You are most welcome.Sounds good to me. Thank you for the conversation.
I hope it made your day better.
Queen of the Lost and Forgotten
- Thread starter MrStarbuck
- Start date
I hope it made your day better.
If it ends up mattering, the metal armor would be the opposite of an edge: Taytania requested swearing "an oath of free negotiation and safe passage" for negotiating with Kaiser, something taken as a Deal (knowingly to him or not); and the only reason Kaiser's armor would be relevant in the negotiation would be if he were to attack her. This would make Kaiser a oathbreaker, which would entail a severe penalty since he's dealing with the Queen of the Fae.
In other words: if you want to take advantage of an armor against Taytania in the negotiation you're already at a disadvantage, but not because of the armor itself.
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I raise a valid point. Oath such as that one might be what gets Kaiser in some serious trouble.
Imagine during their negotiations that Kaiser momentarily surrounded Taytinia in a circle of half-inch blade. Taytinia response to that by declaring it to be entrapment and thus a breach of the oath, the payment for said breach being Taytinia taking everything that Kaiser has. Only to find out later that she is in-charge of Medhall in addition to the E88.
It probably won't be that severe, but Taytinia would extract some concessions out of Kaiser that are slated heavily in her favor for the breach of oath.
8. Greetings From Glen
- Location
- Ohio
It seemed that the PRT was dragging its feet when dealing with my latest request. However, that suited me fine as I got to spend the past two days doing research on how to best use my magic. Since one of the few things that trumped magic was a focused mind, I had to focus my own mind and try and make sense of magic; something that made no sense.
There were a lot of old ways that might still work for some people but I didn't think would work for me. Rites and rituals performed in specific locations at important times of year were once a powerful way to focus magic. The standing stones and other similar, but diverse sites scattered across the globe were examples of this.
Incantations were common among spell work, and there were so many different variations on a simple concept. Magic words or Words of Power; it all came down to how you could focus your mind into twisting magic to your will. You could try saying important words or speak in an ancient language, it was just a way to sharpen your wit. Some casters used nonsense words like hocus pocus, or alakazam, it was simply just a way for you to give meaning to the meaningless.
There was of course the common mythical magical foci that still existed in popular fantasy. Wands tipped with large crystals, Staves carved from a tree struck by lightning, bracelets carved from the bones of powerful creatures were some of the popular ones. They were both tools to focus your mind, as well as use the item's subtle magic, till you either twisted yourself or bullied magic till it would do something more productive than causing random clouds of gas to combust.
Old Titania had often considered magic as the madman's art as it often seemed that very odd individuals were the most gifted in wielding magic. I now knew that some of the famous magicians of old had what would be called synesthesia today. I guess being able to taste colors, or smell music was something that gave mortals an advantage at magical workings.
My search for inspiration took me through a multitude of quacks and charlatans and even a website that claimed that all parahuman powers were just the return of magic, and offered to unlock a person's potential for a donation of 100,000 dollars. Eventually I came across something that peaked my interest; spell circles.
There were many Earth Aleph anime that had Spell circles as a potential means of casting spells; they're mesmerizing, spinning and mysterious arcane symbols were fascinating. I thought that they looked cool and if something was cool that was just another name for something that held magical potential.
I wasn't wrong as spell circles seemed to be based on Solomon Runes so they had ancient lore on their side. However I could use Titania's vast knowledge of ancient alphabets, dead numerical symbols, ect; to make something that was really special.
Your own means of spell crafting had to be first important to the caster, but if it also pulled at the awe of others then it was even better. Humanity might have forgotten much of the symbols that I planned to use but that didn't mean that it was gone from their cultural memories.
I spent hours creating spells for all the standard fantasy magic from shields to fireballs. The most difficult thing was using my magic so that it created the spell circle in moments instead of drawing the runes by hand. Luckily with enough effort I was able to use rudimentary magic to create and anchor my glyphs either on the ground or in the air in front of me.
I was very pleased with myself as I watched the light coming from my creation. The glyph was beautiful, it was likely why it worked so well for me. It spun in a mesmerizing almost hypnotic way, the circle was filled with symbols and complex geometrical shapes that probably made sense only to me.
I was pulled away from my delighted examination when I heard a heavenly sound filling the house. It seemed that I wasn't the only one making progress as Loreley's magical voice rang out. Her voice was truly enchanting, and I could easily understand how she once sang ships onto rocks. The magical tones of her song were even more stunning than her appearance.
I was pleased to hear evidence of my subject's recovery, but I knew she still had a ways to go. While much of her movement had increased in alacrity her speech was still slow and halting. She also had yet to really sing lyrics, as she only used her voice to sing the notes of some of the music she seemed to enjoy the most. She seemed to enjoy classical music and most of what she had heard was without lyrics. So to encourage her speech and singing I had set her in the office chair and started a playlist of opera music as well as some popular musicals.
I had hope that she would be fully lucid again in the near future, but until then I had other concerns on my mind. Now that I had a better control over my magic I was ready to start to set up things for my pet monster's debut. I needed to gather some magical resources and make sure that my message reached the ears of mortals across the world.
My pondering was interrupted when the home phone rang. Moving to the phone in the kitchen I glanced over to see that Loreley was still watching videos in the office, as my dad was at work.
"Hebert residence." I answered with a smile in my voice.
"Hello Miss Hebert. This is Glen Chambers, I am the head of the PR department for the PRT." Spoke the voice from the other side of the phone.
"Glen Chambers, hmm; I am curious why you're calling and not Deputy Director Renick." I said.
"Yes, It was decided that it would be wise to have someone else involved for this particular interaction…" The Head of the PR department paused. "I am very interested in bringing you into the PRT's influence so that we might all be able to secure the people's safety."
I could feel his honesty ringing through his tone, this was a man that wanted to help with what was his area of expertise; I could respect that. "Alright so what is the PRT prepared to offer?"
"After several calculations the PRT is prepared to offer you 3000 dollars for a public appearance under the guidelines that you suggested. However, that amount is conditional upon several factors." Glen said.
"What sort of conditions?" I asked suspiciously, it seemed I wasn't dealing with that average mortal.
"Director Piggot is rather adamant that you sign a NDA regarding Shadowstalker's involvement regarding her involvement in your trigger event." Glen said smoothly, but I could sense an undercurrent of caution.
"Ahh, I see." I answered knowing what the PRT was wanting to do. "At this time I am uninterested in signing any long term contracts with the PRT. However, I am willing to make an agreement that may restrict what I might say for a day or so; restricting what I say for a potential walk along the boardwalk."
"Not what she was hoping for but a reasonable compromise. However, I will only be able to offer you 2,000 now."
"Regrettable, but I find it shameful that The Director wants to silence me as though she wants to cover everything up." I huffed.
"Well public perception of the Protectorate is very important." Mr. Chambers countered. "Keeping the common man's high opinion of heroes is important, for both the continued appreciation from the public as well as the safety of everyone including parahumans. Many places around the world don't have the celebrity-like adoration for capes that we have. Before the Soviet government lost power Russia hunted down their capes, and the CUI still enslaves and brainwashes theirs."
"Yes and I'm sure you're proud of the hard work that you do keeping that status quo." I stated. "However, heroes should be honest and willing to acknowledge their mistakes. They will seem more personable if they can apologize and seek the public's good will by trying their best later. You work with heroes not gods, and they should not try to be such."
"Hmm, interesting advice." He mused. "However, I have already come to such conclusions. Such a tactic would work for some capes, but not for others. You really have to play it person to person, hero to hero. Anyway that is not what I am calling about. I plan for you to make your appearance with Miss Militia and Gallant, and would like to set up a time so you could be coached on public interactions."
"A good start with an older woman escort watching me and a young man who's theme is a knight in shining armor." I said with a smile in my voice. "That is certain to draw attention, although there might be a problem if Gallant's armor is steel."
"I did some research about fae before I contacted you, knowing what I'm working with is always very important." Glenn Chambers responded and I was glad to hear that someone from the PRT was taking my word seriously. "I already checked and his armor is a titanium alloy."
"An excellent name for a metal." I grinned. "Also the coaching you suggest, what would that involve?"
"Oh nothing too difficult. It's completely fine to play off of your newness as a cape, especially since it's true. However, it would be wise to go over some of the questions you might be asked and how to respond. You'll have Miss Militia and Gallant there for any overly enthusiastic cape geeks, and you don't have to answer anything you don't want to. However it would be nice if you mention anti-bullying and of course how kind the heroes are for providing you some security and money for clothes."
"Ahh I see, you want to keep things upbeat and have an example that suggests that new capes should go to the protectorate for assistance whether or not they want to join under the PRT umbrella." I nodded. "Although I don't think that I need any coaching, because of recent events I am quite skilled at press-idigitation."
"Alright, what about the other individual that I heard about, I can offer her the same sort of deal. However, I would like to know more about her."
"Well she is a fae and we've recently started to recover from a catastrophe, which is why we've faded into legend. If you can be so kind as to offer some money I can ensure she doesn't say anything unkind about your organization." I answered.
"That seems like it would be agreeable." Glenn said cautiously.
"Then it sounds like we are in agreement then." I said forcefully. "I will contact the PRT when everything is ready.
Without a handshake or a kiss to seal the deal the binding was very weak but the foundation of a deal had been struck.
"I'll be waiting for your call. I feel we both could greatly benefit from working together with Miss Hebert. Talk soon." Glenn chirped in a cheerful tone, before hanging up.
