[RP] Children of Aether

Ardis let out a small sigh as the frustration built up. Here they were mostly all together again and now some of the group wanted to split up again, not to mention Crimson throwing her little spat there and storming off. Looking at the witch who barked orders at him and not be one to back down from the intimidation it seemed she was trying to instill to them he pointed at the flames.

"Just how do you expect us to follow her now. More then likely shes far gone by now, shes had more then enough time to go who knows where. So unless you have a way of tracking her I think it would be best to think of how to find her, or better yet maybe find what this poppy person wants. Also if you want something there are better ways of asking then just ordering someone you don't know."

Shaking his head Ardis went to the nearest wall and leaned up on it. Crossing his arms and his right foot over his left he tapped his right foot impatiently. He had to be screwing something up, normally he wasn't like this. His thoughts turned towards how Crimson stormed off, why didn't he stop her and why didn't he try to do anything. As he thought more and more on it he came to the conclusion. Laughing a bit he just thought to himself, "I'm so boned or really messed up. Here I find myself falling for what is supposed to be one of my sworn enemies. If it wasn't for seeing what she did just now, hell I would still think of her as...what would I think of her? I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid?"


 
Alyss laughed for a bit. Hearing someone warn her of Poppy after she had already been tortured by her was amusing for all the wrong reasons. “I already know of Poppy and her ‘tortures’,” Alyss said. “I have experienced it firsthand.” She held out the palms of her hands, revealing the fresh scars on them. Turning them over, she revealed the scars on the other side, showing that the wound went all the way through. “Those are not the only two…” She said. Immediately her thoughts shifted over to her legs and thighs. There were scars all over her now... but it didn’t matter. The only ones that would be visible were the ones on her hands. The ones on her arms would only be shown if she ever decided to wear short sleeves again.

Standing up, Alyss limped over to the chair opposite of the Knight and took a seat; folding her hands upon the table. “I agree that Witches should be kept far away from her. That is part of the good news that I have, actually. I prevented her from getting the power of Darkness… though it came at a price.” Her tone shifted to a somewhat solemn one at the last moment as she thought about what she experienced at Poppy’s hands. Though, looking at the bigger picture, it was a small price to pay. She stopped that lunatic from gaining another power.

She looked the Knight in the eyes. “From that riveting speech you gave, I take it you are not one of those Knights you just mentioned? Why not? You should not judge by title alone…” Pausing, she decided that the conversation may go a little better if she dropped the hostility a notch. “The name is Alyss, by the way.”
 
After Crimson's freak out and setting a wall of flames to block their pursuit, Tristiana used her blood to quench the fires. Afterwards, she glared at Aldra and the other knight, "You two. Track that brat down. Find her. Protect her. And if you see Poppy, hold her off. Die to protect that girl if you need to. Poppy with the power of fire under her command is not acceptable. Do you hear me?"

To be honest, why would she protect someone that don't need protecting is beyond him, but she rather avoid ny further entanglements with this woman. How Heath ever managed to be her friend is a story for another day.

"Just how do you expect us to follow her now. More then likely shes far gone by now, shes had more then enough time to go who knows where. So unless you have a way of tracking her I think it would be best to think of how to find her, or better yet maybe find what this poppy person wants. Also if you want something there are better ways of asking then just ordering someone you don't know."

Aldra paid little attention to him, only saying, "Go find the Fire Witch, Knight. I suggest we split up, we'll cover more ground that way." With that, Aldra took his leave beginning the search for the girl. If it's any consolation, if he found Crimson before this Poppy did, then he would at least try to get her to trust him. Aldra chuckled to himself, Crimson reminded him of his sister back in Germany, so this of course wasn't going to be hard at all...
 
"Just get me into the city!"

Casting a furtive glance from the rear view mirror, the taxi driver returned an affirmative grunt and started driving. There was no defined destination; definitely a good day for the driver. Desiree was past caring about that, staring out of the window. All she could do was hope that there would not be too much trouble awaiting her.

... Some time later...

Taking her first step out of the taxi into the city, she was quickly overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle. Life was proceeding as per normal, but it seemed almost as if there was something big happening everywhere. The only times she got a chance to see this much activity back at the orphanage was when something big was happening - usually bad.

Here, it seemed like the norm. Unsettling it was, to Desiree, though she did realize it was interesting as well. More unsettling was the fact that there was a Witch in the midst of the crowd. The interest fades away quickly.

Silently maneuvering her way around the crowd, she made for a quiet coffee shop, and occupied a seat. There were few people around, and with the ambient music in the background, it was conducive for deep thinking - perfect for Desiree.

Sighing audibly, she cupped her face with her hands.
 
"Come to think of it...I wouldn't mind a graph depicting things. Would you be able to colour it in for me, as well? I remember you always had a knack for colouring things in..." Heath muttered under his breath, following Tristana meekly whilst the other two Knights set off after Crimson...somehow, Heath doubted they would find her and, if they did, they'd be in for a nasty surprise. Although, given the ease that Tristana had displayed when she put that fire out, perhaps not. Although Tristana was a lot older and more experienced, and- no, that was another line of thought best not pursued. Heath had the sneaky suspicion Tristana could read his mind, which would explain why she was so pissed off with him...but then, she had always been pissed off.

Ah, women...

All the same, that had been an unmitigated disaster. Fantastic. Now he was missing three witches. Three to one. He was getting far too old for this business. Leave it to the younger, newer models like Ardis, find a shack in the middle of the mountains, and retire, free from witches...well, all witches asides the one whose car he was now climbing into, wrinkling his nose slightly as the smell of stale alcohol intensified.

"So...here we are, in your car. I think I saw this scene in a movie once." he commented absently, delicately adjusting the mirror.

---

Eliza strode down the street, intent on stopping at the nearest newsagents, buying herself a paper and something to eat, and then calling a taxi to take her back to her office. Dismembered bodies in alleyways, oak trees in the middle of the road which spontaneously burst into flames...this place was practically Witch central. Why had she decided to come back here again? It was crawling with Knights, as well...although she had nothing to fear from Knights. Or any of the Witches, for that matter. The city was her playground, and a couple of trees and flowers weren't going to change that. She could crush anything and anyone here; she had limitless resources to draw upon.

