’s attention, though the thought was there. Elora seemed kind, and kind people had no place in the Grit Pit.

Things like this certainly seemed far more agreeable, anyway. Felix had more friends now than they used to, but you could never have too many, could you? “Hey, no, of course she could come along. The more the, uh, merrier, right?” Maybe Mona would want to tag along sometimes, too, or Natalia. They didn’t think Anita would be interested — she seemed more content to do her own thing — but Teagan might. It was funny; Felix never imagined they’d have so many people to choose from when it came to inviting a person to hang out. 

“It was nice meeting you, too, Elora! We should definitely do it again sometime.”

[singdreamchild]

Playing House || Cassius & Elora

TIMING: During Goo PARTIES: Cassius (@singdreamchild) & Elora (@contemporarybardess) SUMMARY: Elora wants to visit the creepy house. Cassius tags along because he's got a bad feeling. Turns out, he should have listened to that gut feeling.

To say that Cassius was disappointed that Elora didn’t forget their excursion was an understatement. She had messaged him a few days ago to finalize their plans to meet in front of the abandoned haunted house in the dead of night. Everything in Cassius screamed about how bad of an idea this was, but he felt it was too late to back out. He had brought a pack of things with him, just in case. A flashlight, a portable phone charger (one never knew when one needed a phone charger these days), and a lighter. Why the lighter? Who knew? He just felt that sometimes fire could be handy in a pinch. He sat in his Lexus after Elora had pulled up, and he just stared at the steering wheel forlornly until the woman knocked on the driver’s side window. Right, definitely no getting out of this. Giving one final sigh, Cassius grabbed his bag and then stepped out the door to his car. 

“Well, I showed up,” he announced after locking the door to his car, giving a smile that was more of a grimace, really. He really wished that the whole ‘I’m sick, I can’t come’ excuse would have worked on her. It wouldn’t have, seeing as she already knew he was a member of the walking dead. He looked down at the woman, giving her a weary look before casting his gaze over at the house. “No way to talk you out of this?” He asked her, taking in the house. 

It was an old house, a colonial revival to be precise. The white citing on the house was cracked and peeling off in places, and the covered porch was leaning to one side. The windows were, somehow, still intact. The vampire’s shoulders sagged as he realized he was really going to do this. He was really hoping there was a way to talk her out of this. He gripped the shoulder of his satchel, making a face as he stared at the grand home. Dammit, Elora.

Navigating around the goo to make it out of her ratty apartment wasn’t an easy task for Elora, but she’d never let a little deadly sludge get in the way between her and a good time. She wasn’t as spry as she once was, but she was an expert “The Floor is Lava” player back in the day. Now, here she was, approaching the allegedly sentient house. A sense of dread came over Elora before swiftly being replaced with anticipation. This was going to be a blast. For her part, she had packed lightly: a change of clothes, some snacks, and a 64 ounce jug of water. She found the motivational words written along the jug, such as “10am- keep it up!”, to be charming if not wholly ineffective. Most days she barely finished half of it. 

As she approached the only vehicle parked in front, assuming it to belong to Cassius, she noticed it was a rather nice looking Lexus. Fancy car for a teacher’s salary, she noted to herself. She came closer to the window and noticed Cassius looked as though he really didn’t want to be there. Ah well, she’d parkoured her way across rooftops to be here. No way she was going to have her fun spoiled now. 

“Thank you for coming willingly so I didn’t have to drag you out of your crypt. Don’t think I don’t know where you live,” she said teasingly. “No way I’m being talked out of this now. What else will I do tonight? Wade back through the goo so I can sit in my apartment all night? Not a chance, buddy.”

The house itself looked gorgeous. An old colonial style. Can’t beat an old classic, that’s for sure. Time definitely looked as though it had run its course on certain areas of the house, but so far it at least seemed to be structurally intact. Sensing hesitation from her partner in crime, she forged ahead and quickly approached the front entrance of the house. As she came closer, the front doors of the building opened up on their own, seemingly inviting them both inside. 

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Elora shouted “Let’s go Cassius! It’s being polite by holding the door for us and everything!” before rushing inside. 

Cassius’s eyes bugged out when she mentioned he lived in a crypt. How could she possibly…? No, she had to be joking with him. “Ha bloody ha.” He spoke in a monotone voice, shaking his head. Of course, there was the part of him begging her to change her mind. He wanted nothing more than to return to his hotel room and read another book, grade some homework, and lesson plan until the sun came back. 

He groaned as the door opened on its own, throwing his head back and questioning to whoever was out there why this was his fate. Of course, the fucking creepy old house’s door was opening on its fucking own. Of course, Cassius was going to die in there. It was inevitable. And there went Elora, running toward the house as if it was a fucking amusement park ride that she had been waiting to go on for years. He stifled another groan as he trudged forward, dragging his feet like a little kid being told to do their housework. 

“Being polite and ushering in its latest victims, more like it!” Cassius called back, brows knitting together in worry. He stopped at the doorway's threshold, half-expecting that he wouldn’t be allowed to cross the threshold. He frowned, staring down at the bottom of the door frame, then up at Elora. He took a deep breath, and… he walked through. Nothing happened. It was as if whoever owned this house wanted him to come in and join them.

The house inside was eerie. The furniture was covered in white sheets, and the wallpaper was weathered and old. Time had not been kind to its interior, and the cobwebs in corners of the room, scratches in the floor, and exposed pieces of furniture echoed that sentiment. The door closed behind him, and Cassius turned back to look at it, brows knit together in worry. “You sure you want to do this?” He asked one last time, looking back into the entryway. A mirror was mounted on the wall, and a crack was running through it. In the reflection, it was just Elora. Cassius was nowhere to be seen. “Stupid mirrors,” he muttered to himself.

The house definitely looked as though nobody had lived there for about 100 years. Elora considered this to be ideal conditions to up the creepy factor. She delighted when she heard the door slam behind them, knowing that Cassius was a bit far away from the threshold to have closed it himself. His spooked expression supported this assumption. 

“Well close the door behind you next time, what were you raised in a barn?”, she teased. She considered it ironic since she was the one raised, more or less, in the wild.

She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised when Cassius’s reflection didn’t join her own, but it still caught her a bit off guard. Hearing about his vampirism was one thing, having a visual confirmation of it was something else entirely. She wondered what he would do if she told him he had something in his teeth. It wasn’t like he had any way to check, it would probably keep him busy for a little while. 

She moved from the entryway into the foyer area, and immediately a record player on a side table scratched to life, almost as if waiting for her to enter. It was a very grainy and static-filled rendition of Toreador’s March from Carmen. She felt as though it should have offered a glimpse into the level of refinement from the home’s glory days, but it only succeeded in making her even more uneasy. 