Falling back onto a kitchen stool I sighed glad that my troubles with clothing would be taken care of. Now that that was taken care of I could focus on other important things.
My train of thought derailed as I realized that clothing had taken up more of my attention than the local gangs or the upcoming Endbringer battle.
"Oh wow…" I muttered to myself.
I knew that fae needed to look their best but I didn't really think that it had affected me as much. It wasn't that I considered clothing more important than saving the city or the world, but I just felt that it was something I needed. The thought of going out with the clothes I usually wore was akin to willingly soccer kicking my pinky toe into a door frame. I could do it but the simple idea sent a chill up my spine.
Sending my thoughts back to things that were really important and not simply a superfluous nagging desire. Securing my seat of power, finding any of my remaining subjects, dealing with the other two bitches, The Endbringers, and keeping magic strong. I was one busy fae.
Dealing with gangs was a complicated problem, rushing in and dealing with the gang capes either covertly or directly didn't really appeal to me. There were so many other options with more entertaining results, that made my spirit sing with the possibilities.
Finding any surviving fae was likely going to be a protracted effort, any fairies strong enough would likely be well hidden and bunkered down just like old Titania had been. Although I held hope that with magic rippling across the world that some of those hidden fae would come out on their own.
Dealing with Emma had been like cutting off a weight attached to my mind, however I had two more weights that pulled at my thoughts. I would balance the scales. Finding the two shouldn't be too hard for my skills, the real question was how best to deal with them. I've known Emma for so long that it had been so easy as well as gratifying to cause her will to shatter. For Sophia and Madison I would be a bit more difficult but I had some good ideas as to how best to break them. A part of me wanted to gracelessly deal with them directly, and be done with it. However, there was another older and wiser part of me that knew it would be best to take it slowly and savor my revenge.
If the Endbringers were going to stay on schedule I had approximately a month to prepare for the next attack. I had a rudimentary plan, but the problem was how was I going to best power my magical working. Old Titania would simply have used the resources that were sure to be available on a battlefield, after all freshly spilled blood was very magical and there was certain to be many dead and dying mortals. The thing was that I didn't want to deal with the Endbringer after it killed several hundred or thousand people. If I didn't use the terror and bloodshed of the fight, I would need to find some other source of power to boost my magic. I would just have to consider where.
My thoughts were pulled away as Loreley started to sing, completely outclassing the actor that was crooning out the lyrics to Edelweiss. As her song washed over me I reassessed my resources and objectives.
"I don't have much." I muttered to myself. "But I feel I have just the right number of dominoes to get things falling where I want."
There were a lot of old ways that might still work for some people but I didn't think would work for me. Rites and rituals performed in specific locations at important times of year were once a powerful way to focus magic. The standing stones and other similar, but diverse sites scattered across the globe were examples of this.
Incantations were common among spell work, and there were so many different variations on a simple concept. Magic words or Words of Power; it all came down to how you could focus your mind into twisting magic to your will. You could try saying important words or speak in an ancient language, it was just a way to sharpen your wit. Some casters used nonsense words like hocus pocus, or alakazam, it was simply just a way for you to give meaning to the meaningless.
There was of course the common mythical magical foci that still existed in popular fantasy. Wands tipped with large crystals, Staves carved from a tree struck by lightning, bracelets carved from the bones of powerful creatures were some of the popular ones. They were both tools to focus your mind, as well as use the item's subtle magic, till you either twisted yourself or bullied magic till it would do something more productive than causing random clouds of gas to combust.
Old Titania had often considered magic as the madman's art as it often seemed that very odd individuals were the most gifted in wielding magic. I now knew that some of the famous magicians of old had what would be called synesthesia today. I guess being able to taste colors, or smell music was something that gave mortals an advantage at magical workings.
My search for inspiration took me through a multitude of quacks and charlatans and even a website that claimed that all parahuman powers were just the return of magic, and offered to unlock a person's potential for a donation of 100,000 dollars. Eventually I came across something that peaked my interest; spell circles.
There were many Earth Aleph anime that had Spell circles as a potential means of casting spells; they're mesmerizing, spinning and mysterious arcane symbols were fascinating. I thought that they looked cool and if something was cool that was just another name for something that held magical potential.
I wasn't wrong as spell circles seemed to be based on Solomon Runes so they had ancient lore on their side. However I could use Titania's vast knowledge of ancient alphabets, dead numerical symbols, ect; to make something that was really special.
Your own means of spell crafting had to be first important to the caster, but if it also pulled at the awe of others then it was even better. Humanity might have forgotten much of the symbols that I planned to use but that didn't mean that it was gone from their cultural memories.
I spent hours creating spells for all the standard fantasy magic from shields to fireballs. The most difficult thing was using my magic so that it created the spell circle in moments instead of drawing the runes by hand. Luckily with enough effort I was able to use rudimentary magic to create and anchor my glyphs either on the ground or in the air in front of me.
I was very pleased with myself as I watched the light coming from my creation. The glyph was beautiful, it was likely why it worked so well for me. It spun in a mesmerizing almost hypnotic way, the circle was filled with symbols and complex geometrical shapes that probably made sense only to me.
I was pulled away from my delighted examination when I heard a heavenly sound filling the house. It seemed that I wasn't the only one making progress as Loreley's magical voice rang out. Her voice was truly enchanting, and I could easily understand how she once sang ships onto rocks. The magical tones of her song were even more stunning than her appearance.
I was pleased to hear evidence of my subject's recovery, but I knew she still had a ways to go. While much of her movement had increased in alacrity her speech was still slow and halting. She also had yet to really sing lyrics, as she only used her voice to sing the notes of some of the music she seemed to enjoy the most. She seemed to enjoy classical music and most of what she had heard was without lyrics. So to encourage her speech and singing I had set her in the office chair and started a playlist of opera music as well as some popular musicals.
I had hope that she would be fully lucid again in the near future, but until then I had other concerns on my mind. Now that I had a better control over my magic I was ready to start to set up things for my pet monster's debut. I needed to gather some magical resources and make sure that my message reached the ears of mortals across the world.
My pondering was interrupted when the home phone rang. Moving to the phone in the kitchen I glanced over to see that Loreley was still watching videos in the office, as my dad was at work.
"Hebert residence." I answered with a smile in my voice.
"Hello Miss Hebert. This is Glen Chambers, I am the head of the PR department for the PRT." Spoke the voice from the other side of the phone.
"Glen Chambers, hmm; I am curious why you're calling and not Deputy Director Renick." I said.
"Yes, It was decided that it would be wise to have someone else involved for this particular interaction…" The Head of the PR department paused. "I am very interested in bringing you into the PRT's influence so that we might all be able to secure the people's safety."
I could feel his honesty ringing through his tone, this was a man that wanted to help with what was his area of expertise; I could respect that. "Alright so what is the PRT prepared to offer?"
"After several calculations the PRT is prepared to offer you 3000 dollars for a public appearance under the guidelines that you suggested. However, that amount is conditional upon several factors." Glen said.
"What sort of conditions?" I asked suspiciously, it seemed I wasn't dealing with that average mortal.
"Director Piggot is rather adamant that you sign a NDA regarding Shadowstalker's involvement regarding her involvement in your trigger event." Glen said smoothly, but I could sense an undercurrent of caution.
"Ahh, I see." I answered knowing what the PRT was wanting to do. "At this time I am uninterested in signing any long term contracts with the PRT. However, I am willing to make an agreement that may restrict what I might say for a day or so; restricting what I say for a potential walk along the boardwalk."
"Not what she was hoping for but a reasonable compromise. However, I will only be able to offer you 2,000 now."
"Regrettable, but I find it shameful that The Director wants to silence me as though she wants to cover everything up." I huffed.
"Well public perception of the Protectorate is very important." Mr. Chambers countered. "Keeping the common man's high opinion of heroes is important, for both the continued appreciation from the public as well as the safety of everyone including parahumans. Many places around the world don't have the celebrity-like adoration for capes that we have. Before the Soviet government lost power Russia hunted down their capes, and the CUI still enslaves and brainwashes theirs."
"Yes and I'm sure you're proud of the hard work that you do keeping that status quo." I stated. "However, heroes should be honest and willing to acknowledge their mistakes. They will seem more personable if they can apologize and seek the public's good will by trying their best later. You work with heroes not gods, and they should not try to be such."
"Hmm, interesting advice." He mused. "However, I have already come to such conclusions. Such a tactic would work for some capes, but not for others. You really have to play it person to person, hero to hero. Anyway that is not what I am calling about. I plan for you to make your appearance with Miss Militia and Gallant, and would like to set up a time so you could be coached on public interactions."
"A good start with an older woman escort watching me and a young man who's theme is a knight in shining armor." I said with a smile in my voice. "That is certain to draw attention, although there might be a problem if Gallant's armor is steel."
"I did some research about fae before I contacted you, knowing what I'm working with is always very important." Glenn Chambers responded and I was glad to hear that someone from the PRT was taking my word seriously. "I already checked and his armor is a titanium alloy."
"An excellent name for a metal." I grinned. "Also the coaching you suggest, what would that involve?"
"Oh nothing too difficult. It's completely fine to play off of your newness as a cape, especially since it's true. However, it would be wise to go over some of the questions you might be asked and how to respond. You'll have Miss Militia and Gallant there for any overly enthusiastic cape geeks, and you don't have to answer anything you don't want to. However it would be nice if you mention anti-bullying and of course how kind the heroes are for providing you some security and money for clothes."
