Trinity

Trinity

[So I figure you guys can intro your characters and then I can jump in with the NPCs when appropriate. :) ]

Serafíne

Awareness!

Dice: 7 d10 TN5 (1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10) ( success x 5 ) Re-rolls: 1

Kiara

[Oh I should roll some stuff too.]

Dice: 5 d10 TN6 (3, 4, 6, 7, 8) ( success x 3 )

Serafíne

A week or more since she was last here but: a certain chilly Tuesday night, the skies studded with clouds that open up now and then to the brilliance of the ate night stars has her back. The van, up the gravel drive. Dan in the driver's seat, Sera somewhat moody on the passenger's side, knees drawn up, chin resting on the apex of the left. It's Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival, and she's kinda sober (kinda, and doesn't plan to remain thus for long) and headed up to the oft-empty chantry.

There's something new in the air, though.

A helluva lot of somethings, and as they drive Sera murmurs her impressions to Dan, and when the van pulls up outside the garage, she gives him this spare little kiss on the apex of his cheek and unbuckles her seatbelt and sliiiiiiides right out, following that certain feeling through the chilly night.

Well, to be far, she does stop and grab a beer and a bottle of whiskey along the way.

But then, provisions secured, Sera goes seeking.

Kiara

When Dan and Serafine roll up in their van they spy a now-familiar car parked not too far off; fresh tracks in the dirt and the quiet ticking of the engine as it rapidly cools suggesting its owner had not long beaten them to the Chantry.

Kiara's been here on and off of course - tending to a small patch out near the Node she's attempting to invoke premature growth in for the season; cleaning surfaces; cooking food and storing it; bringing flowers in when she comes; settling and arranging them in vases to brighten rooms - but it's been a week, at least, since her last and there have been changes, to say the least.

New arrivals; new presences. The Verbena is outside in the fading light; all wrapped up in layers of earthy brown and grey; a scarf gifted to her at Christmas by Kalen tied loose around her neck; the ends hanging free over her shoulders; dancing as they're pushed to and fro by a breeze. It rustles the trees; what little are near and sets the brunette's hair shifting over her shoulders as she crouches; bag still slung over a shoulder to fuss with the edge of earth near the old, moss-covered fountain. There's shoots peeking out of the hard ground and there's a smile just edging into existence; curling up the edge of her mouth as she pushes to her feet again.

Sniffs against the chill and turns her body a little as if unerringly drawn to the sensation drawing near.

Perhaps she is.

"If we keep meeting like this, whatever will the neighbors say?"

Trinity

Whoever had cast the new defensive barrier around the property hadn't bothered wasting effort on trying to hide it. Sera and Kiara both felt the residue of the caster's unfamiliar resonance when they passed through it. The barrier slid over them like a ghost, illusive and whispering as it traced over their thoughts. But whatever it was looking for (whatever condition the caster had set,) it was a test that they easily passed. Sera, with her knowledge of the spheres involved, knew what the effect was - and what it was trying to prevent.

The question was: who had cast it?

When Sera and Dan arrived at the end of the driveway, they found Kiara already there. There were no other cars within eyeline, but there was a closed garage behind her and the lights in the Chantry were on.

Someone was there.

Serafíne

"We don't have any neighbors," Sera corrects Kiara, unerringly, as the latter rises. There's an edge to her mouth that is also the leading signal of a curling sort of smile. Sera in her heels and cocktail dress, her thigh-high black lace stockings and her battered leather jacket, which goes with nothing else that she wears and smells - divinely - like a dive bar. Waits until Kiara is fully upright before she adds, " - and neither of us would give a fuck what they think, anyway."

Over Sera's head: Dan gives Kiara a faint little wave and a welcoming smirk.

He's wary, though. That's evident, beneath everything.

"You just got here." Dan noticed the ticking engine, the recent arrival. Glances at Kiara's car and then back to Kiara. "I take it the new arrivals aren't friends of yours?"

Kiara

There's a noise that crawls up the brunette's throat at that, Serafine's correction - her awareness that if anything, neither of them would really give a fuck - and Kiara's dark eyes shift from Sera to Dan when he comments -

"No. I don't recognize them." Them. The feeling. The unspoken as she glances rather sharply at the house; dragging her eyes over the lit windows; the flood of warmth at once inviting and ominous. "I got here and I was contemplating going in to say hello, but - " There's a real hesitation, then. A particular uncertainty that creeps over Kiara's delicate features. It doesn't twist them, per say, but the sense of unease seems to be with her as well.