Seeing as this was her idea, she didn’t want to let Cassius find out about her nerves, so she simply cast a cautious smile back at him. “Gotta love a little ambiance, right?”

“I was hoping to keep it open in case I wanted to make a run for it,” Cassius muttered to himself, looking back at the closed door with a forlorn expression. Well, no turning back now, was there? He took a few steps forward, taking a deep breath as he took in the state of the house. It wasn’t that bad, was it? He continued to look in the mirror, his hand pressing against the glass that didn’t share his reflection. It was annoying, not knowing if he looked presentable, having to use a phone camera for every little thing. Fixing his hair? Phone camera. Putting on makeup? Phone camera. It was awful. 

Cassius froze as the record began to play on its own. Of course, it was bloody Carmen. He rolled his eyes, already getting a little tired of the house’s games. He wasn’t spooked, he was annoyed. Taking another step forward, he watched as another door flung itself open down the hall. He looked over to Elora, making a face at her. “Oh yeah, the ambiance is great.” He replied in annoyance before turning his attention to the door that flung itself open. He took a careful step forward, then another. Nothing happened, so he continued walking down the hall. As he stepped into the room, his eyes grew wide. A giant feast was prepared in the dining room. A roast turkey, several different sides, glasses of wine. “You’ve… got to see this.” He called over to her, stepping into the room fully. He put a hand out, half expecting the food on the table to vanish, but it didn’t.

The house had certainly made Elora and Cassius feel at home, but she worried that this was simply to lull them into a false sense of security. After all, what did it gain from pampering its guests? If there was any evil here, the house certainly wasn’t being heavy handed about it. Still, they had to be careful. She knew the moment either of them let down their guard would be the moment that- 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Cassius calling out to her from the dining room. Suddenly the aroma of well seasoned turkey, stuffing, and cranberries filled her nose. It was like an early Thanksgiving dinner prepared by the house itself, very enticing but also very suspicious. She quickly made her way to the dining room and looked at the exorbitant array of food laid out before them. It was enough to feed 10 people, easily. And yet, there were only two of them there. Surely the ghost house hadn’t slaved away expecting more people? 

“It’d probably be rude not to eat the meal…just be cautious.” She spoke to Cassius but didn’t take her eyes off of the table. She didn’t want to offend the house, since she didn’t know what it would do to them now that they were within its walls. She figured the food must be a form of luring them into a false sense of security, but likely wasn’t dangerous itself. 

Reluctantly, she sat down at the table, and patted the seat next to her, beckoning Cassius to join her at the table. 

Not one to eat enchanted food, Cassius didn’t make a move to sit down. Instead, he stood in the doorway, uncertainty plain in his eyes. The chair beside Elora pushed itself out of its own accord as if telling him to sit. The vampire’s brows knitted together but knew he didn’t want to see the repercussions if he didn’t do what the house wanted him to do. He walked over to the chair and then sat on the pushed-out chair. Without skipping a beat, the chair pushed itself in, and the napkin sat on his lap. It was as if an invisible butler were serving him. He hated it. He wanted to run out of this house and never go back. But there he was, stuck in a haunted, enchanted house with nowhere to go.

He looked at Elora, watching as she hesitantly reached out for the food. “This surely has something in it, right?” He whispered to her, worry clear on his face. He didn’t really need to eat, but he felt like, in this scenario, it would be seen as extremely rude not to. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath before picking up the mashed potatoes and plopping them onto the plate with the serving spoon. His posture was rigid as if he were ready to bolt out of there at any second. “Whatever you eat, be careful.” He warned her, staring down at his plate. He wouldn’t take anything else. He didn’t even want to eat what he had taken. 

Slowly, he reached for the fork, gripping it like he was about to use it as a weapon. He looked to Elora, waiting to take a bite of food when she did. If they were in this, they were in it together. The second the food hit his tongue, his entire demeanor shifted. “Heavens,” an overly English voice came from Cassius. “I forgot to tidy my study!” He declared, shoving himself out of the seat and heading toward the office at the end of the hall. It wasn’t that he was a visitor here, he belonged here. He always had. This was his house.

The food certainly smelled delicious, and she watched Cassius to see if he was going to eat the food. When it appeared that he was going to, she picked up a fork full of mashed potatoes, and held them in front of her face. 

“Down the hatch,” she said, as she moved the fork to her mouth. As soon as she felt the food hit her mouth, something changed drastically. Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. For one thing, the house was a proper mess! Dust everywhere, dishes laid out all over in the kitchen. Where was the help? Was the lady of the house really expected to maintain such an expansive home all by herself? 

“My word…” she uttered out in an exaggerated southern belle accent. “I’m glad the chef is doing their job right, but what are the maids doing? I can’t possibly sit down and enjoy this meal with the house looking like such a disaster! What if the mayor comes ‘round to visit?” 

She quickly stood up as she noticed her husband also rising to tidy his study. 

“Make sure the foyer is tidied up while you’re at it, hun. Honestly, I don’t know what is wrong with the help lately. I’m goin’ to grab the ol’ feather duster.” 

A distant part of Cassius’s brain was terrified, realizing that he was stuck in his own body with no way to control it. It was as if he were possessed by something, and there was not a thing he could do about it. “The maids have always been slacking in their duties,” he grumbled as he threw his napkin onto the table and walked off to the foyer. That part of him that was still him was screaming, trying to regain control. “A right disaster,” he grumbled as he walked into the kitchen and pulled a dust rag from under the sink. 

For a brief moment, Cassius regained control. “What the fuck?” He wondered aloud, brows pulling together in worry before his posture went straighter, and held his head high, concern melting into snobbishness. He walked into the study, and it was as if the house came to life before him. The dull color of the walls went from a dusty grey to a vibrant green wallpaper. The desk in the center of the room went from scratched and covered in papers to polished and tidied. 

The part of him that was still fighting stumbled backward. “This isn’t right.” He muttered, walking out of the room and heading down the hall. “Elora!” He called out before he snapped back into the snobbish Brit that the house was forcing him to perform as. “I do think that food was a touch tainted if I’m behaving out of place,” he muttered, looking down at his clothes and guffawing. “What in the bloody hell am I wearing?” He exclaimed, looking up to Elora. What the bloody hell are you wearing? Pants?” He shook his head. “There simply must be something to change into with us looking so very untoward.” He spoke before turning and heading for the staircase to change out of such horrific clothes.