"Ahh I see, you want to keep things upbeat and have an example that suggests that new capes should go to the protectorate for assistance whether or not they want to join under the PRT umbrella." I nodded. "Although I don't think that I need any coaching, because of recent events I am quite skilled at press-idigitation."
"Alright, what about the other individual that I heard about, I can offer her the same sort of deal. However, I would like to know more about her."
"Well she is a fae and we've recently started to recover from a catastrophe, which is why we've faded into legend. If you can be so kind as to offer some money I can ensure she doesn't say anything unkind about your organization." I answered.
"That seems like it would be agreeable." Glenn said cautiously.
"Then it sounds like we are in agreement then." I said forcefully. "I will contact the PRT when everything is ready.
Without a handshake or a kiss to seal the deal the binding was very weak but the foundation of a deal had been struck.
"I'll be waiting for your call. I feel we both could greatly benefit from working together with Miss Hebert. Talk soon." Glenn chirped in a cheerful tone, before hanging up.
Falling back onto a kitchen stool I sighed glad that my troubles with clothing would be taken care of. Now that that was taken care of I could focus on other important things.
My train of thought derailed as I realized that clothing had taken up more of my attention than the local gangs or the upcoming Endbringer battle.
"Oh wow…" I muttered to myself.
I knew that fae needed to look their best but I didn't really think that it had affected me as much. It wasn't that I considered clothing more important than saving the city or the world, but I just felt that it was something I needed. The thought of going out with the clothes I usually wore was akin to willingly soccer kicking my pinky toe into a door frame. I could do it but the simple idea sent a chill up my spine.
Sending my thoughts back to things that were really important and not simply a superfluous nagging desire. Securing my seat of power, finding any of my remaining subjects, dealing with the other two bitches, The Endbringers, and keeping magic strong. I was one busy fae.
Dealing with gangs was a complicated problem, rushing in and dealing with the gang capes either covertly or directly didn't really appeal to me. There were so many other options with more entertaining results, that made my spirit sing with the possibilities.
Finding any surviving fae was likely going to be a protracted effort, any fairies strong enough would likely be well hidden and bunkered down just like old Titania had been. Although I held hope that with magic rippling across the world that some of those hidden fae would come out on their own.
Dealing with Emma had been like cutting off a weight attached to my mind, however I had two more weights that pulled at my thoughts. I would balance the scales. Finding the two shouldn't be too hard for my skills, the real question was how best to deal with them. I've known Emma for so long that it had been so easy as well as gratifying to cause her will to shatter. For Sophia and Madison I would be a bit more difficult but I had some good ideas as to how best to break them. A part of me wanted to gracelessly deal with them directly, and be done with it. However, there was another older and wiser part of me that knew it would be best to take it slowly and savor my revenge.
If the Endbringers were going to stay on schedule I had approximately a month to prepare for the next attack. I had a rudimentary plan, but the problem was how was I going to best power my magical working. Old Titania would simply have used the resources that were sure to be available on a battlefield, after all freshly spilled blood was very magical and there was certain to be many dead and dying mortals. The thing was that I didn't want to deal with the Endbringer after it killed several hundred or thousand people. If I didn't use the terror and bloodshed of the fight, I would need to find some other source of power to boost my magic. I would just have to consider where.
My thoughts were pulled away as Loreley started to sing, completely outclassing the actor that was crooning out the lyrics to Edelweiss. As her song washed over me I reassessed my resources and objectives.
"I don't have much." I muttered to myself. "But I feel I have just the right number of dominoes to get things falling where I want."
- Location
- Ohio
Using the unholy energies of all hallows eve. My muse and I have gathered our fel powers. BEHOLD MY NECROMANCY!
Shorter chapter for the necromancy, but I was a little stuck in where I was going and the next is around 5k words. The chapter after that is likely to be just as long. That is if my muse doesn't go into hibernation. Mostly my writing has been affected because of my change in jobs. Part time gives enough free time to work on flights of fancy, full time not so much.
Shorter chapter for the necromancy, but I was a little stuck in where I was going and the next is around 5k words. The chapter after that is likely to be just as long. That is if my muse doesn't go into hibernation. Mostly my writing has been affected because of my change in jobs. Part time gives enough free time to work on flights of fancy, full time not so much.
Windborne
Devourer of Stories
- Location
- Oregon
Well I'm glad this story is back. I do hope you can return sooner next time as your stories are always amazing, but even just an "Hi everyone I'm not dead, just very busy." update post would be highly appreciated.
- Location
- England
If you peek at a dictionary you'll see it's "piqued my interest"
I Cast False Life
Have some free temp hp
Have some free temp hp
I see, you're saving the story from being lost and forgotten.
Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
piqued
spell
Shadow Stalker's
-An NDA may not be used to conceal illegal activities. This is worryingly close to that line, it would need a lawyer to determine which side of the line it falls on.-
in
the
Protectorate
- Location
- Planet Earth
Not sure how the MC could make too much of a difference when she is weak to iron, like in bullets.
Also, would be cool to have a Fae-focused Fic where they were NOT weak to iron, since they were not. Cold Iron, is often misconstrued as meaning that Fae were weak to Iron, or allergic to it, but in reality, Cold Iron was a term used for Weapons. So any weapon could be called Cold Iron. Usually used to refer to worked metal weapons, as opposed to wooden spears and arrows. So really it was like saying that the Fae were as weak to weapons as anyone else, but then time and the telephone game changed things to mean that Fae were fatally weak to Iron, even just being near it.
Also, would be cool to have a Fae-focused Fic where they were NOT weak to iron, since they were not. Cold Iron, is often misconstrued as meaning that Fae were weak to Iron, or allergic to it, but in reality, Cold Iron was a term used for Weapons. So any weapon could be called Cold Iron. Usually used to refer to worked metal weapons, as opposed to wooden spears and arrows. So really it was like saying that the Fae were as weak to weapons as anyone else, but then time and the telephone game changed things to mean that Fae were fatally weak to Iron, even just being near it.
- Location
- The Old Dominion
Iron in general was a common fair folk weakness in many folkloric traditions though it was more that iron could ward them off or even trap them to force them into bargain, though the iron in question was generally hand forged items rather than cast so it's unlikely that lets say iron or steel that was cast or forged by machines would have any effect.
Iron was something that warded off many supernatural beings from the spirits of the dead to witches and beyond in many folkloric traditions of various cultures though again the iron in question was generally hand forged rather than formed through other means.
Iron was something that warded off many supernatural beings from the spirits of the dead to witches and beyond in many folkloric traditions of various cultures though again the iron in question was generally hand forged rather than formed through other means.
- Location
- Ohio
Not to be the "Um actually" guy, but besides rare cases of mild steel bullets or amour piercing steel core rounds. Bullets are almost exclusively lead and copper.
As for the rest of your post cold iron is a shaky subject, but is mostly agreed to be a turn of phrase for any iron. In a similar sense as, "TASTE COLD STEEL INFIDEL!"
Your statements about iron as a cure all for the supernatural has merit in folklore and history. Wrought iron fencing has been very popular among the wealthy for centuries, sure you could say it does a good job at keeping people out. However, it's often been used around grave yards, perhaps to keep the dead in.
Given how this fic is establishing its magic "system" that change in belief of people would also probably change that vulnerability from worked metal weapons to just iron.
9. When a Crow Flaps Its Wings
- Location
- Ohio
Could I have your initial report please?" Director Piggot asked Miss Militia and Gallant, the two of them had just returned from their shopping trip with The Bay's newest headache. She personally thought it was foolish to pay for the clothing of a somewhat uncooperative cape. However, a rather stubbornly vocal Glenn Chambers had been able to force the idea through. Justifying it as a public relations stunt that doubled as an intelligence gathering mission. Since PRT ENE was lacking any high level Thinker's Gallant was chosen for both his limited Thinker rating and to be there to act out his charming knightly persona. Miss Militia would of course be there as an older responsible mentor and chaperone.
"Mostly it went well, Taylor followed the letter of the agreement if not the spirit." MIss Militia said, an edge of annoyance in her tone. "I'm sure there will be plenty of posts on social media and PHO in the near future."
"I had hoped that we would have gotten through this little PR stunt without any blemishes on the PRT's reputation." Piggot grumbled.
"It's nothing bad, mostly just odd." The older cape looked to Gallant who was nodding in agreement.
"As planned we arrived earlier than the agreed time and performed a quick patrol of the area." Miss Militia continued. "It looked like she would be late, but exactly on the dot the little garden area on the edge of the boardwalk greened and a ring of toadstools popped up. One moment they weren't there and the next they were."
"So both Miss Hebert and the unknown cape showed up?" Piggot asked.
"Yes, the description matched perfectly except for the clothing made from seaweed." Miss Militia answered. "Their odd arrival and striking appearance quickly drew a crowd, our presence prevented any incidents that might have happened because of curious civilians. However, I believe Gallant has something important to add."
Piggot's gaze shifted to the chivalric themed ward as he stood straighter.
"Their emotions were odd, but it was Aegina's that were the oddest. It wasn't just her emotions that were strange." Gallant said, glancing over to the older cape as though searching for confirmation.
"Go on, elaborate." Piggot commanded.
"So Taylor's emotions seemed clouded and I really couldn't get a good read on her emotions. However, Aegina's emotions were dominated by a singular feeling from one moment to another often shifting faster than individuals with mood disorders I've seen. People don't feel only one emotion unless it's an extreme situation. They usually have a mixture of feelings with a particular emotion being slightly stronger than the others. Aegina was entirely curious when they arrived, then the next moment she was entirely happy. She could shift to the radical extreme emotion multiple times in one second. There was a moment when I was convinced that she intended to kill a civilian that said her hair was weird."