Still, the tree suddenly springing up in the middle of the road - right in front of her car, no less - had been a bit much. She had stopped just in time to avoid crashing it, was negotiating a way around it, and then it had suddenly burst into flames.

Her car had nearly been incinerated by that blast, and she was not pleased. As it was, chunks of falling tree debris had forced her to abandon it entirely. First she made a tree spring up in the middle of the road, and then she set it on fire. If that wasn't showing off, what was? Yet, why had she not revealed herself? She must know of Eliza...what other reason did she have to plant a tree in her path? Coincidence? Not bloody likely.

Let the little bitch try and convert the city into a forest. When she revealed herself, Eliza would be waiting. Attacking random civilians that she could care less about was not the way to get her undivided attention. No, she'd have to pull a much bigger stunt than that. Much, much bigger...
 
Crimson
Fire Witch

Crimson had been sitting in the alleyway for a good half an hour, trying to calm herself down. Why was she so upset about this all? She couldn't think of a good enough reason and yet here she was, sniffling and sulking like a baby.

"I'm so pathetic..." she sighed getting to her feet and dusting her skirt off. The girl wasn't sure what to do next, she wondered if Ardis would try to find her. She hoped he wouldn't, she didn't want to be found, and she didn't want to kill him, he was kind of sweet in his own way, but she would if she had to.

"Hello beautiful"

Crimson jumped turning her attention to a sly and raspy sounding voice, there was a man standing at the alley entrance, he looked drunk and dirty, he was tall and had teeth missing.

"Get away from me... I am warning you." She said sternly green-grey eyes narrowing, man did this guy pick the wrong person to creep on today.

"Aww but I couldn't possibly stay away from someone as cute as you, c'mere, lemme show you something!" The man inched closer, she could smell the alcohol on him from where she stood.

"Disgusting! Humans are a disgusting race...." she frowned, the girl was not in the mood, she pulled out her lighter, which was getting a lot of use lately, and without a second thought she set a large stream of fire onto him. He screamed and shrieked, his body flailing about on fire as he ran from the alleyway into the public. People's gasps could be heard as the crowd rushed to him and a few people tried to pat the fire out with their coats and whatnot but they failed. That fire would not go out unless crimson willed it too, she was still very much in range to control it as she liked.

The girl then walked out from the alleyway unnoticed or so she hoped, everyone was too busy looking at the man who was on fire to care about her, none of those people saw her do it so there was no reason to bother noticing her. She quickly slipped into the general store. Here she would lay low for a while, maybe grab a little something to snack on...

Her lips began to curve into a smirk as she walked down the aisle. Crimson found she couldn't help but smile. So that's what being feared felt like... no wonder Poppy enjoyed it so much. She felt her crazy youth catching up to her once again and she liked it.
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A shriek of horror and pain sounded from the alley on the opposite side of the road, causing Eliza to turn, a handful of coins already in her hand. She turned, frowning, to see a large group of people clustering around what appeared to be an old man...running out of an alleyway, ablaze. A single person - a girl, with flaming red hair - pocketed what appeared to be a lighter as she moved as quickly as she could in the opposite direction, oblivious to the commotion behind her.

Eliza raised an eyebrow. Well, that was subtle. The girl might as well be walking naked through the street with "witch" painted all across her body in red paint; she could not possibly be any more inconspicuous. Setting a man on fire in broad daylight! Right after a tree had just appeared in the middle of the road only a few streets away, only to be mysteriously burned down! Honestly, was the younger generation made up of nothing but morons? They were just popping up, one-by-one...did they not have an ounce of common sense?

The Fire Witch, this one? She was exactly like her sister had been...out of control. Was that a trait inherent amongst Fire Witches? Were they all clinically insane? Perhaps the Horned King had a sense of humour. Make the Fire Witch a psychotic maniac each time and throw her into the mix, just to see what happens. Fire all around! Suddenly, Eliza found herself feeling slightly sorry for the Nature Witch - she'd probably overreact as well if she had a lunatic like that on her trail. Had He brought them all together on purpose? Was this some sort of grand scheme, a game, with them as but players on the board? The thought annoyed her. She was not a chess piece. She was the one who moved them across the board and, if the Horned King thought He could play her, He was sadly mistaken. Eliza might not be a deity, but she was far more than these lesser beings could ever hope to be, even without her abilities. She would not be played.

Still, this witch, this little girl, she needed to be brought down a peg or two. Strutting around as though she owned the city...Eliza's city. She was quite clearly young and inexperienced...and annoyingly cocky besides. The power of fire had not availed her little sister when she had challenged Eliza, it would not avail this girl any either. But, unlike her insane little sister, she harboured no personal resentment towards Eliza, so she might even turn out to be useful. Perhaps she could use this girl. After, of course, she had made her face the reality that she was not quite as indestructible as she may wish to believe. Really, she was doing the girl a favour: it was a reality that everyone had to face, eventually.

If worse came to worse, she could simply put a coin in her head and move on, with the girl's strength added to her own. Not that the power of fire would do her much good. No, it would be much better if she could keep this girl alive, and on her good side. Eliza held no particular desire for more power; she was content with what she had. No, control, that was far more valuable than power, and weak-minded fools like this girl...they were easy to control. They needed stability, and she provided it. It was what made her, in every way, the perfect leader. It wouldn't take much to bring this girl into line.

Eliza entered the store, completely at ease, heading for the magazines, yet keeping the door firmly in sight. It was unlikely that the girl would notice her until she chose to reveal herself: after all, she was probably at least double this girl's age, and the life expectancy of witches was not a long one. She was simply another person, out doing her shopping. She'd approach the girl when she had let down her guard. It was foolish, very foolish, to rely upon something else for power, and she would now learn that the hard way. Well, if she were stupid enough to try anything, at least. Soon enough, they'd find out...
 