In her frenzied dusting, Elora hadn’t even noticed that she had felt out of sorts to an extent. Now that her husband had mentioned it, however, she couldn’t help but acknowledge she felt a bit… peculiar. Although she couldn’t quite place her finger on what felt wrong exactly. Her true self was fighting internally to regain control, and briefly Elora breathed sharply before throwing down the feather duster and trying to get the hell out of that house. Mid stride, however, her newfound debutante persona took over her body once again. 

“Good heavens! Pants! I didn’t even know either of us owned a pair of denim jeans! Those are for the factory workers. And why are there holes in them?! You can see my knee caps for heaven’s sake!” She crossed her legs in front of each other, trying to cover the exposed skin. “Well I’m relieved it’s just the two of us here right now. I’ll need to change into something more becoming before somebody sees me.” 

She then gave Cassius a once over, before continuing. “You put on one of your good suits hun. I’m not sure what you’re doing wearing all of that dreary dark clothing. And have you been going through my jewelry box? Can’t say I’ve ever seen a man so…accessorized” she shook her head once again. “Let’s get presentable, shall we?” 

As her husband worked feverishly to find a good suit to change into, she found one of her nicest ball gowns and quickly changed into it. She stood behind the privacy screen in the room, of course, so as not to tempt her husband with impure thoughts at an inappropriate time. 

“I don’t know what’s happening to us Ca--” her accent had dropped and she had begun to speak Cassius’s name before her voice caught in her throat entirely. “Darling. “ she finished her sentence, in that same damn southern belle act. What was really going on? Elora continued to come in and out of her senses with no real understanding of why other than the house was fucking with them somehow. The question wasn’t how, but why it wanted her and Cassius to play act in this way. Was it just for amusement? 

“Not for suitable company,” Cassius spoke, nose upturned at the very idea that the two would dress in such heinous ways. As they walked up the stairs and into the bedroom, he had another moment of clarity. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t right! He froze in the middle of the hall, wide-eyed. He tried to move backward, but it was like wading through mud. The house fought back, and suddenly he was propelled forward and into the bedroom where his suits were. 

Cassius’s hands were moving on their own accord as they plucked out a checkered red and black suit. Part of him was relieved that at least the house hadn’t forced him to wear the tan suit. He wouldn’t be caught dead in a tan suit. At least this one had black in it. He continued to struggle against the control the house had put on him, wracking his mind to figure out why he was being forced into such an act. 

Curious, he opened his mouth to speak. “My name is–” his voice stopped. He couldn’t say his name. Elora couldn’t say his name. He closed his eyes and raised his head upward, fed up and trying to find a way to get the house to let them be themselves without being forced into such strange roles. “We’ll play your game, but don’t… don’t possess us or whatever it is you’re trying to do!” He called out to the house, blue eyes searching and frantic at nothing in particular. The house made no response, but he found that his movements were, at least, his own again. “I think it gave us control back.” He looked down at the ridiculous suit, frowning. “But I think it wants us to play along with it.” The door to the bedroom that had been flung shut when it pushed Cassius into the room had opened as if it were agreeing with what he said. 

He took a careful step forward, and there was no resistance. “Alright.” He spoke slowly, brows furrowed as he took another step forward. So far, so good. “Let’s… see what happens.” He muttered, looking back at Elora once before walking into the hall. All the doors to the upstairs were shut. “Guess it wants us to go back down.” He spoke and made his way to the stairs. Still no resistance.

As he walked down the large staircase, music began to play from the parlor room. “You want us to… dance?” He asked, feeling a tad silly to be talking to a house. But it could understand him, somehow. The music shut off. “No, not dance.” He corrected, and the music played again. He thought back to what the house had forced them to do in the first place. “You want us to clean that room?” He asked, brows raising as the music grew louder. That was exactly what the house wanted from them. “You could have just asked,” he grumbled as he looked toward Elora with a raised brow. Were they doing this?

It wasn’t long after Cassius spoke to the house that Elora felt her senses fully come back to her as she regained control of her body. She looked down, more than a bit disgusted to find herself wearing a frilly ball gown. It was, in her opinion, an ugly cream colored number with gaudy pearls sewn into the upper chest area of the gown. The bottom poofed out unnaturally to the point where it was difficult for her to walk without knocking things over. Was she really expected to spend the rest of the night in this? 

“Before you come after me with ‘I told you so’s… I may have made a bad call wanting to come here”, she whispered to Cassius as they made their way downstairs. 

“Does it just want a maid service? It could prepare all that food but some dusting and scrubbing the floors is outside of its ability?” 

The house rumbled at the comment, shaking the walls, seeming to communicate anger at Elora’s question. 

“I was just asking…” she muttered, sheepishly. The last thing she needed was to have the house cave in on top of them purely out of spite. “Right, well. Let’s get started then”. She got to work dusting off furniture. She didn’t know how long the house had laid empty, but it seemed as though over a century of dust had built up. She had to marvel at how the house was even still standing with no upkeep over so much time. 

“It’s a shame this house is from before the invention of the vacuum cleaner. These floors are going to take forever to clean” she said, wiping sweat from her brow. They had only just begun to clean, but already she could feel herself start to overheat. A fancy ball gown wasn’t exactly the attire to be doing housework in.

Cassius couldn’t help but think that something would happen to them if he didn’t follow the house’s rules. Something they couldn’t walk away from. The house wasn’t being courteous to them. The house was making them play some twisted game of house that children would play for their amusement. This house was playing with them like dolls. As Elora pleaded for him not to say, ‘I told you so,’ Cassius shot her a pointed glare. “I knew what I was getting myself into.” He confessed, knowing that something was going to happen here. He didn’t want her to go at it alone, for whatever reason. He was an idiot. That’s what he was. 

As he stared at the dirtied room, Cassius couldn’t help but wonder why the house wanted the room clean. Surely, it could do it by itself. No, there was an ulterior motive here that he didn’t understand or want to. Carefully, he picked up a conveniently placed duster and began to dust the furniture. “Something’s not right,” he whispered toward Elora through gritted teeth. “Why would it want us to clean a room it could clean itself? Why play the part of previous tenants?” He kept dusting, not wanting to upset the house. Could the house be upset? He wasn’t about to find out.

He felt ridiculous in the suit he was in. He felt ridiculous with the feather duster in his hand. He felt stupid for setting foot into the house. Why did he care what happened to this woman? He was a vampire and should start acting like it. But he wasn’t. He was the most human vampire that probably existed. Too much moral compass or something like that. He sighed, frustrated. “We’re going to die in this bloody house.” He complained under his breath, and the house seemed to shudder in response. It made him freeze. The house had agreed with him, hadn’t it?