"Would you say that she's emotionally unstable that we should anticipate a violent event in the near future?" Piggot asked.
"I don't know, even with her exaggerated emotional swings her outward appearance was generally completely controlled; she didn't even scowl when she felt extreme rage from having her hair called weird." Gallant shrugged.
Piggot pulled up some of the images taken from Gallant's helmet cam and got a good look at the unknown Aegina. From what she could see from the pictures she was unnaturally beautiful, blue hair, mismatched eyes, standing at approximately 5 feet tall. However, the oddest thing was that depending on which picture she examined, Aegina's age could be anywhere between 12 and 22.
"Did she say how old she was? Piggot asked
Miss Militia lightly scoffed. "Several civilians already ask her that question. She would shyly cover her cheeks and reply that, 'You shouldn't ask a lady such a question.' From her mannerism I would estimate her to be approximately 20 years old."
"Really?" Gallant asked. "The way she was acting like Taylor was an older sister, I'd say she was barely 14."
"We can hopefully find out later." Piggot interjected before any inconclusive tangents could start. "You said that there's likely to be plenty of posts on PHO, What does that all entail?
"Well as you can guess from their appearance they attracted a lot of attention. Gallant and I as well as some boardwalk enforcers were able to keep everything in line but Taylor almost seemed eager to answer questions. She followed every guidelines she agreed to, it was almost poetic how she described the PRT heroically offering to find and protect her during a needed shopping trip after her physical changes caused by a vicious attack by bullies at Winslow." Miss Militia answered.
"That's good, Hopefully that will placate Glenn for a while. Was there anything that our head of PR would be concerned about?" Piggot sighed.
"Uh, a few would be admires that had to be threatened with detainment when they demand to take a selfie beside the new capes. I'm sure there's a few distant videos of the girls coming out of changing rooms to get either each other or Gallant's opinion on an outfit. Those will all tame though. I made sure to put a stop to it when Aegina requested Gallant's aid in uncovering Victoria's secret."
Piggot looked over at the ward standing slightly stiffer. She was certain that he was blushing crimson under his armor.
"However, what Taylor said was good, it's what she didn't say, or at least how she didn't say that might get more attention. Any question that got close to our guidelines on what not to answer always got the same response. She would snap her fingers and Aegina would say, 'Her majesty may or may not be contractually obligated to not speak on such subjects.' All in all it made it seem like we have Taylor on a very short legal leash."
Piggot sighed, they barely had her on any legal leash. Glenn had only gotten her to agree to a flimsy month-long NDA regarding the Winslow investigation and Shadow Stalker's identity, but it had so many holes it really only prevented her from going to the press or blabbing online.
"Alright, not great, not terrible; odd I guess. I think we should begin to expect such for future dealings with Miss Hebert." Piggot grumbled. "Anything else of interest?"
"Uh, well she gave us a scare when she happily said something about a murder and walked off." Gallant shrugged. "Turns out it was a group of crows she called down from the edge of a roof and started talking to em."
"What was she saying to them?" Piggot asked.
"I don't know." Gallant grunted. "I don't speak, uh old English, Gaelic? Could have been Klingon for all I understood."
"Very well, go complete the-" Piggot was interrupted as her phone rang, looking at the caller ID she decided to answer. "Make it quick Assault."
Listening to the hero on the other end of the line Piggot looked out her window at the nearby ocean that was gloomily visible in the twilight. Her expression grew exasperated as she brought three fingers up to massage her temple. "Assault stop talking like I'm going to throw you into M/S containment and throw away the key. Please explain clearly what you mean by the Bay is singing."
A sense of trepidation filled Loreley as she stood on the edge of the cold waters of the Bay. She had asked the Queen to give her a purpose, but now that she was here she didn't know if she was ready; or worse she would try and fail.
Time was a strange thing, doubly so for fairies because time was often inconsistent around them. For Loreley time seemed to be broken, when magic had faded she had entered a state of hibernation. However, that hibernation had turned into a slow death eventually her bedchamber had slowly become a chilled crypt. It still traumatized her to think about that time. She had slowly grown more and more cold as her spirit, mind and body had drifted apart. Eventually time lost all meaning as only disconnected thoughts and movements were the only indication that there was still a spark of life left.
She wondered if what she had experienced was what mortals felt when they were downing. Perhaps she would only use such a punishment on those that really deserved such a fate.
She would be forever grateful for Aegina for pulling her out of her tomb. However, it was her Majesty that had been able to pull the scattered pieces back together, at least as little as there was left.
With the new life The Queen had given her she felt compelled to be of use, she needed to start to repay the debt she owed. The Queen had been so kind and patient with her as she rediscovered what it meant to live. Now that she could properly think again she had begged her sovereign to give her a purpose.
Queen Titania or Taylor as she now was known, in all of her terrifying compassion had granted her wish and sealed her fate. She had been gifted something so priceless that she didn't think even ten thousand years of service would be able to repay.
A good part of her hated the idea of her new enslavement. However, it was oddly the most desirable servitude.
Brockton Bay was an unpleasant place, dirty, rundown, smelly as well as containing too much iron and too many mortals; so fairly typical for most things made by humans. Despite its ugly veneer Brockton Bay was lucky to be blessed with a massive amount of the Queen's magic.
If a fetid swamp with oil underneath, or barren rocky hills with gold in them were attractive to humans; that same feeling is what Brockton Bay was to fae. The potential return for investment was immeasurable, and her Majesty had gifted Loreley a large portion as her demesne.
"The water's of the Bay as well as it's place in the wylds I put in your care." Her Queen had said to Loreley. "For it I task you with three things. First, make it beautiful. Second, you must use it to create a temporary sanctuary for mortals. Third, the mortals that come to your sanctuary must be treated with care and welfare."
At first Loreley was uncertain if she could adequately perform such a task. However, after her Queen had given her some guidelines she understood. The goal was to save both fae and mortals, and from her explanation the foolish mortals were unknowingly, slowly killing themselves.
The Queen had sounded thoroughly exasperated with the mess the mortals had gotten into and disappointed that they weren't taking basic steps to get themselves out of it. Their leaders were either corrupt or incompetent. Their heroes were foolhardy, their villains short-sighted. Even the mortal masses that had always seemed to be a terrifying unstoppable force once suitably motivated were placid and aimless.
Loreley hoped that the role she had been given was important so that she could better prove her worth. The Queen's plan had to start somewhere,and while the naiad thought herself nowhere near wise to understand her majesty's plans she would do her utmost to see them come to fruition.
Loreley was to set up her sanctuary to help the very lowest of mortals; the desperate.
"There are many pitiable mortals in this city, you will make the bay one of the only places that all can consider safe." The Queen had explained to her. "I of course don't expect that your protection will be offered freely; take your due, but I want you to be a net positive force for the mortals. I am certain that many will come to you eventually. For the homeless that seek shelter from the cold, give them a task to clean up some of the beach as the fee for a comfortable night's sleep. For the addicts take from them pleasure they get from their addiction. For the criminal fleeing pursuit take the thrill of harming others or the sense of accomplishment over outsmarting their victims. Turn none away, but of course you only provide temporary security and I leave it up to you where the mortals in your care are released. Perhaps they need a quick exit from the city, or perhaps their deeds cause them to be released at the foot of the Hero's metal island."
Lorely thought on The Queen's command and thought on the irony of it. Perhaps it was the scales of justice or karma catching up with her. Where once she sang ships to their doom, now she would be singing mortals to a sanctuary.
It had been so long ago and with all that she had lost she couldn't exactly recall why she had sat on that rock and sang. There had definitely been a mortal sailor she was certain of that, and she had been singing for him. It was vexing that she could only remember flashes of emotion when thinking about that sailor that seemingly had been very important, sadness, anger, maybe love?
Shaking her head causing her golden locks to tumble in shimmering waves, she focused herself on her task. Testing her voice with a few ringing notes she began to sing, her song weaving an enchantment into the waters of the bay. The Queen's magic seemed to echo from the bay's faewylde counterpart and their magic flowed together, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
As she worked her magic the waters of the bay started to move and shiver until eventually all the waters of the bay acted like an amplifier for the pleasant wordless melody she sang. She was almost complete with establishing her sanctuary when her song changed. Aegina might get the coveted position as Titania's Lady in Waiting but Loreley was considering another position that she could achieve.
The mortals had such short lives but perhaps because of their fleeting lifespan they could create some very wonderous things. With the song ringing through the bay perhaps she could act at The Queen's Herald as she sang out the melody for Je Suis Titania.
Lisa held her head in her hands to try and alleviate the massive thinker headache that she had worked up in the short time of observing the two mystery capes during their shopping trip. She had never encountered a situation that had left her or her power so vexed.
It wasn't uncommon for her power to run off on a tangent or to be wrong if she was working with bad information. However, she had never come across something that had her power glitch into a fit of second guessing and contradictions.
As soon as she started to observe them her power seemed to scream, not human then moments later contradict itself with observations about their ears and superficial appearance that they were human just with some non standard parts. Only to then go back to not human for one reason or another. It became a cycle that had been the start of her headache until her power concluded that they might be a human variant or mutation of some type.
Whenever she was trying to cold read someone it wasn't hard for her to follow the breadcrumbs about the man with a wedding ring tan line who had recently gotten divorced because his alcohol habit had driven his wife away and into the arms of another man.