Crimson
Fire Witch

Crimson walked up to the fridge inside the store and looked through the glass doors at the selection of drinks, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection. She was still smiling.... this made her grin grow wider. There was something wrong with someone who enjoyed seeing a man set alight like that, Crimson started to wonder if maybe she wasn't as stable as she once thought. The red head didn't even care that what she was doing was so blatant, that anyone with a keen eye could easily trace it all to her. She wasn't exactly covering her tracks very well and she had no idea there was another witch in this very store with her at this very moment.

She blinked, snapping herself out of the daze she found herself in and opened the fridge, reaching her arm in to grab a Vanilla Coke. She flinched at the frosty air, how she hated the cold, she'd always hated the cold, even before the Horned Demon gave her the power of flames. Now to find a pie, she was famished, creating flames took a lot out of her after all.

As she walked down the store aisles she thought more about what she would do next. She wanted to find another witch...which one would be best paired with her power? Probably Wind. She could create Fire that could move over anything as fast as she wanted, the wind would fan it, make it bigger and push it along with great force, she could easily destroy Poppy's forests and jungles with the power of wind. Perhaps that would be her next move, to find the witch of wind, but who knew where to start....

"One meat pie thanks" she muttered to the person behind the meats counter, she then reached out to grab the pie that was handed to her. It wasn't so warm anymore so once moving away from the counter and out of sight she heated her body up, warmth emanating through her hand like a cook top, heating the pie up to an acceptable temperature. How she loved her powers. She scanned the store, there was hardly anyone here, one older woman at the magazines... and literally no one else besides a few workers. Everyone was outside with the man she had just burnt...

Why...was that woman in here?? Why wasn't she outside with the rest? Crimson's paranoia began to show, she didn't like uncertainty, she didn't like things that didn't make sense. Now was probably a good time to leave this place. So she made her way past the older woman and towards the cash register.

​
 
The girl was moving to pay, and then to leave. And that, Eliza decided, was not something that she could allow. Allowing her even remotely close to the exit would mean that she would have to use her abilities on a far larger scale and, given how flimsy those glass automatic doors were, she'd just smash right through them when they didn't open for her. No, she needed her in the store, at her mercy. She waited for the girl to pass her and then, setting the magazine down, followed her.

Eliza pulled on the lighter in the girl's pocket, tearing through the fabric and drawing it to her hand, where it landed with a satisfying smacking sound that echoed quite ominously around the now mostly empty store. She allowed that sound - and all that it signified - to sink deep into the young witch before she spoke to her:

"Did you really think nobody had noticed your little stunt? Your subtlety is, clearly, only matched by your intelligence." she spoke in an undertone, staring intently at her with a glare that meant doom for many a manager in her company over the years. This girl quite clearly had thought that she had gotten away with it...set someone on fire, and then order something to eat to wash away the bloody aftertaste. How...barbaric. She was practically smouldering, about ready to burst into flames herself, if she could. No doubt thinking of a way to put Eliza off-balance and kill her. If she used that tiny brain of hers for even a second, she would realise that she was surrounded by metal, and that Eliza, as the Metal Witch, could bring this entire store - this entire city, if necessary - crashing down around her ears. Of course, minds clouded by rage, or just plain stupidity, never did see what was right in front of them, did they?

Fortunately for her, Eliza wasn't a Knight, and she had no real interest in killing her. No, she had a better idea. But first, they needed to establish the ground rules. Which did not include murderous thoughts.

"Now, I am going to talk, and you are going to listen. After that, you have two choices: you can accept my proposal, or you can go on your way. There is a third choice, as well. You can keep fidgeting, avoiding my gaze, and trying to come up with a way to kill me, and I can smash this lighter of yours through your thick skull. Look at me when I am talking to you, and keep your hands at your sides and where I can see them." Eliza snapped this last part, already irritated. She did not tolerate such impertinence from anyone, be they human or witch.
 
"No doubt your taste in film is fascinating," Tristana remarked, readjusting the mirror that Heath had tinkered with, shooting him a glare. "Hands on the seat, Knight Boy. This car is custom, sent from America. If you break anything, I'm taking all your money and dumping you as far away from here as I can."

Pulling out of the driveway, there was a sudden crash, car tipping and shaking. It appeared Tristana had reversed into someone or something. "OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" yelled Tristana, slamming her foot on the brakes and winding down the window, shoving her head outside.

"My car!" bellowed the man, whose prized vehicle was the unfortunate victim of Tristana's hangover addled driving skills.

"LEARN TO DRIVE!" roared Tristana in response, stopping the man's lamentations in their tracks. "Get off the road, you freaking maniac!" Pulling out of the parking area yet again, she slammed into the side of the car, scraping a mirror off the unfortuante man's driving seat door, starting his lamentations anew.

Pulling out to the road at approximately 30 miles per hour over the speed limit, leaving burning tire tracks in the parking area, she turned to Heath, slightly calmer now. "Alright Knight Boy. Directions. Now."

________________________________

This girl had been the victim of Poppy? So Witches weren't an organised faction, co-existing in their own destruction as he had been raised to believe. He shuddered at the thought of this girl, not much older or younger than him, having to undergo Poppy's twisted brand of torture.

Hale didn't know how to answer the Witch's question. He wasn't...He wasn't sure. Of course, to voice that aloud would be borderline blasphemy, liable to earn him reprimand from his superiors.

He had been raised to believe in the evils of Witches, the tangled magical webs they would weave, and then leave, destruction left in their wake. But here he was. Speaking to a Witch in a coffee shop of all places. Torn between a lifetime of conditioning and his own instincts, he remained silent, his face reddening a little.

Though when she gave him her name, he decided the least he could do was to give her his. "The name's Hale," he said shortly, unsure what to add to that and hoping that the girl would fill the awkward silence he had developed.
 
Crimson
Fire Witch

Crimson felt a tug against her coat and then she heard the sound of material tearing, her first thought was someone had grabbed her and was trying to attack her! Turning her head to see who had a hold of her she noticed no one was there, instead there was the older woman, the only other customer in the store with her lighter in her hand...