The question that Elora heard Cassius ask was certainly a logical one, however she had learned not to question the motives of most things in this town. After all, most of the time the reasoning boiled down to “just because” or “the universe hates you”. But she had to admit that having them play act as some Victorian era aristocratic married couple goes beyond the normal flavor of weirdness this town usually presented. 

“Maybe this is the house’s way of having us pay it back for the food it served us? Maybe once everything is ship shape it’ll let us go!” she said hopefully, knowing fully well that this probably wouldn’t be the case. 

“Y’know, I know it goes against your entire aesthetic, but a suit actually doesn’t look too bad on you. I, on the other hand, feel like I look ridiculous in this big puffy thing” she said, gesturing to her dress. 

When she felt the house settle in agreement to Cassius’s statement about dying in that house, Elora felt her blood run cold. The house was the predator and they were the prey, weren’t they? 

“Is this house going to work us to death?” She whispered to Cassius, hoping the house couldn’t hear. “Because if so we need to make a plan to get out, and fast. I don’t care if it kills us. I’d rather die trying to escape than die more slowly rotting away in here”. 

Cassius puffed out a breath at Elora’s compliment. “I feel ridiculous. I feel not me.” He stared down at the shoes, making a face. “Definitely not me.” He muttered before looking at Elora’s dress. “I mean…” he tried to find something nice to say about it, but the house had really done her a disservice. “No, I’m sorry. It is really puffy and ridiculous, isn’t it?” He couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at the sight of her in the giant dress. The house slammed its doors at his laugh, which caused Cassius to stand up straighter. “Right, getting to work.” He told the house as he kept scrubbing. 

“I know we do, but I don’t… I don’t know!” He pulled his phone out, no signal. “No signal.” Cassius muttered, “Of bloody course, there’s no signal.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket before the house could get mad at him for slacking off again. “What we need to do is conserve our energy. If the house allows us to sleep, I’ll stay awake. I’m already dead. I don’t need the sleep.” He wiped off the bookshelf, looking around the house. “It’ll be rough, but we’ll figure it out.” He looked around the room, afraid the house was listening to their every word. 

He thought about how this would be the second time that Cassius didn’t show up to a date with Lukas and subsequently freaking him out. “I need to send a text.” He grumbled, pulling his phone out again. He opened his messages to Lukas and typed out a message. “Stuck in stupid house. Don’t know when I’ll get out—working on it.” It was short and cryptic, but it would work for now. He walked around the house, and when he finally got a signal, he sent the message. 

Cassius returned to the parlor with a heavy sigh and returned to his dusting. “Do you have any ideas?” He asked Elora with a raised brow. Since you got us into this mess, he didn’t say but very much wanted to say. “Let’s just keep our heads low for now. If we find an out, we take it.” He whispered toward her, afraid that the house would be listening. 

So that was their plan. Do as little as possible while making the house believe they were cooperating until they could figure out a better plan. Operation Survive the Night was a go.

[contemporarybardess]

Exodus || Elora Solo

Parties: @contemporarybardess

Timing: Current

Location: Elora's Home

Triggers: Gun Use tw

Summary: Elora's quiet evening to herself is interrupted.

In spite of experiencing more than her own fair share of trauma and loss, Elora Spiros always figured she had a pretty good head on her shoulders in spite of it all. Why, then, did she have this recent sense of paranoia? Every time she stepped out of her house for any minor thing, she always felt an extra pair of eyes watching her. It had been this way for the past two weeks. In spite of this, she had never found anybody near her home. Ginger, her 200 pound hellhound she had managed to domesticate into a pet, would stare into the distance and growl, but never broke into pursuit of whatever it sensed. 

Tonight was her first night of relative calm, and she decided to enjoy it by staying in and making herself a nice cup of tea. She put some music on and poured herself a cup before huddling in front of her laptop and putting on a movie. She settled on a cheesy romantic comedy, a pretty bad one at that, in order to help further lighten the mood a little. Just as she settled in, Ginger nudged her leg with her nose, indicating she wanted to be let out. 

With a soft sigh, Elora paused the movie and sauntered over to the back door. “Be quick, Gingy, I just have to see how it ends” Elora said sarcastically before watching the beast run outside. She always wondered if she should ever try her hand at filmmaking, after all, it’s not like she could do a much worse job than some of the stuff she saw getting pumped out.

Suddenly, a deep booming bark echoed through her house, reverberating inside her chest. “I swear Gingy if it’s another rabbit…” Elora trailed off, walking outside to where she heard her dog barking. She could see her nose pointed towards a darkened area of the woods behind her house, her deep growl still sending vibrations through her body. Suddenly, that feeling of dread had returned. The pit in her stomach grew to a size larger than it had ever been before, and Elora suddenly found her hands shaking. For what felt like an eternity, the silence was only underscored by Ginger’s low growling. 

Then, the silence was suddenly broken when a shot rang out. Then another. And then another. Elora felt an intense burning sensation in her right shoulder and knew she had been hit. She didn’t have time to worry about the wound now, she needed to get herself and Ginger back in the house. If she could barricade them and buy time for the police to show up, they could finally know some peace while the crazy person gets locked up. 

She had almost made to the doorway of her home, when suddenly her heart sank. Standing in the doorway was a tall man dressed in leathers, carrying various knives and firearms. Another shot rang out from the distance, landing about 5 inches to the left of Elora’s left foot. 

“Hold your fire ye damn idiot, can’t ya see I’m standing right here?!” The man in the doorway yelled into the distance. Clearly, the two men were in cahoots. An organized attack from people this well armed and coordinated could only mean one thing. These weren’t just random murderers, they were hunters. And she was meant to be the prey, of course. 

“Whaddowe have here? I was expecting the sole survivor of the Red Waters Massacre to put up more of a fight than this.” 

How did they know about that? The massacre, while still fresh in Elora’s mind, had happened years ago. While she was certain the massacre was popular in hunters’ circles, she wouldn’t think that any would go so far as to track her down all this way unless they felt they had unfinished business with her in particular. But the only person that would fit that description would be…no.

She refocused her mind. This could not be happening. Not now, not after everything she had fought for to earn herself a normal life in this town. She tried to sneak in a punch to the gut on the man standing at her door while his guard was down, but he quickly blocked that attack and grabbed hard onto her arm. He then swung her around until she stumbled and fell onto her kitchen floor. 

While Elora was on the ground, Ginger leapt into action, pouncing on the man. With a few swift kicks, the man was able to subdue Ginger for the time being, but not before she got in several deep bites on the man. 

