Evelyn Fox's Story

The local grocery store was good, but it didn’t compare to the market. The fact that it only ran two days a week was a constant shame to Phoenix. Everything he used in the cafe came direct from most of these suppliers anyway, but that didn’t beat the feeling of being able to pick things yourself and haggle for them. He needed to try and shake up the menu for the warmer weather anyway, which meant he wanted to stock up on fresh ingredients. Which meant that he spent a significant amount of money buying every single fruit his usual supplier had.

In return for Alex's patience- and god, he’d really had a lot of it over the past few weeks- Phoenix bought extra strawberries and gave them to him as they searched over the more miscellaneous stands, the ones that had odd little trinkets. To Phoenix, a lot of the stuff looked like junk, but Alex liked it. And when the weather was this wonderful and the town this alive, everywhere just felt a little better, a little nicer. It was easy to spend time out and about here. With everyone around, with the friendly chatter and laughter of the market, things were starting to feel safe now.

All that was shattered at the first scream. They all knew what that sound meant now, especially as it was joined by another, and another. The first body hit the ground. They had never attacked during the day before. Things had been so quiet for so long, people had gotten complacent. And that meant that nobody was on their guard.

This all felt a little too familiar to Phoenix. Except now, Alex was beside him, his hand already clutched in Phoenix’s. The panic and the fear was almost suffocating, rooting Phoenix’s feet to the ground as his side and his shoulder began to burn, almost simultaneously again. He knew he needed to run, that they needed to get away as quickly as possible, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even seem to formulate a coherent thought other than no, this can’t be happening again, this can’t be happening, I can’t do this, I can’t lose him, I’m scared, I don’t want to die-

And then he snapped out of it. Freezing up was what had made everything go wrong in the first attack, and he refused to let that happen again. Things were only starting to fall into place again and he wasn’t giving up on that. Alex had spent so long trying to build Phoenix up again and Phoenix refused to let him down by freezing up. He refused to let any piece of shit hunters ruin the first good relationship he’d had in years. They'd ruined his life enough, and he'd be damned if he let them ruin it any more.

He tightened his grip on Alex’s hand and pulled him in the direction of home. He wasn’t a fighter, neither of them were. And he was stubborn, not an idiot, so he wasn’t going to waste his time fighting if he didn't have to. And he wasn't planning on giving Alex much of a chance to object either.

Rosie was about halfway in to town when she heard the screaming. The attack had already started. Swearing silently under her breath, she broke into a run, emerging into chaos in the town. She scanned the scene in front of her trying to figure out where to start, what needed to be done first. Familiar faces were beginning to put up a fight, the ones who had defended the town before. A hunter appeared behind Rosie, but she swung around just in time, ducking under his swinging knife and tackling him to the ground. He rolled and tried to pin her, but she just shot him a sharp-toothed grin. "What the fuck-" The hunter started, and his momentary shock gave Rosie a chance to wriggle some freedom. "Listen to me-" She ordered, the command laced with siren song. He froze, his attention entirely on her. "Tell me where you're targeting. Tell me your plan," she ordered. "Town and woods. Two waves in an attempt to overwhelm you. Weapons that are a combination of iron and silver. Daylight to weaken the night-dwellers," he said, his voice a flat monotone. "Right. Go fight your friends. Only the humans, if you as much as touch a Greythorne resident, you are to turn yourself in and not move or object until I get there," she ordered. The man stood up, his movements almost robotic, and retrieved his dagger. Rosie stood up and brushed herself down. A familiar blue-haired woman stood a few hundred feet away.

"Evelyn! Go to the woods, there's going to be hunters there as well as in town. Tell the spriggans, the dryads, the druids, anyone who prefers to fight there, then come back and find me!" She called. The vampire nodded, punched a hunter in the throat before running him through with his own sword, before turning and running towards the woods. Rosie retrieved the sword from the fallen hunter and steeled herself for a fight, spreading her wings in a snap.

As she leaped into the air, she could see a familiar spriggan waving at her, trying to catch her attention. Spriggans rarely came into town of their own accord, Percy had to be here for something. It took her a few moments to understand him, mostly due to his excitement, but they got there in the end. "Neden and Travis have left my house? They're in the woods?" She asked, and the spriggan nodded. Rosie exhaled, knowing this was a split second decision. How much did she trust them in this scenario. "Right. Thanks for letting me know, Percy. Just... go help them. But keep an eye on them. If either of them starts acting suspicious, I want to know about it right away, understood?" The spriggan nodded and disappeared. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Right now, she had to trust Neden. And if that meant trusting Travis again... well, they needed every ally they could get.