"H-how....?" Crimson choked out dropping the pie to the floor, meat splatting around her feet.

"Did you really think nobody had noticed your little stunt? Your subtlety is, clearly, only matched by your intelligence."

What was with everyone calling her stupid in one way or another? But never mind that, who was this woman standing before her?? She was obviously a witch, but what type? She thought a moment...Psychic? No, that wasn't an element... She thought about her lighter which flew into the woman's hands like it was attracted to her...like a magnet? Metal, she must be a metal witch.

"I--who are y--" She was cut off by the older woman, she reminded her of a certain witch she had met not all that long ago, Tristana...

"Now, I am going to talk, and you are going to listen. After that, you have two choices: you can accept my proposal, or you can go on your way. There is a third choice, as well. You can keep fidgeting, avoiding my gaze, and trying to come up with a way to kill me, and I can smash this lighter of yours through your thick skull. Look at me when I am talking to you, and keep your hands at your sides and where I can see them."

Crimson gulped, and took back her thought before, this woman was much more frightening than Tristana, she gave off an air of dominance and power, she was so sure of herself and obviously wasn't going to take any shit from Crimson. The fire witch brought her eyes up and locked them onto the other witches gaze. She was not ready to have her beloved lighter shot through her skull and permanantly lodged there until removed by someone at a morgue.

"Go on..." was all she muttered as she waited for the proposal, she would pick option 1 or 2. 3 was not even on the table.
​
 
"My taste in film is as impeccable as my taste in women." Heath replied seriously, inwardly stifling a laugh. That was a backhanded compliment worthy of Tristana herself, delivered with perfect timing and finesse. A moment like this was to be savoured, to be enjoyed, as the full weight of it sank in...

...OK, that was enough of that. It was getting frosty in here all of a sudden...oh, that was the air conditioner, slowly turning his manhood into a chunk of ice. Why did she have it so cold? And aimed at that particular part of the body? What had she been up to?

"Did you ever see Inception? You'd love it...biggest load of rubbish I've ever seen in a film!" Heath laughed at the memory of it, finding the movement eased his steadily growing discomfort, "Terrible acting, painfully unimaginative storyline, and the most predictable ending in all of movie history. If that was what the inside of the human mind truly looked like, I would have been a Nature Knight instead, let me tell you that."

Hmm, perhaps that wasn't the most appropriate thing to say. She was rubbing off on him. Well, wasn't that just super? Perhaps it'd work both ways and she'd lighten up a bit...Heath snorted at the thought, unable to help himself. That was a miracle that was probably beyond even the Grey Goddess. Heath expected he'd sooner see Poppy burning flowers than that.

Whether through her drunkenness or to spite him - most probably both - Tristana collided spectacularly with another car, and then preceeded to get into a shouting match with its own.

"Break anything? Me? Do you really need my help to do that?" Heath inquired, with the air of one commenting on the weather, "Tell me, dearest, were you planning on being on Traffic Cops?"

Well, this was turning out to be a fun afternoon. Never mind Poppy - Tristana would probably be the death of Heath, if this kept up. He considered asking her to let him take the wheel, then decided against it: it was better not to patronise a woman, especially when she was suffering from what was probably the worst hangover in existence, and was reeling from the nastiest surprise she'd had since she had discovered she was pregnant, no doubt. For a moment, Heath thought about telling her of Hale...but decided that now was not the time. One more surprise and she'd probably crash the car outright. No, it was better to focus on the task at hand...locating Poppy and, hopefully, Alyss as well.

"Directions? Oh, right, directions. Why are you asking me? I'm a man." he chuckled again, "Well, first off...go back the way you came. Her apartment was only just down the road from where we were talking." Heath said sheepishly, taking great interest in a passing flock of pigeons as the tension in the car suddenly reached the equivalent of an erupting volcano. But then, it was her own fault that she never let him get a word in edgeways...although, to be fair, Heath could see why.

Not that he'd ever admit that to Tristana, of course. That would take the fun out of it!

---

"I see your brain finally caught up with the rest of you. Good." Eliza nodded curtly in approval, fingering the lighter absently. Quite well-made, this one. Still like putty in her hands, but then, breaking it would only upset the girl, and if she were to be of any use, then she would need it. No doubt she was the sentimental type. If she had any sense at all, she'd use matches, or at least carry a backup power source. If she had, this situation might have turned out quite different...Eliza would have been forced to kill her. Her own absent-minded carelessness had saved her life, then. This time. Lucky her.

"I'll keep this brief, for I despise elaborating." Not to mention I doubt you'd be able to follow me anyway, I'm amazed you can string two words together. "Like you, I am a Witch. I have had enough. Of being played by a self-styled King who hides his face like a coward. Of these idiotic battles. Of being used. I'm putting an end to it. My proposal is simple. You join me. We rid this world of all those who would seek to kill us. Then we go our separate ways and live out the rest of our lives."

"But let me make one thing absolutely clear, here and now." she raised her voice slightly, watching the girl carefully. That she was still listening was a good sign, but...well, she was quite clearly unhinged, and power hungry to boot. Crazy bitch. "If you accept, then you work for me. You do as I say. You may question me if you do not see the logic to my plans, and you may make suggestions to improve those plans, but the final decision lies with me. Unlike you, I know what I am doing, and I have a plan for eliminating every threat to you, to me, and to the others of our kind who have had enough of being used a tools. I will not tolerate disobedience, incompetence, or betrayal. We work in harmony, or we do not work at all." she slowly folded her arms, the lighter still in one hand. She allowed the girl a few moments to digest her words - probably not as long as she should have - and then spoke once more:

"Your answer, then. Let's have it. You can walk away now, and we'll never see each other again, unless you decide you'd like to start killing witches without provocation. You accept, and I personally guarantee that, should you live to see the end of this war, you will live in comfort and security and, unless you invite it, you will never see another witch again. Your choice."