With the two capes most of the useful information her power had given her was pretty basic. It wasn't hard to see from basic observation that the blue haired girl seemed to serve the taller brunette. Her intuition usually gave her details or several close guesses as to perhaps why one would serve the other. However, she was stuck, it seemed like the obvious answers were all that could be ascertained. Even when she pushed her power it gave wild speculations that could have come from the pages of gossip rag. Nothing solid to follow, no deeper understanding to be gained.
There were a few bit of potentially usable information her power gave her, like the one white dress that the taller girl wasn't buying for herself but for someone of a similar build. Or the way that the two of them seemed to avoid any exposed steel, often relying on Gallant's chivalry to open many doors.
However by the time that the taller girl had called down a group of crows she had such a bad headache that she had given up using her power and just watched them. Maybe she could get something more after her head stopped pounding.
Lisa was already dreading the conversation she was going to have with Coil. He was certain to be disappointed, and that would come with some barbs about her performance and threats of what would happen if she didn't do better.
As she approached the Undersider's secret lair she took one of her standard routes to throw off anyone following her but didn't want to suffer the spike of pain to use her power and confirm she wasn't followed. The laughter of crows echoed behind her as she reached the base and two of Bitches' dogs dutifully barked at her, acting as an early warning system for the rest of the team above. Climbing the steps she knocked out 'shave and a haircut, two bits' on the reinforced door.
"Damn Tats what happened to you?" Brian asked as he pulled the door open and saw her pained scrunched up face.
"New cape boss wanted more info on is a mess of contradictions." Lisa grumbled.
"Anything the rest of us need to be concerned about?" Brian asked taking his role as leader seriously.
"Two of them, no masks, pointed ears can't miss them. We probably should avoid them until I can get more info. I was just recon and it didn't go well" She moaned. "I'm going to sleep off this Thinker headache."
"Such an awesome power you have there." Shadow Stalker snarked as she was examining some of the new gear that Coil had sent.
"Go eat a bag of dicks!" Lisa snapped back not wanting nor caring to deal with any of the former hero's issues.
"I'm going for a run." Sophia huffed as she set down a bolt designed as a blinder since it was made to burn magnesium for a short time.
"Wear a hoodie or something, the PRT is looking for you in your civilian identity." Grue said as she passed.
"I already know that!" She snapped back. "And it's cold out there anyway!"
Reaching her room Lisa sighed as she could relax and shut out the drama from the rest of the team. She wanted just a few hours of rest, maybe she could get enough sleep to take the edge off of her headache before Coil would start demanding answers.
As she laid her head down she absentmindedly noted the dogs downstairs barking at Sophia on her way out followed soon after by the excited cawing of crows.
Brian sighed as he leaned back and let his controller fall to his lap as he watched Alec's fighter Finish his on screen.
"Are you not feeling it today?" Alec asked as on screen a grisly spectacle showed the bifurcation of the loser. "You barely got any hits in."
"Yeah sorry, I just have a lot of things on my mind." Brian said.
"Like just the jewelry store job we're planning or the bitch?"
"Please don't try to confuse me like that." Brian sighed. "We already have enough issues with Rachel's chosen name, we don't need any mix ups."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even I can tell that she is on edge almost at all times, but I doubt there's anything we can do about it." Alec said as he moved his controller to flick through various choices for fighters.
"What do you think, just give her some space and time?"
"I don't know, ask Tats about that sort of advice." Alec shrugged. "But if needs be I can fix her team problems if she becomes an issue."
"I don't think she's going to let you h-" Brian started before being cut off
"And I'm not talking about working out her daddy issues." Alec said in an odd serious tone.
Before Brian could speak the barking of dogs came from below. "Speak of the devil." Alec laughed.
Getting up from the couch Brian headed for the door as the 'secret' knock sounded from the door. Pulling the door open showed Sophia standing there breathing slightly heavily. She had been gone for a little over an hour and from the scent of sweat had really pushed herself. "Had a good run?" Brian asked as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Yeah." Sophia said as she stepped in, it seemed that she was in a better mood as her shoulders were visibly more relaxed. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Need someone to wash your back?" Alec questioned and caused Sophia's shoulders to instantly square up again.
"Go fuck yourself!" Sophia snapped back, but maybe with less venom than she usually responded with.
As she shut the door to the bathroom Brian sat down to play another round of the fighting game. It wasn't much but that little interaction made him hopeful that the vigilante could become part of the team and not have to worry as much about her stabbing the rest of the team in the back one day.
After a few more rounds of gameplay where he put up a better fight and the dogs downstairs started barking.
"Sounds like Bitch is back." Alec commented absentmindedly. They both knew that she spent much of her day going around to her abandoned buildings, turned dog shelters and cared for her collection of mutts.
What neither of them expected was for the barking of dogs to cut off instantaneously, that was not normal.
"Masks!" Brian hissed as he grabbed his helmet and moved to alert Shadow Stalker and Tattletale. Lisa came out first only having her street clothes and a domino mask readied.
"What's going on?" She whispered as she rubbed at her temples.
"You tell me." Grue muttered as he pulled on his leather jacket, if there was going to be a fight he wanted what little protection it provided. "The dogs just went silent out of nowhere, no growls, no gunshots, nothing."
Tattletale grimaced before she began to speak. "They are too well trained to do that, they're either dead or incapacitated in a way that didn't carry upstairs. Not ABB or Merchants, could be Protectorate or E88."
When all options were bad at least they didn't have to worry about a rage dragon, but dealing with a bunch of superpowered racists wasn't all that much better.
The door to the bathroom opened and despite her disheveled appearance it gave Shadow Stalker some credit that she was fully clothed and moving to her mask and weapons in such a short time. Just as Shadow Stalker put her mask on three knocks sounded from the door and everyone looked at each other knowing that was not the 'secret knock.'
"Can Sophia come out to play?" a pleasant feminine voice called through the door.
"Son of a bitch, diirgh!" Tattletale growled in pain as she grasped her head in pain. "It's the cape I was watching, Stalker made her trigger she somehow followed- the crows!"
"Hebert?!" Shadow Stalker hissed quietly.
"Oh! You are in there Sophia." The feminine voice seemed to cheer in a friendly tone.
"Heightened hearing." Tattletale moaned as she held her head tighter. "Get something made of steel, I don't think she likes it."
"That's just rude! I haven't harmed anyone here and you immediately jump to grab weapons. Why does it seem that you are so scared of me?"
"Shut up Hebert, I'm not scared of you, but I'm not stupid either." Sophia said as she loaded her crossbow with a razor sharp steel broadhead. "Bitch is going to be pissed that you killed her dogs."
"Killed? Oh no, I wouldn't want to kill these good doggies. They just are smart enough to know when a fight is a bad idea. Isn't that right, who's a good smart doggie?" The voice questioned and was answered by the happy yelps and barks of the two dogs that had been silent until now.
After a few moments the dogs quieted down and Brian looked to Tattletale for some help. It seemed she understood his desire just from seeing his helmet turn toward him.
"I don't know." She growled while rubbing her head. "My power isn't being very helpful, it's like I'm trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing."
Brian took a breath to prepare himself, it looked like he would have to deal with the situation as leader. "What do you want?" He asked through the door.
"At this moment I want to talk to Sophia. She and I have unfinished business." The cape answered ominously.
"What did you do to her?" Grue asked
"Nothing, she's just being a whiny bitch!" Stalker hissed.
"I wouldn't call poisoning my best friend against me, then being directly involved in what many would call mental and physical torture for a year and a half, culminating in stuffing me in a metal box filled with putrid biowaste nothing." The cape outside countered in a chilling tone.
"Damn." Regent said, shooting a glance at Shadowstalker.
Grue blew out an annoyed breath as the situation became more clear. Sophia had come with more baggage then he had first expected. A righteously pissed cape with unknown powers had tracked the new team member to their base. Without Tattletale to help he wasn't sure how this could end up going well for them.
"You said you wanted to talk, and it does sound like Shadowstalker screwed up. But the rest of us weren't involved in that, I don't want a fight." Grue said diplomatically.
"Oh I'm not here to fight. I just want to hear if Sophia has anything to say before I tell her the consequences of her actions. None of you can stop what's coming to her." The cape said
"I'm not scared of you, Hebert!" Stalker shouted.
"It certainly seems like you are, cowering behind your new team and a thick door." She countered.
"You know this is a violation of the rules." Grue interjected while waving off the vigilante before she could get worked up.
"You mean those unwritten rules that mean very little to me since everyone who wants to know can find my name, home address and many other details by a simple internet search." She said sarcastically. "Tell you what, I'll go downstairs and we can have a little truce like in those rules you mentioned, or just send out Sophia. Do so in under one minute and I won't go tell the heroes where your club house is."
Grue fixed Tattletale with a look hoping that she would have something.
"I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth." Tattletale growled. She was still squinting and rubbing at her head but it didn't look like she was going to keel over. "I say we grab some steel things and go."
"Alright we'll be down." Grue said.
The team quickly grabbed some equipment and it turned out the only handy steel was the cheap set of silverware from their little kitchen. He felt quite silly tucking cutlery into the back pockets of his jeans.
Cautiously opening the door Grue led the way downstairs looking for any sign of danger. The ground floor looked like it always did mostly empty with a few pieces of abandoned rusting equipment scattered about. The two dogs were sitting quietly by the exit almost as if Bitch had told them to stay there. They looked fine but he couldn't be sure that they weren't Mastered.