These were far from the ideal fighting conditions for Evelyn. Even with sunglasses, sun screen, and a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes, the sun still made it harder for her to fight. And the hunters had clearly identified the fact that she was a vampire, because they were forcing her out into the sunniest spots. Dealing with them was still easy. They were fast, sure, but not as fast as her.

They seemed to have sent more this time than the previous times, clearly an attempt to try to overwhelm them. Evelyn had lured a group of them away from a young shapeshifter. She was painfully outnumbered as a result, but she’d seen the girl get back to her mother, and that was all she’d wanted. She smiled a fanged grin at the hunters.

Two of them fell quickly, impaled on the sword she’d stolen from another of their number. One was a little quicker, managing to dance just outside her reach, while another attempted to jump her from behind. She threw him off easily, slicing at him. She felt the icy cold burn of a dagger before she even saw the hunter, crying out instinctively. But the pain didn’t come until after she’d dealt with him and was staring down the last.

“This is your last chance to surrender,” she warned. The hunter laughed.
“You don’t look like you’re going to last long yourself, bloodsucker.”
“Long enough to make sure you can’t hurt anyone else, asshole.” He laughed again, and Evelyn took the chance to run him through. The grin died on his face as he hit the ground. She dropped the sword, putting a hand to her side. Her body was already trying to heal it up, but she wasn’t optimistic.

Somebody else approached her, and she instinctively jumped back, ready to attack. It was the traitor, Travis. “Get back,” she warned. He put his hands up, clearly trying to appear non-threatening, but Evelyn knew not to trust him. God, she should have just killed him herself instead of getting Rosie.

“Mm. Yeah, sure you would. I’ve heard enough about you, traitor, to know that you prefer close range fighting. Usually a gun, but whatever you can get your hands on. So. What’s this, a distraction? Another ambush? I really do hate to disappoint but you’re probably wasting your time with that,” she warned.

Travis sighed as the vampire stayed hostile, referencing his use of a gun and him just being a distraction. “Fine.” He slowly reached and pulled the pistol out of his jacket and tossing it to the side. “No gun. But listen to me, Evelyn right?” Trav asked. “The blade that caused that wound, it had a coating on it specific for vampires, mixed with garlic and some other chemicals I can’t pronounce or even spell. It’s meant to target your healing power factors and slow them down, basically bringing you to the level of a human, making you weaker.”

As he paused for a second he took a few steps closer to Evelyn, but moving slowly and keeping his hand visible so as not to spook her. Travis knew she could easily cut him down and while he was a little worried about her doing that, he wasn’t afraid of it happening. “I’m not asking you to fall into my arms or trust me to watch your back. I’m just trying to help you. It won’t be long until you bleed out, and I doubt I can find Kaylessa or any other healers before that happens, let alone they would trust to follow me.” He finished as he took a final step, only being about a few feet away from the vampire.

Evelyn just watched as he threw the gun away, apparently trying to prove that he wasn’t a threat. She still didn’t trust him, but when he started talking about the exact weapon they’d used, her blood ran cold. That explained the amount of blood she still seemed to be losing. Her head was starting to swim, even if she wouldn’t admit it to him.

He insisted that she didn’t need to trust him, that he just wanted to help her, and she narrowed her eyes a little. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do here or what he wanted to get out of it. But he was close enough for her to attack him now, and he still didn’t seem to be making any moves to attack her.

“So how do you think you can help?” She asked, still on her guard and keeping the weapon clutched in her hand.

“Blood.” Travis said in reply to her asking how he can help. “Vampires grow stronger with the blood they suck. But with the coated blade preventing your healing, have a source of fresh blood should balance it out and heal your injuries.” He continued as he took off his jacket. “So I think you can piece the rest of what I’m saying together.” Trav thought it was pretty obvious what he was hinting at, Evelyn sucking some of his blood so he could rejuvenate her healing powers.