Eliza had not moved from her spot since she had approached the girl, and she did not move now. No handshake, no friendly gestures. This was not an offer of friendship, and it was important that the girl understood this, if she was capable. It was simply business. If she helped Eliza remove her enemies - enemies that, she suspected, were hers as well - then she would be rewarded. She had no interest in her beyond that. If she were logical, she would see that her chances of survival were better if she worked for Eliza, who had clearly been alive longer than she had and was adept at surviving. If she was, as Eliza suspected, like her sister, she would refuse, and the two would no doubt meet again when she tried to gather more power by herself. Still, it was her choice. Eliza was more than prepared to allow her to walk away.

If she tried to attack when Eliza handed her back her lighter, however, she would be in for a very nasty surprise...
 
[OOC: Personally, I enjoyed Inception. :hmph:]

Today was obviously a day full of awkward silences. The Knight had introduced himself as Hale… and that was it. He said nothing else, he did nothing else, and once again Alyss was the only one contributing any kind of conversation. Without a doubt he was trying to make sense of everything in his head. He probably thought the Witches were much like the Knights in the fact that they were an Order. Of course, he couldn’t be any more wrong about that.

Sighing, Alyss pointed at the television that she had turned off when Lily came into the building. She had turned it off so Lily wouldn’t have to see what Alyss had only caught a glimpse of. Now that Lily was gone… she could turn it back on to see just what it was that she saw. Just as expected, the news report did have something to do with Poppy.

It was just as expected of her; getting angry and throwing a tantrum by creating a forest out of a park. Although she couldn’t see Poppy, and the news report didn’t mention anything of her… it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Poppy was the cause behind all of it. Glancing back over at Hale, she attempted to start up a conversation again. “It sounds as if all the Knights have something against Poppy. So… I suppose we can look at it as a common ground.”

Pausing only for a brief couple of seconds to calm herself, she attempted to explain that she also, like the Knights, wanted her dead. “I need to find her,” she said, her hands slowly starting to shake as she said it. “Do not be mistaken, I could not care less for her powers. I want her dead because of what she did to me.” Her voice, like her hands, was starting to shake. “You must understand… ridding the world of her would be doing it a service. She is a waste of life.”

Looking Hale in the eyes, she hoped that he would help her. Alyss couldn’t care less whom it was that helped her, but it was clear that she needed some help with this. Hale didn’t seem to be completely devoid of logic or common sense. Perhaps he could see that he was wrong about his stance on Witches. With his help, surely she could get in close and defeat Poppy this time.

Of course… things could have gone the way they had with Heath; showing up a minute too late to do anything useful. At least this time she knew that splitting up wasn’t an option.
 
Crimson
Fire Witch

"I'll keep this brief, for I despise elaborating. Like you, I am a Witch. I have had enough. Of being played by a self-styled King who hides his face like a coward. Of these idiotic battles. Of being used. I'm putting an end to it. My proposal is simple. You join me. We rid this world of all those who would seek to kill us. Then we go our separate ways and live out the rest of our lives."

Crimsons eyes widened at the womans proposal. She wanted to join forces and rid the world of Poppy? Crimson thought a moment, she too wanted to poppy gone, she guessed that their goal was the same, but she allowed the woman to speak a little longer, wondering what else she had to say.

"But let me make one thing absolutely clear, here and now. If you accept, then you work for me. You do as I say. You may question me if you do not see the logic to my plans, and you may make suggestions to improve those plans, but the final decision lies with me. Unlike you, I know what I am doing, and I have a plan for eliminating every threat to you, to me, and to the others of our kind who have had enough of being used a tools. I will not tolerate disobedience, incompetence, or betrayal. We work in harmony, or we do not work at all."

That bit, working for that witch was not really sitting well with Crimson, she didn't do to well with orders... she thought back to when she was with Heath, Ardis and the others, everytime they bossed her around she'd throw a tantrum, storm off or try to do things her own way. She glanced over the woman standing before her and frowned, it was either join up with her, this experienced witch who seemed to want to do her no harm for now (or was that just a cover?) or go off on her own with no leads and no protection...

"Your answer, then. Let's have it. You can walk away now, and we'll never see each other again, unless you decide you'd like to start killing witches without provocation. You accept, and I personally guarantee that, should you live to see the end of this war, you will live in comfort and security and, unless you invite it, you will never see another witch again. Your choice."

Crimson had already made up her mind. She opened her red lipstick covered lips and began to speak, trying not to sound too stupid as everyone had been calling her lately. "I'd like to join up with you, your offer of protection in return for my aid in destroying Poppy is something I probably shouldn't refuse."

Crimson wanted to walk forward and shake the womans hand to make it official but the lady in front of her didn't seem so keen on anything touchy or feely so she stood where she was. Realising she didn't know what name to call her by, hopefully if asked she'd at least provide a name.

"Well you can call me Crimson, and what should I call you?" She smiled sweetly, her bad mood gone, now she was feeling a little weary and intimidated but having a protector, if the woman was telling the truth, did lift a weight off the girls shoulders.

"Also... I wouldn't mind having that back...." She pointed to her lighter. "Heh... I feel kind of naked without it you see... I wont try nothing, I promise! That would be....'stupid' of me..." she joked, although the woman probably wouldn't get it as they'd only just met.
​
 
"Inception? That film about the human mind or something?" A scornful edge could clearly be heard in Tristana's voice. "Biggest load of crap I've ever seen, and people say it's the pinnacle of modern film. Ha!" Tristana narrowly jerked to roughly overtake a nearby truck, flipping off the protesting horn honks with two fingers. "If that's what the human mind looks like, then my mind is anything but normal, as is yours, you strange little Knight.

"And what's his face. Leonardo de Craprio. That is his name isn't it?" She adjusted her front mirror to see better. "I don't know WHAT people see in him. He's just a pretty face full of hot air and no brain. I prefer my men to be more than just a pretty face, and pretty is subjective at that. I personally was quite glad to see him sink to the bottom of the ocean in Titanic. Let me tell you, I cheered in the cinema, and was thrown out. It took three full grown men to overpower me, and let me tell you, one of them will have a gap toothed smile for the rest of his ugly, lonely life."