“Fuckin’ beast. It’s one thing to be a monster yourself, but at least you look human. And here you are playing mother to some abomination. I’d gut you like a fish right here and now, but he wants us to leave you alive.” 

He. She knew fully well who “he” was. If he really knew where she was, then everyone she was close with here was also in danger. It didn’t matter if they were fae, undead, or human. This band of hunters wouldn’t discriminate if it meant hurting her. Hurting her for daring to defy their will and surviving. 

“I s’pose it doesn’t mean I can’t take a couple fingers as souvenirs? After all, you don’t need those to live.” The hunter said, now moving his dirty bearded face close to Elora’s. His breath smelled of cheap bourbon. She heard the other man enter the house; followed immediately by the sound of him screaming and Ginger growling savagely. 

Her tall assailant got up to watch as his partner was being mauled by Ginger, now back and ready to fight. As he moved to aid his friend, Elora mustered up enough strength to sweep his leg, causing the man to trip. With a sickening crunching sound, Ginger snapped the gunmen’s neck and haphazardly tossed his body back outside. 

Still on the ground, the taller assailant reached for his own pistol and aimed it at Ginger. Elora quickly grabbed the man’s hand and wrestled with the gun for a while, before it became dislodged from both of their grasps and skidded across the floor. Elora noticed a familiar glow starting within Ginger’s stomach. She allowed the man to dive for the gun, giving her distance from the man. As the man finally secured his pistol and staggered back to his feet, a brilliant flash of light erupted from Ginger’s mouth, and the man was unceremoniously set ablaze. 

The man’s screams died down quickly as his body crumpled to the ground. Not wanting to waste any time, Elora quickly worked to extinguish the blaze so the entire estate didn’t burn down. Miraculously, she was able to contain the fire well and only ended up with some charred cabinetry and melted tiles. 

She didn’t know what to do with the bodies. She didn’t care at that point. Jake wouldn’t stop sending men after her until he could get whatever revenge he wanted on her. And he would hurt anybody he needed to in order to make Elora give in. There was only one way to truly stop this. 

Hunt down Jake before she gets hunted down herself. 

There were, of course, some caveats to this plan. Mainly that she had no idea where Jake actually was and that, if she did find him, she’d be hopelessly outgunned. In spite of this, it was the only way to keep herself and the people she loved safe. She would have to leave town. And she knew there was a good chance she’d never make it back. But if it meant that, at the end of it all, she would achieve a life of peace, it would be worth the temporary sacrifices. 

Elora grabbed a bag and packed whatever essentials she could find. She called Ginger to her side and walked out the front door with her.

She had some goodbyes she needed to make.

[contemporarybardess]

Is it, uh, normal for a rabbit to chew through concrete?

The answer is no, right?

[contemporarybardess]

Escape From The Spooky Ghost House || Elora, Cassius & Lil

Timing: 2 days after the events of Playing House

Parties: @singdreamchild @contemporarybardess @the-lil-exorcist

Location: The Haunted House

Triggers: None!

Summary: Cassius and Elora are desperate to escape the sentient house, Lil has a plan.

Elora wasn’t too pleased with him when she realized Cassius knew someone to get them out of their situation. After all, two days had passed. Two days, and they had resorted to turning their phones off to conserve their little battery, only using the portable charger when absolutely necessary. The service in the house was spotty, and it was hard to get a signal if they ever got one. They were getting along as two people trapped together in unideal circumstances could. Though the vampire’s hunger was starting to become known, he could ignore it long enough until they got out of there.

That’s right, It had been two whole days since they got trapped in the nightmare house. To say Cassius was antsy would have been the understatement of the century. Thankfully, he hadn’t missed any work yet, but he would lose his mind if he didn’t leave there soon. The house was teasing him. Any way that he would use to blow off steam and relax was being used against him. He went to grab a book from the parlor, and it jumped to another location on the shelf. He went for a different book, and that one jumped, too. He would go to write something down in his journal that he had packed in his satchel, and the pen exploded in his hand. He was so close to screaming that he couldn’t keep his head straight. Elora sat at the other end of the parlor, banging her head against the wall. The excitement of the place had long since faded for the both of them. 

After Cassius had sent his location to Lil, his phone had died, and the last of the battery pack he had brought with him died with it. He didn’t even know if she had gotten the message or if his location had even been sent. He had to hold out to hope that it had gone through. He still remembered the burning fear that had gone through him as his phone died right after he sent his location. He hadn’t even dared to look at Elora for her reaction. He looked over to Elora. The house had been doing its best to keep her awake right when she was on the brink of sleep.  He had tried sleeping to pass the time, but the house didn’t take kindly to that either. Begging to drum a little beat with his hands, Cassius began to hum a nondescript song. Anything to pass the time, right? Nothing else seemed to be allowed.

When Elora had suggested a night in a sentient house, she wasn’t expecting to be trapped. She figured if worse came to worst she could always light a fire as a way of convincing the house to release them. But now it seemed that whatever spirit was inhabiting this house was perfectly content to let the house burn if it took the two of them down with it. 

It was times like these that she really wished her “talents” could be used on the undead. Instead, here she was, stuck in a possessed house with a vampire. She may as well have been a regular unpowered person at that point, no entrancement abilities to speak of. 

When she got there, she was so excited, and thought the experience would be a huge thrill. Now, many hours later, she was hungry, tired and pissed off. She envied Cassius for not needing to sleep as she did. However, she began to appreciate the company as Cassius started to bring a little music into the situation. The cursed gramophone that had hailed her entrance when she had first arrived had long since gone completely silent. 

She picked up on the melody Cassius was humming and began to harmonize. She didn’t know what she was humming along to, but it was good to have any kind of light or joy in their situation. For the first time in about 10 hours, she cracked a smile as they continued their duet. 

While this was a welcome break from the gloom and doom of their situation, this wasn’t getting them any closer to freedom. All she could think about was where Cassius’s friend possibly could be, or if she even knew they were there at all.

Lilian Ballard really didn’t fall much. It wasn’t personal to the season, but it seemed like it was the season for people to want to engage with the odd and supernatural. Maybe it was the dying of the light or some other poetic reason, but it meant she had a fuck ton more work and it was colder. It was annoying, and she really wished people wouldn’t. She hadn’t expected her old history teacher to be one of them, but after a location drop and being told that he was trapped in a sentient house of all things, Lil was pretty sure she needed to have a town hall or something. 