The woman vampire seemed to try to argue with him, but he quickly interrupted her. “Hey. Listen. Do you really have time to argue? And it’s not like I injected holy water or garlic into my blood to try to kill you by having you suck my blood.” Travis said, lightly rubbing his neck. “Well?”

She raised her eyebrows as Travis began talking about blood. Letting her drink would strengthen her, probably enough to counteract whatever they’d treated the blade with, but… there weren’t many humans that would offer it up that freely, and even fewer hunters. “What do you want out of this?” She asked, folding her arms.

But then he made a point, saying she didn’t really have time. She sighed. Her legs were already weak and her vision was blurring around the edges. So she sighed, tossing the sword to the side. “Fine. Thanks… I guess. Are you sure?” She asked as she took a few steps closer, close enough for her to bite. As soon as he said yes, she took a deep breath before sinking her teeth into his neck. She hadn’t realised how thirsty she was, how weak she was, until she began to feed, feeling the effects almost instantaneously.

Travis took a deep breathe and quickly felt the woman’s fangs in his neck. He’s been bit by vampires in the past, thought usually out of hostility and attacked, as well as only on the arm. But this felt different, he could almost feel the blood flowing through his body and towards his neck. The pain only came in the first few seconds and as time went on he started to get cold. He was thinking of telling the woman to stop it, it was enough, but he could barely think as his body seemed to slow down.

After what felt like forever, Travis started to feel weaker, barely able to keep himself standing. Tasting his fresh blood and feeding must have made her more thirsty. He could feel himself start to lose consciousness but didn’t have enough strength to say anything. It wasn’t long before Travis’s legs began to give out and he slumped over, which caused Evelyn to finally pull her fangs back and catch him. He blinked a couple times before speaking. “Seemed like that should’ve healed you up a bit.” He said with a chuckle before slowly closing his eyes and passing out.

There was something in Evelyn’s head warning her that she should stop, that she was gone too far. But the strength was too good, the fact she could almost feel her body fighting back against the wound and stitching itself back together. She hadn’t fed from many humans, but something about this felt… different.

And then Travis collapsed, and Evelyn snapped out of it just in time to catch him. Even though he was taller and heavier than her, she caught him easily, her strength restored. But he was white as a sheet. With shaking hands, Evelyn checked his pulse. Weak, but still there.

“Shit,” she mumbled to herself, trying to figure out what to do. She knew if she left him here, the hunters would probably get to him anyway. And that didn’t seem right. So she threw him over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and started darting through the streets with the intention of finding the only person she knew could deal with something like this.

There were definitely more of them than there had been in previous attacks. It seemed like everyone was outnumbered by two or three of them, and they seemed to be better prepared. There was a moment when Rosie was suddenly afraid that they wouldn’t win this time- but she couldn’t afford to think like that. They just needed to fight their asses off and take down as many of the bastards as they could.

Rosie had already taken down three of them, but every time she turned around, there seemed to be more and more approaching. She just steeled herself and prepared to take down another, but a figure came soaring down from a height, taking down two hunters with a bow and tripping another. The hunters apparently regarded the newcomer as a bigger threat, which was their first mistake. Rosie took down another one herself as Neden hurled a knife at one of them. The remaining hunters seemed to vanish, as if deciding they needed to find easier targets.

Rosie turned to look at Neden as she caught her breath, making eye contact with the angel. She was glad to see them, especially in these circumstances. When Neden drew another arrow, Rosie knew what it meant, but didn’t react, hoping the hunter would be too focused on her to notice Neden. And the plan worked as the arrow hit home and a body hit the ground just behind Rosie.

Neden began to make her way over to Rosie, and they met halfway.She just nodded as Neden asked if she was okay and said they’d explain everything. “Neden, it’s fine. I don’t blame you for leaving after that. A lot of people were… unhappy about it,” she said. She knew of at least two people who had just burned the letters. “But that’s not a conversation for now. I know the spriggans, the druids, the dryads, lycans, and some of the vampires are also covering the woods, and I think you’re best suited to staying in town. Help me keep a control on things. I’ll deal with Travis later, but… I never even considered not trusting you,” she said.

She was about to suggest they found some more hunters to deal with, when she heard somebody calling her name. She turned, already fearing the worst, and saw Evelyn practically sprinting towards her, somebody slung over her shoulder. Evelyn was covered in blood, but it was the tear in her shirt that alarmed Rosie the most.