The cape was standing by a wall giving them plenty of space to get down the stairs. As soon as Brian got a good look at her, his breath caught in his throat. She was the definition of stunningly beautiful, her dark hair seemed to both too dark and shimmer with each curl and her green eyes matched the summer dress she wore despite the cold seeping in from outside.
Just behind him Regent gave a low whistle. "Wow, if there's such a thing as a super duper model you'd be it."
"Thank you." She replied with a nod that almost seemed like a bow for completing a performance.
"What the hell happened to you, Hebert?" Stalker snapped, shock and jealousy mixed into her tone.
"You happened to her." Tattletale muttered. "She triggered because of you."
"So what do you want?" Shadowstalker huffed. "Do you want me to apologize for being a bad girl, do i have to go turn myself in? If so that's not happening, besides you look like you've come out of it for the better. You don't look like a puny nerd anymore, you should be happy."
"The ends justifying the means is a very dangerous outlook. It will often end with many new and possibly worse problems if you accomplish your goal." She countered. "I'm here because I recently had a talk with dear Emma and discovered how this all started."
"What did you do to Emma?" Sophia interrupted.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." She replied with a dismissive gesture. "As I was saying, I just want to know if you have any justification for your actions? It seems like you already have seen some consequences to your actions as you've fallen from the tower of heroes to the den of villains. However I have yet to pass my judgment on you."
"I'm not afraid of you or your hippy elf powers, Hebert." Shadow Stalker hissed as she pulled her crossbow tightly into her shoulder.
"Enough!" Grue commanded as he loosened his grip on his power causing wisps of darkness to shroud his form. "If this is a truce, threats are not appreciated, from either side."
Brian tried not to fidget as the beautiful cape fixed her emerald gaze on him. Her eyes seemed to track over his shoulders as a small smile stretched the corners of her lips. "You misunderstand. I'm not here to threaten anyone. I am here to see if the condemned has any statements before sentencing."
The group of villains tensed, not sure how to handle that statement.
"What do you want me to say, Hebert?" ShadowStalker spat. "Do you wanna hear how I'm sorry and that it got out of hand, or that the school staff should have stopped us?"
"No, I want to hear the truth." She replied with a solemn tone.
"The truth?" Sophia snapped back. "The truth is that I did it because you're a whimpering little weakling. Knew it from the first moment I saw you, you're prey. The best use for you was to help Emma as she used you as a stepping stone to become stronger. Just because you've got powers doesn't mean that you aren't weak. In the end you're just simple prey."
Sophia finished her statement with a harsh finality that caused the pointed eared cape to pause as she breathed in deeply and paused.
"I understand completely." She relaxed, her shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been cast off. "Therefore, judgment must be passed. Sophia Hess, also known as Shadow-Stalker. You have lived with the thoughtless ideal of predator and prey, always taking yourself so seriously, always a predator stalking the shadows. Therefore, the night will not protect you from my judgment, and you've only one course for a reprieve. For the next time the moonlight touches you my curse will bind you. Sophia Hess, the eternal prey, the joke, the girl that had her shadow stalk-her."
"FUCK YOU BITCH!" Sophia suddenly yelled as she pulled out a small hand crossbow from under her cloak. Before she could pull the trigger the elf-like cape burst into a cloud of scattering bubbles as an echoing laughter filled the room.
"Mostly it went well, Taylor followed the letter of the agreement if not the spirit." MIss Militia said, an edge of annoyance in her tone. "I'm sure there will be plenty of posts on social media and PHO in the near future."
"I had hoped that we would have gotten through this little PR stunt without any blemishes on the PRT's reputation." Piggot grumbled.
"It's nothing bad, mostly just odd." The older cape looked to Gallant who was nodding in agreement.
"As planned we arrived earlier than the agreed time and performed a quick patrol of the area." Miss Militia continued. "It looked like she would be late, but exactly on the dot the little garden area on the edge of the boardwalk greened and a ring of toadstools popped up. One moment they weren't there and the next they were."
"So both Miss Hebert and the unknown cape showed up?" Piggot asked.
"Yes, the description matched perfectly except for the clothing made from seaweed." Miss Militia answered. "Their odd arrival and striking appearance quickly drew a crowd, our presence prevented any incidents that might have happened because of curious civilians. However, I believe Gallant has something important to add."
Piggot's gaze shifted to the chivalric themed ward as he stood straighter.
"Their emotions were odd, but it was Aegina's that were the oddest. It wasn't just her emotions that were strange." Gallant said, glancing over to the older cape as though searching for confirmation.
"Go on, elaborate." Piggot commanded.
"So Taylor's emotions seemed clouded and I really couldn't get a good read on her emotions. However, Aegina's emotions were dominated by a singular feeling from one moment to another often shifting faster than individuals with mood disorders I've seen. People don't feel only one emotion unless it's an extreme situation. They usually have a mixture of feelings with a particular emotion being slightly stronger than the others. Aegina was entirely curious when they arrived, then the next moment she was entirely happy. She could shift to the radical extreme emotion multiple times in one second. There was a moment when I was convinced that she intended to kill a civilian that said her hair was weird."
"Would you say that she's emotionally unstable that we should anticipate a violent event in the near future?" Piggot asked.
"I don't know, even with her exaggerated emotional swings her outward appearance was generally completely controlled; she didn't even scowl when she felt extreme rage from having her hair called weird." Gallant shrugged.
Piggot pulled up some of the images taken from Gallant's helmet cam and got a good look at the unknown Aegina. From what she could see from the pictures she was unnaturally beautiful, blue hair, mismatched eyes, standing at approximately 5 feet tall. However, the oddest thing was that depending on which picture she examined, Aegina's age could be anywhere between 12 and 22.
"Did she say how old she was? Piggot asked
Miss Militia lightly scoffed. "Several civilians already ask her that question. She would shyly cover her cheeks and reply that, 'You shouldn't ask a lady such a question.' From her mannerism I would estimate her to be approximately 20 years old."
"Really?" Gallant asked. "The way she was acting like Taylor was an older sister, I'd say she was barely 14."
"We can hopefully find out later." Piggot interjected before any inconclusive tangents could start. "You said that there's likely to be plenty of posts on PHO, What does that all entail?
"Well as you can guess from their appearance they attracted a lot of attention. Gallant and I as well as some boardwalk enforcers were able to keep everything in line but Taylor almost seemed eager to answer questions. She followed every guidelines she agreed to, it was almost poetic how she described the PRT heroically offering to find and protect her during a needed shopping trip after her physical changes caused by a vicious attack by bullies at Winslow." Miss Militia answered.
"That's good, Hopefully that will placate Glenn for a while. Was there anything that our head of PR would be concerned about?" Piggot sighed.
"Uh, a few would be admires that had to be threatened with detainment when they demand to take a selfie beside the new capes. I'm sure there's a few distant videos of the girls coming out of changing rooms to get either each other or Gallant's opinion on an outfit. Those will all tame though. I made sure to put a stop to it when Aegina requested Gallant's aid in uncovering Victoria's secret."
Piggot looked over at the ward standing slightly stiffer. She was certain that he was blushing crimson under his armor.
"However, what Taylor said was good, it's what she didn't say, or at least how she didn't say that might get more attention. Any question that got close to our guidelines on what not to answer always got the same response. She would snap her fingers and Aegina would say, 'Her majesty may or may not be contractually obligated to not speak on such subjects.' All in all it made it seem like we have Taylor on a very short legal leash."
Piggot sighed, they barely had her on any legal leash. Glenn had only gotten her to agree to a flimsy month-long NDA regarding the Winslow investigation and Shadow Stalker's identity, but it had so many holes it really only prevented her from going to the press or blabbing online.
"Alright, not great, not terrible; odd I guess. I think we should begin to expect such for future dealings with Miss Hebert." Piggot grumbled. "Anything else of interest?"
"Uh, well she gave us a scare when she happily said something about a murder and walked off." Gallant shrugged. "Turns out it was a group of crows she called down from the edge of a roof and started talking to em."
"What was she saying to them?" Piggot asked.
"I don't know." Gallant grunted. "I don't speak, uh old English, Gaelic? Could have been Klingon for all I understood."
"Very well, go complete the-" Piggot was interrupted as her phone rang, looking at the caller ID she decided to answer. "Make it quick Assault."
Listening to the hero on the other end of the line Piggot looked out her window at the nearby ocean that was gloomily visible in the twilight. Her expression grew exasperated as she brought three fingers up to massage her temple. "Assault stop talking like I'm going to throw you into M/S containment and throw away the key. Please explain clearly what you mean by the Bay is singing."
A sense of trepidation filled Loreley as she stood on the edge of the cold waters of the Bay. She had asked the Queen to give her a purpose, but now that she was here she didn't know if she was ready; or worse she would try and fail.
Time was a strange thing, doubly so for fairies because time was often inconsistent around them. For Loreley time seemed to be broken, when magic had faded she had entered a state of hibernation. However, that hibernation had turned into a slow death eventually her bedchamber had slowly become a chilled crypt. It still traumatized her to think about that time. She had slowly grown more and more cold as her spirit, mind and body had drifted apart. Eventually time lost all meaning as only disconnected thoughts and movements were the only indication that there was still a spark of life left.
She wondered if what she had experienced was what mortals felt when they were downing. Perhaps she would only use such a punishment on those that really deserved such a fate.
She would be forever grateful for Aegina for pulling her out of her tomb. However, it was her Majesty that had been able to pull the scattered pieces back together, at least as little as there was left.