Tristana's little tangent was cut off by the revelation that she was going the wrong way. "Oh FUCK ME!" she roared, pulling such a U turn that a massive pile up was almost caused, the angry horns and roars from fellow drivers ignored as she swerved onto the other side of the road, going back the way she came. "Why didn't you tell me before?!"

______________________________________
Hale dangled his legs as he listened to Alyss' story, just a little too short for his feet to reach the ground from the seat. He wasn't sure what he was doing still, talking with a witch, but here he was.

And now the conversation turned to Poppy. "Yeah. She's kind of...the Witch that's most notorious in the Order." Even these minor secrets....the punishment he would receive for them...yet he couldn't stop speaking. Or was it just that he wouldn't?

"But the Order wasn't formed to fight her. It's been around for longer than that. Since before I was born. Heath-I mean Sir Heath, was in it when he was my age."

He sighed to himself, twirling a small cafe spoon in two fingers, staring at it as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

Well, in for a penny in for a pound. Wasn't that what they said?

"He said something about checking out her apartment. Poppy's apartment." He chewed his lips nervously. "That's the only place I could think of him being."
 
They went to check Poppy’s… apartment? That concept tacked on to anyone else would have made perfect sense, but this was Poppy; the Witch of Nature. Her having an apartment seemed so… foreign. For some reason, whenever Alyss thought of Poppy’s home, she couldn’t help but think that Poppy lived out in a forest somewhere, spending her free time torturing hikers that got caught up in her neck of the woods.

Alyss couldn’t figure out if she was disappointed by this news or if she should have expected it. As it was starting to turn out, maybe there was a bit of humanity in Poppy after all. However, the thing that made the news that much more exciting. Not to mention, she would be able to get a glimpse in the mind of the woman that tortured her. Perhaps in there, she could find some sort of weakness, some sort of clue as to how to bring Poppy down easier.

Not only that, Alyss could meet up with Heath and the rest of them. Perhaps from there they could charge Poppy’s little forest hideout and take her down a peg or two… Of course, that was only if Heath had learned was proper backup was in the time that Alyss had been away. Alyss’ eye lit up as she asked, “You would not happen to know where that would be, would you?” She hoped he knew something… anything. Just the slightest detail would be nice, even if it was just a general location.

“I do not mean to ask favors that would make you uncomfortable, but you must understand that if we work together towards a common goal we would be doing everyone a service,” Alyss explained. “You know, righting wrongs, etcetera?”

She was finding it hard to speak to Hale. After all, how often does one find themselves having to ask things of someone that they just expressed their profound hate for? “I am… sorry for my outburst earlier. I would explain, but I would… rather not speak of that right now.” At least she had made an effort to set things right. All in all, it wasn’t his fault alone that Lily took off. Perhaps if Alyss had tried harder she could have convinced Lily to stay… The wound brought on by her words was still open, so she was trying hard to push it to the back of her mind.

However, it was easier said than done as she sat down speaking to the Knight that she held at least partially responsible for it. As he twirled his spoon, Alyss folded her arms to her chest. Speaking so much was somewhat uncharacteristic of her, and yet she found herself speaking more and more. Was it this difficult for everyone else to speak when they attempted to speak to her? As Alyss waited for a reply, she couldn’t help but ponder it…
 
[OOC: I couldn't resist, Ringo :wacky:]

"Eliza will suffice." she replied, offering no further comment. She raised a pencil-line eyebrow fractionally as Crimson requested her lighter back, making some attempt at humour that only she understood. Was she cowed so easily? Much like the inferno she made herself out to be than she realised, no doubt: she may be capable of great feats, yet burned out quickly. Her usefulness would be limited, then. Still, perhaps she could keep that fire burning long enough to be of some use, provided she had the right incentive.

She tossed it to her, keeping a minute, but firm, mental grip upon the lighting mechanism. It never hurt to be cautious, after all. When she could be certain that the girl would not attack her, she would let it go. Although she was confident that the girl did not have the backbone to attack her...and she couldn't be that stupid.

Poppy? So, that was the name of the Nature Witch. In truth, Eliza had no idea if this Poppy wanted to fight or not. It was quite possible that she had just stopped this Crimson girl from tracking her down and killing her, but she really didn't care: neither of them were a match for her, and she get to the bottom of all this when she encountered the other girl. One way or another, the two of them would set aside their differences; alive or dead, it make no difference to her. But, planting trees in the middle of the road...that was not a good sign. No, it was likely Eliza would have to kill her. Unfortunate, but a fact of life: she had started this game, and starting games you could not win was inadvisable. Nobody could win against Eliza. Certainly not a puffed-up little girl who thought she was invincible because a hooded being had told her she was special and then given her powers she didn't deserve.

Much like a mother, it was her job to wade in and sort these children out before they killed one another, and a sizeable percentage of the population...and then decided they wanted to become a Goddess or whatever. The Horned King was a very irresponsible being, handing teenage girls and young women power like this. None of them were mentally capable of holding such power, and it invariably led to catastrophe. Individually, Eliza was confident that she was a match for any Witch: she was, simply put, smarter than they were. However, against a witch with two, maybe even three elements, she would be overwhelmed. Utterly. It was a harsh truth, and not one she cared to face in reality.

"Let's go." Eliza strode past Crimson, leaving the store, not bothering to see if she followed. The sky had darkened somewhat, suggesting that it was about to rain...or already had, in certain areas. She nodded in satisfaction, and set off in the direction of the clouds. No doubt her other recruit would be interested in meeting this volatile young woman...

---

"Well, I don't think we needed a film to establish that, did we?" Heath grinned at her, suddenly completely at ease. It was nice, to be able to talk to someone on the same wavelength...even if she probably didn't want to be there. Although he had a feeling that, despite her coarse and thoroughly unmanageable attitude, Tristana was happier than she had been in years...hangover excluded. He knew he was.

He winced at the thought. Well, at least she hadn't used her powers on the men, reducing them to bloody smears on the wall. She might have, back when they had first met...although she had changed quite a bit. Hardened, yet more...responsible.