“It’s Travis, I…” Evelyn had to take a minute to compose herself, and she wasn’t meeting Rosie’s eyes. Rosie’s stomach twisted more painfully than she was willing to admit. “I was hurt, and… Travis suggested I… feed to try and speed up my healing because the knife was coated in some shit to slow it down. Except… I think I overdid it? He passed out but I think he’s still breathing?” She said, her voice shaky.

Rosie sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. “Okay. Right. We need to get him to safety, we’re all at risk if we’re protecting a casualty. Neden, come with me, I could do with some expertise and you’re the best I’ve got at the minute. Evelyn, can you carry him back to mine with me?” She asked, and the vampire nodded. “Okay. Let’s go before they decide to try ambushing us.”

Hayden just smiled at Kay as she nodded in response to his instructions, and they began to make their way through town. They darted down alleyways and tried to avoid the worst of the fighting. They were so nearly home when the hunters rounded the corner and stared at them. Turning back around would probably just mean they ran straight into trouble again.

“Kay, you need to go!” He yelled. But she was frozen, staring at them, and he grabbed her arms, forcing her to look at him. “Run, don’t come back! I’ll be right behind you, okay?” he said. He sighed with relief as she turned and ran, and he turned to the nearest hunter. He slashed at one with the knife, but the hunter just laughed. The laugh died as Hayden lunged forward and drove the knife into the man’s stomach. Hayden didn’t waste any time, turning around to deal with the next.

At first, he thought the small figure that launched itself at one of the hunters was some sort of fairy, until he recognised the voice. And despite the concern and the fear, he smiled for a brief moment until the hunter pinned her against the wall. Taking advantage of his distraction, one of the hunters managed to land a punch into Hayden’s face, and the two left standing began to circle around him. Hayden glanced at Kay, and knew instinctively what he had to do. He shoved up his sleeve and found the symbol he was looking for, tracing it with the knife, just hard enough to draw blood. He could feel the power welling up, waiting to be released. He lunged forward and grabbed Kay’s arm, before releasing the power in a blast, knocking the hunters away from them. The rest of the power settled in a protective shield around the two of them, but he could already feel the strain on his energy. “Come on, we need to go!” He said, grabbing her arm and beginning to run again.

They got back to Rosie’s house without encountering any more hunters, the first stroke of luck they’d had all day. Rosie honestly wanted to just collapse onto the couch with the biggest glass of wine she could pour, but she couldn’t do that just yet. She told herself that she could do that eventually, but they needed to deal with something else first.

She instructed Evelyn to put Travis down on the couch instead. The vampire obliged, and Rosie found herself with both Evelyn and Neden looking at her for guidance, asking what they should do. She’d never asked for a leadership role like this. But at some point it had been thrust upon her, and she had never been one to run away from a challenge. Even as tempting as it could be sometimes. She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“I need both your expertise. There hasn’t been a vampire attack… of this kind,” she added quickly, but Evelyn didn’t seem too troubled by the comment, “here in years and I’ve never dealt with one. I don’t know what to expect,” she admitted. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with this.”

She sighed and shook her head a little bit. “Mostly I just want company,” she admitted. “So I’m going to pour myself a glass of wine and whatever snacks I have, can I get either of you anything?” She asked, already heading into the kitchen. She didn’t even know if this was the type of thing that they could even do anything about, but she knew it wasn’t the type of thing she wanted to deal with alone. Pulling out three glasses, she carefully balanced them, along with a bottle of wine and some chips as she went back into the sitting room.

It took Rosie a minute or so to process what they were saying. By the sound of it, Travis was… turning into a vampire? She hadn’t known what to expect, but somehow, that wasn’t it. Neden’s hug was greatly welcome, even if it was brief. But they didn’t even stick around for long enough, saying they had to go out and deal with whatever was happening outside. Rosie knew they were right, but she wanted people around.

The hours dragged, even as Rosie and Evelyn flicked through the TV and tried to take their mind off of things. Evelyn had gone out and killed a deer, and they were both pointedly ignoring it.

Evelyn had repeatedly warned Rosie to keep her distance as time went on, saying Trav was going to be unpredictable and he mightn’t recognize her at first, but Rosie felt too guilty to leave him alone. She wasn’t even sure why she felt guilty, but she did. But Rosie found out the hard way that Evelyn had been right, and things could have gone much, much worse if Evelyn hadn’t been there.