With the new life The Queen had given her she felt compelled to be of use, she needed to start to repay the debt she owed. The Queen had been so kind and patient with her as she rediscovered what it meant to live. Now that she could properly think again she had begged her sovereign to give her a purpose.
Queen Titania or Taylor as she now was known, in all of her terrifying compassion had granted her wish and sealed her fate. She had been gifted something so priceless that she didn't think even ten thousand years of service would be able to repay.
A good part of her hated the idea of her new enslavement. However, it was oddly the most desirable servitude.
Brockton Bay was an unpleasant place, dirty, rundown, smelly as well as containing too much iron and too many mortals; so fairly typical for most things made by humans. Despite its ugly veneer Brockton Bay was lucky to be blessed with a massive amount of the Queen's magic.
If a fetid swamp with oil underneath, or barren rocky hills with gold in them were attractive to humans; that same feeling is what Brockton Bay was to fae. The potential return for investment was immeasurable, and her Majesty had gifted Loreley a large portion as her demesne.
"The water's of the Bay as well as it's place in the wylds I put in your care." Her Queen had said to Loreley. "For it I task you with three things. First, make it beautiful. Second, you must use it to create a temporary sanctuary for mortals. Third, the mortals that come to your sanctuary must be treated with care and welfare."
At first Loreley was uncertain if she could adequately perform such a task. However, after her Queen had given her some guidelines she understood. The goal was to save both fae and mortals, and from her explanation the foolish mortals were unknowingly, slowly killing themselves.
The Queen had sounded thoroughly exasperated with the mess the mortals had gotten into and disappointed that they weren't taking basic steps to get themselves out of it. Their leaders were either corrupt or incompetent. Their heroes were foolhardy, their villains short-sighted. Even the mortal masses that had always seemed to be a terrifying unstoppable force once suitably motivated were placid and aimless.
Loreley hoped that the role she had been given was important so that she could better prove her worth. The Queen's plan had to start somewhere,and while the naiad thought herself nowhere near wise to understand her majesty's plans she would do her utmost to see them come to fruition.
Loreley was to set up her sanctuary to help the very lowest of mortals; the desperate.
"There are many pitiable mortals in this city, you will make the bay one of the only places that all can consider safe." The Queen had explained to her. "I of course don't expect that your protection will be offered freely; take your due, but I want you to be a net positive force for the mortals. I am certain that many will come to you eventually. For the homeless that seek shelter from the cold, give them a task to clean up some of the beach as the fee for a comfortable night's sleep. For the addicts take from them pleasure they get from their addiction. For the criminal fleeing pursuit take the thrill of harming others or the sense of accomplishment over outsmarting their victims. Turn none away, but of course you only provide temporary security and I leave it up to you where the mortals in your care are released. Perhaps they need a quick exit from the city, or perhaps their deeds cause them to be released at the foot of the Hero's metal island."
Lorely thought on The Queen's command and thought on the irony of it. Perhaps it was the scales of justice or karma catching up with her. Where once she sang ships to their doom, now she would be singing mortals to a sanctuary.
It had been so long ago and with all that she had lost she couldn't exactly recall why she had sat on that rock and sang. There had definitely been a mortal sailor she was certain of that, and she had been singing for him. It was vexing that she could only remember flashes of emotion when thinking about that sailor that seemingly had been very important, sadness, anger, maybe love?
Shaking her head causing her golden locks to tumble in shimmering waves, she focused herself on her task. Testing her voice with a few ringing notes she began to sing, her song weaving an enchantment into the waters of the bay. The Queen's magic seemed to echo from the bay's faewylde counterpart and their magic flowed together, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
As she worked her magic the waters of the bay started to move and shiver until eventually all the waters of the bay acted like an amplifier for the pleasant wordless melody she sang. She was almost complete with establishing her sanctuary when her song changed. Aegina might get the coveted position as Titania's Lady in Waiting but Loreley was considering another position that she could achieve.
The mortals had such short lives but perhaps because of their fleeting lifespan they could create some very wonderous things. With the song ringing through the bay perhaps she could act at The Queen's Herald as she sang out the melody for Je Suis Titania.
Lisa held her head in her hands to try and alleviate the massive thinker headache that she had worked up in the short time of observing the two mystery capes during their shopping trip. She had never encountered a situation that had left her or her power so vexed.
It wasn't uncommon for her power to run off on a tangent or to be wrong if she was working with bad information. However, she had never come across something that had her power glitch into a fit of second guessing and contradictions.
As soon as she started to observe them her power seemed to scream, not human then moments later contradict itself with observations about their ears and superficial appearance that they were human just with some non standard parts. Only to then go back to not human for one reason or another. It became a cycle that had been the start of her headache until her power concluded that they might be a human variant or mutation of some type.
Whenever she was trying to cold read someone it wasn't hard for her to follow the breadcrumbs about the man with a wedding ring tan line who had recently gotten divorced because his alcohol habit had driven his wife away and into the arms of another man.
With the two capes most of the useful information her power had given her was pretty basic. It wasn't hard to see from basic observation that the blue haired girl seemed to serve the taller brunette. Her intuition usually gave her details or several close guesses as to perhaps why one would serve the other. However, she was stuck, it seemed like the obvious answers were all that could be ascertained. Even when she pushed her power it gave wild speculations that could have come from the pages of gossip rag. Nothing solid to follow, no deeper understanding to be gained.
There were a few bit of potentially usable information her power gave her, like the one white dress that the taller girl wasn't buying for herself but for someone of a similar build. Or the way that the two of them seemed to avoid any exposed steel, often relying on Gallant's chivalry to open many doors.
However by the time that the taller girl had called down a group of crows she had such a bad headache that she had given up using her power and just watched them. Maybe she could get something more after her head stopped pounding.
Lisa was already dreading the conversation she was going to have with Coil. He was certain to be disappointed, and that would come with some barbs about her performance and threats of what would happen if she didn't do better.
As she approached the Undersider's secret lair she took one of her standard routes to throw off anyone following her but didn't want to suffer the spike of pain to use her power and confirm she wasn't followed. The laughter of crows echoed behind her as she reached the base and two of Bitches' dogs dutifully barked at her, acting as an early warning system for the rest of the team above. Climbing the steps she knocked out 'shave and a haircut, two bits' on the reinforced door.
"Damn Tats what happened to you?" Brian asked as he pulled the door open and saw her pained scrunched up face.
"New cape boss wanted more info on is a mess of contradictions." Lisa grumbled.
"Anything the rest of us need to be concerned about?" Brian asked taking his role as leader seriously.
"Two of them, no masks, pointed ears can't miss them. We probably should avoid them until I can get more info. I was just recon and it didn't go well" She moaned. "I'm going to sleep off this Thinker headache."
"Such an awesome power you have there." Shadow Stalker snarked as she was examining some of the new gear that Coil had sent.
"Go eat a bag of dicks!" Lisa snapped back not wanting nor caring to deal with any of the former hero's issues.
"I'm going for a run." Sophia huffed as she set down a bolt designed as a blinder since it was made to burn magnesium for a short time.
"Wear a hoodie or something, the PRT is looking for you in your civilian identity." Grue said as she passed.
"I already know that!" She snapped back. "And it's cold out there anyway!"
Reaching her room Lisa sighed as she could relax and shut out the drama from the rest of the team. She wanted just a few hours of rest, maybe she could get enough sleep to take the edge off of her headache before Coil would start demanding answers.
As she laid her head down she absentmindedly noted the dogs downstairs barking at Sophia on her way out followed soon after by the excited cawing of crows.
Brian sighed as he leaned back and let his controller fall to his lap as he watched Alec's fighter Finish his on screen.
"Are you not feeling it today?" Alec asked as on screen a grisly spectacle showed the bifurcation of the loser. "You barely got any hits in."
"Yeah sorry, I just have a lot of things on my mind." Brian said.
"Like just the jewelry store job we're planning or the bitch?"
"Please don't try to confuse me like that." Brian sighed. "We already have enough issues with Rachel's chosen name, we don't need any mix ups."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even I can tell that she is on edge almost at all times, but I doubt there's anything we can do about it." Alec said as he moved his controller to flick through various choices for fighters.
"What do you think, just give her some space and time?"
"I don't know, ask Tats about that sort of advice." Alec shrugged. "But if needs be I can fix her team problems if she becomes an issue."
"I don't think she's going to let you h-" Brian started before being cut off
"And I'm not talking about working out her daddy issues." Alec said in an odd serious tone.
Before Brian could speak the barking of dogs came from below. "Speak of the devil." Alec laughed.
Getting up from the couch Brian headed for the door as the 'secret' knock sounded from the door. Pulling the door open showed Sophia standing there breathing slightly heavily. She had been gone for a little over an hour and from the scent of sweat had really pushed herself. "Had a good run?" Brian asked as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Yeah." Sophia said as she stepped in, it seemed that she was in a better mood as her shoulders were visibly more relaxed. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Need someone to wash your back?" Alec questioned and caused Sophia's shoulders to instantly square up again.
"Go fuck yourself!" Sophia snapped back, but maybe with less venom than she usually responded with.
As she shut the door to the bathroom Brian sat down to play another round of the fighting game. It wasn't much but that little interaction made him hopeful that the vigilante could become part of the team and not have to worry as much about her stabbing the rest of the team in the back one day.
After a few more rounds of gameplay where he put up a better fight and the dogs downstairs started barking.