"Something like that. I can't honestly say I pay attention to the names of actors...well, not the male ones." he coughed, quite deliberately. Yes, they had indeed shaped one another. Heath would never have even cracked a smile before he met Tristana, and she would probably have killed him. They had both changed quite a lot; he had seen that Witches weren't all cut from the same cloth, and she had acquired something of his idea of responsibility...which he had rather callously left behind the day he had decided to let her go. Funny, how these things worked out.

"Well, I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to disturb you. You looked so happy, bashing up other people's cars, reducing the drivers to hysterics, and--ah, excuse me." Heath reached into the inside pocket of his coat, drawing out his phone, which was vibrating, Garth's name flashing up on the screen. He frowned. What did he want now? If this was about paperwork, there would be hell to pay..."Garth? This isn't the best time..."

"Don't you give me that, you bloody layabout!" Garth's angry voice screamed back at him, causing him to wince as his eardrum was assaulted, "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Oh, here and there. I had a lead on the Nature Witch, but there was a...disturbance." Heath replied, growing slightly concerned. He was always worked up, but this...he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He hadn't heard his friend so panicked since...why, since Heath had let Tristana go.

"Disturbance is right! The entirety of Regent's Park and the surrounding area has turned into a bloody forest! Nothing is getting in, and I've already lost five men to toxic spores and ravenous plants! I've called in for backup, but I need you down here, NOW." Garth snapped, hanging up before Heath even had the chance to reply. He faced Tristana, who had - to his alarm - been focusing more on the exchange than on the road. He forced himself to regain his composure, then spoke again;

"It looks as though your darling littler sister got bored of waiting around, love. We need to get to Regent's Park." Heath said from between gritted teeth, an icy feeling that had nothing to do with the air conditioning suddenly lodged in his gut. He doubted Poppy would let the two of them into the garden, and Tristana could make quite a scene if they arrived in public...he'd need to split away from her when they got there, and then meet up with her later.

"That was Garth. Nice fellow, he was the one driving the truck that day. His nose got fixed up nicely, and he's quite well-respected now." Heath ventured quietly, recovering a little of his lost wit. Poor Garth would not be happy to see Tristana again, given that she'd broken his nose and nearly ruptured his privates the first time they'd met...

---

Lily was uncertain for how long she floated, weightless (and perhaps even bodiless, for she could not see anything) in darkness. Perhaps she dreamed for a time, perhaps not. Hours, days, weeks, years...time meant nothing here. She thought that, if she were so inclined, she could float here until the end of time...if that ever came. It was a confusing state, yet not entirely unpleasant.

The events with Alyss and Poppy played in her mind, over and over again. Yet, more and more, she found herself thinking of Alyss. How could she betray her that way? After...everything. Everything they had both seen, both learned, both felt...or had she felt nothing? Had she been entirely indifferent to Lily's suffering, her loneliness, her...longing. Was it just a game to her? She had seen everything Lily had gone through, and more, she understood it, for it must have been as if she had experienced it all herself...and perhaps she had. Perhaps the individuals known as Lily and Alyss no longer existed, and they had both become something else, two halves of one person, in the sharing of their names. How could she betray Lily, how could she betray herself, after all that? She couldn't. Yet...how else could the arrival of that Knight be explained? Coincidence? Lily no longer believed in coincidence. There was no other possible explanation.

It didn't matter now, anyway. Alyss was probably back with her friends, laughing and joking...

"What I am trying to say, without the rambling is; I enjoy your company… I enjoy having a friend. You are the first friend that I have… ever had, to be honest.”

Lily squirmed uncomfortably - if such a thing were even possible here. Had she meant that? Truly? If so...well, look at how Lily had treated her. She might as well have physically struck her. Once again, Lily had destroyed the only precious thing in her life...perhaps even her life itself. But then...perhaps not. Perhaps she should go back. Maybe Alyss deserved a chance to explain...and maybe Lily owed her an apology. But, how could she face her now? Especially with that Knight present...despite what Alyss said, Lily did not trust any of them. They were evil, and that was that.

She tossed and turned, feeling herself growing more tangible within the darkness. She wasn't ready yet...she needed more time, to make sense of things. Yet, if Alyss was going after Poppy...did she have that time? If Alyss went after Poppy again, Lily had no doubt that she would lose her...Poppy was unstoppable. She'd tear her to pieces, and then she'd set her sights on Lily...
 
"It's fine." Hale waved away the apology, placing the spoon back in its holder. "I...didn't help back there. Sorry." The word came out quickly and stuttered, but he did mean it. Apologizing to a Witch...what an odd day this was turning out to be.

"So...uh...do you want coffee....or food or something? This place does some amazing-" Hale was cut off as his phone rang. "Uhhh...sorry. I have to take this."

Accepting the call and placing the receiver to his ear, Hale's face blanched as he was told of the Regent's Park disaster, and could only mouth the words "I'll be right there."

Flipping the phone shut, he turned back to Alyss. "Um....Poppy's done something to Regent's Park. I didn't get the full details, but we should go there. Heath is on his way there with someone else, and I know the way if you don't, soooo..." He stood up, smiling, feeling slightly less awkward now. "Uhhh...shall we?"
_________________________________
As Tristana focussed on not crashing again, Heath received a phone call, and she glanced at him briefly before returning her eyes to the road.

Something in Heath's facial expression changed as he spoke and listened, and Tristana glanced at him concernedly. If he was quick enough he would catch this trace of compassion, for Tristana quickly returned her eyes to the road.

"What?!" she shrieked upon hearing they were to go to Regent's Park. "That's the other way! Again! I'm going to strangle that little rat with one of her own vines! Hold on tight Knight Boy! This is gonna get rough." Making yet another sharp U turn that sent her luggage clattering about in the back seats, she became revving towards Regent Park, leaving an army of furious and terrified drivers in her wake.

OOC: I'll let you introduce Regent's Forest....I mean Park.
 