The past two weeks had been rough. Apparently, the first few weeks were always hell, and it wasn’t like Rosie had ever had a transformation to go through that she could relate to. Markus had been a werewolf for as long as she’d known him and even longer beyond that, so she didn’t even know anybody else that could help. But Evelyn didn’t seem to mind.

Which was good, because Rosie had enough other shit to deal with. The aftermath of the attack was messy, and Neden hadn’t been themselves. Rosie didn’t blame them. They’d lost another person they cared about, and that had to be rough. But it did mean she’d been forced to personally step up when it came to the patrols. She wasn’t getting a whole lot of sleep, and now there were murmurs among the townspeople. They’d heard Travis was back, and it wasn’t like they could deny it. Too many people had seen him during the attack, and now they were accusing Rosie of harboring him. They wanted justice. And she knew a not insignificant portion wanted him dead. Someone had mentioned a trial to her, and she was considering the idea. She knew that there was a very real chance it could go the wrong way. She knew that it was probably more likely than not. But there was a chance that his good deeds might redeem him.

She hadn’t said anything to anyone else yet. How could she? He was still dealing with all of this, and she… she was just exhausted. She was getting three, four hours sleep a night if she was lucky, and everything was taking an emotional toll. But for once, she’d actually managed to get nine hours of sleep. This did, however, bring her to sleep in until just after midday. She woke up to hear activity in her backyard, but it wasn’t enough to alarm her. She got dressed, made herself some tea, and grabbed a leftover pastry, going out to sit on her porch steps. Evelyn was training Travis, which explained the noise she’d heard.

Evelyn was still relatively young as far as vampires went, but the few years of experience showed when compared to the clumsiness of a new vampire. She made the whole thing look effortless. Her hair was in a ponytail and tucked into her baseball cap. She’d come dressed in athletic gear as usual, covering as much skin as she could, without making it look like she was trying to cover up. Evelyn had come with some kind of weights today and appeared to be showing Travis how to utilize his newfound strength.

Rosie watched the sparring for a minute. She wasn’t sure if it was just residual tiredness, guilt, or just a result of all of the events of the past few weeks, but watching Trav and Evelyn like that… it didn’t sit right. She couldn’t put her finger on why she felt so weird watching it all, but it was enough to make her realise that she wished she was better able to train him herself. She was glad when she heard somebody at the gate, and managed a smile when she saw it was Neden. They looked exhausted and were still using a cane. Seeing the obvious pain they were in as they sat down broke Rosie’s heart, but Neden had refused every offer of help.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. She raised an eyebrow as Neden dug through her bag and held out something to Rosie. She took it and examined it carefully, smiling a little sadly. She’d found this once while hanging out with Markus and had teased him about being such an old man. “Thanks, Neden.”

She sighed as they asked about Trav. “He’s… well, it’s a big shock. But he’s managing. Evelyn’s been a big help, I don’t know how we would have managed without her.” The two of them made their way over to Rosie and Neden, and Rosie managed a half smile in response. As Neden said they wanted to be back on patrols the minute their leg was healed, Rosie managed a grin. “The sooner the better. Running them single-handedly is exhausting and I could use you back around the place,” she confessed.

Rosie knew that Neden was terrified of Evelyn, so their reaction to the vampire just made her smile a little. “He was stronger as a human than I would have been, which means he’s naturally going to be stronger than I am even now. Not to mention that he used to be a hunter, which gives him a tactical advantage,” Evelyn replied, raising her eyebrow as she mentioned Trav being a former hunter and staring straight at Neden. Rosie rolled her eyes. Evelyn seemed to have something against Neden, something that she didn’t seem to hold against Travis. Rosie wondered if it was just because Trav was also a vampire, or if it was something else entirely.

“You want anything to eat, Neden?” Rosie asked suddenly, wanting to distract herself from dwelling on it. “Have you been eating?” She added gently. Rosie wasn’t going to judge, there had been plenty of days when she was just too exhausted to eat.

Rosie was about to comment on the fact Neden hadn't been eating, when Travis made a comment about sharing his meal. Maybe it was just because she was still exhausted, but she genuinely wasn't sure whether or not Travis was joking about the elk, so she decided against mentioning it further. A distraction came anyway in the form of Travis asking about going for a hunt with Evelyn. Her first instinct was to say no, even if she wasn't entirely sure why. Part of her wanted to insist she came along, but she knew that there wasn't a hope in hell of her being able to keep up with them.