Still, that would have to be done later. While she didn’t like the season, she wasn’t exactly going to leave people to get eaten by a house. Pulling up to the house she got out quickly, a hood covering her hair and knowing that the house was about to be mightily pissed at her. She hadn’t ever really had to get anyone out of a sentient house before - usually people didn’t go in and most of the time when they did they couldn’t contact an exorcist to get out - but it wasn’t something she knew nothing about. She knew if she went into the house there was a high likelihood she wouldn’t come back out. 

So, she had a plan looking at the house and counting the windows she saw one with a light on where the others were empty. Knowing she needed more information, and that Cassius' cellphone was apparently dead, opening the trunk she took out something her sibling had mentioned might be useful in something like this. They seemed to actually want to face this scenario, and for once Lil was glad. Still she thought it was stupid. 

After all, it was  a fucking t-shirt cannon. Packing the stupid thing with a walkie talkie she had stuffed into a t- shirt she paused for a moment picking up a rock as well and putting it to the front. 

The house would repair itself quickly but - well it was at least worth a try to break the glass long enough to get a walkie talkie through. Moving to angle it to the window that seemed to have light in it, Lil aimed and shot it, hearing a crash, and quickly ducking in case anyone saw what she did. After a moment she waited, and hesitantly picked up her own walkie talkie. 

“Yo teach you up there? Roger,” Lil said into her walkie talkie hoping that the plan Jude had written in their notebook actually worked. “I need some information to help get you out. Roger.” 

Cassius’s humming was cut short the second that a shirt went crashing through the window. He blinked at it momentarily when it landed, then looked across to Elora, then back to the wadded-up cloth. He looked at the window, which had already repaired itself. Of course, it did. Then the damn shirt began to talk. Cassius deflated instantly as he recognized the voice of his former student. “It’s Lil, she got my message.” He told Elora as he scrambled for the walkie-talkie. 

“I’m here!” He spoke into the walkie-talkie with wide eyes. Cassius clutched at the object as if it were his lifeline because it was. He needed to get out of here, and he needed to make sure Elora got out of here. “I’m with another person. We’ve been stuck in here for two days.” His gaze flickered over to Elora, wondering what she thought about this. “Whatever you need to know, we’ll do our best to answer or find out.” He then spoke into the walkie one last time. 

He stared down at the walkie, blinking a few times. He hadn’t expected that he would actually get out of this place. He was grateful that he had a student who had experience in supernatural activity and that he had run into her in the past few months to find that out. “Finally, we can get out of this fucking place.” He muttered, looking up at Elora. “Let’s hope the house lets us out.” He then added, having a feeling that this building wasn’t going to let them go willingly.

While Elora usually hated a good jam session getting interrupted, this interruption was very welcomed. A t-shirt came crashing through the window, bearing a message that Cassius’s friend actually did hear their plea for help! 

“Teach? I didn’t know they were a student of yours. How old is this kid?” Elora remarked, picturing themselves being rescued by some teenaged kid. She may have been more comfortable taking her chances in the ghost house. Still, they had come this far, so it was worth a shot to trust them for the time being. 

While Cassius was speaking to them over the line, Elora cut in with “did you bring snacks?”. In spite of their feast on the opening night, she was starving yet again with very little in the way of sustenance. She’d take anything at that point, even hard candies. 

“Oh the house’ll let us out alright. It’ll let us out or I’m burning it to the ground! Hear that you fucker? Let us out!” She shouted at the ceiling, hoping she was heard. If all else failed, threats usually worked well. She heard the foundation settling a few times in quick succession, almost as if the house was letting out a low pitched laugh at her threats. 

Hearing the voice through the radio Lil smiled to herself thinking that she’d have to tell Jude that it did, in fact work. “Awesome! Hey so two people are in there? That’s not bad at all. The times a little concerning though - so well okay I’ve got a plan. I’m going to throw two person-shaped dolls and you’re going to try and get out of that room. I don’t think it’ll let me break open that window again, but I’m going to cause a big distraction on the first floor that should get them to focus on me. I can’t enter unfortunately because it’s absolutely going to try and kill me first. If I confuse it I think you can slip out and it’ll think the dolls are you two.” She paused for a moment pulling out the two life sized dolls she always found weird. They were useful though - something that didn’t help her wanting to throw them into the house. Careful to pull them up to the edge of the foundation she moved back to the talkie, saying, “Right also - whatever you do don’t stop moving once you get out of the room okay? Stick together.” 

 At the question of snacks Lil couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “I’ve got snacks.- Also he was my teacher a while ago. I’m not a kid. Let me know when you both are ready, and I’ll start terrorizing the house. ” Pulling out the baseball bat in her trunk as well as some baseballs she waited. 

Cassius nodded his head slowly as Lil explained her plan. He looked to Elora to see if she was ready to do this and then nodded his head a bit quicker when she scrambled to her feet. “You want us to move to the first floor by the door? Another window?” He asked the walkie, brows furrowing as he sought out clarification. He thought about how no one had likely noticed he had gone missing. He thought about how he had a date with Lukas that he’d missed, and he hadn’t been able to tell him that he was stuck in this stupid house. He thought of Zofia whom he was actively trying to help, and how she was probably confused as to where he went. At least she had Richard with her. Man, his life was a mess. He shouldn’t have decided to do this. But still, he had an inkling that Elora would have done it anyway, so he didn’t want her to have gone through this completely by herself.

He looked to Elora, who seemed confused that the girl rescuing them could be a teenager. “I’m older than I appear,” he said vaguely. She knew what he was, so he didn’t feel the need to clarify. He looked down at the stupid suit the house had made him put on, thinking for a moment about going for the clothes he had changed out of. “I can’t leave my boots behind,” Cassius gritted out as he made his way to the bedroom where they had changed. The door slammed itself shut as he went to walk into the room, and he growled. “I’ve had those boots for years, I’m not leaving them here!” He yelled at the house, pulling on the doorknob before knowing he’d have to give them up and buy another pair. Now this was personal, he’d lost his favorite shoes.

“Oh, okay well…it’s a good thing you kept in touch with your high school history teacher! I know most people don’t but in this case it’s really bailing us out!” Elora cheered internally when the girl on the other end of the line mentioned that she brought snacks for them. “So our plan is to piss off the house so bad that it forgets about us? Seems…sketchy. But I’m willing to try anything to get me out of this damn dress.” she said, pulling at the collar of her ball gown. These things were really only meant for light dancing over the course of a few hours, not to be worn for a full night of manual labor. The heat was really starting to get to her, to the point where she found herself longing for the icy chill of a fall night in Maine to greet her when she finally made it past the front door. 

“Oh leave the damn boots, Cassius! We gotta move!” She shouted backwards as she found Cassius had stopped to try and retrieve his old clothes. She had to admit, his clothes certainly looked more expensive than hers, but he also probably had the means to buy more if he needed to. Now definitely was not the time to make any delays or draw attention to themselves while Lil was trying to make a distraction. It was now or never. 