"Sounds like Bitch is back." Alec commented absentmindedly. They both knew that she spent much of her day going around to her abandoned buildings, turned dog shelters and cared for her collection of mutts.
What neither of them expected was for the barking of dogs to cut off instantaneously, that was not normal.
"Masks!" Brian hissed as he grabbed his helmet and moved to alert Shadow Stalker and Tattletale. Lisa came out first only having her street clothes and a domino mask readied.
"What's going on?" She whispered as she rubbed at her temples.
"You tell me." Grue muttered as he pulled on his leather jacket, if there was going to be a fight he wanted what little protection it provided. "The dogs just went silent out of nowhere, no growls, no gunshots, nothing."
Tattletale grimaced before she began to speak. "They are too well trained to do that, they're either dead or incapacitated in a way that didn't carry upstairs. Not ABB or Merchants, could be Protectorate or E88."
When all options were bad at least they didn't have to worry about a rage dragon, but dealing with a bunch of superpowered racists wasn't all that much better.
The door to the bathroom opened and despite her disheveled appearance it gave Shadow Stalker some credit that she was fully clothed and moving to her mask and weapons in such a short time. Just as Shadow Stalker put her mask on three knocks sounded from the door and everyone looked at each other knowing that was not the 'secret knock.'
"Can Sophia come out to play?" a pleasant feminine voice called through the door.
"Son of a bitch, diirgh!" Tattletale growled in pain as she grasped her head in pain. "It's the cape I was watching, Stalker made her trigger she somehow followed- the crows!"
"Hebert?!" Shadow Stalker hissed quietly.
"Oh! You are in there Sophia." The feminine voice seemed to cheer in a friendly tone.
"Heightened hearing." Tattletale moaned as she held her head tighter. "Get something made of steel, I don't think she likes it."
"That's just rude! I haven't harmed anyone here and you immediately jump to grab weapons. Why does it seem that you are so scared of me?"
"Shut up Hebert, I'm not scared of you, but I'm not stupid either." Sophia said as she loaded her crossbow with a razor sharp steel broadhead. "Bitch is going to be pissed that you killed her dogs."
"Killed? Oh no, I wouldn't want to kill these good doggies. They just are smart enough to know when a fight is a bad idea. Isn't that right, who's a good smart doggie?" The voice questioned and was answered by the happy yelps and barks of the two dogs that had been silent until now.
After a few moments the dogs quieted down and Brian looked to Tattletale for some help. It seemed she understood his desire just from seeing his helmet turn toward him.
"I don't know." She growled while rubbing her head. "My power isn't being very helpful, it's like I'm trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing."
Brian took a breath to prepare himself, it looked like he would have to deal with the situation as leader. "What do you want?" He asked through the door.
"At this moment I want to talk to Sophia. She and I have unfinished business." The cape answered ominously.
"What did you do to her?" Grue asked
"Nothing, she's just being a whiny bitch!" Stalker hissed.
"I wouldn't call poisoning my best friend against me, then being directly involved in what many would call mental and physical torture for a year and a half, culminating in stuffing me in a metal box filled with putrid biowaste nothing." The cape outside countered in a chilling tone.
"Damn." Regent said, shooting a glance at Shadowstalker.
Grue blew out an annoyed breath as the situation became more clear. Sophia had come with more baggage then he had first expected. A righteously pissed cape with unknown powers had tracked the new team member to their base. Without Tattletale to help he wasn't sure how this could end up going well for them.
"You said you wanted to talk, and it does sound like Shadowstalker screwed up. But the rest of us weren't involved in that, I don't want a fight." Grue said diplomatically.
"Oh I'm not here to fight. I just want to hear if Sophia has anything to say before I tell her the consequences of her actions. None of you can stop what's coming to her." The cape said
"I'm not scared of you, Hebert!" Stalker shouted.
"It certainly seems like you are, cowering behind your new team and a thick door." She countered.
"You know this is a violation of the rules." Grue interjected while waving off the vigilante before she could get worked up.
"You mean those unwritten rules that mean very little to me since everyone who wants to know can find my name, home address and many other details by a simple internet search." She said sarcastically. "Tell you what, I'll go downstairs and we can have a little truce like in those rules you mentioned, or just send out Sophia. Do so in under one minute and I won't go tell the heroes where your club house is."
Grue fixed Tattletale with a look hoping that she would have something.
"I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth." Tattletale growled. She was still squinting and rubbing at her head but it didn't look like she was going to keel over. "I say we grab some steel things and go."
"Alright we'll be down." Grue said.
The team quickly grabbed some equipment and it turned out the only handy steel was the cheap set of silverware from their little kitchen. He felt quite silly tucking cutlery into the back pockets of his jeans.
Cautiously opening the door Grue led the way downstairs looking for any sign of danger. The ground floor looked like it always did mostly empty with a few pieces of abandoned rusting equipment scattered about. The two dogs were sitting quietly by the exit almost as if Bitch had told them to stay there. They looked fine but he couldn't be sure that they weren't Mastered.
The cape was standing by a wall giving them plenty of space to get down the stairs. As soon as Brian got a good look at her, his breath caught in his throat. She was the definition of stunningly beautiful, her dark hair seemed to both too dark and shimmer with each curl and her green eyes matched the summer dress she wore despite the cold seeping in from outside.
Just behind him Regent gave a low whistle. "Wow, if there's such a thing as a super duper model you'd be it."
"Thank you." She replied with a nod that almost seemed like a bow for completing a performance.
"What the hell happened to you, Hebert?" Stalker snapped, shock and jealousy mixed into her tone.
"You happened to her." Tattletale muttered. "She triggered because of you."
"So what do you want?" Shadowstalker huffed. "Do you want me to apologize for being a bad girl, do i have to go turn myself in? If so that's not happening, besides you look like you've come out of it for the better. You don't look like a puny nerd anymore, you should be happy."
"The ends justifying the means is a very dangerous outlook. It will often end with many new and possibly worse problems if you accomplish your goal." She countered. "I'm here because I recently had a talk with dear Emma and discovered how this all started."
"What did you do to Emma?" Sophia interrupted.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." She replied with a dismissive gesture. "As I was saying, I just want to know if you have any justification for your actions? It seems like you already have seen some consequences to your actions as you've fallen from the tower of heroes to the den of villains. However I have yet to pass my judgment on you."
"I'm not afraid of you or your hippy elf powers, Hebert." Shadow Stalker hissed as she pulled her crossbow tightly into her shoulder.
"Enough!" Grue commanded as he loosened his grip on his power causing wisps of darkness to shroud his form. "If this is a truce, threats are not appreciated, from either side."
Brian tried not to fidget as the beautiful cape fixed her emerald gaze on him. Her eyes seemed to track over his shoulders as a small smile stretched the corners of her lips. "You misunderstand. I'm not here to threaten anyone. I am here to see if the condemned has any statements before sentencing."
The group of villains tensed, not sure how to handle that statement.
"What do you want me to say, Hebert?" ShadowStalker spat. "Do you wanna hear how I'm sorry and that it got out of hand, or that the school staff should have stopped us?"
"No, I want to hear the truth." She replied with a solemn tone.
"The truth?" Sophia snapped back. "The truth is that I did it because you're a whimpering little weakling. Knew it from the first moment I saw you, you're prey. The best use for you was to help Emma as she used you as a stepping stone to become stronger. Just because you've got powers doesn't mean that you aren't weak. In the end you're just simple prey."
Sophia finished her statement with a harsh finality that caused the pointed eared cape to pause as she breathed in deeply and paused.
"I understand completely." She relaxed, her shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been cast off. "Therefore, judgment must be passed. Sophia Hess, also known as Shadow-Stalker. You have lived with the thoughtless ideal of predator and prey, always taking yourself so seriously, always a predator stalking the shadows. Therefore, the night will not protect you from my judgment, and you've only one course for a reprieve. For the next time the moonlight touches you my curse will bind you. Sophia Hess, the eternal prey, the joke, the girl that had her shadow stalk-her."
"FUCK YOU BITCH!" Sophia suddenly yelled as she pulled out a small hand crossbow from under her cloak. Before she could pull the trigger the elf-like cape burst into a cloud of scattering bubbles as an echoing laughter filled the room.
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Suitably ominous. I like it.
Please, Sophia, please defy the implied warning about going out at night. I'm curious to see what a shadow-stalked Shadow Stalker looks like.
Also, what kind of a housewarming can we expect from the Rig crowd for the siren who just moved in next door and started playing her music too loud?
Please, Sophia, please defy the implied warning about going out at night. I'm curious to see what a shadow-stalked Shadow Stalker looks like.
Also, what kind of a housewarming can we expect from the Rig crowd for the siren who just moved in next door and started playing her music too loud?
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Please, please get cursed
Chaosbrain
The End comes beyond Chaos...
- Location
- Between East and West, North and South.
If the general Fae were not in such bad shape, I might have suggested just calling the Wild Hunt upon her and been done with it.
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Garreon
Paldean Top Champion
- Location
- Mesagoza, Paldea
I think that is what Taylor just did. Wouldnt surprise me if she set Black Dogs or Caith Siths, if they are still around, to stalk her in the shadows and hound her, whenever she steps 1 single foot at night after today.
Because that is what Taylor said, she only gets today as reprieve, after today, any night she goes out Shadows will stalk her.
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- Location
- new york
a shadow Fae, or a pack, will nip at her heels without fail, taunt her from unseen angles without rest. and when she is totally unraveled and a mess, she will beg to be Bird Caged to escape the light of the moon.