"Sure, I... can't see why not. Just be careful. Plenty of people in this town will kill you on sight, so don't do anything stupid," she said. She turned back to Neden as the angel began to apologise. They knew people were mad at them, but the fact that they wanted to work on that was at least something. Some people had at least acknowledged that it was in the past, which was a start. But a lot of people were still hurting. She nodded as they said that they wanted to talk to her about something in private and got to her feet.

"Sure thing. You can help me make lunch," she said, grinning as she met Neden's eyes. She was making sure the angel ate something before they left her house, whether they liked it or not. "Uh, Travis, I don't know if you guys want to go hunting right after you're done or what but... I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said, brushing down her skirt and leading the way back into the house.

She leaned against the counter as they got back inside. "If this is about the townspeople wanting 'justice'," she said, tilting her head back in the direction they'd come from in the hope Neden would know what she meant, "I already know all too well," she said.

Neden gave a small smile as Rosie commented on Travis' question about wanting to go on a hunt, if it was okay with Rosie. At least some things were normal there, even if Neden hadn't entirely forgiven Travis for what he did, going against everyone and being involved with those attacks. That was something they weren't going to let go. Not yet at least. Neden forced a smile when Rosie had insisted on Neden helping make food, knowing full well what she meant by that. Neden wasn't going to be leaving this house until they ate, Rosie was always stubborn about certain things. This was clearly one of them. Neden nodded their head and got to their feet and followed Rosie into the house as Travis had gone ahead and followed Evelyn in first.

Neden followed in silently, clutching the over the shoulder strap of the bag that they carried with them as they still felt a bit off by being with everyone again this soon. It just, felt off to them. Neden couldn't really explain it. Maybe it was the guilt, no. It definately was the guilt. Following Rosie into the kitchen, they watched as she leaned against the counter, finally breaking the silence as she asked if what they wanted to talk about had anything to do with the people in town, and them wanting justice. Neden gave a nervous nod of their head in response as they tried to think of the right words to say. "Like, I know they're all still very angry, with everything that's happened. But..I don't know..." the angel said with a small shrug as they bit the inside of their lip for a moment.

The angel finally took a seat on one of the stools as they placed the bag on the floor by their feet, "I know that neither me or Travis can change their minds, I don't expect them to just easily forget or even forgive either of us for what we did but...Maybe we could like, hold a trial or something? Maybe even make it public for where they decide what becomes of us, it'd only be fair. And I know it sounds barbaric that way but, if it's the only way they'd find closure, then I'd be all for it." Neden said with a hushed tone, not wanting to be too loud as they knew the others could probably hear them.

Neden looked at Rosie with a sincere look on their face, not even being able to look Rosie in the eyes as they continued, "I know that what both of us had done in the past was unforgivable, and some may never move on from it, and that is perfectly fine but, I have spent...The last, forty years trying to move past it. To say that I was stupid back then is putting it lightly, and I don't expect anyone to forgive me, especially because I should have been able to stop it." the angel's voice broke slightly as they tried to calm themselves down, taking a few deep breaths as they did so.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, in a way, I am responsible for what's happened, but at the same time I'm not? It's just a big mess...But, if seeing me die will bring some sort of resolution and closure to some people here, then so be it." Neden said as they finally lifted their eyes enough to look Rosie in the face, trying to gauge some sort of reaction out of her. "At this point, I'm not afraid to die, I guess is what I'm trying to say. I betrayed and hurt all of you, and that is my biggest regret. I know Travis is trying to move past it all but, I can't vouch or speak for him. His own actions are all on him. But for myself, I get it. You all are angry and hurt but, I'd do anything for you all. Whether they believe it or not, I'd die to protect you all." Neden sighed as they looked down, having to talk about this wasn't making them feel any better, and nor was it any easier to acknowledge.