“I just hope she’s able to pull this off. We’ve only got one shot at this”, Elora said over her shoulder to Cassius 

“Probably the door. The house is interested in you guys staying in - will probably let you through a door easier.” She couldn’t help the laugh, knowing that Cassius probably wasn’t happy that he was having to call the exorcist. She wasn’t exactly a terror in his class specifically - but she was a delinquent in the truest sense of the word. 

Still, she waited in position carefully avoiding the foundations of the house knowing that it was going to try and kill as soon as she started. Luckily though the door was easily pulled without going onto the foundation of the property her feet solidly on the yard as she counted to three.  Pulling the door of the house it swung open eerily  and gritting her teeth she pulled the door knob shouting in “Get a move on -” before throwing the first doll in. The door snapped shut barely missing Lil’s fingers as she rolled her eyes. Giving it another second and pulling her shirt over her hand she pulled it open again - “Ha fucker I knew you’d make it hot,” She muttered throwing the other doll in. 

Getting back onto the radio and flipping the bat back up she said, “Dolls are in. I suggest moving it as I start breaking things.” 

With that she put down the walkie on the sidewalk and picked up the bat, throwing a ball in the air and then hitting it to a second story window next to the one she had broken. Lil just hoped the cops weren’t on the way as she went again. 

Cassius gave one last glance toward the bedroom where his boots were, then hung his head. He’d have to resign himself to getting another pair of boots. He shook his head as he forced his feet to continue moving towards the exit of the house, keeping in stride with Elora. He listened as Lil spoke over the walkie-talkie, frowning. It was definitely strange to have to resort to someone he once saw as a student who didn’t put much effort forth in class. Turns out that would end up saving his life one day because she knew stuff like this. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you for not paying attention in class and learning about weird supernatural shit.” He spoke into the walkie-talkie before pocketing it. 

Lil gave her warning, and the pair were positioned by the front door. It was the door to the backyard, one that was overgrown and long forgotten by the outside world. For a moment, he almost felt bad for the house. Not bad enough. Windows started shattering after Lil threw the dolls in. The house was distracted, it was now or never. Cassius put a hand to the metal doorknob, and it was burning to the touch. He pulled his hand away with a hiss, then forced himself to grab hold of it again and yank the door open. 

The house seemed to creak and groan in protest as Lil continued her rampage. Cassius gave one last glance to Elora before gripping the woman’s hand and hurrying out the back door. They were in the backyard. They were outside. The vampire looked around in bewilderment, unsure if he was believing what he was seeing. He heard the glass continuing to shatter, and the backdoor flung itself shut with a loud bang. “Let’s… get the fuck out of here.” He suggested to Elora. “Lil, we’re out. Get out of here, and I’ll reach out for a way to repay you.” He spoke over the walkie-talkie. “The last thing we need is to get caught by the cops.” He added before rushing out of the backyard and into the front yard. 

Lil snorted at the idea that she didn’t pay attention much in class. It was true enough, but a weird thing to bring up now. After all, more people would have been fucked if she had paid attention in most of her classes. Her bat still swinging, she let some of the frustrations of the past few months go as she kept the breaking happening. There was some catharsis in the actions as she felt the anger of the house itself. Getting closer to the house she started just smashing the bottom windows feeling the angers seething in the house as it tried to grab the obnoxious girl. Moving back slightly and raming the bat in again she managed to avoid the fate laughing in almost a bitter way. 

Who needed therapy, when you could break down houses after all. Still after a moment she heard Cassius over the radio again and with one last smirk she smashed a final hole into the window. 

“Rodger Rodger, I’m going southbound so probably go north. Cops aren’t usually very quick, but the neighbors did see me and they will be here in ten based on my description. Larry is going to have a field day with me, but should let me go. Liked my mom back in the day -  don’t get stuck in any more houses now you two.” Lil said into the walkie talkie letting the others escape was most of the mission today. She’d have to come back to set the building on fire, burn it to the ground and somehow destroy the foundations. She’d probably ask Alan if he could demo the house - although it would probably cost her.  Still, today wasn’t the day to do that as she could already see lights in the neighborhood light up.  Instead she bolted back to her car swinging the bat to the back before climbing into the car. She should have said that it wasn’t necessary to pay her but well, she might need a favor eventually.

Through all the breaking glass and explosions, Elora felt a strong sense of calm and relief as she and Cassius finally exited out of the house. After two days stuck playing house with a relative stranger from the coffee shop, she was finally out and able to live her own life again. First order of business would have to be running home and changing out of that ball gown. She could only hope Mack wouldn’t make fun of her too harshly for her antiquated fashion choices. 

“Wait up! I can’t exactly run quick in this!” Running from the cops wasn’t something foreign to Elora, but she usually had sneakers and jeans on. She also didn’t have increasingly large goo puddles to dodge. If push came to shove, she could use her abilities to get out of trouble with the law, but only as an absolute last resort.

“Why would someone call the cops on an empty house getting blown up, anyway? Nothing else to do on a Thursday night? Whatever, let’s just move”, she said as she booked it as quick as she could back towards home. She wished she could meet her savior face to face in order to thank her properly, but now definitely wasn’t the time nor the place. Right now she needed to get home and avoid any “fun adventures” in the near future. Maybe if Cassius wanted to still be around her after all this she could use him as a sort of bad idea filter. Either way, after two nights of torture, all she was looking forward to most was going back home and getting a good night’s rest.

[contemporarybardess]

Tender Resignation || Elora & Alistair

Parties: @deathsplaything & @contemporarybardess

Timing: Present

Location: The Sugar Pot

Triggers: None

Summary: Elora puts in her official resignation at the Sugar Pot

The hardest part was out of the way. Elora was in an extremely emotional state after her conversation with Mack, but she had one more person she needed to talk to before she headed out of town for good. Interestingly enough, she was scheduled for a shift the next day. She was currently on her way to let Alistair know that she wouldn’t be able to make it in. 

It was the afternoon, so the shop was still open. Elora quickly breezed and said hello to Melody as she entered. “Is Alistair here? I need to talk to him. It’s…sort of an urgent issue. I promise I’ll fill you in as soon as I’m done talking to him.” 

She didn’t like being short with Melody or coming as if she was keeping something from her. After all, the two had bonded over her time working at the Sugar Pot. However, there was a chance that both of them could be in danger, and she couldn’t waste anytime explaining herself twice. 