Perhaps there's reasons for it, the sense of trepidation of the unknown; the potency of magic hanging in the air casting the Verbena's expression into distrust.

She'd come upon a house once before, lit up, the residue of casting in the air - still - her mouth flexes with a warmer smile. " - three seems better odds than one."

Serafíne

This moment where Sera's eyes (which are dark and sometimes - as tonight - strangely still, perfectly aware) snag on Kiara's profile. The smallest threads of microexpression slipping across Kiara's features. The hesitation. The sense of trepidation. The awareness: all these things Sera absorbs with a care of her own that inflects her own mouth with a tenderness both transient and rooted.

"Three's much better odds than one," Dan echoes, coming up behind Sera and squeezing her shoulders - affectionate, familiar - as Sera bites her inner cheek hard enough that the bright bite of pain explodes in these tiny sunburst somewhere inside her skull.

Just enough.

Dan's opening the door for them, then, and Sera gives Kiara this brazen, lovely smile. The hint of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"C'mon. We'll say hi and maybe welcome and maybe what the fuck do you think you're doing here, depending on how things go. It's all good."

And she ducks beneath Dan's arm, heading inside, following the complex of resonances in the air.

Serafíne

Prime 1: watch ze weaving. Dif 4 -1 (focus)

Dice: 3 d10 TN3 (4, 8, 10) ( success x 3 )

Trinity

There was a chance that whoever was inside already knew that they had visitors. Maybe the delay in greeting was intentional, or maybe they just had their hands full. The first and most obvious resonance - the one they'd all felt when driving up the road to the house - was unfamiliar to them both. But the other two?

Wild and unbreakable (Pan used to compare it in his head to a mustang.) Sera felt it brush up against her senses as she stood speaking to Kiara. Maybe she recognized it, maybe she didn't. It had been... a long time.

And there was something about the third one that was both familiar and new. This underlying note of cyclical energy, coupled with scorching heat and regeneration. Like fiery rebirth.

"Sera!"

They opened the door just in time to catch sight of the girl as she bounded down the steps into the foyer. She was tall and lanky (taller than she'd been at 16,) with dark hair spilling over her shoulders. And young. Too young, really, to feel as powerful as she did. But then, that wasn't altogether unheard of.

Leah.

Her expression was a thing of tentative warmth. Hesitant of strangers, but clearly happy to see Sera. She jogged toward them, but stopped before she invaded their space, glancing toward Dan and Kiara. There was a pause... maybe a second or two. Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. Then she stepped forward to put her arms around Sera's light frame (if she allowed it.) It wasn't an exuberant hug (Leah had always been very sensitive of her physical space,) but it was a heartfelt gesture nonetheless.

"I didn't know if you'd still be here."

Kiara

There's a moment where Dan's pulling open the door and Serafine's smiling her bloody smile - c'mon - that it almost seems as if the Verbena will refuse. That she'll remain outside with cheeks tinged pink and dark eyes full of unrevealed hesitations; ghosts swimming in the expression that knits her face somewhere between fragile and furious. Kiara does linger for a moment, does catch Dan's eye and keep it and there's a hitch somewhere; a snagged breath she catches and holds for a beat before she nods.

Before she steps inside in Serafine's wake; the house draping over her with warmth; with presence. The Disciple already searching for the source of potential casting and then - oh. Kiara draws back a step; draws to one side as a young girl bounds toward the Cultist. The uncertainty melts, though. The tension in the Verbena's frame easing as it becomes clear -

"Friend of yours?"

- Kiara's voice warming to relief. She unwinds the scarf from around her neck; her mouth suggestive of mirth; at their hesitation; at her own. Dark eyes observe the girl and she tilts her head just so, curious now that the potential threat seems - less.

Now that she can breathe out.

Serafíne

"Christ." Sera mutters beneath her breath, the crawling half-smile carved across her mouth growing wider by the minute. By the moment, by the breath. There's Leah - taller now, changed but - oh, Sera shivers from the sensation and opens her arms to the younger girl and pulls her in, one hand cupping the back of Leah's head, mouth seeking the girl's temple, where her pulse beats, and for a thoughtful, lingering moment - Sera just inhales.

There's so much in that gesture. So much that she pulls inside of her, so much that she lets go of altogether, all at once, each piece framed by the other one to create this moment.