Neden looked back up at Rosie for a moment before looking down at the counter top ad they traced circles with their fingertip against the pattern, "I know that...You knew who the mole was before we all did. The look on your face when you read the letter, I knew something wasn't right. You held something back because you knew how they towns people would react if they knew it was Travis then, and you know how they feel now. I know that isn't any of my business, and I'm not going to pry into why you kept it from everyone, but I know...I know that we all make choices that are hard when it comes to when we're hurt by the people we care about most. Knowing someone betrayed you isn't easy, and I'm not going to pretend like it is." Neden paused for a moment as they bit their lip again for a moment.

"But...I'd like to think that you know me well enough that I'd do whatever I had to to keep you all safe, and I know that you know the Branded aren't going to stop. That they're not going to just stop coming here until we're all dead. That is their goal, and I'm not going to sit by and act like nothing is going to happen. You know what we have to do, even if we don't like it. I don't like it, but I know if we want them to stop...We're going to have to attack them before they can attack us again. And..If they're still the way that I used to know them, then I know when that is. We have to wipe them out before they kill any more of us...And I think I know a way to do it, even if I don't like it." Neden bit back saying any more than they should have at this moment. They knew full well what the Branded wanted now, now that some knew that Neden was still alive, or as they once knew to be Ronan. If they knew one of their own was still alive, and was working with the enemy, a price would be put on Neden's head that no one could refuse, and Neden was fully aware of it. The Branded wouldn't stop until they were taken out, and they'd have to do something about it before anyone else in Greythorne died.

"I'm sorry, that was a lot and...Maybe now wasn't a good time for that but...We both know it were things that needed to be said, and I didn't like having to say any of that any more than you liked hearing it...It's all just fucked, ya know..? But, whatever your choice is on the matter, you have my vote for whatever it may be, Rosie." Neden said with a feigned smile.

Phoenix just nodded at Alex’s objection to involving Abuela. She’d spent most of Alex’s life trying to get him to embrace his abilities, so for him to go and do something like this… she’d probably kill him. Or, at the very least, he’d certainly never live this down.

Phoenix could feel his stomach sinking as Triss made his way over to Alex. He went to stand up, already bracing himself to intervene, thinking that things were about to go wrong. He was right, but it wasn’t in the way he imagined. He was expecting a fight, but one look at Triss in Alex’s body told him that wasn’t it. He could only watch helplessly as hands grasped hips. His breath was catching in his throat, even though he knew it wasn’t Alex doing that, even though he knew that he wouldn’t, it felt like all of his nightmares were starting to come true and why couldn’t things be easy-

He snapped back to reality as Zada intervened, like waking up from some horrific dream. She’d been able to do what he should have done, but instead he’d just frozen because he was too much of a coward.

He met Zada’s gaze but couldn’t even force himself to respond. And she was the one to check in on Alex as he was silent for too long. And he felt Alex looking at him, everyone was checking on him and he couldn’t keep it together, he needed to pull it together or he’d be completely useless-

He forced himself to take in a deep, shaking breath, trying to ground himself. He hadn’t even realised that he was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, a very visible sign that he wasn’t as okay as he might have wanted to seem. There was something about an altar, and needing a blood sacrifice or something. “Is there any way you can contact her? Try and figure out exactly what we need to do? We can’t risk doing it wrong and making her more angry. If this is her punishment for just ignoring her, we don’t want to make her any angrier.” His voice was surprisingly steady, considering he was pretty sure that if his hands weren’t gripping his ankles they would have been shaking.

Rosie grinned as Neden went in to hug Kay, stepping away to let the angel hug the half-elf. She was going to miss Kay, but she was happy to see the girl spreading her wings and seeing the world. Greythorne was nice, but seeing new places and meeting more people like her and learning about the world. The necklace that Neden gave Kay was suitably pretty for her, and she was so happy to receive the gift.

She nodded as Kay mentioned saying something to Trav, but then Travis appeared from down the hall and got her attention. She laughed as Kay ran and hugged him, but at the back of her mind she was concerned. She trusted Kay not to say anything deliberately, but she could get excited and mention Trav to the wrong person. She let them have their goodbye, wondering how she was going to tell Trav about the trial. At least Kay wouldn’t be here for that, it would break her heart. Rosie didn’t want to think about how she would break the news to Kay if everything went wrong.

She nodded as Trav said him and Evelyn were going hunting, laughing as Evelyn said she’d stop him from doing anything stupid. “Have a nice time!” She called, turning back to Neden. “So. I know we said that we were going to leave the trial behind but… we have to tell him. Let him prepare, and let him get his defense ready. Officially, of course, I won’t be able to help him but… will you help him? Just… so he has someone on his side. So he has a fighting chance.”