_____

It was near the end of the day for the Sugar Pot, and Melody had let Alistair go home early, nothing she couldn’t finish on her own. It was near closing that Elora came into the shop, looking as white as a sheet. “Oh, no they’re at home,” Melody explained. “Give me a moment, alright?” She pulled out her phone and called up Alistair. “Can you come downstairs? It’s urgent.” She told them, then hung up the phone before they could protest. It wasn’t longer than two minutes before Alistair was walking through the front doors of the shop with Brutus leading the way. 

“What’s the problem?” They asked hurriedly, half expecting someone to be bleeding out in the middle of the shop, that’s the way things seemed to go for them. “Oh, not that kind of urgent,” Melody spoke apologetically. Alistair seemed to understand, nodding their head slowly after looking through the gaze of their familiar. “Right. What’s the matter, Elora?” Alistair asked with furrowed brows.

_____

Elora waited patiently for Alistair’s arrival. She sometimes forgot he lived right above the shop, and thought it to be very convenient given the current circumstances. 

“Listen, somebody from my past has found me, and they sent people to kidnap me. I don’t know how long he’s been stalking me or how much he knows about me, but this one really fucked up guy”, Elora explained, trying to hold it down enough to work out an explanation. Trying not to break completely. “He’ll do whatever it takes to hurt me. Killing me isn’t enough. The longer I stay in town…the more and more danger everyone I know here is going to be in.” 

She knew Alistair was crafty enough to probably hold his own if some of Jake’s goons came after him. But there was no way she’d forgive herself if he or Melody were to get hurt because of her. It wasn’t a risk she was willing to even entertain.

____________________________________

As soon as the information was out of her mouth, Alistair knew what Elora was inferring. She was leaving town. Of course, they wanted to tell her that the two of them could take care of themselves, that they’d willingly fight by her side if it came to it, but that’s not what she was asking of them. “I’m sorry this is happening to you.” They spoke softly, weight shifting side to side as they processed the information. 

Melody took the news harder, letting out a soft noise before walking over to Elora and hugging her tight. “We’re here for you if you decide to come back, you hear me? We’re tougher than we look.” She gave Elora a sad smile, then took a step away. Alistair moved away from the front door, a lot more subdued and quieter than Meldoy was about the situation. 

“You’re always welcome here, okay? Anything you need, we’re here for you. If you ever come back, you have a job here.” Alistair told her, nodding their head with a tight smile. It was hard to lose an employee, especially one as enigmatic and larger than life as Elora.

_____

They were both so sweet to her about it, this was one of the most difficult things Elora had to do. However, they at least seemed to understand. It was also reassuring to know that she was always welcome back if she were ever to return. She wanted to say that if she wasn’t back in a year’s time, she had probably been killed in her pursuit of justice. She knew, though, that that would only make them worry more. 

“Thank you both…” She could feel tears welling up again, feeling as if a dam were about to break when Melody embraced her. She needed to hold it together. She needed to come off as the strong person she needed to be to take on this challenge. “I won’t be alone. I have a little muscle with me in the form of Ginger. She’s tied up outside, I figured it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to bring her around Brutus. 

She then approached Alistair, opening her arms to offer up a hug as well. “Thank you for everything. I won’t forget either of you.” 

Alistair wasn’t a hugger. Physical contact besides someone guiding them around by holding their hand was the extent of things. But as they watched through Brutus’s eyes, Elora opened her arms up to them, and they knew they couldn’t just turn it down. “Keep Ginger close, and call us if you ever need anything, you understand? I don’t care how far away you are, we’ll help you.” They closed the gap between themselves and Elora and hugged her tightly, albeit briefly before stepping away.

“Take care of yourself,” Alistair told Elora with a curt nod of their head. Melody, meanwhile felt the need to wipe a tear away, sad to lose Elora, especially like this. “We aren’t scared of hunters. Hunters are scared of us.” She told Elora, handing her over a bag she had been preparing since the moment Elora walked in with that sad expression. “Tea bags, your favorites.” She started as she handed it over. “Some spending money– don’t tell me no. The last thing you need is them tracking you through your debit card.” Melody held up a finger as Elora opened her mouth to protest. “I won’t be hearing no for an answer. Just… give him hell when you see him, okay?” Melody pleaded, giving Elora’s shoulders one final squeeze before letting her go. 

_____

Knowing she had allies was comforting for Elora. Even though she was leaving everything behind, she wouldn’t be truly alone. “Thank you again. I plan on ditching my phone, since it’s such an easy way to track me down. But I know the number to the store, and I’ll call if I ever have any issues…or just get a little homesick.” When she had first met Alistair, she didn’t exactly appreciate the manner in which he healed people. But she thought back to his insistence on exterminating the bad in order to help the good thrive better. Isn’t that what she was doing? 

“Melody” she answered with a warm smile. “You’ve always been too good to me. This is all so thoughtful.” For what seemed like the millionth time over the past couple days, Elora found herself overwhelmed with emotion. Here were all of these people all worried for her and wanting the best for her. She could never thank them enough. If she lived, she vowed to repay them all for the help they’d given her. “Don’t worry. When I’m through with him, hell will look like it would have been a better alternative.” She wiped again at the tears welling up in her eyes as she graciously accepted the bag. 

“I’ll miss you guys. I really will.” 

Alistair cracked a sad smile, knowing it would be sad to see Elora go. But there was no changing a made-up kind, they knew that all too well. “Take care of yourself.” Was all they could say before opening the door for Elora. If she had to get out of there, then they weren’t going to stop her. “We’ll miss you too, Elora.” Melody said softly, giving Elora one final squeeze before letting her go. 

“Hold on.” Alistair suddenly said, letting go of the door and disappearing into the back room. They began running their hands across meticulously labeled bottles in the healing room until they came across the one they needed. Coming back out, Alistair handed Elora a vial. “It’s a powerful healing potion. I was saving it for a rainy day, but you may need it more. Don’t let him win. No matter what.”

It was hard to let employees go when it was such a small business, everyone became a family. And losing family, well, it was something that Alistair was used to. Even if they didn’t want to be. “Good luck.” They finally said before letting Elora go out the door and on the run. 

While Elora knew Alistair had many different potions in the back room, she didn’t know he was in possession of such a powerful healing potion. Furthermore, she didn’t think he would give said powerful potion to her. 

With a nod of determination, Elora simply replied “I won’t”, before heading out the door. This was the start of a new chapter, one that she would hopefully be done with soon. However, she knew the truth. He was a weasely little snake who would put a hundred men in front of him for cover. It didn’t matter. None of it did. She’d find him, and they’d have their last standoff. Devil take the hindmost.