[OCC: I’ve got to squeeze in this new ability before they get to the park. I hope you don’t mind, Derpmud. :gasp:]

Alyss was somewhat happy that the Knight seemed to be warming up to at least one of the Witches. If things continued going in that direction, he would probably make a dependable ally. As Hale stood up, so did Alyss. They were going to have to find a cab or a car to get there. “Yes, let us go,” Alyss said. She realized that her body wasn’t feeling as achy as before. However, she still wasn’t too confident in her own condition to fight Poppy again.

But this time, she would be ready. Poppy wouldn’t catch her off guard like last time. Alyss was going in on the offensive, and if things got too out of control, she could only imagine that Hale, Heath, Ardis, and quite possibly Crimson would be there. Surely if they were all together they could stand a proper chance…

Looking out the window, Alyss saw a bright yellow Taxi cab. It was just what they needed! However, it looked almost as if it was getting ready to leave. As she looked around, she didn’t notice or see any other Taxi’s in the nearby area. If she didn’t catch it… they would have to “borrow” a car or walk. Instead of asking Hale if he had a ride, Alyss was jumping from possibility to possibility in her head.

It was then a plan popped into her mind. Lily could warp long distances… if Alyss had half of her power, perhaps she could do something very similar? Looking back over at the Taxi, Alyss attempted to play around with her newfound abilities. I need to be over there, Alyss thought. In her mind she focused on the point she was looking at. She needed to be right next to the driver side of the cab… but found that she couldn’t. It was odd… she couldn’t see the spot she wanted to stand in view, and just trying to “teleport” over there was… difficult.

Changing her plans a little bit, she thought of the spot that she could see; the spot right next to the passenger side door. That was in full view, and she felt as if she could make it without any problems. The teleporting happened without any warning. One second she was standing next to Hale, and the next she was right next to the cab. The only thing left in the spot she was standing was a small plume of what appeared to be black smoke.

“O-oh my…”, she let slip. Her eye was widened in excitement and a smile appeared on her face as she just realized what she was now able to do. That cost her hardly anything, if it had cost her anything at all. She just teleported from inside a coffee shop to outside of a cab! However, it seemed as if her teleporting was limited to what she could see in her line of sight… It could be a rather bad limitation, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. Looking at the cab, she opened the back door and said to the driver, “to Regent’s Park, please?” Obviously, the driver had saw nothing of Alyss’ vanishing and reappearing act.

With a grin on her face, she waved back at the shop to Hale, “Over here, Hale! I have gotten us a ride.”

[OOC: Yeah, it was kind of shitty, but I needed to squeeze that in there. Sorry about that. :sad3: But, enough of that. It’s time to go to the “forest” and watch shit get real. :mokken:]
 
[OOC: Alyss vs. Poppy, round two? :wacky:
I'll delay Heath and Tristana getting there until Hale and Alyss are inside. Need Meddy to post before Eliza, Jennyver and Crimson can get there, so things should work out. xD
*insert Light Yagami "Just as planned!" pose here*]

Heath's stomach lurched as Tristana kicked the car down the road...she'd probably kill them both before they even reached the park at this rate. Although, given that any sane person who be moving away from the scene, they would be relatively unobstructed once they got there.

Watching the scenery flash by, Heath sighed. After several tense minutes of silence, he turned to Tristana, studying her features; familiar, yet strange to him, in this moment.

"You do realise that even together, she'll defeat us easily, don't you? She's built that forest up as an invitation. Crimson, Alyss...me. She's begging us to come after her, because she's invincible in a place like that. Are you sure, Devola, that you want to do this?" Heath asked softly, using her true name for the first time in years, since the night they had first met.

In truth, he was afraid for her. After about twenty years, they had finally be re-united, due to a string of weird circumstances no doubt set up by the Horned King, and he didn't want to lose her, only just having found her again. He half-hoped she would say no, drop him off, and speed out of his life again. At least, that way, she'd be safe. Death at the hands of Poppy would be the perfect way for Heath to atone for his mistakes...past, present, and those he would no doubt make in the future. She shouldn't be involved in this. Her sister wasn't her responsibility anymore. It was the Knight's duty to remove Witches who posed a threat to society, and Heath had spent much of time tracking Poppy...

For her. All of her. He could deny it, but the truth was simple: all that Heath had done, it had been leading up to this and, now that the moment had possibly arrived...no.

This isn't how I wanted this. Say no, my love. Refuse. Please.

---

Poppy yawned, absently making more flowers bloom, covering the corpses layed out at the foot of the tree. She had discarded the irritating dress and fashioned herself some clothes from leaves instead. So many pretty colours! Leaves of deepest crimson - quite possibly from someone's blood, although she wasn't too sure...she'd had some fun with changing the colours, so it might have been due to her tampering - and emerald green, and everything in between, clung to her body, light as a feather and wonderfully smooth, leaving her arms and legs free. Much nicer than any dress.

She knew the Knights were already trying to break in. Lots of Fire Knights. She'd killed every last one of them, allowing them a momentary entrance into her home before suffocating them. How dare they try and force their way in? With fire, no less? Fire was bad. Those who used fire were bad, and needed to be punished. Like that nasty fire witch. No doubt she'd show up at some point as well...although Poppy had lost track of her, as she hadn't really been paying attention. They didn't really matter, they were no threat to her. She had called most of her pets back, although a few were still out there, and whispered to her from time to time. She was keeping a close eye on her sister's pet, though. He was on his way, with a woman, and she was quite curious to find out who it was. Was he cheating on big sister? She'd be heartbroken if she ever found out...Poppy would have to kill this woman, whoever she was. She didn't want her big sister to be upset when she found her. She wanted her to be happy, and to play with her in this wonderful garden she'd created. After all, who didn't like flowers?

She frowned as she sensed another Fire Knight break through the outermost layer of her defences, a thick wall of thorns coated with her favourite poison. They were splitting their attacks up now, trying to divide her attention by attacking from several points. Wasn't that clever? But nobody was getting in or out without her say-so, and that was that. She sent the vines out further from each point, frowning at the stabbing pains in her chest as she did so. Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea after all. But she wasn't letting strangers into her home, and that was final. She didn't understand why they were so keen to get in in the first place...Knights didn't really like her, after all...
 
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