When they pull apart, Sera's eyes are... damp, shining in the ambient light.

"Leah. I didn't - " and Sera's half-smile spreads wider then, "I didn't really think I'd see you again, you know? It's good to see you. You remember Dan, right?"

This glance toward the tall guitarist. Maybe Leah does and maybe she doesn't. Dan was mostly the designated driver back then. Around, in the background.

"And this is Kiara. Kiara, this is Leah. And yeah, you could say we're friends. It's a long fucking story."

Haven't seen each other since a funeral, but isn't that how some things go?

Trinity

There were sounds coming from the kitchen. Shifting pans and the high, digital beep of a timer. Someone was cooking dinner. It smelled absolutely delicious and more than likely Mexican (corn tortillas and a spicy tomato sauce, with hints of citrus and jicama.) Leah, who had barely been able to stand being touched (let alone hugged) the last time Sera had seen her, closed her eyes and leaned into the embrace. Let out this soft breath when Sera kissed her. For a moment, her expression betrayed the weight of the memories they shared.

The last time they'd seen each other had been at a funeral.

When she pulled back, she nodded to Dan, who she did vaguely remember (though not nearly so clear as she did Sera.) When her attention shifted to Kiara, she offered a tentative smile. After a beat, she seemed to remember her manners and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

That was when Annie finally appeared from the dining room, wiping water from her hands with a fresh towel. She stopped when she got to the foyer and saw the three visitors. And here too, there was a second's pause for the recollection of memory while she watched Leah interact with their guests.

"It's good to see you again, Sera."

Annie was older than Leah, though not by enough of a margin to be her mother. (Older sister maybe? But they didn't look alike.) Annie's hair was strawberry blond, verging slightly into the reddish hue. Her skin was lightly tanned despite it being winter, with visible freckles on the bridge of her nose. She was average in height, shorter than Leah by about two inches, and muscular in the way people who do a lot of manual labor.

Once she had her hands dried, she draped the towel over her shoulder and reached out to offer her hand to Kiara. "Annie Pierce. I own the house. Leah and I are with the Verbena."

Kiara

It's a long fucking story.

Kiara's generous mouth curves into a fuller smile at that. "Isn't it always?" She offers in easy agreement and loosens the ties on her coat; shucking it and folding it over an arm along with her scarf. Beneath she's in dove grey on brown, some soft knitted cardigan that folds and tucks around the hip of her jeans. There's boots on her feet that give her height but she is still, by all true accounts, a slender figure. A little wilder perhaps for the way her hair falls in heavy waves around her face; bangs cut low over expressive eyes.

There's a familiar (to some) jumble of necklaces around her neck tonight; silver and stone and crystal; hoops in her ears; her wrists are bare, though. There's nothing but a blue stone ring on her index finger when she takes Leah's hand; closes her fingers around it; keeps it; just for the barest moment.

"Likewise. It's been so quiet here, we were - " The smells and sounds from the kitchen overtake Kiara for a beat; Annie does, too. Then: "Kiara Woolfe. It's nice to meet family. It's been a while." Another press of hands together; Kiara's eyes drop to where she's touching Annie's hand before she withdraws her own with this slight; suggestive give to her mouth.

"If the wildflowers didn't give me away - I'm with the Verbena too."

Serafíne

"Hey." This is how Sera greets Annie: less enthusiasm, perhaps even a touch of strange self-conscious that slides off her shoulders as easily as it slides over them. "You cooking dinner?" Lilting inquiry, the cut of Sera's dark eyes past Annie's shoulder. Pan spent far more time with the Verbena than Sera ever did, and she is conscious of his absence, suddenly. Conscious of Jim's absence. Conscious - suddenly, breathtakingly conscious - of all the absences in her life.
"Uhm," and well, she was about to introduce Kiara again but Kiara introduces herself and Sera - who looks like she is about to paint the town crimson and then burn it the fuck down kinda shivers because it is COLD, segues into, "Let's get inside, it is fucking freezing - "

before she slips off, away, within.

"I gotta pee," Sera announces, sotto voce, to Dan not longer after. He makes her excuses as she slides off toward the bathroom.

Later Sera will tell Annie and Leah who is left (no one) and who is gone (everyone) and whom she saw last and when and where, if they want to know. Later Sera might even tell Kiara the story of it all, though probably not in Leah's hearing.

Serafíne

(got to sleep, lovelies. nini!)