Jaiden sat there nervously, hands clasped infront of her tightly as she waited for a response from Zoe, observing the other woman's face as she could see the gears turning in Zoe's head. Clearly trying to piece together what Zoe was offering, and when it became clear, Jaiden couldn't help but let a small smile appear on her face for a moment. A small chuckle came from her as Zoe said she didn't know what to say, and confirmed Jaiden's fears that she was getting ready to leave. Zoe was running out of money and supplies, and her brother, whoever he was, was anything but helpful. Which caused a small frown to form on her face for only a minute before Zoe continued talking.

Jaiden smiled again as Zoe reassured her that she wasn't ready to leave, reaching across the table and placed her hands on Jaiden's, which caused her heart to stop for only a second before her clasped hands released and gently held Zoe's for a minute as the other witch went on to say that she'd accept the offer. A smile returned to Jaiden's face, "I'm sure you'll do great. Besides, I'll be there to help you, and even if I get confused by something, I know a guy that can help out. He's kind of a plant witch so, he'd be able to help us out for sure if we got real stuck." she chuckled softly, "I'm happy to help with anything you need, Zoe. I can't really offer much, the other offer would have been one of the extra rooms in my house but, I figured you'd want your own space and home to live in if you'd be staying here longer so...I'm happy to help any way I can. So uh, what do you think the first thing you'll do now that you'll be staying...well, for a bit longer that is at least?"

Neden watched with a smile as Kaylessa took the necklace and excitedly put it on, "My friends deserve the best. Don't mention it, Kay. It's kept me safe all this time, I only hope it does the same for you." the angel said with a smile. Giving the half elf a small nod as she said she'd tell Hayden that Neden had wished both of them luck and safe travels. Neden watched as Kay began to ask Rosie if she could say something to Travis, before he and Evelyn both came back into the room. The angel averted looking at Evelyn, or even in her general direction and gave the group space. Still not feeling entirely safe around them all just yet, considering how some people were still viewing them, it was only a matter of time until people stopped playing nice with them.

The angel watched as they all bid Kay a final goodbye, and stepped aside as Travis and Evelyn walked by them, getting nothing but a bad vibe from Evelyn as she stepped by Neden. A small pit formed in their stomach, things would never go back to the way things were between these two, would they? The angel sighed a bit as they watched the two disapear into the forest and out of sight, Kay soon leaving afterwards as well. Neden closed the door and looked at Rosie as she started to talk again, bringing the trial back up again wasn't something they had expected so soon, again. A small pit formed in their stomach once more as Rosie spoke, especially at the last thing the siren said. She wanted Neden to be there for Travis, just in case things went south. It made sense, people were less angry with Neden and most of the anger was aimed at Travis. But Neden was still a target of the people's ire.

Neden sat down on the couch, looking down at the ground for a good minute or two as their brain wracked what was asked from them. They very easily could say yes, and be killed for helping Travis, or maybe they could be used as help and could possibly save Travis' life. This was a whole 50/50 chance of being pulled off, or it all going to shit and no one had a way of knowing, but they had to try. That's all they could do. Neden finally looked back up at Rosie, their eyes scanning her over innocently enough to gauge a verdict from what they could sense from her. Rosie was being genuine, and wasn't trying to set them up with a false pretense of safety. A small sigh escaped their lips as they finally gave a nod, "It's worth the shot I suppose. My life is already on the line as is so, what's the worse that can happen, right? They want me dead too as is, so...I don't really have much to lose I suppose." a sound of a mix of a laugh and pained sigh escaped their lips as Neden brushed their hand through their hair. "I'll do it, Rosie. I need to own up to my past actions...I'll try to help Travis as much as I can. I promise." they gave another nod as they nervously fidgeted with shaky hands.

The angel looked back up at Rosie as a nervous smile came across their face, "Uhm...Is...is it okay if I stay here a little longer? Normally I'd give you your space but...Last time I left...Someone ended up getting hurt...But, if you want me to leave, I'll go." Neden asked with a shaky voice, which sounded like they were on the verge of crying, just barely able to keep it together. The angel began to stand up as they did so, just incase Rosie wanted them to leave.